Which flashlight you prefer, wide beam/but short or tight beam/but further reaching

[jmellc]

I like a head lamp for close work. I’ve used various ones ranging $15 to $40. Most have 2 or 3 brightness settings. Pretty versatile. I need to also get a hat clip type for same uses.

For a handheld light, I mostly like the narrow long range beam.

With either, I have to force myself to change batteries regularly. Easy to glance at the LEDs & think still good but then in the dark, they have dimmed. Incandescents died & you knew they were dead. Always have batteries close by.

[NEBeachcomber]

I have two flashlights that I prefer and rely on, depending on the the type of light needed.

The first is Streamlight Stinger that I used when I worked in Law Enforcement. I carried this light mounted in a holster on my duty belt. This light is about 8-1/2" tall and has a rechargeable battery. The Streamlight Stinger provides a strong, deep penetrating, light that permits me to see greater distances.

Today, (now that I'm retired) I carry a much smaller Olight "Baton Pro". It's about 4-1/4" tall, has a rechargeable battery, and is very bright. This light cast a wide, bright, beam (with no center "hot" spot) that allows me to see a very wide area out in front of me. For my purposes today... this is my light of choice.

If the Olight Baton Pro had been available when I worked in uniform, I would have carried both... it and the Streamlight, when I was working and had all of my options covered.

[jamies]

I'm a flashlight junkie too. Everything from the old angle head army/boy scout light to mag lights, to the latest TRL-HLs on several of my guns. I use headlamps a lot more these days, also those little $5 ball cap lights. And the blue florscent work lights Harbor Frieght was giving away for free with other purchases, probably have 5 of those. They have magnets. We keep one on the refrigerator, one in each car and a couple in tool boxes.

I prefer "all the lumens." Brighter is better! Unless you are inside, over about 500 lum will affect your eyes when splashed on a white wall. The one downside of my gun mounted lights - but it's gonna affect the bad guy more! I have a drawer full of cheap Cree 1,000 lumen lights, red, white, green, black light (for finding scorpions) and ir. So basically I never have the light I need when I need it and default to a single cell pen light on my keychain...

As for cars - I have a jeep, jeeps never have enough lights! I have 6 KC's, plus the headlights. Two flood/fog on the bumper. Two spot on the winch mount, two more spot on the window pillars. I plan to add two more spots on the pillars at a slight angle to the lower ones to provide a wider beam, and two cube floods on the bumper angled about 45 deg out to better illuminate the sides of the road/trail. I don't like light bars on the roof - they bounce light off the hood, and in dust, fog or snow they'll just blind you with reflected light. In a vehicle it's best to keep the light source out in front.

Not to mention those "kewl" 8 light KC lightbars are like $1,750 plus! And good led headlights are in the $500 plus range.

In operation the four spots I have throw a lot of light about 1/3 mile ahead, coupled with high beams it's plenty. But there's no kill like overkill, so I "need" two more spots, which of course requires a custom welded and powder coated bracket and redoing my entire switch panel to add another switch. The main floods are street legal and provide up close light - and if it's dusty or snowy I have used just the bumper mounted floods alone. Being low they reflect less off particles into your eyes. I'd like some amber filters that could snap on the lights.

In a SHTF event a couple of IR lights with night viz might be nice to have. But so would a billion dollar lottery ticket, and realistically neither event is likely to occur, so I'm good with what I have.

[fisheye]

Harbor Freight sells these little LED flashlights for $1.79 or you can buy two for $2.79: https://www.harborfreight.com/lighti...ght-63599.html. What I like about them is that they are cheap and you can have them all over the house. When the power goes out you might not be a room with your big flashlight. I keep one or two of them in all three of my vehicles. They also sell headlamps for only $3.99 and they are really handy to have in a bathroom during a power failure. You can teem them up with the cheaper lights by setting those $1.79 lights on a counter pointing at your white ceiling.

The big flashlights are great. But you have to make sure you have the batteries for them and have them available. These little guys are usually where I need them and when I need them. They are more reliable that the old 'bulb' flashlights ever were and for the price you can just buy a new one instead of even worrying about batteries. But I also have cheap AAA batteries and have replaced the batteries in them from time to time - they last a long time.

[Masamune]

I have both kinds. If forced to choose between the two, I'd take the long beam because it can also be used to light spaces nearby if you direct it so it isn't too bright. For around the house, I have several wide-beam lights and have used them a lot. The long-beam light is there in case the need arises. I could imagine several situations where a long-beam light would get much more use.