Everyone needs a good flashlight. Even if you don't camp, use one professionally, or ever go out at night, a bright, reliable flashlight is an essential part of emergency preparedness and just plain handy to have around the house. If the power ever goes out, each family member needs a light to guide them to safety. Fortunately, these useful tools have come a long way in the last decade.
"The transition many years ago from incandescent bulbs was a huge leap forward," Jake Keller, head training advisor for the Multnomah County (Oregon) Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue Team told Business Insider. "LED lights help extend battery life and durability and require fewer battery changes. The technology continues to improve, and now you're seeing things like low-level red lights incorporated into a normal light, as well as more rechargeable options."
Since LEDs dominate the industry of late, and remain superior to older models, the flashlights featured in this guide are only of the LED variety. This isn't to say older models aren't still feasible options but when boiling it down to the best, LED wins in every category.
How to shop for a flashlightWhen choosing a flashlight, there are a number of factors Keller recommends considering: "In an everyday carry application, I look for something small that easily fits into a pocket. I'd sacrifice an adjustable focus and battery life in favor of something small, bright, and quick to use."
During my tests, I paid special attention to brightness, ease of use, and size, but since different users have diverse needs, I also looked at battery runtime and adjustable focus abilities. For instance, if you're on a hiking trip, you may not have easy access to a charging port and may not want the added weight of extra batteries. This is where a longer battery runtime comes in handy.
How we testThere are several tests I put each model through to thoroughly review each option. The most important factors to consider are performance, lighting options, and battery power.
Brightness: I used a light meter and an old mattress box to measure the lumens of each flashlight. I cut two holes in one end of the 42-inch-long box (one hole for the flashlight to shine through and another for the light sensor). I then covered the interior with white paper and measured the lumens of the reflected light with the flashlight set to max brightness and a wide beam. I recorded measurements every 10 minutes for an hour and a half. This showed both the brightness of the reflected light and how that changed over time. For most models, the lumen output decreased by at least 50 percent in the first 10 minutes.
Battery power: After the 90-minute brightness test, I let each battery operate on high until it was out of juice. Though a few still produced a dim light after a few hours some put off a marginally bright light for days. I also looked at whether the flashlight used common batteries (i.e., AA or AAA) that are easy to replace or if it used a popular charging cord in the case of rechargeable batteries.
Light modes: How many brightness options are there? Are there other colors or functions, such as strobe or SOS? Is it easy to switch between the different modes? These are all questions I considered when examining each flashlight.
Durability: You don't want your flashlight to break easily. To test durability, I dropped each flashlight from 10 feet above a flight of hardwood stairs. None of the flashlights broke but the light went out on a few of them, which would make it hard to find if dropped in the dark. I also looked at whether they were waterproof or just water-resistant. If waterproof (IPX8), I submerged the flashlight in water for at least five minutes to see if it continued to function normally.
Additionally, I examined whether the flashlights had adjustable focus, were easy to turn on by accident, and how they were to operate with gloves on.
The following recommendations each performed well throughout the tests and proved to have useful features and a durability rating that justify the sometimes high sticker price. I also included some input on other models I tested but that didn't ultimately make the cut.
Here are the best flashlights:Updated on 8/6/2020 by James Brains: Overhauled the entire guide, included a how to shop for a flashlight section, as well as how we test, picked new products for each category, and updated the links and pricing throughout.