The Fenix L1T is a good light, high and low settings is all my simple brain wants when I really need a light. I seriously doubt it will fit in a altoids tin.

Thanks, everyone, for the many helpful suggestions. In the end, I decided that my on-my-person (actually, in-my-messenger-bag) needs would be better served by a simple head/clip light, so I ordered something completely different - the Doug Ritter eQ Hands Free. Yes, I know that on-my-person would be even better, but that doesn't work for me in a warm weather business suit. And no, it won't fit in the Altoids tin, but I can use the space saved for the little and more survival-oriented items that I'd prefer to keep out of sight. A flashlight is very benign. Cheers, Matthew

Altough you've already made your choice to go with a headlamp, you may consider getting a light for your PSK, a spare for your bag or something for EDC later on. You certainly don't need a flashlight but they're nice to have sometimes and I personally wouldn't consider them entirely benign.

There arn't many single AA LED flash lights made nowadays but AAA and button/flat cell keychain lights are popular for small lights.

A Fenix E01, Fenix L0Ds, iTP A3 EOS(standard and upgrade), Maratac and Romisen RC-B3 are single AAA LED lights that will cost under $30 with the exception of the Fenix L0D which will cost around $40 depending on retailer.

The iTP A3 EOS "upgrade" and Maratac lights are essentially the same light, the two only have small differences but are roughly the same price(around $20 depending on the retailer) both come with a pocket/belt clip that can be removed and flipped so that the light can be clipped to the bill of a ballcap, to the band of a wrist watch or a car's visor, ect.. They are both Med>Low>High twist setting lights that run off a single AAA, the Medium setting(18 lumens) will last a few(3-5) hours and the low setting more than 30 hours on both lights. I've had the iTP upgrade for several months and the maratac for a few months.

The Fenix E01 will last about 10hours at 10 lumens then dim for several(5+) more hours.($12-18 depending on retailer) I've been using a purple Fenix E01 for a long time now as a replacement for my old maglite solitare(which is junk in comparison), the fenix is not as bright as my iTP AAA but it suits my needs and I happen like purple...

I don't own a Romisen or Fenix L0D, the Romisen retails between $15-20 depending on retailer and the Fenix L0D retails around $40.

The iTP A3s, Maratac and Fenix E01 will fit in a altoids tin or can be carried on a key chain without getting in the way, They arn't much larger than a AAA battery, the Romisen and Fenix L0D are slightly larger than the first three but may still fit in a altoids tin, I don't have either to check though. www.Goinggear.com has the Fenix E01($12.50, several colors) and iTP A3s EOS lights($18.50-20.50, black or gray) among many other lights.


There are alot of cheap Button cell LED keychain lights(in various shapes, sizes and colors(including colored LEDs)) available at almost any walk in store like walmart and many gas stations for between $1-3. They can be bought in bulk online from places like www.Dealextreme.com for about $5 for 10x lights(or $25 for 50x) or a single can be purchased from www.Goinggear.com for $.99. The majority of these kinds of lights will also fit in an altoids tin, some are flat but may have unusual shapes which may get in the way of other items in your altoids tin. Most button cell keychain lights produce enough light to easily find your way around a dark room/building in a power outage or at your feet on a path/sidewalk at night and should last for several hours.

These button cell keychain lights are cheap, have decent run times, small and weigh practically nothing so you could easily carry one on your keychain along with your keys and not be bothered by it, it's there if you need it(if you don't have your shoulder bag at that moment for example) so there's little reason not to carry one on yourself at all times.

I'd like to comment on this. Stepping outside your eyes needs 20 minutes to adjust to night vision. Also, most places it is a lot of light pollution. You are somewhat blinded by the light coming from nearby windows, street lights and the like, and it is really hard to see anything on the unlit ground.

In darkness with eyes adjusted to low light conditions just a tiny bit of light goes a LONG way in lighting up your path. You need much, much more light to see into the dark shadows in a semi-lit environment than you need out in the wilderness.

