Posted: 11/3/2012 11:46:19 AM EDT
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I know this has been discussed lots, but I am having information overload. I want to pick up a nice 2 AA flashlight that is LED, has multiple output modes and has a decent runtime on the lower lumen levels but still good and bright on the higher level(s). It doesn't need to be weapon mountable, but I would like it to be tough. Any flashlights that immediately come to mind?
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4Sevens Quark http://www.4sevens.com/
As Skibane said in another thread, lights with more than 2 AA or AAA probably have unregulated LED modules. They go dark and then quit. The regulated modules maintain brightness until they quit. Your choice, but rremember it might be easier to find two OK batts than to find four. |
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4Sevens Quark http://www.4sevens.com/ As Skibane said in another thread, lights with more than 2 AA or AAA probably have unregulated LED modules. They go dark and then quit. The regulated modules maintain brightness until they quit. Your choice, but rremember it might be easier to find two OK batts than to find four. The 4sevens quark regular is exactly what you are looking for. I bet they make an XML version with stupid high output and the .2 lumen low I love so much. |
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+1 for FourSevens Quark. I was interested in a couple of the other brands, and posted some questions here about them, but am pleased that I got talked into a Quark. I have the single AA model- puts out probably over 200 lumens with one of the 3.8 V AA-sized 14500 Lithium ion batteries. But you need a special charger for those.
If you want to keep it standardized to alkaline AA batteries and/or eneloops, then start with a 2xAA model- with the conventional alkalines or eneloops, it will put out about as much light as on a single Li ion battery. You can always buy a shorter body for single AA later, or you'll decide to GET BOTH single AA and double AA models. As others have said, the moonlight mode is great. ETA: Quoted:
The 4sevens quark regular is exactly what you are looking for. I bet they make an XML version with stupid high output and the .2 lumen low I love so much. Here it is: Quark Pro QP2A-X Looks like the 2xAA with the Cree XP-G LED has been discontinued; this new model has the XM-L LED, and it looks like it's 280 Lumens instead of ~230. The XM-L beam pattern has a bigger hot spot than the XP-G. They are moving to a new website: http://foursevens.com/ IIRC, I read here, or on Candlepower Forums, that their new website still has some bugs. 
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I've got both the Klarus P2A 2xAA dual mode light and the JetBeam BA-20 2xAA dual mode light. Both are similar 20 & 30 for Low and 245 & 270 for High, IIRC.
You almost couldn't tell them apart, if not for the labeling. Klarus will do 33 hrs on 20LM and 1.6 hrs on 245LM. The JB BA20 will do 35 hrs on 30LM and 1 hr 45 min. on 270LM. Both can be had for under $40 and they pocket pretty well, if not both being a tad longer than some of my other single cell EDC lights. I wanted a couple of strict 2xAA lights and those are what I went with earlier in the year. Chris |
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Check out the Rayovac Indestructable line of lights.
You can get a 2 AA light Led bulb with 100 lumins of light for $16.00 at Home Depot After a couple U tube reviews I picked up a couple. Am replacing all of my Maglights I carried in the vehicles with these Rayovac lights |
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um, NO, not only no but HELL NO. with a MSRP of $180 for a 80lm flashlight? thats just crack smoking stupid. even for the $120+ im seeing it for on the web its still stupid. |
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um, NO, not only no but HELL NO. with a MSRP of $180 for a 80lm flashlight? thats just crack smoking stupid. even for the $120+ im seeing it for on the web its still stupid. 
