Every year, I tend to lose power for 2-3 days. While I have an OLight T20 as a personal flashlight, I want to buy a flashlight that will light a room at night in the event of a power loss (the Olight can’t be stood on end, and isn’t really ideal for this purpose.
Last time I lost power, I used a Tiablo A9 I had lying around, and it worked pretty well, but it’s also not ideal for this purpose. On the plus side, it can stand up on its end, and its low-power mode lights up a room fairly well, and lasts for 8 hours (most of a night). However, its designed as a throw flashlight, with a narrow, bright beam (i.e. most of the light’s wasted on a small spot on the ceiling), and it uses CR123A batteries (which get a bit pricey when going through 4 a night, and aren’t always the easiest batteries to find lying around the house…luckily I had just ordered a Surefire 12 pack for the other lights :D )
So, what are your recommendations for an LED flashlight to keep lying around the house to use in the event of a power outage? I have enough flashlights to give everyone a light to carry around with them for personal use, so am really looking for a single light to keep a central room lit at night. I want something that stand up by itself in the middle of a room, and have a fairly wide, diffuse beam (or an efficient add-on filter to do this). It must be bright enough to light up a room, at least enough to comfortably read/see/play board games/etc. in, and preferably use no more than 1-2 sets of batteries a night doing this (obviously, other considerations aside, longer battery life is always preferred) Finally, I don’t want anything that only runs on rechargeable batteries. I’ll keep a few sets of alkaline (or, more likely, lithium) batteries on hand for when I need them (probably only once every year or two, for this particular use, so self-discharge is a consideration), but I’m really not interested in keeping 3 days of rechargables charged year-round for the light on the off-chance I’ll need them. Something that runs off special-order batteries like CR123As and the like is fine, since I already carry these, but all things being equal, something that runs off AAs, or something easily-available would be even better, so I can run to Walmart and buy some if I can’t find my supply or run out.
I’ve seen those battery-powered LED sticky-lights in Walmart and the like, but they seem horribly battery-inefficient for their power output (8 AAAs for a mid-bright light that lasts a few hours), and thought that someone here could point me toward something to fit my needs better.
Thanks for the help!
(and, in case I missed something, here’s the sticky form answers:)
1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?
Online is fine. Shipping time is not a consideration. As long as I can get it somehow, in 6 months or less, I’m good.
2) Budget: An easy question, but you may change your mind after answering the rest! :-)
Really, I’m pretty flexible. You’d really have to sell me on features to spend more than $100, and I’m expecting I’ll have to spend about $50 at least to get everything I want, but, technically, if it’s good, and gets the job done, I have no upper (or lower!) limit.
3) Format:
I was really looking for an LED flashlight. I suppose I could get a lantern if it’s more energy efficient and fits the bill better, but at least a flashlight I could still use as, well, a flashlight for whatever reason. Still, if someone has a really good solution that happens to be a lantern, I’ll at least look at it. Headlights/dive lights/portable spotlights are right out.
4) Flashlight-specific format/size:
Meh. Whatever. Bit enough to get the job done, small enough to be portable. I’d say Every day carry medium, holster carry, and possibly even a bit larger are all fine. Something comfortable enough to easily carry in one hand and set on a table. If I can fit it in a pocket, even better, although this is not entirely necessary (The A9, for instance, *barely* fits in a pocket…kind of…) I’d be a bit leery of anything too much bigger than the A9 – I’d be worried about it breaking something if it fell over ^.^
5) Emitter/Light source:
LED Preferred. Waterproof flashlight preferred. HID would be okay – I don’t mind the warmup time, but definitely something that can survive being knocked down/bumped around a bit, and LED always seemed to be more durable, and less worrying to touch/less likely to burn surrounding paper when active)
6) Manufacturer:
Don’t care. Custom is fine, as long as price and performance are comparable to off-the-shelf.
7) What battery type do you want to use?
Lithium non-rechargable preferred. Alkaline would be okay, but not ideal. No rechargables/integrated rechargables please. Bonus points for something I can run to Walmart and pick up if needed (such as lithium AAs)
8) How much genuine out the front (OTF) light do you want/need? Sometimes you can have too much light (trying to read up close up with a 100 lumen light is impossible).
The A9 worked, at about 50-60 lumen low output, but was a bit low. The high output (250 lumens) was better, and didn’t seem at all like overkill (although battery life made this mode unusable). Presumably, with a good diffusion filter, and a light that wasn’t designed for throw, 250 lumens would have been too much. I don’t need a floodlight, but want to light up a decently sized room fairly well. I imagine 100-200 lumens would be fine if pointed ceilingward with some sort of diffusion filter/wide enough beam. I want to be able to read comfortably, even in a far corner of a fiarly large, central room, with the light in the center (or slightly offset), on a table, pointed upward.
