The Case for a Flashlight

Donald,
Thank you for bringing the ARC Premium AAA light to my attention. I quickly found their site and researched it. If I read correctly, the ARC is a 5.5 lumen light; whereas the Fenix is 50 lumens. These are different solutions for differing requirements. For someone navigating, even trail running, at night, the Fenix L0D might be sufficient; not so the ARC. Conversely; for camp chores the ARC would be sufficient and the Fenix would be overkill, even in low mode.
A prospective buyer should decide his/her requirements set, then choose accordingly.
I use a Photon for camp chores, a Petzl zipka as a red-lens headlamp, and I have a Fenix on order for 'find the tent' etc.. spot lighting.

One good thing about the ARC and Fenix is they both use AAA's, so I can carry one battery type for my GPS and flashlight, should I need to swap them out.
Thanks again.

http://www.arcflashlight.com/arc-aaa.shtml

http://www.amazon.com/Fenix-L0D-CE-Flashlight-outputs-types/dp/B000N2J9MA

the Arc is a nice little flashlight. i used to have one, but it wasn't very bright. now, they have the "Premium" edition.

compared to the Fenix E0, my older Arc (non-Premium) wasn't as bright as far as i can recollect, but maybe the newer Premium edition is brighter even though they have similar Lumen ratings – don't know as i haven't personally compared them. According to FLR (FlashlightReviews.com, the ArcPremium has 53lux (not lumens) of Throw, and 520lux Overall output, compared to 34 and 300, respectively for the E0. The E1 which has a shorter battery life (than even the ArcPremium) puts out more light at 132 and 790, respectively. I personally don't like the E1 due to its poor battery life, but it does put out 12lumens with a single fresh AAA batt. which is quite bright.

For task/proximity lighting, brightness is not the issue for me. I haven't yet found one reputable task light that doesn't put out enough light for its intended purpose. Hence, cost (most are fairly inexpensive at the lower to mid-range, but $40 is, IMO, expensive for a task light – sure $40 ones are VERY GOOD quality in all respects), and PRIMARILY BATT. LIFE is most important to me. For example, the ArcPremium (acc. to FLR) reaches 50% brightness ~5h, and 25% brightness in ~8.5h. The E0 reachdes 50% brightness in 12.5h, and 25% brightness is off the chart (over 15h – so, my guess of 15+h of usable task lighting, mentioned elsewhere, is probably correct – Fenix claims 18hrs). According to the burn time plots at FLR, it appears that the E0 at 15h will be as bright as the ArcP was at 8.5h (it dies ver soon thereafter). The E0 will be brighter than the ArcP long b/f this 15h mark also. The ArcP just starts life 67% brighter, but much more quickly looses that brightness. In task lighting, for me personally, this is not valuable. Why have more light than i need, for a shorter period of time, i ask myself. The answer to this questions SHOUTS back loudly, viz. less light longer burn time is what i need. Other needs may be diff. fr/mine, however, so YMMV.

Don't even think of using Li AAA batts in the ArcP – they only hurt burn time, though they keep the little light brighter longer. Again, is this what one really wants in a task light? If so, go with the ArcP and carry a spare batt. In either case, alk. or Li, one will have to carry at least one spare batt (2 spares if going w/Li batts) to equal the burn time of the E0 – which, BTW, means that you'll be changing batts less often with the E0 (this was mentioned as a possible problem in another Post).

the bottom line in brightness for these two (ArcP. & E0) is that either really suffices for task/proximity lighting. beyond that, for me personally, neither would work for night hiking. perhaps, with new batts i could slowly walk a distinct, non-demanding path. i personally like to have 12-15 lumens of light (preferably 15) for spotting low contrast, faded, blazes up ahead on unfamiliar leaf strewn/covered trails. some younger individuals tell me that they can get by with 7-8 lumens (hence, one young buck who PM'd me, deciding to possibly go with the 7.5lumen output of the L0D-CE for his JMT thru-hike – amazing, "Owl-eyes"). even that lower 7.5lumen number is beyond the Arc's capabilities. however, if one only wants in-camp task/proximity lighting, then the Arc-Premium is a fine flashlight – no mistake about it.

COST is another story however. E0=$18.50 (from BrightGuy.com), Arc Premium (same Mfr rated light output, but, in actuality, it's brighter than the E0 on fresh batts) is ~$40. That's quite a difference. The regular Arc is ~$30, but doesn't have the rated light output (just 3lumens vs. 5.5lumens for the E0 and Arc Premium – so given Arc's more stringent rating standard, they're maybe about the same starting brightness, i.e. on fresh batts).

batt life goes to the E0. i regularly have gotten well over 10hrs of light from a single batt. i didn't time it, but 15+ hrs wouldn't surprise me either (i just don't want to overstate anything and be accused of prevericating).

two-handed operation for the Fenix? true for some models, not for others. two-handed is a pain, i'll admit it. this is mitigated somewhat by the fact that i'm NOT frequently turning it on-and-off or changing lighting modes. i turn it on and pick the lighting level i need for what i'm doing at the time, and then clip it to my capbrim.

the E0 has the clip BEHIND the bezel, so it's really a one-handed operation (i've done it some many times, having run 3 AAA batts through my E0 at this point in time). Those Fenix models with a tail/butt cap switch (e.g. L1D-CE, and L2D-CE, and a host of other models) = one-handed operation. Others, e.g. E1 (unless clip is moved further back which is doable since the E1 is a very small, lightweight flashlight), P1D-CE, L0D-CE are two-handed operation which is definitely not as convenient as one-handed but,… for what one gets in terms of light output and battery life it might not be that objectionable.

the reverse polarity protection comment is a good one. however, i would venture to say that anyone reading this Post could replace the batts in any Fenix flashlight blindfolded or on a completely dark night. They're, IMO, 1) easy to open and close ("righty tighty, lefty loosey" as we used to say in the Military – you just screw & unscrew the head or tail, depending upon the model – nothing to line up by sight & very little "feel" involved to get them started), 2) easy to remove the batt, 3) easy to feel identify the positive end of the batt by feeling for the nib and inserting it into the barrel of the flashlight. one just needs to pay att'n to what one is doing which may not always be easy due to high winds and lashing rain, shivering/shaking, etc.

