Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
OK noob when it comes to prepping. This may be more for working on my vehicles in the dark than anything, but I do feel like I should be more prepared as I don't currently have any flashlights. I've been lucky to not have been subject to many power outages living in Chicago, but now that I live in TN, and buying a house next year maybe, I feel like the possibility of such would be more likely? maybe?
I would like to find a good, long lasting, durable flashlight, or maybe 2, thought this might be a good place to ask.
Do you guys just get whatever off the shelf of any store? Or do you get them online or from a specific store?
Do you have 1 or 2 flashlights that are real good, or just several okay ones so you have extras?
Looking for a handheld one that has a great beam, decent (a few hours at least) battery life, long lasting bulb (not sure how to gauge how long they should last or if they are replaceable with an off-the-shelf bulb).
What kind of power should I get, battery powered or rechargeable?
Also a decent spot light.
What should I be looking for when shopping for one?
Maglite makes a good flashlight that keeps working. If you buy the cheapo plastic ones, the switch will go out very soon, and usually at a time that you really need the light.
I've got a spotlight by Black and Decker. It came in a set with a drill and a radio and a charger and I don't remember what else. The flashlight runs off the big drill battery that is rechargeable. It gives off plenty of light and the battery lasts for hours and hours. You can set it on it's base and it stands up for no-hands usage. Rechargeable, so there is no battery replacement costs. About $50 for everything. The drill and everything else works well and the radio charges the battery and if it is unplugged, it runs off the battery.
My son liked my flashlight so he bought a flashlight that works off of his rechargeable drill batteries from DeWalt. Again, plenty of light, the battery lasts a long time and there is no expense for replacement batteries. It stands up for hands free and also has a flexible goose neck. This one is a lot more expensive. It was $20 for the flashlight attachment and the good batteries are about $100, which does not include the chargers. (huge differnce in the quality of the batteries, but my less expensive one works very well for the flashlight)
On the plus side for the DeWalt flashlight, that battery also runs the drill and a circular saw that both get used a lot. There are all sorts of different power tool attachments available, if you happen to be doing any building.
I have replaced the bulb in mine once, and my son has never replaced the bulb in his DeWalt. A case of getting what you pay for. His rig is much better quality. Mine was a lot cheaper and works for me for the things I use it for. Mine would never stand up to the usage he gives to his DeWalt system.
First off, you want to get lights with LED's. Plenty of old krypton and other limited-life bulbs out there, but an LED never needs replacing (not in your lifetime, anyway). They've come a long way with LED's, and they are brighter than ever, and use less power than ever. Just get LED's, OK?
Specifically, I recommend Home Depot's own brand, Defiant, called the LED ArmorMax 3D. This is a flashlight - and WHAT a flashlight! It's about 18" long, black, made of machined aluminum, waterproof to 1 meter (about 3'), comes with rubberized caps so it won't break from a 30' fall, puts out a scorching 590 lumens, and runs for 18 hours on 3 x D-cells. Settings are high, low, and strobe (good for disorienting an intruder while you get your gun). The light from this thing pierces the night woods for a long ways. I bought 3 of these, and never regretted it. $30-40 from Home Depot.
I've bought at least 7 different types of spotlights in the past 5 years - some krypton bulb, some HID, and the very best were: Coleman 3-LED spotlights. These put out 530 lumens - again, they will pierce the night woods and make you very visible from a boat in any kind of fog. Black, with a nice squeeze-trigger handle. Comes in 2 models - one that runs off 12V only (like from your truck or boat), and one that comes with a sealed lead acid battery inside, and can be recharged via AC or 12V.
We have 4 of the 12V only type mounted to the 4 corners of our ranch house, all connected to a 12V battery that is recharged with a small solar panel. Wired thru motion-detector sensors, they all go on at once, scaring the bejesus out of anyone or anything that comes near the house after dark. I only bought one of the rechargeable types, but that comes in handy, too.
So yes, you definitely want to get some LED flashlights and spots. 500 lumens is minimum you want, but probably now you can find 7-800 or over 1,000 lumens of you want to pay. But 500 lumens is a really bright light, and will blind you temporarily if you look into it up close. Just whistle right past the aisle where they sell Everready or Duracell flashlights with replaceable bulbs. Even krypton or HID is no longer state-of-the-art. Get the LED's.
First off, you want to get lights with LED's. Plenty of old krypton and other limited-life bulbs out there, but an LED never needs replacing (not in your lifetime, anyway). They've come a long way with LED's, and they are brighter than ever, and use less power than ever. Just get LED's, OK?
