On Jun 11, 1:02 pm, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
"y_p_w" wrote in message

...



On Jun 11, 7:13 am, wrote:
I'm looking for a small LED flashlight to carry with me:

- Short and thin enough to fit in my pocket (around 4" length)

- Uses AA or AAA batteries (easy to find, not lithium)

- Has decent brightness (enough to read a house number)

- Lasts longer than 2 hours

- Reliable switch

- Should be able to withstand sweaty hand or occasional water splash

The closest thing I've seen is an Inova at Target, but the light is a
bit dim and the runtime is only 2 hours.

Thanks in advance -

I use a Petzl Tikka in my hand. I occasionally use it on my head.
It's rated for up to 130 hours on AAA alkalines, but the manufacturer
says that rechargeable AAAs are acceptable. It's not going to be
terribly bright with maybe 1/3 of runtime left, but with rechargeables
you can charge it up before you need it. The brightness is
considerably higher with freshly charged batteries. It's not
ridiculously bright, but perfectly fine for getting around the house
without turning every light on or making myself noticeable on a late
night walk.

Another option would be an LED bicycle headlamp. Cateye pretty much
sets the standard for quality, although there might be other brands
that could serve you well. Some of the less bright ones are under
$30, and sometimes you can find ones for $12-20 on sale. Most of the
ones I see advertise anywhere from 30 to 240 hour runtimes depending
on settings. Some come with velcro straps which you could slip a
finger or two through.

He said "bright enough to read house numbers", which I suspect means from
maybe the street. Will those Petzl lights do that?

A Petzl could do that. Maybe not a Tikka after it's down to maybe 1/3
of its useful life. I could read house numbers from with maybe 2/3 of
the charge left on NiMH AAAs from 40 feet. Alkalines (higher voltage)
will even be brighter overall through the life of the batteries.
There are considerably brighter LED headlamps with lower run times,
but they tend to be pricey. I guess a premium can be charged when you
cater to hikers and cavers.

I just picked up a bicycle headlamp (Cateye HL-EL210) to use as a
handheld LED flashlight. It was plenty bright with four AA NiMH
batteries - in fact brighter than my Petzl. I didn't notice a whole
lot of difference when I used fresh alkalines, so it's likely
regulated. It's rated for 100 hours continuous and 200 hours blinking
on alkalines, with 5 LEDs in an array; the pattern looks like one
diffused light source. It's not rated for "water resistance" as with
other Cateye headlamps, and there's some sort of hole in the bottom.
I doubt water would kill it, and it could be dried out. The switch
was a single rubberized button; pressing cycles through flashing/
continous/off. I picked it up for $15, but it was 50% on sale at
Performance Bicycle.