Have you ever found yourself in this situation? Its dark, you’re in your campsite, you are about to fire up the flashlights and they just don’t seem to be bright enough?
So now, put yourself in the same situation, but this time, imagine having a light that brightens up everything around you. Kind of different, isn’t it.
For very long, incadescent bulbs were the staple of flashlights. But now there are LEDs, HIDs and other technologies. Also, flashlights, especially tactical ones have durabilty you wouldn’t believe.
With camping and flashlights, you want something that’s reliable and bright at the same time. To help you out in your search, I’m going to cover specialty type… the tactical flashlight and then the very bright HID and LED styles.
Now when you’re done with this article, you’ll know about some of the brightest flashlights that exist on the market, and even one that isn’t for sale.
Tactical Flashlights: Durability
Lets start out with tactical flashlights. Most of the time you’ll find these mounted on the end of weapons. But they are removeable and very reliable.
Now the first one we’ll talk about is the ToolLogic SLPro 2. It’s packaged with an alloy fire rod that can start a fire in a tough situation. So its packaged as a survival kit, but the light is detachable, and its built solidly out of waterproof anodized aluminum.
Another tactical flashlight is the JetBeam PC25 with a 408 lumen light beam. Its used by law enforcement and pushes 273 hours of output.
Speaking of lumens, let me explain the idea briefly. A candle puts out over 10 lumens. 100-200 is used by police and SWAT. Search lights are rated at about 1000. And probably the biggest lumen output comes from the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas with its mammoth 30 billion lumens output!
LED’s: Bright And Durable
LED flashlights put out a whole lot of light for the dollar, are durable and have a lot of features. Check out the Redline Nebo for instance. Along with the high and low settings, it has an SOS blinking feature. This can be a real lifesaver out on the water. But let me share a few more.
First is the Fenix PB20 with probably the best light output and “throw” of any small flashlight. If you look on YouTube, you’ll find videos of this flashlight being subjected to destruction tests like boiling and throwing it continually against concrete and rock. Its durable to say the least!
Another great example of LEDs, and rather extreme is the 100 LED Aluminum Alloy Flashlight on Amazon.com. Its extreme because instead of 1 or 2 LED’s it uses literally 100 LED’s to create light. It uses batteries up pretty fast, but it does put out the light.
The crop of LEDs right now that are the most powerful are the Cree XRE P4-R2 bin, Luxeon Rebel 90-100 bin and the Luxeon TFFC 180 bin. Look for these LED’s to power the brighter flashlights. But if money is no object, and its light you want… then go for a HID light.
HID’s: The Worlds Brightest
Its not uncommon to find these taking the place of headlights in cars. Seriously. And if you check out youtube, you’ll find the brightest that exists. It’s a 20,000 Lumen home made handheld (with two hands) made by a German. It’s pretty unreal.
When it comes to true handhelds, the 5200 Polarion PH50 Helios is very capable. Its used by the military, so you know its reliable.
Here’s another HID to check out. The 6500 LM 65W HID from HID Country. The battery life isn’t much… 1 hour and weighs in at just under 5 pounds. Its military grade construction is very evident in how it looks. But here’s the kicker. Its range is 3,000 feet. That’s over 1/2 mile. aaahh.. thats what I’m talkin’ about!
Flashlights and their features are pretty exciting to watch. I’m amazed at what’s available these days. So let me give you a little challenge for this week. Check out the Redline Nebo at your local outdoor and wilderness store and give it a little test.
Want to know more about camping gear flashlights and lanterns? Then check out JoesCampFire, grab a cup of joe and take a seat by the fire.