A cotton ball without the Vaseline is kind of like a candle wick without the wax. Very different critters.

If you like the Arc AAA, have you seen the Fenix P1D CE (Cree Edition) LED flashlight? It puts out an amazing amount of light for such a tiny flashlight. My wife has one on her "barn keychain" which gets an unbeleivable amount of abuse, and it has taken it without any problem.

Its a little fatter than the Arc, but also shorter.