Just curious if anyone here can suggest a decent LED flashlight that runs on one CR123A cell and has a rotary twist switch? Preferably aluminum and water resistant would be a huge plus. Normally I prefer clicky tailswitches but I want something that won't turn on in a pocket accidentally.

Short of that, a similar light that runs on AA cells would be tolerable. Really looking for something in the 120+ lumen range, so while, say, a Fenix E01 is a great mini-light I'm thinking something a bit more powerful.

Here's the one I have:

https://www.foursevens.com/products/ML-X-AE

I've got an embarassingly large number of foursevens flashlights, from a Maelstrom X7 mounted to my shotgun all the way down to the ML-X. None have ever disappointed.

That's a good looking light! A little more expensive than I was thinking of for this particular application but I might have to pick one up anyways.

I know you said twist switch, but I carry a Streamlight ProTac 1L, which is a clicky, but unscrew the switch to disable it until needed... the tail switch is recessed a bit ... less lumens but a little cheaper than the foursevens

The Nitecore SENS CR may fit the bill.

http://www.nitecore.com/productDetail.aspx?id=39

This is the one that I use, great flashlight and a good price. It has a screwed on pocket clip, which I also like. Multiple light levels and twist switching. It even comes with an allen wrench to remove the belt clip, if desired.

http://olightusa.com/OLIGHT-i1-LED-Flashlight

A review:
http://flashlight-forums.com/index.php?topic=9240.0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqGyOFEGYRQ

Some great looking light! Thanks, everyone. By chance, can anyone recommend something in this general size range that just has one power setting? In other words, twist on and twist off? Seems like they all have a bunch of modes that I don't need.

I have an older Fenix that is one level only and takes a single CR-123 battery, but they do not make them any more. I am pretty sure that no one makes a single level CR-123 light, since the multi-level lights are all the rage in the flashlight world.

The Olight i1 is very simple operations for a 3 level light, I am really content with mine and the lower levels are handy when you want to prolong battery life.

There are some single-mode 1xCR123A twisty flashlights out there. I can't find any, though, that are being made with the current generation of LED emitters or by what I consider to be good manufacturers.

I don't have one yet, but I am seriously looking at a NightCore SENS. I've got 4Sevens and Olights currently, but no Nightcores.

What I like about that SENS, at least by reading the sales blurb, is that you can turn it on initially in any mode - lo, med, or hi. This solves the problem I sometimes have of wanting to have "last brightness level" memory mode sometimes, and other times no memory mode. Depending on how you aim the SENS when you turn it on determines it's brightness level. Intriguing. It also has a continuously variable mode which I personally see no need for.

The problem I have with twisty lights is that they are hard on the batteries (they smash them). It's OK if you use primary disposable cells, but I don't want my more expensive rechargeables to be damaged.

The SENS does not have a long throw however. Bright, but only for your immediate area, not long range. Looking at the review here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?340906 I think my choice for a SENS would be a AA version fed with NiMH Eneloops, even though I was initially looking at the CR123. The runtime charts appear that runtine with rechargeable LiIon are not that good (on high/med mode). The NiMH outputs are certainly lower, but I like the runtimes shown in the charts. Plus, I have some 180 lumen lights that I rarely use on high, so the max of 120 lumens for the SENS on NiMH would see fine for my uses. The SENS reportedly hits 307 lumens with LiIon. That is bright. But the runtimes are short at that level, and reviews I've read say it heats up quickly to uncomfortable levels (for holding in your hand) at max output.

Another interesting light is the Olight S10. But that one has a push botton which you don't want. But I really like the way they did the user interface on that one. Normal button pushes cycle between lo-med-hi. Press-and-hold gively you ultra low moonlight brightness and double-tap give you strobe. I like the way they "hid" the moonlight and strobe modes. You can get to them easily, but they don't get in the way during normal cycling between lo-med-hi.

I've found that simple isn't fashionable anymore. Pity. Sometimes I want bells and whistles but often I want something simple that just plain works. That's what I love about my JETBeam BC-series lights. They only have two modes and a clicky. All the clicky does is ON/OFF, with the two modes selected by twisting the head. That's perfect for me. My Fenix E01 is also perfect, just twist ON/OFF, just looking for something like that but brighter.

Nobody mentioned Fenix LD15 yet??? It's way brighter than my E01 and just a little bigger than the AA batt it holds. It's small enough to be keychain worthy. It's a twisty and won't accidentally turn on. It has only two brightness modes. The high is actually too bright for most of my everyday uses. The construction is such that you can instantly feel it will be boringly reliable for years. It is just there and works.

One con for me is that it's not a "thrower" like the LD10 is. It's definitely a flood beam, but realize there is no way to get a respectable thrower out of such a short mirror.

That one looks good too, Ireckon. It seems to be basically the same as the E15 except AA instead of CR123A.

I know CR123 is high performing, but I just can't carry a light where the only extra fuel I can scrounge will be on me. Wherever I go, CR123 is not commonly available in stores, and no others electronic equipment in my world uses that type of fuel. I don't view CR123 as being a practical choice of fuels for survival, but to each his own. Further, lithium AA is sufficiently high performing for my purposes.