My vote for a single AAA flashlight to be used for task/proximity lighting goes to the E0 (cost and batt life being the deciding factors, IMO), but the Arc is NOT a bad choice either.

Wow found this post and it was a pretty interesting read. I am looking at the Fenix style lights and came acrossed the LD01 R2 light AAA and LD10 light AA model. Just wonder if you guess had any opinions on these newer lights since this post was put up. I like the idea of the Ld01 with clip for your hat. lanyard would be nice. I wish it came in lime green to find if you drop it. :-)

The lightest flashlight I know of that takes AA batteries is the Nitecore EZ AA. I don't have one yet but it seems like a great little light. Only weighs 5 grams more than the LD01 and gives you the added power and longer burn time of AA batteries.

-Sid

I have a LiteFlux LF2XT Cree XP-E LED Flashlight – 1xAAA Model, Natural. It puts out enough light for hiking at night. Not a massive amount, but enough. I clip it to my cap. This works ok except that it's not super-secure and I wouldn't trust this setup when scrambling. The clip that the light comes with is in the wrong direction for mounting on a cap. You can buy another light of similar size to get the clip. The total ends up being $75+. The light weighs very little – something like one ounce or 1.5 ounces, including batteries. Maybe less; I don't remember.

All this would be pretty good, except for one thing: the other day on a hike I noticed that the light had turned itself on while in my pack. That is not acceptable. I'm probably going to switch back to a headlamp. The one I have in mind is the Princeton Tec Tactical Quad Headlamp.

"I am looking at the Fenix style lights and came acrossed the LD01 R2 light AAA and LD10 light AA model. Just wonder if you guess had any opinions on these newer lights since this post was put up. "

I used last years models similar to them on my PCT thru-hike this year(not all at once) with the Photon Freedom keychain LED lights as backup (which I ended up needing).

I started off with a Fenix L0D(1xAAA) and it is bright enough to hike with at night and very light. I liked it better then my Petzel Tikka+ headlamp. Unfortunately, the small size made it easy to lose. I somehow didn't see it as I packed up in the early morning light and left it behind only a week into my trip. I'm planning to head back there in a week to see if I can find it even though its been 6 months.

I decided to go with the larger Fenix L1D(1xAA) to replace it since it is longer lasting and thus better for doing more night hiking in the deserts to avoid the heat (I wasn't sure how many spare batteries I would need at the time). I still feel the L0D is fine for backpacking though and would have been adequate for the entire trail. I normally used the LD1 on its lowest setting when hiking on good trail. I was very satisfied with it. Near Muir Pass, I lost it when I forgot to zip up my hipbelt pocket and when I bent over to fill a water bottle it fell out into a deep snow smelt fed stream. I couldn't found it in the light of the early morning and the water was too deep and cold to really try to feel around for it and I gave up. But I liked it enough to buy the exact same model to replace it. I also bought the optional red lens filter cap that snaps over the end and liked using it around camp to keep my night vision. I hiked the entire state of Oregon using just a single battery (though I didn't need to do much night hiking) so I'm well pleased with how long they last. And a single AA spare battery weighs less then carrying 3xAAA ones needed for most headlamps.

When hiking at night, I would put one of my poles on my pack and just use the 1 pole while I carried the flashlight in the other hand. Because the light was done lower, I had much better depth preception on the trail due to the shadows cast and thus needed the poles far less since I wasn't tripping all the time on rocks and roots that I didn't see with my headlamp. I'm staying with these small flashlights for all my backpacking.

Paul,

I own a "Tactical" PT EOS and do NOT like the bluish tinted Luxeon bulb very much. I cannot understand why Princeton Tech didn't use a good CREE bulb. AAAaarrrgggghhh!

LED lights have been improving rapidly. Except for the last 3 posts, the posts here are 2 years old (some of them good, but perhaps dated by the advance of technology).
Do some searching; there have been recent threads on this.

No real input but this site has some really light, cost-effective led lights (mostly Cree but some really cheapees too) They have all the parts to build your own config.
http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.917

OK, this is off point, and probably a shot in the dark; but since you flashlight gurus have been reading this thread, maybe one of you can help.
The best light I ever had was a red plastic Hitachi the shape of a pack of playing cards with a two+ inch dia. lens on one side near the top. It used 3 or 4 AA cells, but I rewired it to use two Power Conversion AA sized 3V lithium cells, so it was very light for its time. The geodesic shaped reflector behind the lens prevented circles in the beam, providing a clear light with a wide but fairly long beam. The outstanding feature was a rectangular shaped bail attached to both sides of the top that rotated 360, or almost 360 degress around the light with beefy click stops.
So I could carry it like a lantern, or set it up like a small easel next to my cooking area, or hang it from the tent roof at various angles. If I'd kept it, I would have installed an LED in it when they came out.
Alas, it was stolen, (right off my kitchen counter by a boiler repairman, but that's another too long story) and I've never been able to find anything quite like it. Any ideas, anyone?
I've always wondered why nobody else produced such a useful design.
Sam Farrington, Chocorua NH