I need to find a simple AA light that is reliable and easy to use. This will be a gift for someone that travels a great deal and needs a light at night in strange hotel rooms.

I’ve done some research, but I’d like to get some other opinions.

Thanks in advance,
Sully

ReyLight Pineapple Prototype Review

This is a review of the prototype of the ReyLight Pineapple flashlight. A sample was provided for this review but no payment of any kind was accepted for the review.

Summary

Overall, this is an excellent and well thought-out light.
The host is well machined with some nice detailing and features that help with grip and produce a unique look and feel.
The clip has a functional lanyard attachment point and mates well with the light.

The UI (User Interface) is simple and effective with four well-balanced levels. They do vary depending on the battery used (14500 Lithium Ion cells boost the three higher modes), so one can choose optimum lower modes (using nimh batteries) or maximum output (using 14500 li-on cells).
The discrete tritium slot in the tail is elegant and effective and adds a classy touch to the overall design.

There are very few minor points that could be changed or improved for the final design:

This is a near final prototype however, so very few changes are expected. I would hope at least a thicker clip would be incorporated as this is the only real issue I had with the light.

Host and Clip Quality

The machining on the brass host is very well done. The “knurling” consists of four concentric rings cut into four sections, these and the brass material are what give the pineapple its unique appearance and name. When combined with the combination of ridges in the head and the reduced diameter body, the pineapple is easy to grip and feels good in the hand.

Here are some more views of the light showing the clip with the lanyard attachment point incorporated into the design. While it is functional, I found it a bit uncomfortable at times and may remove it in the future.
The clip is held on by the tailcap which is a great design since it’s reliable and allows adjustment of clip position. It is, however, a bit thin and flimsy. I tried bending it somewhat in order to increase grip strength but this is not effective with the present clip.

Also note the elegant stainless steel button cover. The switch is a reverse clicky to allow for intuitive mode changes and works smoothly with no binding. The switch travel is a bit more than expected but it’s not uncomfortable. The rounded recess around the button adds just a little bit more class, as does the tritium slot (sized to fit 1.5×6mm trits).

The threads are smooth and nicely cut. They are not square cut, but there is very little play and they mate well.
The head has three crenulations that allow one to see when the light is on even when it is resting head down.

One minor annoyance for me was the way the parts did not quite line up. The tailcap has four flats that, when the light is assembled, do not line up with the four sections of the body. This can be corrected with a thicker clip but the design does not lend itself to being perfectly aligned. The three crenulations on the head also don’t really match up perfectly either. Again, this is a just minor annoyance but is noted to be complete.

The LED is well centered and is reported to be a 4000K Nichia 219C, 90+ CRI. Very rare indeed!

Size is a very comfortable 92.9mm x 20.5mm at the widest point of the head. The body varies between 16.5-17.6mm so feels very slim in the hand.

The pill is held inside the head by a retaining ring. Once the ring is removed, the pill can be removed and the reflector and lens will drop out. Note the black plastic centering ring around the LED.

The driver is a useful 14.55mm, a very useful size (if the driver is ever available for purchase, fingers crossed).

The reflector seems to be a custom design that produces a good (but not perfect) beam. The lens is anti-reflective (AR) coated.

Here is the light compared to a common AA battery as well as a few other available AA lights. They include (from left to right): L3 Innovations L10, Eagletac D25A (2014), Thrunite T10T, Reylight Pineapple, Portinga Firefly, and 4Sevens Quark AA (tactical).

Here is the business end (minus the Firefly). I have installed diffusion films and a flood optic on some of the lights so these are not all stock setups.

Beam Characteristics, Levels and UI

The beam is quite good. The textured reflector provides a nice wide spot and spill, with a fairly sharply defined cut-off to the spot. There are some rings present in the middle of the spill however, so I’d say this is a good but not great beam. It is not very noticeable in most use.

Note, this is daylight colour balance, the beam shows no green in reality.

The LED is reported to be a 4000K Nichia 219C, 90+ CRI, a rare LED not yet seen on any production light (or anywhere really!). It compares well to my favourite LED, the 4000K Nichia 219B (90+CRI). The 219C is just a touch less pink, leaning more towards green/yellow, but it’s VERY slight and is only seen when in direct comparison with the 219B. This is a beautiful tint and the 219C should be very easy to drive, providing good output and efficiency.

The UI is a basic Moonlight-Low-Medium-High, starting on moonlight. There is no memory and the reset time is a short three seconds (after the light is off for three seconds, it defaults to moonlight.) There are no blinking or hidden modes.
I don’t have the equipment or inclination for lumen and runtime measurements, so here are the factory numbers. These appear to be LED output numbers, so actual out-the-front output is likely to be about 25-30% lower (to account for losses due to the reflector, lens etc.).

