Thinking about flashlight got me thinking about what I want in a flashlight. About the various flashlight I own and have used. About what features and designs I like and which ones I don't. About what I really want.

Form-factor: I want a flashlight that rides like a thick pen. Thin enough to slip into a pocket unobtrusively. If I have it in my pocket and fall on it it should be flat and rounded enough so it doesn't leave a painful bruise. On the other hand I don't want it so thin that I'm afraid of it folding if I fall on it and not so long that it won't ride in a shirt pocket. Four to five inches long and not more than 5/8" diameter, if round in cross section, is about right. It can be an oval or a well rounded rectangle in cross-section. But widest cross-section shouldn't be more than about 1-1/4".

Weight: The unit should be as light as possible with just enough weight to lend confidence. It should be light enough not to sag or pound when jogging. Less than, but certainly not much more than, a quarter pound (about 114g) with standard Alkaline batteries would be ideal. Standard AA alkaline batteries run about 23g each, lithium about 15g each.

Alternate holding: The materials and dimensions should allow use while held in the mouth without risk of freezing your lips to the metal, chipping teeth, lousy plastic taste, or fatiguing the jaws. The design should allow easy mounting on a headband. The clip might pivot ninety degrees to accommodate this. The flashlight should have provision so it does not roll off an incline.

Retention: I want a sturdy clip so it will ride in a shirt pocket, pants pocket or on the belt. The clip should be located well above the center of mass so that the light doesn't tip-out' when riding in a shirt pocket or tend to shake or vibrate out of a pocket. Only enough of the unit need be exposed when clipped onto pocket to allow an easy grip for pulling out. The clip should grip quite firmly and might incorporate an exposed tab that has to be depressed to release it so the unit can be slipped out easily.

A clip that can be removed, bent back into shape or adjusted and reattached would be good. One of the flex metals, possibly one that will reform itself if heated, would be great. If a screw is used it should be retained if the clip is removed so there is not danger of it being lost. Head design should allow use of a coin or knife blade to tighten in addition to a normal tool.

Light quality: Good quality light that shows colors accurately. Such that reading faded wire color codes and detecting skin flushing or a red tone is easy. Daylight white is best for color rendering.

Controls: All controls should be operable while wearing heavy mittens. Ideally with one hand. The surfaces of the unit's body and controls should be textured, or faceted such that gripping is easy and controls are readily operable even when both hands and the unit are wet and greasy.

Settings should be limited to (OFF-ON) on one control and (High-Low) on a separate control. Controls should have a positive mechanisms such that they will not be effected by anything but the purposeful actions of the operator. The OFF setting should be particularly resistant to being changed inadvertently but should remain easily operable.

Light output: On low output should be high enough to perform simple mechanical tasks within arms reach, read a standard trade paperback without excessive eyestrain, orient oneself within a space, and easily recognize a face at 20'. That doesn't take a whole lot of light.

On high it should provide enough light to find a dropped button compass in leaves, examine a wound closely, and enough reach, about 40' is fine, to read a street sign from a car with the car stopped and window rolled down. A wide enough beam to maintain situational awareness and avoid walking into a brier patch or off a cliff. A strong and concentrated enough beam to tell at 40' what a person has in their hands. Handy to have but not a requirement: Being able to differentiate between gun, wallet, knife, and cell phone at 40' would be ideal as long as it doesn't require violation of other specifications.

Batteries: Uses standard AA alkaline or lithium batteries.

Battery life: Eight hours on high and twenty-four hours on low using a single set of standard alkaline batteries would be a good minimum to shoot for. Twelve hours on high and forty-eight on low would be ideal. Anything beyond that is gravy. You can't have to much battery life as long as other requirements are met.

Water resistance: Proof against rain, mud and ice. Submersible to a depth of at least 50' or better. It needn't be a diver flashlight but that would be a good thing.

Flammable atmospheres: Should be certified, or at least be designed to be certifiable, for division I and II, and MSHA.

Resistance to impact: withstands without permanent damage or impairment of function from a 25' drop onto concrete.

Exterior materials: Majority non-conductive, highly resistant to corrosion, and all common chemicals. Can be sterilized by chemical means or flash autoclaved without damage or loss of function.

Interior materials: Case interior and all electrical components can sustain repeated and prolonged exposure to leaking alkaline batteries, alkali, and common chemicals without significant damage. Returning the unit to functionality after a set of batteries leaks should require no more than removal of the old batteries, washing the interior with a mild detergent, and installing new batteries. Washing, even if the interior retains significant amounts of water and detergent, should cause no significant damage.

Cost: Ideally the unit would retail for less than $25. If all other specifications can be met I think I would pay up to $60. Perhaps a bit more. After all, it would be the worlds best flashlight.

Now if I can just blackmail a team of German scientists and designers to come up with my perfect flashlight. I'm sure with a well rounded team and an investment of two or three million dollars I can get my light. On the other hand, perhaps, a team of engineers will read this and take it as a challenge... right. Like that is going to happen. A guy can dream.

What do you think?
What did I get right/wrong?
What changes in the specifications would you make to get your perfect flashlight?
Is this flashlight even possible given current technology?

Fenix L2T v2.0

If you accept AAA batteries, check the Preon 2, Titanium The all AL alloy versions are sold out; the "Black Edition" has a titanium head and clicky tailcap. I picked up the all Ti version when they first came out The high setting is way brighter than I ever need.

I agree. I don't know why (other then, perhaps marketing hype) there has to be 2 very different standards.

