What makes a flashlight impressive?

Looking through my collection, some of my lights have never impressed me yet still, some, have always impressed me.

I was thinking; What is it that makes a flashlight impressive.

For me ipmressive is :

Good build quality,
uniform beam,
high output for it's size,
and overall appearance, or look.

What is a particular light that impressed you and what did you find impressive about it.

My surefire C3 (non-HOLA) did and still impresses me.

I'm impressed by how powerful LEDs have become in the 4-5 years since buying a Tektite 1400, which had been my brightest LED flashlight up until just a few months ago. Then I got the L2D CE and, shortly thereafter, the Surefire L4. What a change! A part of me goes "WOW!" every time I turn either of those lights on.

And the L4, IMHO, meets all of those attributes you listed as being impressive. Sometimes I'll pull it out and just admire it's beauty. It's a damn fine hunk of metal.

AyeMayanor said:

And the L4, IMHO, meets all of those attributes you listed as being impressive. Sometimes I'll pull it out and just admire it's beauty. It's a damn fine hunk of metal.

Click to expand...

So true, the L4 has never dissapointed me.






Although the tailcaps could be better...

Low price (i.e. good value) for what it does, as in "how can they do that for $XX?....

Well balanced design, just enough of everything (plus a matched dose of spare reserve in each area) to meet the intended mission/market. Effort in one area isn't wasted by an unaddressed weak spot somewhere else....

Impressive to me is when a light excels in a key area exceptionally well.

that key area can be anything, runtime, output, throw, flood. I'm not impressed by lights that are "general" and don't excel in any area. When I reach for a light, I want it to be the "best" tool for a specific job.

I reach for a 2D mag loaded with NIMH cells and a stock bulb when I need reliable LONG running output(12 hours steady on 10AH cells). I don't care that this setup isn't blindingly bright, I don't care that it has a nasty beam, I care that It will last till the power comes back on and do so reliably with a spare bulb handy. This setup impresses me. On alkalines, the same flashlight does not impress me because after an hour, it's so much dimmer it's just not worth it.

A light that is compact, and scorching bright with good throw, impresses me because I can use the function of the light easily with one hand, (like while driving, locating and reading addresses on houses). It's the perfect tool for the job.

To me, a light is impressive if it does what I need it to do when I need it to do it. Depending upon the occasion, it may or may not be the brightest or longest running. It simply has to perform its intended task as expected.

For example, many people are not impressed with the Kroma due to its relatively low main beam output and runtime. Yet I find it very impressive AS a low powered utility light that still has more than enough punch from the main beam when needed. It does what I need it to do, all in one package that eliminates the need to carry multiple lights. That, more so than the price or SureFire name is what impresses me.

Impresssive, to me, means a well-thought-out design, good engineering, excellent manufacturing fit and finish, flawless assembly, performing as promised, and near-perfect operational reliability and durability.

Most of my Surefires are impressive, as are my Fenixes, Arcs, CMGs, Inovas, Amlite, and Nuwais. Riverrocks, Dorcys, and Mags to a lesser degree.

the name itself..."dood, its a surefire!:naughty:"

the light output difference from a more average flashlight or runtime

the design formed from the engineering someone has put into it....specialty lights like the Lumarary for example

For me, lights that are impressive to me & others are lights that are bright. Such as the LK14, BarnBurner, Ken lights, etc

Take a look at some of these beamshots & I think you'll know what I mean.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/72917&highlight=Ken4

i have a few lights. the one that STILL impresses me the most is the Palm Blaze. its unbelieveble what this $35.00 light does.

One light that never fails to impress me still, for all the reasons you mentioned, is the Arc LSL. I particularly appreciate its beam uniformity, as I do for another light at the other end of the spectrum, the Fenix E0.

Geoff

Dependability, and build quality are at the top of my list. Also, when a flashlight maker chooses to intentionally lower the output to increase the runtime by several times, that impresses me.

What makes a flashlight impressive is the perfect, or near-perfect, merging of form and function. Form often relates to things such as durability, quality of construction, quality of finish, compactness, ergonomics, and aesthetics. Function often relates to things such as total lumen output, throw/spill, beam shape characteristics, color temp, runtime, heat generation/dissipation, and reliability. Beyond these two domains, value for the dollar is often a factor as well. I have never experienced the WOW factor that truly impressed me until I popped a LumensFactory 12V D26 (320 Bulb Lumens) ultra high-pressure lamp assembly into my SureFire 9P+A19 Extender. In terms of function, the beam is just beautiful, with at least 210 torch lumens output, a generously large circular (non oval) white hot spot that is also scorchingly bright, with smooth gradiations to a generous spill. Also along the lines of function, it acheives 60 minutes of runtime on 4 CR123a batteries and draws only 1.25A. In terms of Form, the LumensFactory bulb is a thing of beauty, just as are the SureFire Bulbs, the top of the LumensFactory bulb is frosted to better diffuse the hot spot, and the construction is all-around solid. The SureFire 9P+A19 extender, of course, has excellent construction characterstics, with a thick, easy to grip aluminum body, a reliable twisty, is compact in size, and has a hardened AR coated glass lens. All and all, the perfect merging of Form and Function, and as for value for the dollar ($79[9P]+$20[A19]+$15[12V LA] = $114), it's hard to beat without accepting a lower quality construction.

To me a light is impressive because it does something that sets it apart from the other choices in the same class of lights.

To me, some impressive lights to me are:
The A2 aviator, the D-mini, Lumapower M3 and hopefully the MRV, Pentagonlight's multiled lights, the Maxa Beam, StenLight and Others I cannot think of right now.
I do not have a number of the lights listed, (but if anyone wants to send me a StenLight and Maxa Beam I will not complain) but I like many others have read about them and pined after them.

One hard thing about what makes a light impressive is that new products make many lights less so. I thought my Inova X5 was incredibly cool when I bought it several years ago. Now it sits in my glove box. I gues part of what makes a light impressive is when it is still coveted several years after it is released. Just my .02

Keyring lights that are brighter than any flashlight a non CPF-er have seen. They almost fall over backwards when you fire up a Fenix P1D-CE. My girlfriend now has an L0D-CE and she loves the 'shock and awe' of such a tiny flashlight. Beam quality and tint are excellent on hers too.

The most impressive lights i have are
My smallest one = Draco XRE
My biggest one = WE Boxer 24watt

And both of them are impressive for 2 reasons
1) Output compared to size (both lights never fail to put a big grinn on my face)
2) Build quality compared to price (while they are not cheap, they didn't break the bank).

a light that is brighter than its predecessors, a light that is smaller than its competitors, a light that is cheaper than its equals, finding all three in one package very impressive.

One of the 1st things I USED to look at, (in my non-flashoholic days) was the lux, output and runtime, but now, I've come to understand that the the size and shape of a light play a major roll in its useability. It doesn't matter if your flashlight has 10,000 lumens, 1 million lux and 3 days of rumtime, if it's too big to carry and you "left it at home"... what good is it.... none!

Something that impresses me is a light that has a clip and is comfortable to carry. Cause you'll always have it right in your pocket, unless you've lost your pants, then you have more than one problem... LOL

Also like someone already mentioned, a very small, cree light is very impressive. Like the L0D-CE. 40-50 lumens in any other light would be, borring to say the least, but packing that much light into a single cell AAA package is an instant WOW.

For Me its the Build Quality, light output, and efficiency

I think Fenix P1D-CE is impressive:

- Excellent output compared to its size
- Good quality
- Not too expensive
- Multi-levels for long runtime
- Dunkable

-N