Needing a flashlight to replace my ancient, dim, battery-thirsty Mini-MagLite, I started researching LED lights for an affordable substitute. The Klarus P1A comes highly recommended from the “flashaholics” on CandlePowerForums as one of the best affordable 1xAA torches out there, and while I don’t have much to compare with it other than some Black Diamond headlamps, I have to believe it is. This light fits easily in a pocket, seems built to last, is bright as all get-out, and lasts forever on a single battery – something like 30 hours compared to the 6 or so I would get from the Mini-Mag. It has just two modes: Low and High, with a tail-mounted “forward-clicky” rubber switch. Tightening the head activates the High mode, which I never use except to impress friends. It takes a single AA cell, and if you use Eneloop rechargeables, you basically never need to pay for batteries again. There is a near-duplicate version of this light made by JetBeam called the BA10, but I picked up the Klarus because it was slightly cheaper at around $28. Looking on Amazon recently, it seems the P1A has overtaken the BA10 in price, and the BA10 is now around $30. Both lights appear to be made by the same factory and just branded differently. If you’ve been using an older MagLite or cheap drugstore LED flashlight, pick one of these lights up; you won’t be disappointed.
GREGORY
MOMENT SKIS
TREW GEAR