4Sevens has breathed new life into the AAA cell by offering the Preon series of lights. More than a collection of individual flashlights, the Preon Series offers something akin to a buffet of options allowing you to truly make the light your own.

4Sevens Preon Series

Meat and Potatoes

Aluminum or Titanium? How many cells? Clip, keychain, smooth? Twisty or clicky? Pick your color. These are the decisions that have to be made if you choose to go with a Preon. Built on a base of the slim AAA cell, the Preon is large light performance in an unassuming package. The use of a durable, solidly attached, deep-carry clip with the twisty Preon I makes for a light so easily pocketable and unobtrusive that it is nearly possible to forget you are even carrying it. There is now no excuse to not have a light with you at all times.

The Preons play host to the same winning user interface as the Q-MiNi lights. A simple Low-Medium-High sequence with 4 special modes hidden away where they won’t be accidentally activated. It is a good UI for a light that might be loaned out to the uninitiated since it only takes a few seconds to learn the basics. The three levels have been well spaced and carefully chosen to give noticeable increases in output or significantly better efficiency. Producing 70 lumens for almost an hour from an AAA cell is no mean feat, and increasing that to 160 with only one more cell is simply astounding.

The use of the XP-G in such a small textured reflector creates a beautiful smooth, floody beam that is perfect for close to medium distance illumination. There is a spot to spill transitional corona that further increases its usability. This light does use PWM to accomplish its multiple modes, however due to its extremely high frequency (2.6 khz I believe) this is completely a non-issue during use.

Preons with their XP-G's

4Sevens proprietary matte finish anodizing for these lights is still being touted as type III, and after several weeks of torture testing I find I am inclined to agree. One of these Preon I’s was assigned the dreaded keychain duty for the duration of my testing. The only noticeable wear was at the point of contact between the body and the split ring used for attachment. The remainder of the body survived the incessant jangle and repeated drops quite admirably.

Constructive Criticism

Though the unique anodizing of the Preons does help to provide extra tackiness to the grip, it is still the dead middle of an arid winter here in the midwest. Between the lack of knurling and stiffer threading I was often left struggling for purchase when attempting one handed operation using the twisty interface. Even some subtle shaping would serve greatly to alleviate this trouble without even needing to resort to the standard rhombic knurling, thus still setting this light apart from the pack.

If the twisty is a little too difficult, the clicky option suffers from the opposite affliction. The protruding button of the clicky tailcap standard to the Preon II is so easy to push that accidental activation was the rule of the day. The frequency which I felt my pocket heating up from this light was quite surprising. In fact, I can confidently say that the interior of my pockets saw more of this lights runtime than I did during its time in the spotlight. Either stiffer springing or a more protected button is needed to reclaim this setup from a “shirt pocket only” designation in my book.

Tailcap options

Conclusions

The fact that an AAA based light can compete with and even outperform most 2xCR123A based lights from only a few years past highlights the incessant march of technology. To do so in such a simple, yet elegant form however, is just shooting for extra credit.

4Sevens Preon Series

Provided for the duration of the review by 4Sevens.com