# Flashlight Recommendations
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [January 21, 2025, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208 "2025-01-21T12:04:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2025, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/61 "2025-01-22T23:21:25Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#):
>
> What ‘disposable’ means to me: so cheaply made that you throw it away when it breaks, since it is unrepairable and not worth repairing anyway. The majority of manufactured goods now are of this category, but time was that almost nothing was like that. Most things were well made, and repaired when they failed.
This isn’t just an issue of products not being “well-made” (although that is certainly an issue with low cost ‘commodity’ products) or repairable (again, an issue albeit not one to do with quality per se) but that many products today, even something as simple as a flashlight, are far more complex. A simple incandescent flashlight is literally just two or three battery cells, a pair of contacts, a simple two pole switch, and a parabolic reflector mount for the bulb, plus a housing to hold it all together; a powerful one like a 4-cell Maglite might output 150 lumens but most provided just enough light to see across the room, and the battery life with standard C or D alkaline cells would work for a couple of hours of continuous use.
A modern good quality LED light, even a single mode one, has a microchip controller to control the voltage, possibly an optical and/or thermal sensor, and a lockout switch (often both a side and tail switch). Good ones will provide many hours of use even on standard AA or AAA cells on low settings, and optionally high output for a shorter period of time, and be rated to withstand some degree of submersion in water. But the tradeoff for the longer duration, greater output, and environmental resistance is cost and complexity, and not being able to hack together some kind of field fix or globbing on some solder to ‘fix’ a weak connection.
Stranger
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### Author:  [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2025, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/62 "2025-01-22T23:36:19Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#):
>
> I agree, though I’d add the recommendation of investing in good batteries & external charger. The ones that come with lights can’t be counted upon and having a few extras on hand means a fresh one is always on deck.
quite right! … good batteries make happy users
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#):
>
> The Chinese brands are of variable quality and often promise high output at the cost of heating up quickly and poor reliability; sometimes you’ll find a Nitecore or Fenix model that is really solid but then the next product is absolute garbage.
Another “plug” for the B35AM chipset - the “technical” reasoning is that it is a high voltage chipset, so the driver ups the 3.7V of the battery to 6+V, thus halfing the amperage (= **halfing the heat** ) … so basically you convert more of the battery’s energy into light and less into heating up an alu-tube …
plus it is the current leader in color rendition on the market … again - can be had for less than 30 bucks in a high quality flashlight… and will find its way into Fenix / Nightcore in 2026 or 27 (at twice or 3times the cost).
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2025, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/63 "2025-01-23T04:46:12Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#):
>
> Since the most extreme use I’d be relying on a flashlight for would be for a half-mile through the woods at night
Yeah that is what seems be getting lost here.
I am willing to spend more on bike lights. I want one in order to be able see the road when I am riding in a poorly lit area after dark, and I want other(s) in order to be seen. Even though sometimes it just seems like it give the crazies a target.
But flashlights? My use is if the power goes out. Street lighting is good enough around my parts after dark for any walking I might do. I’m not in back country. Several cheap ones are all I need.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2025, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/64 "2025-01-23T04:54:28Z")
Try a hand-cranked flasklight. No batteries to buy, nor to burn-out at the worst possible time.
This one is waterproof, and has a solar recharge, to juice up power in the daytime.
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008475HEU/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008475HEU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
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### Author:  [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2025, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/65 "2025-01-23T05:10:57Z")
> [@DSeid](#):
>
> But flashlights? My use is if the power goes out. Street lighting is good enough around my parts after dark for any walking I might do. I’m not in back country. Several cheap ones are all I need.
Well, that may be fine for you fellas but personally I want a flashlight that doesn’t start flickering the first time an undead creature claws its way from the grave or an alien craft lands nearby, and I sure don’t want to get caught in the dark just when a Sasquatch makes an appearance that I could finally catch on video.
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#):
>
> Try a hand-cranked flasklight. No batteries to buy, nor to burn-out at the worst possible time.
> This one is waterproof, and has a solar recharge, to juice up power in the daytime.
Yeah, that’s what I need; a flashlight that I labor for ten minutes to juice up for thirty seconds of inconsistent illumination, or that only works in daylight.
Stranger
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### Author:  [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2025, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/66 "2025-01-23T12:07:30Z")
We are miles from any street lights. My barn and pastures are across the road, my neighbors are a ten minute walk. We have a generator that powers two rooms (kitchen being one) when the power goes off, which it does several times a year, sometimes for a few days.
A crank flashlight is interesting, but probably not practical. My most urgent flashlight need is when I hear a bad noise in the night – one of my animals screaming for help, for example. No time for cranking.
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### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2025, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/67 "2025-01-23T12:13:26Z")
> [@DSeid](#):
>
> But flashlights? My use is if the power goes out. Street lighting is good enough around my parts after dark for any walking I might do. I’m not in back country
This is me. I don’t want a flashlight that I need to remember to charge. I don’t need strobes, or adjustable intensity, or wide or narrow beams.
I just need something that sits on the shelf by the door, that I can pick up when I’m taking the dog for a walk, click the button to run it On, and out I go.