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um, NO, not only no but HELL NO. with a MSRP of $180 for a 80lm flashlight? thats just crack smoking stupid. even for the $120+ im seeing it for on the web its still stupid. No, its really not. There are Surefires, and there are flashlights. They are not one and the same. I have both, and they do not serve the same purpose. |
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um, NO, not only no but HELL NO. with a MSRP of $180 for a 80lm flashlight? thats just crack smoking stupid. even for the $120+ im seeing it for on the web its still stupid. No, its really not. There are Surefires, and there are flashlights. They are not one and the same. I have both, and they do not serve the same purpose. I have both too. Surefire is just another under-performing flashlight but with a stupid price tag. Their led is made in China too. |
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A poor design, beautifully made. Why do I need to turn it on low before I can turn it on high? Turn it on, turn it off, turn it on again inside of two seconds just to get to high? Ridiculous. |
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um, NO, not only no but HELL NO. with a MSRP of $180 for a 80lm flashlight? thats just crack smoking stupid. even for the $120+ im seeing it for on the web its still stupid. No, its really not. There are Surefires, and there are flashlights. They are not one and the same. I have both, and they do not serve the same purpose. I have both too. Surefire is just another under-performing flashlight but with a stupid price tag. Their led is made in China too. And they have been underperforming their asses off in every corner of the world for a long time now. For those of us who use flashlights and weapon lights on a daily basis, and whose lights may very well get their asses home in one piece at the end of a shift, they are a very good deal. I have tried cheap light after cheap light, and none of them have the durability and ruggedness I require. Brightness is actually very low on my list of needs and wants. Bright enough is bright enough. |
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um, NO, not only no but HELL NO. with a MSRP of $180 for a 80lm flashlight? thats just crack smoking stupid. even for the $120+ im seeing it for on the web its still stupid. No, its really not. There are Surefires, and there are flashlights. They are not one and the same. I have both, and they do not serve the same purpose. I have both too. Surefire is just another under-performing flashlight but with a stupid price tag. Their led is made in China too. And they have been underperforming their asses off in every corner of the world for a long time now. For those of us who use flashlights and weapon lights on a daily basis, and whose lights may very well get their asses home in one piece at the end of a shift, they are a very good deal. I have tried cheap light after cheap light, and none of them have the durability and ruggedness I require. Brightness is actually very low on my list of needs and wants. Bright enough is bright enough. you are seriously barking up the wrong trees here. BMACW and I are probably two of the top 5 or 6 flashlight people here. you are paying for a brand name that really means nothing anymore. you either move forward or fall behind and SF has done nothing but fall behind year after year. there are a lot better light makers out there that are worlds ahead of SF. i have beat my fenix lights around for years and they are still running strong. they have been in burning houses with me, on accidents scenes, woods fires, and even SAR's and they have never failed me. the brightness they can put out as well as the run time on the lower settings make even my old fenix lights above most of the current SF lights and for a hell of a lot less money. |
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um, NO, not only no but HELL NO. with a MSRP of $180 for a 80lm flashlight? thats just crack smoking stupid. even for the $120+ im seeing it for on the web its still stupid. No, its really not. There are Surefires, and there are flashlights. They are not one and the same. I have both, and they do not serve the same purpose. I have both too. Surefire is just another under-performing flashlight but with a stupid price tag. Their led is made in China too. And they have been underperforming their asses off in every corner of the world for a long time now. For those of us who use flashlights and weapon lights on a daily basis, and whose lights may very well get their asses home in one piece at the end of a shift, they are a very good deal. I have tried cheap light after cheap light, and none of them have the durability and ruggedness I require. Brightness is actually very low on my list of needs and wants. Bright enough is bright enough. you are seriously barking up the wrong trees here. BMACW and I are probably two of the top 5 or 6 flashlight people here. you are paying for a brand name that really means nothing anymore. you either move forward or fall behind and SF has done nothing but fall behind year after year. there are a lot better light makers out there that are worlds ahead of SF. i have beat my fenix lights around for years and they are still running strong. they have been in burning houses with me, on accidents scenes, woods fires, and even SAR's and they have never failed me. the brightness they can put out as well as the run time on the lower settings make even my old fenix lights above most of the current SF lights and for a hell of a lot less money. He might still be confused about why I love shooting my Mosins so much. Something about head shots at 100 yards off hand with a $90 rifle. |