With alkaline AA:
Output: 0.2-5-30-110 lumens
Runtime: 30 days-50 hours-4.5 hours-1 hour

With 800mAh 14500 battery:
Output: 0.3-12-120-390 lumens
Runtime: 20 days-15 hours-2 hours-40 mins

I can confirm these approximate numbers.
The UI and levels are well balanced and nicely spaced. Choosing differing battery types allows one to choose between higher maximum output (14500 batteries) or more available lower levels (nimh batteries).
I’m very pleased with the simple, effective UI and useful levels. This is an ideal UI for most of my EDC usage, though it is not for everyone.

This is NOT a tactical light or a tactical UI. If you want max brightness quickly or like memory modes, this is not the light for you. If you like preserve night vision and discretely ramp up to your chosen level, this light is ideal.
Do note, however, that the middle two levels use PWM for dimming. I estimate about 3KHz for the frequency. I did not find it objectionable in use but did notice it on occasion. I didn’t notice any PWM on the maximum or moonlight modes.

Glow mods!

I did have fun adding a couple glow mods to make this light easier to find at night. I added a small glow sticker ring around the LED and an ice blue tritium vial (1.5 × 6mm) in the slot in the tailcap. Here are a few glamour shots.

Final Thoughts.

Overall, the ReyLight Pineapple is becoming one of my favourite AA lights.
It has its charms:

- Unique appearance that is both striking and functional (provides good grip).
- Super rare 4000K, 90+ CRI Nichia 219C LED. Efficiency coupled with beautiful tint and colour rendering.
- Good fit and finish with thoughtful details (clip mounting, lanyard attachment, head crenulations, solid construction).
- Useful levels with (my) ideal EDC user interface. Changing battery types allows one to customize levels based on intended usage (more lower modes or max output).
- Classy metal button, equipped with tritium slot.
- Remarkable value (under $40 projected price).

Here’s a parting shot!

T01 Ⅱ add a stainless steel bezel on the head.

T01 Ⅱ add a lanyard hole on the tailcap.

T01 Ⅱ are compatible with AA and 14500 batteries.

CW and NW for your choices.

any chance there is a discount code for countycomm for the new maratac aa copper REV 4?
any suggestions for other copper or brass single AA lights?

I just found a source for this little light. It uses the XM led’s and a 14500 battery. I am more interested in it as a host, but cannot find any pics of the light taken apart. Is this an integrated shelf light? I am looking for something that will shed heat well and is maybe a little more compact than the X5…

Thanks Matt

Yesterday I ordered an H15 CW. I don’t like cool white but it was the only version the had for that low price. Can some one point me into the direction of a WW or NW LED to replace the original? If posible already on the right board so I don’t have to reflow it as this would be my first mod and have never reflowed a led before.
Is it possible to replace it with a nichia without having to mod the driver? If so wich one should I get and on what kind of board? I hear/see a lot of talk bout nichia so maybe I would like to give it try…

PS I’m living in Belgium so I’d rather not order from US.

The Jetbeam Jet-1 MK has the perfect tint for photography.

These two are sisters. Shimmer & Shine.

This is Shine.

With the success of the Astrolux S1, other Astrolux models have emerged including the S3 which uses 1400 cell but i little expensive than the S1. Will there be a single AA version in the future?

Dont get me wrong, i love the Astrolux models, but one cannot have much 18650/14500 cells stocked and ready for desaster use, these cells are pricey as well.

Id love to see an Astrolux S1A. Olight as been releasing terrible models, for me, so any new lights and all have SIDE switches.

Hi. I just purchased a Manker T01, I’ve learned here in BLF and CPF that the T01 is picky with 14500 batts particularly with sizes.
I found this Fenix 14500 at amazon.ca, would this fit and work well with the Manker T01? Amazon.ca is my best bet to source this, but if I have no choice, please recommend which brand or model 14500 is proven with the T01, and where its available.

Has anyone have any experience with this light? Looks great and simple. Only drawback is the price, it’s too expensive for it’s category and no discount code as well. How is this light compared to the Thorfire TG06?

It’d be great if this has a discount code like the Thorfire, which drops the price to about $10. Anyone have a discount code for this light?

http://www.banggood.com/Moonlake-XP-G2-R5-5Modes-Cool-White-EDC-Mini-LED...

There is some updated info and pictures in posts 7 & 8.  I will hopefully be doing more measurements and have more info to report in a day or two.  I will update this OP for the new information as soon as possible.

