Need some flashlight advice

[Shmackey]

I'm looking for something to replace my Streamlight Protac 1AA, which I keep having to repurchase because I lose flashlights pretty much weekly.

I'd like a quality flashlight that's less expensive since they're apparently disposable to me. It would be best if it ran on one AA battery. That seems to be the sweet spot for me in terms of size vs. output, and I always have a lot of low-discharge NiMH batteries recharging, so I don't really want lithium.

Is there a flashlight out there that's similar to the Protac 1AA but trades in some amount of quality for a lower price?

 

[Sam1911]

Not sure if this is exactly right up your alley, but member Jimdo sells some SolarForce lights which are very inexpensive and yet which perform very well.

Take a look at this thread: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=451093

He's got adapters to take the big ones down to a single 123 cell -- pretty compact. Don't know about AA -- you'd have to ask him.

 

[greyling22]

while with optics you get what you pay for, this is not really true with flashlights. This one gets very good reviews over on candlepowerforums. http://www.dealextreme.com/p/akoray...umen-memory-led-flashlight-1-aa-1-14500-28546

it, like most moderns flashlights, will run fine on nimh, but benefits greatly from a lithium cell (the energizer, or even better, the rehargable 14500 cell)

compare these 2 flashlights.
http://www.extremebeam.com/product_sar5_2010.html
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/akoray...-memory-led-flashlight-1-cr123a-1-16340-28545

I don't know who I amazes me more, the chinese for selling clones willy nilly, or the americans who jack up the price 10x and pocket a huge profit.

 

[Hunter2011]

Get yourself a bigger flashlight, then it might not get lost anymore lol. Maybe A 2xAA? Lots more light and longer runtimes at the same power than a single AA light.

 

[bejay]

would check out dealextreme or dinodirect for cheap flashlights but be aware it may take awhile to ship usually a couple of weeks, the ultrafire is usually decent quality but run time may be alot less depending on led, most of them is probably going to be alot brighter than the 50 lumens that the protac is rated at, but with different modes you can still get some battery life.

 

[BADUNAME37]

If I had to buy a flashlight every week or two, it would not have to last long at all, and, as for batteries, unless I were to keep the thing on, any batteries should last one to two weeks.

In that case, you should buy a case of disposable flashlights (with the battery built-in). Just make sure you get a good fresh date on the case so they last you.

Here:
http://www.amazon.com/Garrity-Disposable-Flashlight-colors-chosen/dp/B000FK7H0G

At less than $5 apiece, how can one go wrong?

Here:
http://www.amazon.com/Garrity-Heavy-Duty-Disposable-Flashlight/dp/B00176RR7U/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t
Less than $3 apiece, how can you lose (sic)?