9) Throw vs. Flood: At what distance will you be most likely to use this light? Select all that apply.
Flood, not throw. 5-10 yards is likely fine. I’d prefer even, diffuse light to a narrow throw beam, whether intrinsic ro through the use of a filter. My main objection to an add-on diffusion filter is that they seem to dim light output, often considerably, requiring more batteries for equivalent lighting and runtime.
10) Runtime: Not over-inflated manufacturer runtime claims, but usable brightness measured from first activation to 50% with new batteries (Measured on maximum output).
3 hours+. Ideally 12 hours on the (lower?) brightness mode I'd be using it in, so I could run it through a night (but not overnight - it'd be switched off at sleeptime) on a set of batteries. Anything less than 6 hours on low (i.e. over 2 sets a night) would be annoying.
11) Durability/Usage: Generally the old phrase “you get what you pay for” is very accurate for flashlights.
Fairly durable. Doesn’t have to survive the apocalypse, but would love something that would survive being taken camping or thrown in a backpack and forgotten until needed for 6 months. Trying to avoid glass/xenon/incandescent(eww!) for this reason. Should (at the VERY least!) be able to survive being knocked down onto a hard surface from a few feet up. Waterproof lights greatly preferred. The A9 is rock-solid – if I could get something with similar durability, I’ll be ecstatic.
12) Switch Type and location (choose all that apply):
Doesn’t really matter. I have a personal preference for tail mounted switches over clickys, and don’t really like twisties, but that’s just me. Not really a deciding factor.
13) User Interface (UI) and mode selection. Select all that apply.
On-off is acceptable. Multiple light levels (even as simple as low/high) is preferred so I can use the light for other applications. Strobes/programmable lights/selector rings/SOS modes/beacon modes seem excessive, but if it happens to have em, whatever.
14)Material/Finish/Coating
Preferably something more durable than plastic, unless it’s exceptionally durable plastic :P. Otherwise, don’t really care. Aluminum/titanium would be preferred to steel, due to weight.
15) Special Needs/extras: Is there anything else you want or need that hasn't been mentioned? Select any below.
Nothing here that interests me much. A secondary carry method (holster) would be nice, but not necessary. Something that won’t roll indefinitely if it falls over would be VERY nice (the A9 has a noncircular bezel to stop rolling, unlike my T20, and it’s quite useful for a light that is going to be put somewhere for long periods)
TLDR: Need a light to illuminate the central room of the house for 2-4 days a year, all night (but not overnight), in the event of power outage. Non-rechargable, good battery life, wide, diffuse beam needed.
Last time I lost power, I used a Tiablo A9 I had lying around, and it worked pretty well, but it’s also not ideal for this purpose. On the plus side, it can stand up on its end, and its low-power mode lights up a room fairly well, and lasts for 8 hours (most of a night). However, its designed as a throw flashlight, with a narrow, bright beam (i.e. most of the light’s wasted on a small spot on the ceiling), and it uses CR123A batteries (which get a bit pricey when going through 4 a night, and aren’t always the easiest batteries to find lying around the house…luckily I had just ordered a Surefire 12 pack for the other lights :D )
So, what are your recommendations for an LED flashlight to keep lying around the house to use in the event of a power outage? I have enough flashlights to give everyone a light to carry around with them for personal use, so am really looking for a single light to keep a central room lit at night. I want something that stand up by itself in the middle of a room, and have a fairly wide, diffuse beam (or an efficient add-on filter to do this). It must be bright enough to light up a room, at least enough to comfortably read/see/play board games/etc. in, and preferably use no more than 1-2 sets of batteries a night doing this (obviously, other considerations aside, longer battery life is always preferred) Finally, I don’t want anything that only runs on rechargeable batteries. I’ll keep a few sets of alkaline (or, more likely, lithium) batteries on hand for when I need them (probably only once every year or two, for this particular use, so self-discharge is a consideration), but I’m really not interested in keeping 3 days of rechargables charged year-round for the light on the off-chance I’ll need them. Something that runs off special-order batteries like CR123As and the like is fine, since I already carry these, but all things being equal, something that runs off AAs, or something easily-available would be even better, so I can run to Walmart and buy some if I can’t find my supply or run out.
I’ve seen those battery-powered LED sticky-lights in Walmart and the like, but they seem horribly battery-inefficient for their power output (8 AAAs for a mid-bright light that lasts a few hours), and thought that someone here could point me toward something to fit my needs better.
Thanks for the help!
(and, in case I missed something, here’s the sticky form answers:)
1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?
Online is fine. Shipping time is not a consideration. As long as I can get it somehow, in 6 months or less, I’m good.
2) Budget: An easy question, but you may change your mind after answering the rest! :-)
Really, I’m pretty flexible. You’d really have to sell me on features to spend more than $100, and I’m expecting I’ll have to spend about $50 at least to get everything I want, but, technically, if it’s good, and gets the job done, I have no upper (or lower!) limit.