Well, in the woods I'm not gonna find any batteries except what I take with me! I get where you're coming from but I buy CR123A in bulk and generally have a good supply with me.

I am a AA/AAA guy. For me, the determining factor is compatibility with other electronics, like GPS. In a crunch, I would like to be able to switch batteries.

My wife had been carrying a Fenix single CR123A flashlight on her barn keychain for years. It was a great light and took a LOT of abuse, but it finally stopped working last week.

I was going to replace it with a Fenix AAA LED light, but it is simply not nearly as bright, and I knew that was going to be an issue for my wife (the light provides a comfort factor when she'd walking out to the barn in the dark). So, I ordered a Fenix E15 single CR123A with a twist switch for about $27. I'll let you know what I think when it arrives.

Ditto the 4-7's and Fenix offerings. I'd recommend them before going to Olight, Nightcore, or any of the other flavor-of-the-month Chinese companies. Not saying they don't have good offerings, just my experiences with them.

It should be under warranty.

On the subject of CR123A lights with great warranties: Four Sevens Mini
Except for the Mini MA 1xAA light at the bottom, the rest use CR123A batteries.

I often carry the Mini MA (1xAA).

Cool! That one is on my short list.

The Fenix P1D Cree that died is well out of warranty. The thing looks like it went through a war - nicks, all the black worn off the edges, but it was a GREAT light. Stunning actually.

I hope the new Fenix 15E I ordered is as good. For those of you who haven't seem what these little lights can do - you'd be really surprised.

I know the drawbacks of CR123A regarding availability, but AA's and AAA's just don't seem to provide the performance for the size.

I buy batteries on-line in bulk and the price is pretty reasonable, and I plan ahead and bring spares along.

The issue I have with the Fenix lights, at least the specific models I researched, is that they do not allow rechargeable LiIon's. I am too cheap to buy primary CR123's, they are just too dang expensive. Although I like the CR123 smaller size, I use 1XAA lights that give me an option of Alkaline, NiMH, or LiIon. Unfortunately, that knocks out the Fenix offerings (no LiIon allowed). My wife and I do use the inexpensive Fenix 1xAAA light on keychains (with an alkaline battery). I forgot the model number, but it's the one that costs $15 or less. This little Fenix replaced our previous ARC 1xAAA's (yeah, an old light, but they were one of the first, if not THE first, 1xAAA keychain lights of good quality).

I get CR123A batteries for well under $1 ea shipped. I'm too cheap to buy rechargeables! Over time they'd be worth is but between the high cost of the batteries and the charger it's not worth it to me...I don't go through batteries fast enough to make it worth buying all the stuff to use rechargables.

Yes, it would definitely depend on your usage patterns as to which is "too expensive" - disposable primary cells or rechargeable LiIon's. My EDC light gets used several times every day and I would be replacing disposable cells every week or even more frequently. So that one gets rechargeables. The light on my shotgun, in contrast, rarely gets used and it still has the same pair of CR123 primaries in it as the day I installed the light - several years ago. I check that light by inspecting the batteries and turning it on for a few seconds every month or so, and as best I can guess, that initial pair of CR123's would probably last for the rest of my life, although I will no doubt replace the batteries within 5-10 years "just to be sure".

The Fenix E15 just arrived. Wow, this thing is compact, light, and solid. The light is better than expected.

It is twist operated. Basically that means after inserting the battery you put the LED portion back on, start twisting to close it. At some point the o-ring on the LED portion slips inside the body. After some more twisting the light turns on. To turn off the light you basically "untighten" the LED portion until the light turns off.

You can switch between three light levels. It turns on at mid-level. Turn off/on quickly (< 2 secs) and you're at low-level. Do it again and your'e at high-level. Turn off for more than 2 seconds and you start all over again.

By pinching the body between my palm and middle finger I can use my pointer finger and thumb to turn it on & off one-handed fairly easily.

Just sitting in my living room, its a bit more floody than my Fenix TK10, but actually brighter at mid-level for each (actually the TK10 only has mid and high). At roughly 15 feet distance the bulk of the light is about 4 feet wide.

I wish there was a little more twist between off and exposing the o-ring, but I don't think anyone would accidentally expose the o-ring. Clearly they are trying to minimize length.

The one thing that kind of bugs me is that when off it rattles a bit when shaken - like the battery is rattling around inside. Still, it never turns on when rattling. When turned on the rattling goes away.

In order for a twisty light not to turn on, the battery cannot make electrical contact on both ends, which in most lights means no mechanical contact either. So it rattles back and forth. Some lights solve this by putting a foam washer with a hole cut in the middle on one end of the battery. So the foam always keeps pressure on the battery and it doesn't rattle. When the head is screwed down, the foam compresses, the positive nipple on the battery pushes through the hole in the foam washer, and the battery makes electrical contact on both ends.

Another way to eliminate 95% of the rattle is to wrap the battery with a yellow sticky note. Cut the note to the proper size to be the length of the battery, stick it to the battery, and wrap it around. It it's to large while fully wrapped to fit into the tube, cut off the end of the wrap so it's wrapped less fully. Get it to where it barely fits inside the tube, but with enough friction to hold it in place. That kills most of the rattle.

Cool! Glad to hear the E15 is satisfactory. That one's on my short list.