I wanted to thank those who gave good recommendations to the Fenix lights, I just picked up a Fenix L0D Q4 at 75 lumens and 1 AAA battery and man I was impressed with the capability this has. This is a very impressive light for the size and I will probably replace my Photon light with it. I like the SOS mode as well as the different light modes. I am getting tired of watch battery lights, especially when traveling.

http://www.brightguy.com/products/Fenix_L0D_Q4.php




Battery 1 AAA, alkaline, Ni-MH or lithium; NOT included
Dimensions 2.9" L x .5" W
Lamp Type Q4 Cree 7090 CR-E with 50,000 hr life
Light Output 9 - 75 lumens depending on mode
Weight w/ Batteries .7 oz
Run Time 1 hr - 8.5 hrs depending on mode
Focus Type Fixed
On/Off Twist Head
Material Aluminum

Next light I snagged was a Streamlight Twin-Task 3AAA LASER that I want to put in my BOB to replace my coast light. This light is a cut down version of the 3C cell light I use at work. It has a laser and led lights as well as a Xenon bulb. The one I use at work has been dropped from 3 stories many times on to concrete and has fell on I beams and all sorts of stuff and is one tough light. I had been getting about 3 to 4 days of battery time at work for the big one.

So when I saw they came out with the mini, (same design, just cut down and aaa batteries) I was all over that. These lights are great for close up stuff but they don't have the range as a stinger, but the laser is a great add on for pointing at stuff and running the ducks,fish and birds around the place.

http://www.brightguy.com/products/Streamlight_Twin-Task_3AAA_LASER.php



3 Position Lighting
- laser only
- laser/xenon with adjustable focus
- 5 LEDs

Features of Streamlight Twin-Task 3AAA Laser:
- 3.6 Volt high pressure Xenon bulb, 57 lumens
- five 100,000 hour life Nichia white LED bulbs, up to 21 lumens
- prefocused visible red laser cartridge, 650 nM wavelength, Class IIIa (3r)
- powered by 3 AAA alkalline batteries, included
- push button switch
- glass lens
- aircraft grade machined aluminum body, matte black anodized finish
- micro faceted reflector for smooth focus
- O-ring sealed for water resistance
- heavy duty drop-tested construction
- useable range of 100 ft when in laser/xenon mode
- useable range of 100 yards when using laser pointer only
- includes open top nylon belt holster and wrist lanyard
- No Excuses limited lifetime warranty from Streamlight

Hi Falcon,

Why not get hold of some Ultrafire TR10440 AAA Rechargable Lithium cells and the charger and get tactical performance at over 120 Lumen (with about 20 minutes use) from your Fenix LOD Q4.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.974

http://www.batteryjunction.com/10440.html

http://www.batteryjunction.com/wf-138.html

Great idea Am_Fear_Liath_Mor, I'll look into that. It's a very impressive light and thanks for pointing me in that direction. Will the higher voltages damage the light?

That's cool Izzy, battery life is always the killer.

So, has anyone put together one of the small form factor, bright lights with a crank-type or solar charger?

Thanks for the review Falcon5000, I have been looking at the Fenix LOD Q4 to replace my Inova as EDC. Now I just have to convince the DW that I need another flashlight.

Mike

Good luck Mike on convincing the war department (wife) on that one, it took awhile for me as well but it seems to be a great light so far.

Fenix Lights and Maxpedition Bags now have a retailer in Ontario and I would like to purchase the Fenix LOD Q4 and a Versapack S-Jumbo, but that would be crowding $200 for both and the DW would notice that on the VISA bill for sure. I need to sell-off some other gear to justify the purchase.

Mike

I hear that, mine cringes every time there is a box on the door step (from UPS) and most of the time I catch hell for it.

The little Fenix LOD will get quite warm using the 10440 cell on the high setting. I would only really use the high seting for only short periods i.e. less than 5 minutes at a time. The Stobe mode on high at 120 Lumen is powerful enough to be used to disorientate and distrupt night vision as a defensive option.
On the low setting the Fenix can sometimes give a noticable flicker using the 10440 cell. The medium seting is best though giving about the same output as the high setting using a Energiser Lithium Primary AAA (which are expensive single use cells). You should have no problem with the SOS mode, which is great for emergency signalling and should give over an hours use using the 10440 cell. I generally keep a spare Energiser AAA with the LOD as well simply because of the longer run time on low mode compared to the 10440 and is better suited for personal tasking with its lower output.

Ok, just the medium setting would be the best for long time use. Thanks Am_Fear_Liath_Mor.

I don't know. In any case, it would almost certainly be better to get one that runs on AA/AAA and put rechargeable batteries in it, and get a separate solar charger for those.

Crank-power has the drawback of many moving parts, plus you are usually just charging up a battery which has finite life anyway. Solar panels supplied with other gear are generally less competitive than solar panels sold standalone. Using replaceable AAs gives you the option to run on non-rechargeable if you need to, as well as all the rechargeable options.

This is one of the many reasons I like to get gear that requires batteries in AA. It's easy to keep spare rechargeable batteries strapped to my pack and swap out of something is getting low. And I can still grab regular AA if I need them.

And now out of idle curiosity you have me wondering if there is a small crank charger worth having

Mark

This charger is supposed to be pretty darn good. It is not cheap, though.

Thanks for the great review Falcon5000. I did not realize how small a light this was, until I saw the picture of one "in hand" on your post.

Today I ordered one as my new EDC (for when I am not working) from Fenix Tactical in Ontario who can be found here http://www.fenixtactical.com/fenix-l0d-q4.html

Mike