I was under the impresson these were gone. Always thought these were really great.

http://www.arcflashlight.com/arc-aaa.shtml

This subject has been posted here before in the last two weeks. Groo even has one of the new ones. Refer to the other threads. "Search" is your friend.

yes, they're back, but with the same old production/distribution problems, backordered for several weeks

Yeah. That's unfortunate. I'd love to recommend the Arc to some of my non-flashlight friends. But there's no way I'm going to convince them to buy a light that costs $40 and has a 2+ month wait.

Oh joy!

I can buy a AAA LED light for $39.95 that has a 5 hour burn time.

How about a AA - CMG (Gerber) Infinity Ultra that has a 25 hour burn time before it starts to dim. Put in a Panasonic Oxyride and it will be even brighter and run longer.

Life is full of mysteries!

<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

That's a little misleading... the Arc's brighter, and smaller. TANSTAAFL.

OK, I would consider myself in the non-flashlight friend category. After lots of research, and the desire for a good flashlight to carry with my keys, I bought the new ARC flashlight.

Can't argue that it is on the $$ side with a backorder wait. Having said that -- after 8 weeks of daily use -- I still smile everytime I grab for my keys.

The flashlight is bright, the knurling and feel is perfect, has yet to show ANY surface damage and I would never complain that a AAA flashlight didn't burn for >5 hours. Beyond a major screw-up on my part, why would I need a AAA flashlight to burn >5 hours before a battery change?

Still a very happy customer.

The new Gerber Ultras are not as nice as the old ones. They're not crap but they're not a premium light the way the Arc is. Gerber also makes a 1AAA light about the size of the Arc, called the Sonic. It's similarly not as nice as the Arc, but it's functional. It costs about $10-12 depending.

If you want a nice 1AAA light and don't want to wait, try the Peak Matterhorn series, http://www.peakledsolutions.com for info. They cost about as much as Arcs do but there's a wider range of configurations and they do ship right away. You can get them in aluminum, brass, or stainless steel; you can choose the LED color including "snow" which is a much more neutral white (though slightly less efficient) than the Nichia leds Arc uses, etc. There are various detailed comparisons between the Peak and Arc on CPF, with the Arc being a slight favorite overall, but Peak having the advantage in several areas.

Arc hopes to get its production problems straightened out. I hope they succeed and that we're not seeing a repeat of last time. They are really nice products the same way a gourmet meal is. You buy the ingredients and put them together with discernment and care. There's not really any risky high tech involved, so the excuses for not having the manufacturing program in order are getting a bit then.

The arc is a quality product, I used to have one and sold it when ebay was commanding high prices after he went out of business and you couldn't get one. Unfortunately, I didn't clean up like some did who had extras of the first arc lights. I will probably buy another one if he gets the production line ironed out. I have a Peak 3 led AAA which they don't make anymore, but it doesn't compare to the arc light.

I bought a Peak Matterhorn Ultra AAA and I really like it. I got it mainly because the ARC was so difficult to get. I am more than satisfied with the Peak and may buy a few more. Excellent service from Pocketlights.com also. Cheers!