A flashlight is a piece of life saving equipment. And just like anything else you’re counting on to save your life, this isn’t the place where you should go bargain shopping. I have seen cheap flashlights fail, and I have seen cheap flashlights not deliver the output that was claimed in their marketing material.
Things you use a flashlight for:
1. Search
2. Navigate
3. Signal
4. Control (suspect or threat)
5. Positively ID (suspect or threat)
Note that while you can do some of these things some of the time with a weapon light, you cannot do all of these functions with a weapon light. In addition, sometimes weapon lights fail, which means you will still need to be able to use a handheld light and must have one with you.
Any flashlight that you’re considering needs to have the
following features:
1. High brightness/output.
2. Simple user interface.
3. Non-slip grip interface.
4. Durable.
5. Water resistant/water proof.
6. Readily available batteries or easily recharged.
7. Tolerable price point.
8. Good factory warranty.
9. Size and weight consistent with your ability to have it with you all the time.
Allow me to discuss each of these at length.
In terms of brightness, there are two measurements that you need to be aware of: lumens and candela. Lumens is a measure of total output, whereas candela is a measurement of the peak intensity of the center of the beam. In general you want a light that puts out at least 1,000 lumens and has a peak beam intensity of at least 10,000 candela. More is definitely better.
The user interface (switching) needs to be simple. When you turn it on, it needs to give you 100% of the light output with the first click or press of that switch. If you need to press that switch multiple times or use a combination of more than one button, that light is not suitable for a tactical purpose. Beware of lights that default to strobe. Intellectually you might think that it would have a disorienting effect on a threat, and while that may be true, you are robbing yourself of valuable visual information, because there are times where there is light, and times where there is no light during a strobe effect. Any of those dark moments may serve to mask movements or actions of your suspect. Additionally you may end up causing self-disorientation by virtue of that strobe. For those reasons I don’t recommend strobing tactical lights, either handheld or weapon mounted.
The grip of the light must be such that it is still readily retainable even if it is wet, dirty, muddy, or bloody. This will usually be accomplished through some sort of knurling or similar. If the surface is slippery and has no grip considerations, it’ll be exceptionally easy to drop, especially if there are any weather or environment issues.
The flashlight must be able to shrug off impacts such as being dropped. In a perfect world you’ll never drop anything or bump anything or use your flashlight as an improvised impact tool. We don’t live or work in a perfect world.
If the flashlight can’t stand being submerged in a puddle, pool, sink, or similar, it is once again not suitable.
The best flashlight in the world is useless without power, so getting that power needs to be a simple process. If those are disposable batteries and you don’t mind buying those batteries and keeping spares, you are all set. If you don’t have that arrangement, you may wish to get something that is rechargeable. Certainly you can get removable rechargeable batteries, but being able to plug the whole flashlight into something is preferable. Most of the recent tactical lights out there come with a USB-C interface that allows for easy recharging, either at a desk or in your car.
There are some amazing lights out there that are quite expensive. For instance, the Modlite OKW is highly rated and has an impressive candela output (69,000). It is also $309.00 as of this writing. It is also likely that 3 years from now flashlight technology will easily outshine (see what I did there?) what we’re looking at today, and from that perspective alone, I’d rather spend $70-$120 now, and again 3 years from now, rather than $300 every 3 years. That said, it is your money. Also, at the end of the day it is always possible that your light could get lost or stolen.
No matter how well made something is, the possibility of it not working is always present. For that reason, you need to have some level of confidence in the company to offer fixes or replacements.
Companies that I know will stand behind their product:
1. Surefire
2. Streamlight
3. Fenix
There are a few others that probably will, including Nitecore, but I haven’t dealt with their warranty service, nor do I know anybody who has. For that reason, I am hesitant to broadly recommend them, despite having had really good success with their lights in the past.
Some lights are too big to be useful. The multi-celled Maglights or similar tend to fall into this category. The smaller handheld lights that I recommend can live in your pocket or on your belt whenever you leave the house, and therefore they’re much more likely to be with you when you need them.
So now, for the specific recommendations:
The Fenix PD36 Tac just came out in May. I purchased one immediately and have been using it at the range, the Academy, and at my part time job. Top output ranges between 2000-3000 lumens, depending on mode selection. Tactical mode defaults to 2000 lumens and has no lower modes to get stuck on. Duty mode lets you switch between varying outputs based on your needs. It also has a lockout so that if you want to carry it in your pocket it won’t accidentally activate. To recharge it you must unscrew the base and take out the battery, which has a USB-C port on it. This light retails at right around $100.
If you don’t like the Fenix brand, Streamlight makes an excellent flashlight, the Protac HL-X USB. Output is 1000 lumens/27,100 cd. It is slightly chunkier than the Fenix PD36R, but still quite capable. It can use CR123 batteries or a rechargeable battery.
While I haven’t had to use Nitecore warranty service, I am
experimenting with one of their lights, the P20i.
There are many others out there. Surefire makes a durable light with an excellent user interface, but their total output is less than the Fenix brand. Their best tactical flashlight at this time is the EDCL2-T. The cheapest I can find it right now is $147.89. That said, it is a USA made product, and for that reason alone you may wish to consider it.
I have tried out several Olight products in the past. Their output and durability is usually OK, but I’ve never liked their switching/user interface. More recent versions have gotten better, but they’re still not in the same class as their competitors. They do offer sales on occasion, and the discounts during those sales can be substantive. If you want to take a chance on one I would understand, but please take a look at the switching before committing.
If you need a small administrative light for non-tactical tasks, I have become a very big fan of the Streamlight 66320 Macrostream USB rechargeable. It takes up very little room in a pocket or bag, and it has a decent and usable output for tasks that don’t involve looking for things that go bump in the night.
While you don’t need to have the best and most awesome light,
you should consider something serviceable that meets your needs. Even if you rarely
or never venture out at night, you are one power outage away from having no
light available unless you brought it with you.
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