What makes a flashlight just right

[Toulouse42]

Some of our contributors have very specific requirements for flashlights (and batteries) but as I don't have any job related needs, I buy quite a lot of stuff but then tend to use what just feels right. I have flashlights that use all the common cell types : AAA, AA, C, D, CR123A, 18650. That way, regardless of whatever is the current crisis, I can be guaranteed that I will always have light.

Unlike some members, I don't have a big downer on Alkaleaks. They have their uses, just not in my torches. Where possible I use rechargeables, such as 18650 and Eneloops, but also Lithiums depending on need. I have moved away from anything that needs 2 x CR123A, but single Lithium AA or CR123A make excellent pocket carry torches. No one else in my family has the faintest interest in the subject, and I just got tired of perfectly good rechargeables being thrown away because "they were dead". So my family get the Alkaleaks, but I just test them often. The last torch I lost due to leaking was years ago in a 2D Maglite and that was my own fault for not checking that one often enough.

Last year I bought a few single AA torches including the Olight S1A Baton. I liked that so much that I just bought the Olight S2A (2 x AA) and although I don't have big hands, this one feels just right. I think I'll get a lot of use out of it.

My point is that sometimes a torch feels just right even though it might not technically be as good as some others. This could be why the older Maglite models sold so well. To the uninitiated they feel substantial and just right. I still own a couple myself!

I very rarely remove the clip or lanyard if they come as standard. I never actually use the clip, but I find that it makes the torch easier to handle in the dark and to locate a side switch.

I just wanted to thank all at CPF for all that I have learned. Ten years ago, I had a Maglite. Today I have lots more as well. And who knows what tomorrow might bring......

 

[Burgess]

Hmmmm . . . . .

Seems like that Olight S2A has been Discontinued !

:sigh:

 

[richbuff]

What makes a flashlight just right -> What makes lots of flashlights just right?

1. Size. Very small, small, small-medium, large medium, big, huge, super huge. hat's seven flashlights right there. The smaller ones are easier to carry, but the larger ones have more performance and/or more fuel supply.

2. Throw versus flood. Very small thrower, very small flooder, small thrower, small flooder, small-medium thrower, small-medium flooder.... .... ....

3. Preferred type of fuel supply.

4. Favorite manufacturers. Everything from budget to jewelry class.

This is why I have 48 lights and I am still missing a few major classifications.

 

[peter yetman]

My screen is blown up so that I can only see the text not the poster, but I knew it was you Richbuff!
P

 

[bykfixer]

For me, if it turns on when I ask it to that's just right.

 

[Kestrel]

A flashlight is only perfect once it is discontinued & no longer available.

 

[idleprocess]

Regardless of the design or formfactor, effortless usage makes it just right - after the period of discovery you can retrieve it, switch it on, adjust it, hold it, point it, illuminate something, switch it off, stow it almost without thought and with minimal error.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

For me, if it turns on when I ask it to that's just right.

Regardless of the design or formfactor, effortless usage makes it just right - after the period of discovery you can retrieve it, switch it on, adjust it, hold it, point it, illuminate something, switch it off, stow it almost without thought and with minimal error.

+1 to both!

 

[peter yetman]

A flashlight is only perfect once it is discontinued & no longer available.

That is so true.
P

 

[RicD]

Non-corroding inner parts

 

[Shorttime]

I over-think everything, so this is the kind of question I like!

Simple UI. I want a tail switch, and three modes, at the most. Two works fine.

A positive detent in the tail switch. I want it to require medium effort, have no wobble, and make a substantial "click" when it closes.

The more "Millwright resistant", the better. I figure if I have a precision instrument which demands care and attention, it will end up in a mud puddle, the next day. If I have a light that can work as a jackstand, it will stay nearly pristine, for a decade.

Fixed focus. I had a gift card, so I got a zoomie. I don't want another one.

Good traction. Either from materials choice, or from some knobbly texturing. Some smooth lights are artful and well-executed, but I wear gloves at times, and I want something that's going to grip my hand, as well as my hand grips it.

