For the longest time I had used my mini mag AA flashlight. When the LED drop in became available, I put that in. I enjoyed many long and hard uses of it. Alas after about 20 years of hard service....it died. Thus began my search for a replacement. It had to be LED for the battery life. It had to be small. I will admit that I grew tired of the size of the mini mag and wanted something smaller....

I already knew of many of the ETSers thoughts on their preferences so I checked out the Candle Power Forums for suggestions.....I figured when about 99+% of the forum members all gave a thumbs up to the ARC, it would be good. After all, how often do all the members of any forum actually AGREE on a single point .

Got it the other day and have been playing...er using...it often. I love it.... . My only complaint is that I had it on a lanyard around my neck (inside my shirt)....the problem? The clip would rip out hair . Ok so I need a new way to carry it.....but OMG is it bright!!!

I did find out one 'trick' with it....for those of you that had access to 'blood tubes'...the kind hospitals or labs use to draw blood.....take one of the smaller tubes (green top, blue top or purple top) and take the top off the tube. Push out the rubber stopper (that is inside the plastic top). Place a colored (your choice) piece of plastic inside the tube's plastic top. The plastic top from the blood tube will fit snugly over the front of the ARC. With the colored plastic in place, you now have a colored light too. It works great.

CJK,

I'm glad you like the ARC LEDs!! I have both the AA and the AAA version and i love them both! Did you buy the regular AAA edition or the slightly more expensive AAA Premium edition? ARC AAA tech specs

I think mine is the premium edition because it was around $44. But then again my AAA is 2+ years old...

Does anyone have any experience running Lithium batteries in ARC lights? Does it increase burn time/ battery? Is it worth putting Lithiums in the ARCs?

Fenix Digital L0D vs. Premium ARC AAA.....

Congrats!! I carry an Arc AAA every day and it comes in very handy.

I'd worried about damaging the bulb, so I picked up some little plastic pole caps (I know there is a better name for them but it escapes this old brain right now) from Ace Hardware and sanded the inside down so one fits snuggly over the end of the Arc. Has worked well for quite a while.

Rusty, I have the 'low end' (if it could be called that) AAA. It was about $35 plus shipping.....If this is the low end and the premium is brighter.....then wow....the premium would definitely be WAY TOO MUCH for me.

Rusty, lots of people use lithiums in their ArcAAA because its runs brighter with flatter output. (and because alkalines sometimes leak) I use alkaline because they're so much cheaper and its already bright enough for me. I hear Eneloops work well too.

yes the eneloops give a slightly brighter output, I can verify that.

i went through the same process you did, about three years ago.

carry it daily - attached with a piece of paracord to a leatherman squirt p4. both about the same length, and i don't find them uncomfortable.

friends and family laugh when they see what i carry, but they are also the first to ask to use it in a dim restaurant!

love mine and use it frequently.

nothing has ever bothered the bulb.

I've carried one in my change pocket for the last year and a half. It's small enough that it just disappears. The type III hard anodizing is so tough that it shows no signs of wear.

Actually, it's small enough that I would have to fish around amongst the change and sometimes keys to find it. I made an orange paracord lanyard, nothing fancy, just a loop about 4" long. It makes it easy and fast to find in the pocket.

I use lithiums in it. Mostly for the peace of mind to not have an alkaline battery leak.

I always get excited about these suggestions for a new flashlight, I am a light junkie like a lot of folks, but then I see the price UGH!!!!!!
cheers

Hmmmmmm.....anybody knows how they compare in size to the mag-lite solitaire?
Seems I might be switching flashlights soon in my S.O.S. pouch if it'll fit. I use a gerber infinity on my keys and love it but this might be just the ticket to get the misses to carry a light on her keychain.... Only took me a year to convince her to carry a knife........bah!

-Bill Liptak