This light is the next version in the Archer 1A line (succeeding the Archer 1A V2).  It's a beauty with excellent mode spacing and lots of power.  The light is turned On and Off by the tailcap.  The side switch controls modes (Firefly, Low, Medium, High).  Strobe is accessed from any mode with a long click.  The driver has last mode memory that can be used for any of the 4 levels, but not for Strobe.  I really like the UI on this light.

The light has serious output on both Ni-MH and Li-ion.  Product page says 200 lumens and that seems reasonable to me.  I would guess high on Li-ion will be around 500 to 600 lumens.  I, however, don't feel that I'm a good judge of lumen output.  I have started to using a light box, but don't have a conversion factor established.  When outside, I am surprised every time I put this light into high mode. The light box readings I got in my one brief output test were as follows:

Mode      Ni-Mh     14500

Firefly           0             0

Low             36            36

Medium     146          162

High *        415        1130

* The numbers for High mode are approximate starting numbers.  They steadily decrease over time.  The numbers fluctuated a bit with Ni-Mh (Eneloop 3rd Gen), but were quite steady with a 14500 (Except High as it steadly decreases over time).

The light has awesome deep texture that kind of grabs you back.  The tailcap helps protect its switch from unintentional activation, but has openings that make it easy to operating the tailcap switch. The light will tail stand, but is a bit wobbly if disturbed.  The Pocket clip is strong and holds well.

I should disclose that this light was provided to me by ThruNite to review.  I have done my best to not allow this review to be biased due to ThruNite providing the light to me at no charge.  ThruNite has not tried to influence this review.  Here are links to the their sited if anyone should like to contact them:

Official Website: http://www.thrunite.com (link is external)
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FCTD9PG/ (link is external)

Pros:

• Nicely spaced modes
• High kicks out bright smooth, floody beam.
• Hansom light
• Great texture, grippy
• Very nice Finish (Type III anodized)
  
• Beautiful OP reflector that rendors smooth beam pattern
  
• Ultra clear tempered glass lens with anti-reflective coating
• Side clicky (Momentary Switch)
  
• Can take Ni-MH and Li-ion
• Nice Clip
• Power switch in tail is protected to help reduce chance of accidental turn on
• Tail stands
• Spare Tail cap boot, O-rings, side-switch boot
  
• Well packaged with sturdy, good-looking box
  
• Threads/o-rings well lubed
• Strong, reversible and removable pocket clip
• Battery tube does not scratch when removing, installing, or rotating pocket clip
• Reversed polarity protection
  
• Strike bezel for emergency applications that isn't aggressive looking
  

Cons:

• Head and Battery Tube are glued solid.  Heat will ruin the light and not result in breaking the threads loose.
• Tail stand can be disrupted by bumps, etc.
• Finish on the clip chips easily
• Bar code label should be slapped onto the bottom of the box for better gift presentation

Do they make a budget AA light that has a low/ moonlight mode, that can run for several days at a time ? Need it for power outages in my area.
Thanks. Would like to stay around $15 or less . I would need to buy several of them

i assume its police or similar.
1/2w 5mm led.
no name on it.
not bad for what it is but dont see it at az anymore and the guy these came from is clueless.he buys em and runs them till batteries die.
then i get a bag full when he tires of them cluttering his bench.

Request: 1 mode, forward rear clicky, 3.5-4 inch long, 1AA torch

Does anyone know of any? Looking for a modest amount of light but nice runtime. Prefer deep carry clip. Small and pocketable .Something along the lines of the ThruNite T10 but one mode and about 100 lumens. Pelican 2350 is close but too big and wide.

I’m looking for a single aa flashlight and I found that these look the most interesting to me. Anyone own both or tried both?

These are however not set in stone, so if anyone have different recommendations I’m all ears

I’ve also been eyeing the Armytek Partner A1 PRO V3 but haven’t seen any reviews on it.

Hi everybody

Quick question I’ve been wondering. Can I buy a x5 outside of the x6/x5 set?

I’d like to carry another x5 but I don’t need another 18650.

Should I buy a different AA sized light or can I get a x5 to use my 14500 batts in?

Looking for Simple Affordable Single AA Thrower w/Momentary Function and 2 Modes, it needs to be simple for old pops to operate. Prefer momentary function and a simple 2 Modes UI as well as a smooth reflector with a warm tint.

I grabbed one of the TG06 lights that I have placed around my home in spots where I traditionally need extra light for fine work, and it didn’t work. I had recently charged the cell. I popped it into the charger to see what the voltage was as a double check. Yup, fully charged and still not working.