3) Format:
I was really looking for an LED flashlight. I suppose I could get a lantern if it’s more energy efficient and fits the bill better, but at least a flashlight I could still use as, well, a flashlight for whatever reason. Still, if someone has a really good solution that happens to be a lantern, I’ll at least look at it. Headlights/dive lights/portable spotlights are right out.
4) Flashlight-specific format/size:
Meh. Whatever. Bit enough to get the job done, small enough to be portable. I’d say Every day carry medium, holster carry, and possibly even a bit larger are all fine. Something comfortable enough to easily carry in one hand and set on a table. If I can fit it in a pocket, even better, although this is not entirely necessary (The A9, for instance, *barely* fits in a pocket…kind of…) I’d be a bit leery of anything too much bigger than the A9 – I’d be worried about it breaking something if it fell over ^.^
5) Emitter/Light source:
LED Preferred. Waterproof flashlight preferred. HID would be okay – I don’t mind the warmup time, but definitely something that can survive being knocked down/bumped around a bit, and LED always seemed to be more durable, and less worrying to touch/less likely to burn surrounding paper when active)
6) Manufacturer:
Don’t care. Custom is fine, as long as price and performance are comparable to off-the-shelf.
7) What battery type do you want to use?
Lithium non-rechargable preferred. Alkaline would be okay, but not ideal. No rechargables/integrated rechargables please. Bonus points for something I can run to Walmart and pick up if needed (such as lithium AAs)
8) How much genuine out the front (OTF) light do you want/need? Sometimes you can have too much light (trying to read up close up with a 100 lumen light is impossible).
The A9 worked, at about 50-60 lumen low output, but was a bit low. The high output (250 lumens) was better, and didn’t seem at all like overkill (although battery life made this mode unusable). Presumably, with a good diffusion filter, and a light that wasn’t designed for throw, 250 lumens would have been too much. I don’t need a floodlight, but want to light up a decently sized room fairly well. I imagine 100-200 lumens would be fine if pointed ceilingward with some sort of diffusion filter/wide enough beam. I want to be able to read comfortably, even in a far corner of a fiarly large, central room, with the light in the center (or slightly offset), on a table, pointed upward.
9) Throw vs. Flood: At what distance will you be most likely to use this light? Select all that apply.
Flood, not throw. 5-10 yards is likely fine. I’d prefer even, diffuse light to a narrow throw beam, whether intrinsic ro through the use of a filter. My main objection to an add-on diffusion filter is that they seem to dim light output, often considerably, requiring more batteries for equivalent lighting and runtime.
10) Runtime: Not over-inflated manufacturer runtime claims, but usable brightness measured from first activation to 50% with new batteries (Measured on maximum output).
3 hours+. Ideally 12 hours on the (lower?) brightness mode I'd be using it in, so I could run it through a night (but not overnight - it'd be switched off at sleeptime) on a set of batteries. Anything less than 6 hours on low (i.e. over 2 sets a night) would be annoying.
11) Durability/Usage: Generally the old phrase “you get what you pay for” is very accurate for flashlights.
Fairly durable. Doesn’t have to survive the apocalypse, but would love something that would survive being taken camping or thrown in a backpack and forgotten until needed for 6 months. Trying to avoid glass/xenon/incandescent(eww!) for this reason. Should (at the VERY least!) be able to survive being knocked down onto a hard surface from a few feet up. Waterproof lights greatly preferred. The A9 is rock-solid – if I could get something with similar durability, I’ll be ecstatic.
12) Switch Type and location (choose all that apply):
Doesn’t really matter. I have a personal preference for tail mounted switches over clickys, and don’t really like twisties, but that’s just me. Not really a deciding factor.
13) User Interface (UI) and mode selection. Select all that apply.
On-off is acceptable. Multiple light levels (even as simple as low/high) is preferred so I can use the light for other applications. Strobes/programmable lights/selector rings/SOS modes/beacon modes seem excessive, but if it happens to have em, whatever.
14)Material/Finish/Coating
Preferably something more durable than plastic, unless it’s exceptionally durable plastic :P. Otherwise, don’t really care. Aluminum/titanium would be preferred to steel, due to weight.
15) Special Needs/extras: Is there anything else you want or need that hasn't been mentioned? Select any below.
Nothing here that interests me much. A secondary carry method (holster) would be nice, but not necessary. Something that won’t roll indefinitely if it falls over would be VERY nice (the A9 has a noncircular bezel to stop rolling, unlike my T20, and it’s quite useful for a light that is going to be put somewhere for long periods)
TLDR: Need a light to illuminate the central room of the house for 2-4 days a year, all night (but not overnight), in the event of power outage. Non-rechargable, good battery life, wide, diffuse beam needed.
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