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um, NO, not only no but HELL NO. with a MSRP of $180 for a 80lm flashlight? thats just crack smoking stupid. even for the $120+ im seeing it for on the web its still stupid. No, its really not. There are Surefires, and there are flashlights. They are not one and the same. I have both, and they do not serve the same purpose. I have both too. Surefire is just another under-performing flashlight but with a stupid price tag. Their led is made in China too. And they have been underperforming their asses off in every corner of the world for a long time now. For those of us who use flashlights and weapon lights on a daily basis, and whose lights may very well get their asses home in one piece at the end of a shift, they are a very good deal. I have tried cheap light after cheap light, and none of them have the durability and ruggedness I require. Brightness is actually very low on my list of needs and wants. Bright enough is bright enough. you are seriously barking up the wrong trees here. BMACW and I are probably two of the top 5 or 6 flashlight people here. you are paying for a brand name that really means nothing anymore. you either move forward or fall behind and SF has done nothing but fall behind year after year. there are a lot better light makers out there that are worlds ahead of SF. i have beat my fenix lights around for years and they are still running strong. they have been in burning houses with me, on accidents scenes, woods fires, and even SAR's and they have never failed me. the brightness they can put out as well as the run time on the lower settings make even my old fenix lights above most of the current SF lights and for a hell of a lot less money. That must be why you see so many Fenix, 4Sevens, Jetbeam, etc...in use by people who rely on them. Oh, yeah...the top 5 or 6 flashlight guys disagree. Whatever the hell that means. Flashlights are cool. Gajillion lumen, eleventyseven mode wonders of mental masturbation. In my world, however, simplicity and ruggedness trump all the doodads. From the X300 on my pistol, to the Scout Light on my rifle, to the cheap little G2X on my belt, they work every time I need them to, which is all I ask. They are priced right, and if something does break, a phone call has the issue remedied most rikki-tik. They take very good care of their core market base, and this is what has kept them in business. |
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Buy what you like. Most of us are not in combat every day and we know for EDC there are much, much better choices than Surefire. Reliable lights that serve under normal use for a long time, but also much more efficient and user friendly.
If I was kicking doors in combat I would have a Surefire on my rifle and a Jetbeam in my pocket for daily chores. I would want my Maelstrom S12 around for lighting things up that the pussy Surefires can't reach..... 
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That must be why you see so many Fenix, 4Sevens, Jetbeam, etc...in use by people who rely on them. Oh, yeah...the top 5 or 6 flashlight guys disagree. Whatever the hell that means. Flashlights are cool. Gajillion lumen, eleventyseven mode wonders of mental masturbation. In my world, however, simplicity and ruggedness trump all the doodads. From the X300 on my pistol, to the Scout Light on my rifle, to the cheap little G2X on my belt, they work every time I need them to, which is all I ask. They are priced right, and if something does break, a phone call has the issue remedied most rikki-tik. They take very good care of their core market base, and this is what has kept them in business. its clear you have no clue about good lights and only believe in a brand name that is way behind the times. i know of 2 depts that have switched to fenix lights thanks to me showing them how much better they were to what they were carrying. the SO here issues maglights but several of the officers carry personally purchased lights that include fenix and jetbeams, again thanks to me and the others i have converted. your argument if not valid and is as old and busted as "colt" being the only AR to own and everything else is just posers. stay in the stone age of flashlights, that way you will never know what you are missing. |
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Buy what you like. Most of us are not in combat every day and we know for EDC there are much, much better choices than Surefire. Reliable lights that serve under normal use for a long time, but also much more efficient and user friendly. If I was kicking doors in combat I would have a Surefire on my rifle and a Jetbeam in my pocket for daily chores. I would want my Maelstrom S12 around for lighting things up that the pussy Surefires can't reach..... I can understand, and somewhat agree with this. I have other non Surefire lights for other mundane uses. I have been carrying a little freebie 5.11 light off duty for a couple of weeks, even. If I had to choose one light, however, it would be a SF, no doubt. |
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Buy what you like. Most of us are not in combat every day and we know for EDC there are much, much better choices than Surefire. Reliable lights that serve under normal use for a long time, but also much more efficient and user friendly. If I was kicking doors in combat I would have a Surefire on my rifle and a Jetbeam in my pocket for daily chores. I would want my Maelstrom S12 around for lighting things up that the pussy Surefires can't reach..... still wouldnt have a SF on my long gun unless someone else was paying for it and wouldnt allow me to have anything else. 
