Suggestions for a high CRI, single AAA light?

[Steinar]

So basically what it says in the subject: Do any of you have a high CRI, single AAA flashlight you would like to recommend? I have found a few in reviews, but I wondered whether you guys had any relevant experiences. (I could come up with a list of specific requirements, but then I am perfectly capable of checking the common subset of what has garnered good reviews and what is actually available to me, and then make a rational decision. That's no fun, and I'm far more interested in a discussion.  It's not like there's that many different lights to choose from given the two variables I stated anyway. )

[m47mu74nt]

 
(so this thread gets in my "replies" and I get updates)

[JasonJ]

The BLF-348 would have been my one and only recommendation.... it was a custom light modeled after the SingFire SF-348 sold by GB.  It had/has a Nichia 219 emitter, CRI of about 93+, single AAA of course.  We did three runs of them, thousands of lights made, all sold.  They may come back in stock, or another Nichia equipped version of the SF-348 might pop up. 

You could always see if someone on Budget Light Forum will sell you one.

[NAB]

http://www.darksucks.com/store_BetaQR.html

I have the brass one and love it. It is not a barn burner, but I have other lights for that.

[firiki]

I'm quite interested in this topic though I've nothing to contribute thus far except a question:

From what I understand (and I may well be wrong) high CRI is often perceived as less bright. If this is the case wouldn't a AA power source be preferable to provide longer runtimes of higher output when necessary?

[Steinar]

Sure, and a 14500 would be even better. Of course it's a compromise, but there are some offerings which looks quite nice on paper. L3 Illumination 08, for instance, rated at 90 lm for 90 minutes. I think that's pretty decent for a single AAA flashlight, hi CRI or not.

Edit: I did a quick look at reviews for L3, and ironically, that's a light where the AAA version is so close to the AA version in size, most people don't get why anybody gets the AAA version. Ah, well, that's life when not checking your examples.

[gregozedobe]

....rated at 90 lm for 90 minutes.

Something else to watch out for is that the official ANSI FL-1 standard for rating flashlight is quite "slippery" (and IMO deliberately misleading).  If you delve more deeply and look at tested output/runtime graphs it is very frequently the case that a light only puts out the rated lumens for 3-5  minutes, and drops off steadily for the rest of the "rated" time, with the rated time only finishing when output drops to only 10% of the initial level.So if you really do need 90 lumens you will NOT get it for anywhere near the rated 90 minutes.

[Steinar]

I don't even know whether the L3's rating is a proper ANSI test or just a marketing claim based on the LED and nominal output from some battery, but if you are interested in reading more about that specific light, the guys over at CandlePowerForums have done a very nice review: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?383111-L3-Illumination-L08-(XP-G2-R5-or-Nichia-219-1xAAA)-Review-RUNTIMES-BEAMS-VIDEO

[Steinar]

Seems the Nichia 219 is a recurring theme in these lights. All the three lights mentioned is based on it. (Thanks NAB and JasonJ!)

[Dustin King]

I have been a big fan of the Lumintop TOOL, I love the tint on mine with the nichia 219 in titanium.  It has an electronic tail switch, which makes it a very compact clicky.