Specifically, I recommend Home Depot's own brand, Defiant, called the LED ArmorMax 3D. This is a flashlight - and WHAT a flashlight! It's about 18" long, black, made of machined aluminum, waterproof to 1 meter (about 3'), comes with rubberized caps so it won't break from a 30' fall, puts out a scorching 590 lumens, and runs for 18 hours on 3 x D-cells. Settings are high, low, and strobe (good for disorienting an intruder while you get your gun). The light from this thing pierces the night woods for a long ways. I bought 3 of these, and never regretted it. $30-40 from Home Depot.
I've bought at least 7 different types of spotlights in the past 5 years - some krypton bulb, some HID, and the very best were: Coleman 3-LED spotlights. These put out 530 lumens - again, they will pierce the night woods and make you very visible from a boat in any kind of fog. Black, with a nice squeeze-trigger handle. Comes in 2 models - one that runs off 12V only (like from your truck or boat), and one that comes with a sealed lead acid battery inside, and can be recharged via AC or 12V.
We have 4 of the 12V only type mounted to the 4 corners of our ranch house, all connected to a 12V battery that is recharged with a small solar panel. Wired thru motion-detector sensors, they all go on at once, scaring the bejesus out of anyone or anything that comes near the house after dark. I only bought one of the rechargeable types, but that comes in handy, too.
So yes, you definitely want to get some LED flashlights and spots. 500 lumens is minimum you want, but probably now you can find 7-800 or over 1,000 lumens of you want to pay. But 500 lumens is a really bright light, and will blind you temporarily if you look into it up close. Just whistle right past the aisle where they sell Everready or Duracell flashlights with replaceable bulbs. Even krypton or HID is no longer state-of-the-art. Get the LED's.
Ah, another person who shares my fetish! Now i need to go and get the HD Defiant scorcher, which i haven't ever seen in the store.
[quote=oregonwoodsmoke;32199776]Maglite makes a good flashlight that keeps working.
I'll have to beg to differ on the Maglite, three of mine have turned to trash when the batterys inside deterioated and destroyed the flashlight, pretty much overnight. Dont ask me, I dont know what happened to them but its a very disappointing pattern. WILL NOT BUY ANOTHER MAGLITE.
oh, the company offers to replace if you send it back AND it has the recommended battery inside.
I have never had any problems with the Mag light myself and love them, but of course I use them so the batteries don't have a chance to get old.
The mini-mag is the one I use the most, and it works as a head lamp as well just by sticking it in the side of your cap.
They make elastic holders for that purpose as well.
What I look for in a flashlight is long life, strong body that resists damage, easy to find replacements and parts, and strong clear light.
There are brighter lights out there, but the old Mag light is a proven standard for me.
Two of these two-celled D Mags were used daily. One day, the light just did not work, so I opened to check the batterys and they were swollen and emitting the 'white dust' like stuff and totally swelled up to the point of not removing or cleaning up. As you may store, I store mine 'standing on the lens' on a shelf by the back door. May have been the case that when I did set it back on the shelf, it was still turned on - thus it being 'on' while standing face down. and with a Mag, if its in this position, the light shining is not visible, so it may have been left on for a couple days - until the batterys were dead. Anyway, they were a mess when I tried them next.
Another vote for LED -- they throw great light, sip battery life, and work in all weather. We have several LED that take AA and AAA batteries (mostly rechargeable). With any battery-powered appliances, it's wise to keep as many of them using the same battery size if possible so you can stock up in bulk rather than having multiple sizes... I recently replaced our C-cell and D-cell flashlights with comparable models that use multiple AA-cells instead.
Namebrand flashlights and batteries are better than the cheapy storebrands, keeping in mind that you want a flashlight from a company that specializes in flashlights and batteries from a company that specializes in batteries... a battery/camping/hunting manufacturer doesn't necessarily specialize in flashlights. The extra money you spend on a high-quality flashlight will more than make up for itself in reliability.
I've found that having a couple convertible flashlights (beam-to-lantern) is really handy. The beam is good for distance illumination, while the lantern is good for local area illumination. If you need to do actual work in the dark (cutting firewood, shoveling snow, etc), a suspended wide-pattern lantern is often more useful than a focused beam or headlamp.
Another good investment for the glovebox is a wide area magnetic flashlight that sticks to the underside of the hood to illuminate the entire engine compartment (or trunk or wheel-well). I've found that these work better for repairs than smaller focused beams and headlamps alone. I have small high-intensity penlight for extra illumination in tight spaces.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
