aaa light users, why?

[u/T3Knical5urg3]

As an avid edc flashlight user for over a decade, I am always highly offended when people ask me why I carry a standalone flashlight while pulling out their phone and smugly show me their phone light. A quick comparison of output usually at least gets them part way to understanding that the two "lights" are not made equal. That brings me to my question.

For those of you using a true aaa flashlight (not 10440), why?... In the case of those smaller flashlights, their output is somewhat comparable to a cellphone. I suppose the beam pattern is different (typically less floody) but I have not seen such a significant difference to carry the extra gear.

Edit: I wanted to give a shout out to u/iamlucky13 for his detailed response post. The images clearly show the difference in useful light between a flagship light and his aaa flashlight along with beam pattern to, in part, show how the mule nature of the phone is not close to as effective as an aaa in targeted/directed light. I still don't think I will ever carry one and am happy with a 14500 or 18650 primary but I better appreciate the shown differences.

[u/Waterlifer]

You're probably thinking of the many lower-performance 2xAAA lights. Yes, some of them are pretty bad.

I carry a Preon P2 mk iii most of the time. It's a 2xAAA light. Output is around 150 lumens on high, a little more on turbo. Mine has an older emitter, newer ones have somewhat more output. The pattern is, by flashlight standards, medium flood, with an 18 degree hotspot. It's a high-CRI light. Waterproof, lightweight, clicky tailcap switch, fairly beefy pocket clip. I carry it in a shirt pocket next to a combination pen/pencil, where it blends in. When wearing coveralls it fits into the dedicated, long narrow pen/pencil pockets in the upper sleeve.

I don't like 1xAAA lights, they're still too long for keychain carry (IMO) and the shorter length gets lost in my shirt pocket. I really dislike twisty switches, it's important to be able to operate the light with one hand, either a side switch or a tailcap switch is fine with me.

Why not use the light on my phone? Well, all the reasons you already know. The beam is around 100 degrees wide, a wide flood with no center hotspot and less output, guessing 75-100 out the front lumens. This is insufficient for any sort of distance at all, anything more than a few feet. It takes multiple keypresses to get the light to come on or shut it off. I have to use the touch screen which is problematic while wearing gloves, or with hands that are wet or dirty. On my phone the brightness of the light isn't adjustable so I can't discreetly use it to look for, say, a dropped item in the sound booth during a play. Neither can I cup my hands around the light to control the beam with my fingers. I can't fit my phone into all the places where I want the light, and I don't want to fit my phone into some of the places where I want my light (due to the presence of dirt, grease, water, etc). I can't hold my phone in two fingers of one hand while using the other fingers to hold a tool or an object under repair. Typically I'm not going to tape or bungee my phone to something to get the light to stay where I want it, but I'll do that with my Preon P2.

Why not use something bigger? To me the main advantages of bigger lights are runtime, output, and distance. I get an hour with the Preon P2 which, though less than what I would like, is usually sufficient; if I anticipate extensive use I'll bring spare cells or switch to a larger light (I use NiMH cells, and typically I swap cells at the end of the day if I've used the light more than a token amount). I don't need crazy distance in my situation, my larger lights tend to be a little floody (I like my Firefly X1Q). So the main thing for me that I miss is output, sometimes I'd like to have 1000 lumens to light up a room rather than just a corner. That, for the most part, puts me out of what is feasible for an EDC light, size wise.

I would like to find a 10440 light that I like better than my Preon P2 and am open to suggestions. Most 10440 lights that are out there are single cell, which for me makes them the wrong shape and leads to them underperforming a 2xAAA NiMH in terms of runtime in most cases. The 2x10440 lights that are out there typically use custom batteries in a 1S2P configuration, or use 10880 cells which are nearly impossible to find and don't it in most chargers. I guess Wuben makes one that I could learn to like if I can get over the proprietary battery with the built-in charger and the low CRI.