A very good friend I do not see often enough recently asked me for a flashlight recommendation. Being both a gadget lover and a geek, I told him I already had a spreadsheet started. In case this might be helpful to some of my readers, I have compiled a few thoughts and recommendations below.
Decide the light’s purpose
Every light makes compromises, so first decide on the purpose and need for the light. A small, pocketable light will generally emphasize form factor and runtime over output. A two cell handheld light will generally have a good balance of runtime and lots of lumens, but it sacrifices pocketability. A “tactical” light will (generally) have only one activation button and limited modes too bright for utility work. By necessity a tactical light will be large enough to easily manipulate one handed which means it makes a poor EDC light.
My suggestion is to decide first whether you intend to carry the light everyday (EDC) or if you will pocket the light less frequently. Once you know the intended purpose of the light then …
Decide on a battery
The major battery types to consider are: AAA; CR123/18650; and USB rechargeable. Do not bother with oddball battery types. AAA is only slightly smaller than CR123 but a CR123 holds substantially more energy. For my EDC light I use an Olight S Mini Baton with a rechargeable CR123 battery. I really like this light because it is extremely compact and has a direct access moonlight mode plus low, medium, and high levels with acceptable runtimes. With the improvement in LED efficiency there are many EDC lights effectively using an AAA battery but personally I still gravitate toward a single cell CR123 light.
For a utility or tactical light, choose either a two cell CR123/18650 light or a USB rechargeable light.
Finally, pick a light to fit your preferences and budget
Numerous retailers have a search function which allows you to refine the search results by battery type, battery number, runtime, and/or lumens. Goinggear’s site may have the best search function which allows you to narrow down the results by manufacturer, battery, size, lumens, and many more factors.
While there are lots of lights available on Amazon from a variety of Chinese manufacturers, I recommend the following manufacturers: Surefire; Streamlight; Olight; Fenix; and Elzetta. There are many other quality manufacturers not on this list. I recommend the following retailers: Goinggear.com; Brightguy.com; and Batteryjunction.com. Amazon works too.
Tactical lights
Recently I was in the market for a “tactical” light to be used in conjunction with my firearm and in those places I could not carry a firearm but would still benefit from a strong light source. (My wife and I attended the Sugar Bowl which required us to walk late a night from the Superdome through parts of New Orleans. We each carried a 2 cell Surefire to illuminate our path over the broken concrete and to show any observers we were paying attention.)
The table below is nowhere close to an exhaustive list of suitable “tactical” lights but it does give the reader an insight into what I think is attractive and what is to be avoided on a tactical light. My rules of thumb for a tactical light are: either the light has only one brightness level or the selector button must be separate from the tailswitch; tailswitch activation button; at least 350 lumens but it does not have to be 1,000+ lumens; must have a pocket clip with a very strong preference for bezel down carry; and multiple modes are a plus if they are useful. On that last point, I do not understand why the Surefire Tactician has 800 and 5 lumens. Personally I would prefer a brighter low mode as 5 lumens is a bit low for navigating a sidewalk while 800 lumens are too many.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1C1b6ZIPwYoxPWpdwRI98wRc8cbi3mKzktMViMurAUn8/edit?usp=sharing
