I carry an Arc and a Photon too. I find they compliment eachother well.

Plenty of good recommendations. Confess to owning many of the lights mentioned – don't think you'd go wrong with any of them. Whatever you decide, you'll surely get more bang (lumens?) for the buck thanks to strides in LED technology.

Since you seemed to like your River Rock pre-washer/dryer :), prefer AA-power and want to spend around $20, here's another suggestion: Rayovac Sportsman Xtreme 3W Luxeon LED, 2xAA, claim 80 lumens. Details here. WalMart $24. Or, a CPF member is selling new-in-package for $20 incl. shipping here. It's slightly shorter than your River Rock; weighs about the same.

While Rayovac normally doesn't come to mind when I think LED flashlights, this 3W model is purportedly a rebranded Nuwai X-3. Here's a review of the X-3. Generally, Nuwai turns out pretty good lights.

Good luck with your hunt.

Dan

Second the recommendation on the LM301. My wife and I own several Lumapower lights, and they are all superb. Highly recommended.

-=[ Grant ]=-

With a $20 limit on the budget, I would have to agree with BillyM and go with a Photon Freedom light. Having had the opportunity to play with a wide range of LED lights, I have found few that are more convenient and reliable in that price range.

Want a much more versatile light for a few bucks more? Look into Petzl's e+Lite. While I EDC a mini-flashlight like a NovaTac EDC-120 or a Surefire L1, I never leave home without my e+Lite. Available for under $30 it gives you a remarkably bright light that has multiple hands-free options in a small package.

In the AAA or AA battery range, an ARC-AAA light would be at the top of my list, followed by a MagLite with a NiteIze 1w LED upgrade. These two lights are at opposite ends of the size spectrum, and both of those lights exceed the $20 limit. I have NiteIze modified Mini-Lights (1w & IQ switch) in a number of my medical kits and have been very happy with them.

The ARC-AAA makes a better EDC light in my mind; it is small enough to reside on a keychain but still remarkably bright. It does lack the adjustable light levels or signaling features found on so many lights today. I have had one on my keychain for 2 years without failure on a single battery!

Another good choice (well outside of your price range) but worth mentioning is Photon’s Proton. It is brighter than just about any other light its size that runs off of a single AA battery but also has a ramping brightness level so you can find just the right brightness for the task at hand. Multiple signaling modes and a red LED to preserve night vision increase its utility. I found a single drawback to this light, one that after carrying it everyday since January of this year made me take it out of EDC service and move it into a smaller kit. This light just won’t stay off in my pocket! Nothing I tried worked, so it has been moved into a fanny-pack survival kit…

I received several answers in a similar question of mine
http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.ph...=true#Post99424

So many I can't decide even

I bought my first Gerber Infinity Ultra after I saw my brother's CMG version of the light. (Since then his CMG Infinity Ultra "walked off" and he replaced it with the Gerber version). I use mine all the time, so I bought a second one for one of my kits. Very easy on batteries and a good amount of light in a flood type beam for seeing things close by (spot beam with a large spill out). It won't work for distance, but it's a 1xAA that is advertised to run 25 hours at peak; although the runtime plot at flashlightreviews shows it crossing 50% at 11 hours. All I know is I use it daily and rarely need to change batteries.

How is the brightness. I have an Arc AAA now but could use something a little brighter.
I think I've seen the Infinity in Target or Lowes or somewhere close, I'll have to run out sometime and look for it.

Per the same website, the Arc 1xAAA Premium has a throw of 53 Lux and an overall output of 520 using alkaline batteries. The Gerber has a throw of 22 Lux at beam center and overall output of 212 using alkaline batteries. The Arc also hits 50% at ~5 hours.

The Peak Matterhorn is a very good light too, I keep one in my Mission Wallet.

Comparisons: HERE.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I had a lot of research to do!

I decided to go with the Gerber Infinity. It fit my requirements nicely; 20 bucks, AA battery and long run time (according to the package, 100 hours).

I found one with the lanyard hole too.
Next, I am saving for a DR Photon for my EDC pocket kit.

Thanks again!
Dave

I can't find in this thread who has complained about his Photon X-Light self-discharging in a tight jeans pocket. The same thing happened to mine. But then I've realized that the best way to carry the Photon X-Light would be to have it switched into the "signaling mode". Just push the button several times really quick after each use of other modes, and the switch will be working as a momentary (versus toggle) switch after that forever (IMO suitable enough for most of the tasks). So, the light will go on only for a short period of time while being squeezed really hard in you pocket.