 

[Owen]

Sometimes it's simply a matter of what you get used to.
Kinda like a full-size truck felt right to me after 400k miles between a pair of them, and now a compact sedan does after nearly 230k on it, with <2k on my truck in the meantime.

I used to carry CombatGrip Surefires for EDC and work(work being a big part, due to constant flashlight usage there).
Nothing felt as right to me as the C2, Z3 and M3.
Then, E series Surefires(or mods) and McGizmo Alephs for everything. When my EDC was a L4, then modded E2L, and my work light was a modded E2DL or E2D w/VME head and Malkoff M60W, nothing felt as right to me as E series Surefires with a long clip(which I always swapped to if the light didn't have one).
Then, 18650s gained popularity. I wanted that extra runtime for work. Again the Surefirefire CombatGrips, but bored for 18mm cells. Then the bored 6P with FM34 for its versatility, and Leef 1x18650/2x18500/2x18650 bodies. I got accustomed to full size lights, now without the Combatgrip.
Then Malkoff came out with flashlights, and once the crappy Kroll switch was done away with, the MD2 became my light of choice. I carry Zebralights for EDC, but have used SF 6Ps, occasionally 9Ps, and Malkoffs for work and EDC, then just work, for well over a decade. The work light may come out of my pocket anywhere from a few dozen to probably a hundred times on a back-to-back, evening and night, double shift. Sometimes I have to stand and watch some byproduct we run for several hours at a time when it's being problematic, and have to use my light to see it.
I briefly kept track of the nightly use of my current MD2/M61N at one point, then averaged it out over time. I guesstimated 3400+ hours after over 5.5yrs. The amount of use time is less nowadays, but same light, same job, and that was over 2yrs ago.
After all these thousands of hours holding a 6P/MD2 sized light in my hand, that's what I expect and prefer a flashlight to feel like.
I really like the 1x18650-sized Zebralights, too, and the SC64w HI, that's still fairly new to me, fits my stubby hands perfectly. I still keep holding it in a cigar grip, and wanting to press on the tailcap, though...

 

[dmattaponi]

The one that I enjoy using because it meets my needs. Usually that means something bright enough, or with variable light levels, good runtimes, that uses common batteries...I like AA rechargeable...and durable. I don't want to collect or get caught up in small differences that don't make a difference use wise..and I don't want to upgrade every time something new comes out.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[CanAm]

Good tint, good runtime, batteries that aren't rare/specialty/a pain in the a**, simple operation, reliability. Build quality is up there too, though you could argue it falls under reliability. Same could be said for user serviceability and availability of parts.

Size, brightness, and beam pattern all depend on the intended use, so that can vary. The above points are necessary in any good light.

 

[greenpondmike]

I mostly hold mine in my mouth so I can use both hands. A big 2d mag almost gagged me. I could use a headlight, but I can place a beam of light in the right spot with a flashlight in my mouth, so I guess anything that will fit in my mouth without gagging me or damaging my teeth.
I'm picky beyond that, but that's the main thing for me.

 

[Shorttime]

I mostly hold mine in my mouth so I can use both hands. A big 2d mag almost gagged me. I could use a headlight, but I can place a beam of light in the right spot with a flashlight in my mouth, so I guess anything that will fit in my mouth without gagging me or damaging my teeth.
I'm picky beyond that, but that's the main thing for me.

(Sorry for the off-topic: I couldn't resist! )

 

[greenpondmike]

Lol:laughing:

 

[seery]

For me, a flashlight is just right when it says Acebeam X70 on the head.

 

[TheFraz]

Weight = quality (to some extent). A marketing professor told me that once.

 

[Katherine Alicia]

There`s no single answer to this really, it all depends on the use, what`s perfect for one job could be terrible for another. I EDC a manker E02II and for most of what I do it`s 100% perfect and I couldn`t wish for better, but if I need to light up a room to Daylight and beyond I`m going to grab my Convoy M3 or one of my Skyray Kings these then become "just right". but if I wanted to walk a dog at night a D4v2 would probably be more "Just right" than the others, my 6D crenelated Maglite with break glass endcap and 500lm dropin is "just right" for things that go bump in the night but pretty much useless for anything else (unless you want to get arrested! LOL).