Pick your tools accordingly....

Yes, there is. Singe AA is a pretty popular format. Fenix LD10. Quark AA. Nightcore. Budget lights such as Romisen, MG, ITP - just to name a few. Check out some previous posts of mine if you'd like specific recommendations for dealers.


As this thread shows, there is an abundance of lights of various battery configurations and brigthness/runtime options. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the good suggestions here.


One of the smallest and most versatile lights that runs on AA batteries is actually designed to be worn as headlamp or "clip on any place" light: Zebralight H50 or H501. My own personal favorite is not listed on their web page, but if you contact them they may still have some samples lying around. (H50b with a more "warm"-ish light output, which is more pleasing to my eyes, particular outdoors).

Zebralights are nice, but $50-60 is beyond the price I was looking to pay.

These are very nice lights:

http://www.petzl.com/us/outdoor/headlamps/tikka-zipka-series/zipka-plus

This is not a single-AA lamp (it's 3xAAA), but it is very small and versatile. It would not fit into an Altoids tin, but it is very pocketable. It can be used as a headlamp, handheld, attached to various objects, etc. I have the earlier version Zipka2 ( http://www.petzl.com/us/outdoor/headlamps/compact-headlamps/zipka2 ), but the new Zipka-Plus2 looks even better.

Yes but the Romisen AA, Fenix LD10 AA, iTP C7R and 4seven's quark AA lights will not fit in an altoids tin(about 3.5in long) as outlined in the OP's original post.

I neglected to specify that in the line of text you qouted, I also should have specified I was trying to list lights for $40 and under to keep the list inexpensive as also mentioned by OP's post.

The Romisen is the only above AA lights I currently own, it's within the price range I was going for but it's too long for an Altoids tin. I had the quark AA but I no longer have it and I cannot test if it fits an altoids tin but based off the specs listed by retailers, the quark and the others(aside from maybe the nightcore AA), seem too long or too fat for an altoids tin.(That's flat, you could fit a longer light if you put it in at an angle but that would consume more flat space in the tin and possibly get in the way or limit the space available to other items.)Most of the above AA lights mentioned are $+40-60 depending on retailer which I wouldn't consider inexpensive.

The only AA light I'm positive is short enough is zebralight H50 / H50b, or possibly H501.... But that's out of your price range. It may also be too thick, but I don't think so. (Depends on the box). You could also get just a tiny bigger box, that would make finding and fitting an AA powered light much easier.

If it has to be such a small box, I personally would have chosen another battery format than AA. Either an AAA-size or a photon light. Or you could pack an AA size light separately, or tape it to the box. If so, get something that you can "lockout" (light won't work if tailcap is loosened a few turns) so it won't click on accidentally.

I've tried Candlepowerforums.com a few times and have always been intimidated by it. It's not a place for beginners like me I think. Good thing there's a lot of knowledge and experience to be found here.

I've tried the CGM AAA light before it was bought out by Gerber, and found that it had one major flaw in that the number of complete turns it took for the battery cap to come off was pretty low resulting. This is the same cap that's used in a twisting manner to turn the light on and off. For me, this light or any of its' descendants is not a good choice.

On the other hand, the Gerber Infinity Ultra does take some turning before that cap comes off. Unfortunately it's a bit larger. Then again, it is a AA light.

I've reverted to my Maglites modified with LEDs and have found that this is the best bargain for your dollar - cheap, sturdy, uses regular batteries and has long battery life compliments of the LED conversion mods. The pride of my collection is a 4 D-cell mag with a TerraLUX MiniStar 5 LED (approx. 15hrs battery life) while the workhorse is a 2AA mag with a Nite Ize LED (approx. 8hre battery life).

Long live the AA and AAA (and D-cell) Club!!!

Nas.

PS. Sorry about the rant - get a Gerber Infinity Ultra...