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Buy what you like. Most of us are not in combat every day and we know for EDC there are much, much better choices than Surefire. Reliable lights that serve under normal use for a long time, but also much more efficient and user friendly. If I was kicking doors in combat I would have a Surefire on my rifle and a Jetbeam in my pocket for daily chores. I would want my Maelstrom S12 around for lighting things up that the pussy Surefires can't reach..... I can understand, and somewhat agree with this. I have other non Surefire lights for other mundane uses. I have been carrying a little freebie 5.11 light off duty for a couple of weeks, even. If I had to choose one light, however, it would be a SF, no doubt. If you get crazy some time try out the Jetbeam rrt0 sometime for EDC and then tell us what you think. You might just be impressed. Surefire does make reliable lights. Only two of mine have failed (out of 5-6). Since I have lots of redundancy it doesn't hurt much. Switches are what died first. I was all set to try out one of the newer led tactical lights until i found out the fools made it so it can only come on in low. I was kind of bummed. |
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Buy what you like. Most of us are not in combat every day and we know for EDC there are much, much better choices than Surefire. Reliable lights that serve under normal use for a long time, but also much more efficient and user friendly. If I was kicking doors in combat I would have a Surefire on my rifle and a Jetbeam in my pocket for daily chores. I would want my Maelstrom S12 around for lighting things up that the pussy Surefires can't reach..... still wouldnt have a SF on my long gun unless someone else was paying for it and wouldnt allow me to have anything else. Right now I have Fenix. I am not a door kicker and the light is plenty tough enough. |
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A lot of people are carrying lights with higher performance/longer run times that are half the price and still darn tough.
Marketing isn't beating the law of diminishing returns for a lot of buyers. I'm definitely one of them. Fenix TK15: $80 Surefire E2D: $190 Where is the $110 advantage? |
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A lot of people are carrying lights with higher performance/longer run times that are half the price and still darn tough. Marketing isn't beating the law of diminishing returns for a lot of buyers. I'm definitely one of them. Fenix TK15: $80 Surefire E2D: $190 Where is the $110 advantage? At least be honest, the 190 retail on the Surefire is nowhere near the real world cost. They are easily found for 120-130, and while still higher than the Fenix, is much more manageable. For me, the advantages are Surefire service, and a known quantity. Different folks have different demands. |
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A lot of people are carrying lights with higher performance/longer run times that are half the price and still darn tough. Marketing isn't beating the law of diminishing returns for a lot of buyers. I'm definitely one of them. Fenix TK15: $80 Surefire E2D: $190 Where is the $110 advantage? lets brake your list down a little better. Fenix TK-15 Price: $70-80(google shopping) output and run time: low(5lm) 142 hours med(47lm) 23 hours high(143 lm) 6hours 25 min turbo(337lm) 1 hour 50 min Strobe(337lm) no run time listed battery types 2x123A's or 1x 18650's Surefire E2D price: $132-180 output and run time low(5lm) 76 hours high(200lm) 1.9 hours battery type: 2x 123A's only. so, using the lowest prices on google shopping there is a $60 difference. for $60 more you are limiting yourself to only one choice of batteries, only 2 modes and less run time. so for the price difference alone you could have a lifetime supply of batteries for the Fenix OR you could almost buy a second light to keep in the car, at the house, gift to your wife/kid/friend or even a weapons mount and remote pressure switch. i also found this rating chart on another site so this could be the output/run time of an updated version, i would have to look into it more or it could just be the different rating on the 18650 batteries. Output mode / Runtime: Turbo 400 lumens 2h High 165 lumens 6h Mid 55 lumens 21h Low 6 lumens 171h Strobe 400 lumens |