My 'best' flashlight is a Streamlight 4AA. I am very impressed with what it can do in terms of throw and spill, but what I find universally true with the higher end LED lights is that you pay for performance with battery life.
I get, at best, 4 hours of max light before it kicks itself down to 'normal' output which is fine for most things, but a far cry from it's initial output.
That is one of the reasons I chose the 4AA, it takes 4 AA batteries and rechargables are easy to come by. I have looked at the other lights with less common batteries and those batteries cost an arm and a leg. CR123 batteries where I am at cost (much) more for disposables than Alkaline rechargeables.
If you're talking about the Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA lights I'll agree wholeheartedly. Very bright lights. We have those in our trucks. Unfortunately they can't take lithium batteries (manufacturer says not to use them).
Using the following information:
$/hr = Battery$ x BatteryCount / LifeinHrs
Fenix TK10, High 225 lux: 1.5 hrs, 2 CR123 ==> $1.33/hr
Fenix TK10, Low 60 lux: 10 hrs, 2 CR123 ==> $0.20/hr
P-Tech EOS, High 185 lux: 60 hrs, 3 AAA ==> $0.65/hr
P-Tech EOS, Medium ?? lux: 60 hrs, 3 AAA ==> $0.14/hr
P-Tech EOS, Low 18.5 lux: 60 hrs, 3 AAA ==> $0.03/hr
SL ProPoly 4AA 40 lux: 4 hrs, 4 AA ==> $0.43/hr
So long as I don't run all the time at the TK10's high level - which I don't plan to do - the CR123's are pretty cost effective.
The $ per hour is based upon the bulk cost of batteries at batteryjunction.com, excluding shipping:
Duracell Coppertop AA Alkaline: $0.43 each
Duracell Coppertop AAA Alkaline: $0.43 each
Titanium Innovations CR123 Lithium: $1.00 each
I hope its warmer where you all are - the wind chill here was -24F here this morning.
Ken K
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