Watts has nothing to do with light output, only energy consumption (and as a result battery life). Lumens is the measure of a flashlight's total light output.

If you want to compare flashlights, lumens is the only value you can really use.

It may be here sooner than you think. You know, the 4Sevens Preon 2AAA and the Quark AA come kinda close to meeting your requirements. Especially the new XP-G warm white offerings.

Your biggest limiting factors are the dive and explosive ratings. Realistically, no way you'll get both of those in a good $25 light. I was going to say Preon too, but it's not rated. In fact, I think most lights don't need to pass more than a "dunk" test officially.

If you're looking dive, think Pelican brand. If you want explosive, try Streamlight. Other brands have few and far between for those environements.

Hmm, the platinum contacts and heat resistant non conductive ceramic coatings on the precision Titanium body will certainly cost more than $25 retail.

Why not just get a $15 flashlight. If you loose it then just get another one.

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=187213&page=1

I agree. Topline LED lights made in the last year or two are far more efficient, rendering wattage irrelevant as a comparison. I would add 'runtime' to lumens as a practical measure. Another factor is that lumen output rating is affected by the color of the light.

My suspicion is that a flashlight still marketed with a 'wattage' rating may be an older and less efficient model.

My go-to light around the house is now is a Quark AA2. At work when it's dark I put a Fenix L1T on my belt. Like Art, for a work light I want simple and I have no use for the Quark's moonlight mode at work.

My principal requirements are that it turn on and off reliably (no turning on when inside the pack), have a lanyard attachment, accept standard (AA or AAA) lithium, alkaline, or rechargeable batteries, enough run time to get me through a night of hiking (say ten hours), be reasonably water resistant, and fit on my head or helmet.

A headlamp is critical in any situation where you need use of your hands (caving, nocturnal rock climbing, heavy duty first aid) and can easily be carried in other situations.

A former requirement was that it house a spare bulb right with the light, but that is no longer pertinent in the LED era. The only incans I have are museum pieces, holdovers from the 20th century.

I have one other museum piece(s), a carbide lamp - fits all of the above criteria (except water resistance) and was a surefire fire starter and hand warmer to boot! Carbide is just too hard to obtain these days, the technology is obsolete, and the lamps do not do well around automobile and plane wrecks.

Currently I usually EDC two lights, a Gerber Ultra Infinity, and a Fenix LD 01 on my keyring. A Princeton EOS (headlamp) is never far away. I also EDC spare lithium batteries for the first two.

To me, watt ratings only means that the manufacturer is pushing an obsolete product, their marketing department haven't got the faintest clue what they're talking about, or both....

Rating LEDs in watt only had a meaning when there was a rat's race of making more light by pumping more current through the LED. In those days, a 5 watt LED would be brighter than a 3 watt LED. That route was abandoned for the quest of more efficient LED (1 watt LED latest generation being brighter than old generation 5 watt LED... and with 1/5th of the power consumption, the run time is 5 times longer...).


Dive ratings are a completely different animal than "waterproof" flashlights. A dive light has to cope with substantial water pressure. Most waterproof flashlights can take a quick dunk in a pond or a long period in the rain, but take it down to 10 meters and the pressure on the outside is 2 bar (2000 hPa) versus 1 bar (1000 hPa) on the inside... with that kind of pressure difference, water WILL be forced through unless the light has been purpose built to withstand it.


Likewise, explosion rating will exclude most of the lights at the market today....


I like the original list, but it is out of reach with current technology. There is still a choice between
- Long run time
- Bright as heck
- Small
Pick 2, but not all 3.

What you CAN get is either something with multiple levels. Say a less than 5 lumens low with absurdly long run times. This is more than enough for most close proximity tasks. And a 20 lumens "working" level light for the time period suggested. 20 lumens is plenty for most things in the outdoors and brighter than many old fashioned incandescent flashlights, but it is not enough for spotting things at the 100-150 yard range. You need a third level for that. used continuously you're somewhere close to 2 hour run time on this setting, but if you only use the maximum for short bursts you can have very long run times.

So... that leaves you with either long run time, functional "working light" levels and skipping the "long range, bright as heck" part of the requirements,
OR going for a 3-mode light, using the highest setting in brief bursts,
OR skipping part of your run time requirements,
or just carrying more spare batteries...

As a work light - my Pelican 2xAAA mity-light is diveproof (did many years of 120ft dives) and has worked at 15,000ft. It claims explosion proof - not tested it but I haven't exploded yet!
It's a regular bulb not a LED but one I've had for more than 15years is still going strong.

As a EDC I have a bunch of cheap LED coin cell LEDS secreted in most pockets and on most keyrings.
And in the winter I have a couple of single AAA Fenix knock-offs.

I work carry a Leatherman Serac S3 which is small, light and has varying output levels. I bought it at the factory store on clearance.

It replaced a Leatherman Monarch 500 (the old one) which was very robust but heavy. Not regulated either.

That replaced a Surefire 6p which is one overrated light and not up to the knocks I give my lights.

At work we have Pelican Sabrelites which are MHSA rated but have a poor light output relative to a modern led light. The battery holders are fragile too but Pelican replaced a bunch of ours under warranty without question.

I don't think that there's any light anywhere that meets all of Art_in_FL's criteria.

The Quark series from 4sevens.com is, in my experience, fantastic. My EDC light is a Quark 123. Additionally, service from 4sevens.com is outstanding. The Preons might be a better fit for Art's form factor; I don't own any Preons...yet.

I have no affiliation with them other than as a very happy customer.