pineapples to oranges? Pineapple Mini vs D3AA

for u/korxion

And anybody else that cares: my Deep Thoughts on these two

It's not exactly a 1:1 comparison.
Reylight Pineapple Mini in titanium, stock emitter: 519A, 4000k
Emisar D3AA in titanium/copper, 3x 519A, 2700k, flood optic

carry/ergos:

The PM just disappears in a gym shorts pocket. Very lightweight and slender. Good functional pocket clip is standard if you care about that sort of thing, I don't even have one for the D3AA…which is a lot more noticeable; the weight is substantial for an object this small and it's quite a bit thicker. It has lockout mode while the PM just relies on a recessed tail switch and the user paying attention.

performance:

D3AA tint and flood make it perfect for reading in bed. After that, the use case is the same: wandering around at night, indoors and out in the yard, checking on my dog while he's asleep without unleashing the sun on the room. Moonlight is immediately accessible on both, and very dim on both lights. In this the D3AA wins…sort of? it's ridiculously low, very good for a pitch dark room but any ambient light, including literal moonlight, has me turning the brightness up. Reylight is just better suited for a thoughtless half asleep push butan, light appears, thing.

nightlight:

PM's got 1 or 2 tritium slots depending on which pocket clip, they're just good enough to find the light in the dark, and a green glowy gasket that persists for a while after it's shut off. That's just decoration, not functional.

D3AA has those lovely aux LEDs. Depending on color and setting they can be dim enough to just serve as a marker at night, or a decent nightlight. Ice-blue color on the high setting for instance is slightly brighter than moonlight on the main emitters. Plus they double as a voltage indicator, very nice feature.

negatives:

PM is kind of rough at the frag pattern edges. Beadblast/stonewash finishes round off the corners a little and feel much better in the hand. Recessed button is not as nice as the D3AA's.

D3AA might have tail cap issues, see this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Hanklights/comments/1rga62x/new_light_new_problem/

It's behaving fine since I've started torquing the cap down TIGHT.

overall:

PM is much more a tool, simpler to operate both in general use and programming. The D3AA is just as functional, AND a neat toy. It can be made just as simple as the PM but why would you, the zillion options is fun to play with.

Both are nice, but if you held a gun to my head and made me pick one? D3AA.