If you are looking for a heavy duty flashlight, this article might just be the right one for you. You see, you are a potential flashaholic—I see in you what I felt within myself before I ever knew such a word and world exists—just because of the search engine keywords you used. Flashlights are magical things, aren’t they? And they’re just begging to be turned on, to be focused, to be flashed, and be played in any dark place.
You know, almost anyone can benefit from a good, strong, dependable flashlight. The sad thing is, when I internet-searched for some back then, it led me to some brands and manufacturers that pay to be at the top of Google’s results page. The good thing is that I did not stop there—I dug deeper. Truly, the best and brightest (pun intended) source of information out there is in a place called CPF—Candle Power Forums. Surprised yet? Yes, there is a worldwide congregation of people who love flashlights.
Click here to visit Candle Power Forums.
However, for a newbie or someone who just wants to get on with it and buy a piece, CPF can be very overwhelming. So, this is where this article stands.
In this article I will try to namedrop as many brands and products as I possibly can, and give some price ranges as well. We will try to discuss battery kinds, beam kinds, built, etc., but will be very newbie-friendly in my manner of presentation. So without further ado, let’s begin.
Battery type
Possible the most important thing to consider is the type of battery your flashlight will use. Being a heavy duty one, I assume you want to use and keep this torch for as long as you can, which means you need to use rechargeable batteries. The good news is almost all battery sizes have rechargeable counterparts. For this segment, I shall go on and recommend you stick with battery sizes that are very, very common like AA and AAA, as these (availability) will come in handy in odd emergency situations.
Flashlight size
This is a personal choice and yes, battery size is not a factor for flashlight size. In the world of flashlights, there are those which are considered EDCs. EDC stands for “everyday carry.” Obviously, these are those that are meant to fit in pockets. Do not however, be fooled by their sizes—there are very powerful (bright) small flashlights out there as this is a very popular market segment. So at this point, imagine what size you think would work best for you so we can match them with products later.
Bulb type
Let me make this short and simple and say LED. Halogens and incandescents are very outdated and non-efficient. And HIDs are somewhat not for newbies.
Built
Ah, here is where heavy duty comes in. If you are familiar with Maglites (brand), almost all of my product recommendations will have at least (if not better) Maglite-quality. Aircraft-grade aluminum, powder coating, stainless, waterproofing—these are all but common terms for hardcore flashlight users. At this point, forget plastic even exists.
Brands
Let’s start with those that are somewhat more common: SureFire, Inova, Coast Led Lenser, and Streamlight.
More brands: Fenix, NovaTac, Fireworm, Zebralight, and the list goes on…
Really, there are a ton of flashlight and brands available out there. To avoid confusing you instead of helping you, I have listed below a bunch of my personal favorites—those which I personally own. You see, I am a budget shopper—I do not mind paying premium as long as I get what I paid for and there is simply nothing better out there in terms of price over performance.
Fenix LD10
The LD10, for me, is the best single AA flashlight out there. It is a little larger than an AA battery and can go with a maximum brightness of 132 lumens. Its latest incarnation uses the R4 LED which has a lifespan of 50,000 hours. This is a compact torch and I assure you you will be surprised at its power.
Click here to read reviews and find deals.
I’ll have to continue this article another time as this is slowly becoming a novel…
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