I have had good luck with the Peak Solutions Matterhorn (AAA). Back when I got mine you could do some tailoring of the light to trade off runtime vs Brightness. I got the bright version (similar output to incandescent mini-mag) and the runtime is pretty impressive. I carry it all the time and use it a lot. Only draw back is having to remember to change the batteries twice a year like a smoke detector. I once forgot and got about 10 months out of a battery before it started to get really dim.

- Eric

The switch is a tail-cap "twistie." Twist on, med, then on/off quickly goes to low, then on/off goes to high. I don't know if it's "waterproof" since few lights truly are. It could probably be dropped in a stream and fished out fairly quickly without problems.

The med mode is great for most things. Hi is good out to maybe 30 yards (in a suburban environment) before it starts to get drowned out with ambient light. This is a floody light with a decent hotspot, not a true "thrower" like a spotlight.

The low is great for around house at night. I use it as a "night light" in the hospital call rooms on my overnight shifts. Bright enough to see everything, not bright enough to keep me awake.

rechargable AAA's do well in it. Nice, cuz I can just change them every few weeks and not worry about it dying.

Another nice thing is the tailcap comes off, if you want just a little more room for the Altoid tin.

ITP has 2 other versions of the same light, one with a tailcap mounted keychain-type attachment.

TANK007 TK-566-3 Cree Q2-WC 3-Mode 95-Lumen LED Flashlight with Extension Tube (1*AA or 2*AA use)

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.18626

It appears to be good value for money for $15 with a good quality beam but if you want something that will fit in an Altoids tin then a Fenix EO1 AAA cell might be a better bet

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13005

You may want to check out this Pak Lite review though for an LED which will fit nicely in a PSK tin.

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=176514&page=1

Inexpensive - try these guys
http://dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.942 (AA cree lights)
http://dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.943 (AAA cree lights)

Although I can't resist County Comm :-)

I like my ARC-P super bright and rugged.

There is just SOO much to choose from. It all depends if you want it simple or sophisticated (or both!), cheap or not so cheap. You have had lots of good suggestions already.

I suggest you get a light that has more than one level (mode) of output. The least bright mode will still be plenty for most task and with looooooooong runtime. The brighter modes will serve you well for looking further ahead and illuminating a larger area. You typically just need to use the brighter modes in shorts bursts. Multimode lights used this way enables you to preserve batteries and still illuminate things ahead when you need to.


If you want high quality and performance, I suggest fenix, quark or nightcore. A very good dealer for these lights is http://4sevens.com/. If that's too expensive ($50-80 range) I suggest ordering something from http://www.shiningbeam.com. If you want to combine the words "cheap" and "reliable" he is one of the few dealers that can be recommended ... Guess around $15-40 for something useful in the AA format from him. The cheapest possible will be a single level light, raise the bar until you're happy... The maratach suggested above is also supposed to be a very good light. I'm not sure if that fits into the "cheap but reliable" or "upper class, but still won't break your bank" class....


Oh, and probably the toughest lights of all would be the $12-15 fenix E01 (AAA format). Not the brightest, but it is a very small, sturdy light that is next to impossible to kill. Its simplicity (twist on) makes it extremely reliable. Long runtime (10 hours + 11 hours declining "moon mode"), still bright enough for most close range work. Use either an low self discharge AAA (LSD, such as sanyo eneloop) for regular use or possibly a lithium AAA if you want to store it indefinetively and forget about it until needed. Want more levels? Maratach, fenix LD01, ITP...

It replaced my Fenix LD01 as a keychain EDC. The Maratac low is much lower than the Fenix, its significantly smaller, has a more secure clip, and the beam pattern is wider so I find it a bit more useful. The only problem is the slightly noticeable PWM on med. and low which is not an issue on the Fenix. But overall its a good light for the price.

All,

Go to some website called Equipped to Survive and check out the eGear PicoLight, designed by some guy named Ritter for this very purpose!!! :-)))))

All kidding aside, the Pico is the almost Perfect light for the purpose (and lots of other purposes also). I have 4 and am going to be ordering lots more. The only question is reliability, and from the photon, disigned by Doug, et al I don't expect any problems.

The best,

Jerry Fountain

But it doesn't run on a single AA per the original post.

I have an Arc premium. While it is built like a tank and has service me well as an EDC light, it is certainly not the brightest light I've seen, but may be about as good as it gets for a single AA.

I bought a Fenix P1D's for my own kit (not EDC) and another one my wife's barn key chain (for safety - it also has a Storm whistle on it).

The P1D runs on a single CR123A - not a single AA - but they are fairly small AND they are AMAZINGLY BRIGHT and very VERY tough (anything that can survive this long on my wife's barn key chain has GOT to be tough - it gets really abused). It has three settings. Low will run for 20+ hours on the low setting. High will only run for 2.8 hrs but during that time it is stunningly bright for such a small flashlight.

I'm talking bright - as bright as my 4AA Streamlight ProPolymer. Maybe brighter.

The reason I bring it up is that the other night I walked out to the barn with my wife. Since I wasn't wearing my barn boots I needed a light to avoid stepping in canine-generated land mines (sorry about that image). I pulled out the EDC Arc-P to use that, but then my wife turned on the Fenix P1D ... and the difference was stunning and almost embarrassing. I shut off the Arc-P and used the P1D instead.

Yes, the Arc-P would have been better than nothing, but in all honesty it really doesn't produce enough light for me to work (or avoid objects on the ground) at night.

BTW, I wish the P1D had a tail-end switch for easier one-handed operation. It can be turned on one-handed, but it is awkward.

Overall my favorite "survival light" would be my Princeton Tec Rebel EOS headlight. Its fairly small (not Altoid size though), one-handed, BRIGHT, 50+ hours on low, and it frees hands for work. I don't have one of Doug's eQ multi-light, but it might be work checking out. There's nothing quite so useful as a good headlamp.

A lot depends on the size of kit you're packing.

Ken

Lately it seems like there are less "AA" powered flashlights on the market and lights that run of a single "AA" battery are even more scarce (in comparison to lights using "AAA" and "CR123" batteries).

I don't know if you can find a "AA" light small enough for an altoids tin. If you are looking for a light small enough for an altoids tin, but uses other then coin batteries I would look at Leatherman's Serac-S2 . The Serac S2 uses a single "AAA" and runs at 35 or 5 Lumens.

Like others have mentioned, Fenix makes some nice, relatively inexpensive lights that run on "AA" batteries. Fenix quality and durability isn't quite on the same level as some of the other lights on the market, but I believe you get more then what you pay for with Fenix and I wouldn't have a problem including some of their simpler lights in my kits.

Fenix has a whole series of "AA" powered LED lights.. I would consider Fenix's L1T V2 it is simple and can be found for under $50. I am not sure that it would fit in an Altoid's tin, but I can check when I get home Saturday afternoon.

I personally would use a eGear Pico light and carry a spare battery pack... together with the spare battery it would be smaller and lighter then any "AA" or "AAA" option and have more then enough light for survival tasks... in fact that is exactly what is in all of my small kits.