Lumintop Tool AA Flashlight Review

The Lumintop Tool AA flashlight in the red and green finish is a great seasonal release. This light runs on AA or 14500 cells. Read on!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Lumintop Tool AA Flashlight product page.

Versions

There is a reverse clicky, and twisty tail version of this light.  The package I have for review contains both user interface options.  There are also many colors in this light:  Black, red with a green cap (seen here), blue with a green cap, purple with a green cap.  The color options seem to be named “Tool AA C-Edition” which I take to mean “Christmas” but I can’t find that verbiage on the product page.

Price

The Tool AA sells for around $20-22.  GearBest the Tool AA C-Edition for $21.90 right now.

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Short Review

This is a fine little light.  One I probably prefer on an AA cell, but I love the option for a 14500 as well.  The build is great and the light feels like quality in hand.

Long Review

The Big Table

Lumintop Tool AA
Emitter:	Cree XP-L HD
Price in USD at publication time:	$21.90
Cell:	1×14500
High Runtime
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	Both
Quiescent Current (A):	?
On-Board Charging?	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	550
Claimed Throw (m)	95
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	196lux @ 3.859m = 2919cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	108.1 (113.8% of claim)^

 

Cell:	1xAA
High Runtime
LVP?	No
Switch Type:	Both
Quiescent Current (A):	?
On-Board Charging?	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	–
Claimed Throw (m)	–
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	51lux @ 3.407m = 592cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	48.7^
All my Lumintop reviews!

^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.

What’s Included

• Lumintop Tool AA C-Edition
• Twisty tailcap (with magnet) and Reverse Clicky tailcap (both!)
• Spare o-rings (2)
• Lanyard
• Silicone glow diffuser
• Manual and paperwork

Package and Manual

Lumintop strayed from their normal package because this is intended as a Christmas light.  The Lumintop branding is there, with a bit of Merry Christmas imagery.  The package is void of specs and features, but a GearBest inventory sticker has been added.

Inside the cardboard package is a plastic flip-top container (good for permanent storage), held closed with two tiny magnets.  The light and goods are held in place in foam cutouts.

The manual is ok – I find the table with runtimes and output to be slightly confusing, and I’m not sure the user interface is covered completely enough.  However, it’s an uncomplicated light.

Build Quality and Disassembly

As stated above, this is a nicely built light.  Most Lumintops are, really.  The red anodizing on this light is superb.  There’s a nice gloss to it.  The knurling is a diamond pattern but very shallow and not grippy at all.

The light disassembles quite well.  The head and tail come off the cell tube, which is reversible.  The clicky tailcap has a retaining ring, so the clicky and boot may be accessed and maintained.  The emitter end as well can be unscrewed to reveal an aluminum pill and the emitter, for easy swapping.  The magnet on the tailcap is held in with a “retaining spring.”

Size

Officially: 91.5mm long, and 18.5mm wide, weighing 23.5g.  The twisty version of this light is a fair amount shorter than the clicky version.

The Tool AA is in line with other AA-sized lights I have on hand.  A little shorter, even in the longer configuration, actually.

Above in the center, that’s a Reylight Pineapple that I forced patina on!

Retention

The Tool AA arrives with a reversible pocket clip installed.  Since the tube is reversible, one may switch the direction of the clip without actually removing the clip; just take the head and tail off and swap them (and flip the cell too!).

Also included is a very usual lanyard, colored purple.  Does that make it unusual?  It connects in a usual way, anyway.  With the clicky, the lanyard may attach to the tailcap.  With the twisty, the lanyard must attach to the pocket clip, where there’s a hole at the shoulder and mouth for attachment.

Also included (in the twisty cap) is a magnet.  It’s quite strong, and also I believe, removable.

Power and Runtime

The Tool AA is powered by a single cell.  It’ll work with NiMH, Li-ion, and Alkaline.  I tested with only NiMH and Li-Ion.  A runtime may be seen below.  The light never really gets hot (or even warm).  The runtime with a 14500 is much brighter than the NiMH but dies very quickly (45m or so).

Fortunately, the Tool AA is not specific – a button top will work, and a flat top will work fine too.

User Interface and Operation

Two user interface options are included with the Tool AA.  The clicky is installed in the package, and a twisty cap is included too.  They can’t be used at the same time.  The clicky is a reverse clicky.  For the size of the light, the button is actually quite large, and very accessible.

Lumintop describes the twisty user interface to be “twist the head” of the light. But I tend to twist the tail instead; functionally there’s no difference.  The knurling doesn’t lend itself to one-hand operation.

The user interface is very simple, with only three modes and no strobe nonsense.

Here’s a user interface table!

State	Action	Result
Off	Click	Low
On	Half click	Mode advance (LMH)
On	Click	Off
Off	Tighten	Low
On	Loosen/tighten	Mode advance (LMH)
On	Loosen	Off

Modes

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Mode Measured Lux
High	14500: 550 Alkaline: 110 Ni-MH: 120	45m 1h45m 2h55m	9570 – 2140
Mid	14500: 95 Alkaline: 25 Ni-MH: 25	4h 11h 11h40m	1550 – 1174
Low	14500: 8 Alkaline: 7 Ni-MH: 7	28h30m 36h25m 30h3om	183 – 164

LED and Beam

The emitter of choice is a Cree XP-L HD.  The reflector is smooth and has a “middle depth” – not shallow, and not super deep.  The beam is mostly spot with little spill.

For lack of any better place to put the info, Lumintop also includes this GITD diffuser, which fits snugly over the front of the light.

Beamshots

These beamshots always have the following settings:  f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.

First the 14500 output.

Next the AA output.

Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)

I keep the test flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.

Random Comparisons and Competitive Options

Here’s a relevantly filtered page on parametrek.com.   Double-A lights with an XP-L HD – this isn’t going to be a small list.  However, the full package with both user interface options (two tailcaps) separate this light.  Also, these available colors are quite… unusual.  The red is really quite striking!

Conclusion

What I like

• The anodization is catching and seems high quality
• The user interface options are nice
• Multi-chemistry support

What I don’t like

• One probably won’t actually swap between the two UI’s in practice.
• The runtime isn’t regulated and trails off very quickly on 14500.

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Notes

• This light was provided by GearBest for review. I was not paid to write this review.
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