So I checked continuity of the switch. That was good. I put the cell back in and tried it again. No joy. BTW, after every troubleshooting step I put the cell back in and tried it. I unscrewed the brass ring to take the driver and led out. I have no idea how to get the LED out. The driver was free, but the LED wasn’t budging. Pushing on the glass did nothing. I still don’t know how to get that out (if anyone knows I’d like to have that knowledge). I reassembled everything and still no light.

Then I decided to take one that is working and test the resistance between the driver and the body and did the same with the dead TG06. I got a huge value that was somewhat close to the first. Then I reassembled the light and there was light. How can checking resistance get a light to work? Or was something going on that is unrelated to that? If I hadn’t been checking it right along with the cell I wouldn’t think it was the meter that did the magic.

Thanks!

I’ve been given the awesome opportunity to work with Thrunite to review the TH20 14500/AA headlamp. The light came packed very well with grease on the threads. One thing I liked right off the bat was having the led in the center of the lamp unlike some other lithium ion capable headlamps. There’s no center strap for your head but that hasn’t really been an issue thus far. Here are the specs and package contents from their own website:

• LED: CREE XP-L V6 LED with a lifespan of 20+ years of run time.
• Mode & Runtime (Tested by one Eneloop AA 2450mAh NIMH rechargeable battery):
-Firefly (0.3 lumens, 14 days）
-Infinity Low (1.6 lumens, 21 hours）
-Infinity High (230 lumens, 95 minutes )
-Turbo (250 lumens, 93 minutes)
• Batteries Applicable: 1x AA battery, 1× 14500 battery.
• Working voltage: 0.9-4.2 V.
• Reflector: Orange Peel.
• Peak Beam Intensity: 1120 cd
• Beam Distance: 67 m (max.)
• Dimensions: 70 mm * 24.5mm
• Weight: 96 g (without battery).
• Waterproof: IPX-8 (1.5 m)
• Impact Resistance: 2 m.
• Material: Aircraft grade aluminum body with premium type III hard anodized anti-abrasive finish.
• Accessories included: O ring, spare rubber slot.

I was impressed that it came with an extra “rubber slot” as they put it but you would have to find a way to cut and reattach the headstrap so I’m thinking they should just send a whole extra strap with rubber piece if the light is expected to outlast the strap.

Okay let’s move on to my favorite features:

The U.I. – I fell in love with the U.I. right away. I popped a 14500 in and went to a dark location. After a few taps on the button I was getting around pretty well. Click on to get last used level, hold to ramp up, once it’s in high it blinks to let you know, continue to hold and it will ramp down to low and it will blink again. Long hold while off to go into firefly and double tap from any mode to turbo, double tap from turbo to get into S.O.S.

The firefly – I really like it. I wish all of my lights had it. Much dimmer (but useful) than moon on my A6’s

Next up is the beam pattern – Comparing the o.p. reflector of this light with the diffuser of the Skillhunt you get much more spill with the Thrunite with a smooth transition into the hotspot while the Skillhunt is a nice even beam without much light to the peripherals.

Size – Not much bigger than an 18650.

Can lock out.

May use button top or flat top batteries. Also AA/14500

Okay on to some pics!

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I love how straight the cut is on top where the battery cap makes contact. That’s a path for current so the better the contact with the tailcap the more amps to the driver!
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From left: Samsung 30q, Thrunite TH20, Skillhunt H15
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Tint comparison: Skillhunt H15(xm-l2 u3) N.W., BLF 348 (nichia 219b), Thrunite TH20 C.W.
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Some footage of the U.I.. It starts in firefly but very hard to see. Then some playing around with the ramping and a double click to turbo at 29 sec. and another around 49 sec.

What else can I say? Over all I really like this little guy. I used it to grill the other night as we are approaching winter and it was getting dark at dinner time. It was very useful and the green tint you may have noticed in the comparison was a non issue. When I mentioned it to Thrunite they promised me they sent cool white and told me green was a normal effect of led’s…. But all else trumps this issue and I would like to see it in neutral white if I ever get the opportunity. This light has earned a spot in my work van.

Here are some links

Official Website: (5% OFF Coupon Code:THRUNITE , limited time!)http://www.thrunite.com
Amazon US.: http://amazon.com/thrunite

I’m trying to find a AA with a reasonable throw that doesn’t have one of the “swollen” heads like the Manker T01.

It doesn’t need to be a kickass 20 million lumen and either AA or 14500. I have a couple of Manker E11’s and de-domed one which made a lot of difference except it turned the tint green at the same time which is pretty yuk …. in essence that with a decent tint would be pretty much perfect.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!!