The Home Depot model that I linked to is perfect for that. When the battery dies, I dispose of the old battery and buy a new one, pop it in, and bob’s your uncle.
I’ve had it for years and it works just fine, for my needs.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2025, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/68 "2025-01-23T14:46:50Z")
Horsefeathers.
30 seconds of cranking gives painfully bright light, & the lower setting lasts for hours.
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### Author:  [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2025, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/69 "2025-01-23T15:29:08Z")
One thing I’d be worried about with a crank flashlight is that the internal battery would stop taking a charge if it’s not used regularly. Rechargeable batteries work well when they are charged and discharged regularly, but get flakey when they are left totally discharged for long periods. Is that something to worry about with crank flashlights?
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2025, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/70 "2025-01-23T15:51:40Z")
At least in theory, yes.
I have three or four crank flashlights. About every month or so, I give them a minute worth of ‘charge.’
After several years, each seems to be holding up okay. My arms are also totally ripped 😉
To me, this model is the very definition of ‘in case of emergency.’ I have several Plans A, B, and C that I would reach for before these lights.
Though, they do work reasonably well within their limitations.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/71 "2025-01-23T17:45:41Z")
> [@filmore](#):
>
> but get flakey when they are left totally discharged for long periods. Is that something to worry about with crank flashlights?
> [@DavidNRockies](#):
>
> I have three or four crank flashlights. About every month or so, I give them a minute worth of ‘charge.’
So the solution to batteries sitting around discharged is to _keep them charged_. Who knew?
Seems pretty basic to me that any emergency light needs to be ready to go now, not 20 minutes from now. Or tomorrow after the solar panel has seen the sun for 12 hours.
Emergency equipment needs to be maintained somehow. As to lights, even if that’s buying a large package of e.g. C cells and replacing that package every 6 months, whether used or not.
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2025, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/72 "2025-01-23T18:30:44Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> So the solution to batteries sitting around discharged is to _keep them charged_. Who knew?
[ ](https://jhs-shop.com/cdn/shop/products/BC-02-15-67_ClamsGotLegs_grande.jpg?v=1493748273)
😉
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2025, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/73 "2025-01-24T01:29:29Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> Emergency equipment needs to be maintained somehow. As to lights, even if that’s buying a large package of e.g. C cells and replacing that package every 6 months, whether used or not.
Or buy rechargeable batteries.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/74 "2025-01-24T01:34:22Z")
Of course. But my point to @filmore was that whatever sort of lights you have, they need maintenance. The common approach of “Throw 'em in a drawer and forget 'em until the power goes out” is a plan to fail, not a plan to succeed.
His assumption was that you would be storing dead rechargeable batteries.
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### Author:  [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2025, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/75 "2025-01-24T18:15:25Z")
If you already have a bunch of cordless tools you use regularly, see if the company also makes a flashlight. Battery powered tools like Ryobi and Dewalt have flashlights that take the same batteries. One good thing about using a flashlight compatible with your tools is that you’re likely to have many compatible batteries lying around and be charging them regularly. And the battery is pretty hefty. If it can run a drill and a saw, it can run a flashlight for a long time.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2025, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/76 "2025-01-24T19:12:27Z")
Yep. I took my Ridgid 18V Torch Light to school last week when the power was out in my classroom. Lit the whole space well enough we could get stuff done. Didn’t seem to drain the battery much at all.
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### Author:  [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2025, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/77 "2025-01-25T02:29:41Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#):
>
> Try a hand-cranked flasklight. No batteries to buy, nor to burn-out at the worst possible time.
> This one is waterproof, and has a solar recharge, to juice up power in the daytime.
> [Amazon.com: Secur 1 X Solar/Dynamo LED Flashlight : Tools & Home Improvement](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008475HEU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Just say no.
Every moving part is a potential failure point …lots of Plastic gears and all that to die on you at the worst possible time.
Also intrinsically “stupid " design. Black solar panel needs to sit in the Hot sun for hours to charge … And by doing so, kills the heat sensitive LiPo cell.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/78 "2025-01-25T15:25:38Z")
Odd.
I’ve had them for a decade or more, & they all work fine.
I suspect you did not consider your reply.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2025, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/79 "2025-01-25T18:30:09Z")
There is a problem with every solar-powered light or recharger battery pack I’ve bought. Admittedly I’ve only bought cheapos and not in the last 5 years.
Namely that one evening’s worth of light takes 3 or 4 very sunny days to recharge to the same level. A multi-day power failure would result in useless lights on night 2 unless you owned enough lights to only use 1/3rd or 1/4th of them on any given overnight. IOW: need 3, buy 12.
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### Author:  [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2025, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlight-recommendations/1013208/80 "2025-01-25T18:53:37Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> Namely that one evening’s worth of light takes 3 or 4 very sunny days to recharge to the same level. A multi-day power failure would result in useless lights on night 2 unless you owned enough lights to only use 1/3rd or 1/4th of them on any given overnight. IOW: need 3, buy 12.
At that point, you would be better off just carry a few long-burning torches because they will take up fewer inventory slots and be more reliable, or better yet just take the time to learn a simple 1-point _Light_ spell that any hedge wizard or shaman can teach you in an afternoon.
Stranger
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