Brightest LED Flashlight

Make the right choice for the brightest LED flashlight 

 

Although LED flashlights have the image of not emitting a lot of light in the minds of some people, advances in technology have changed all that, and they now are among the brightest flashlights. Those looking for the brightest LED flashlight will be pleased by what they can find.

Understanding lumens
Lumens are the best way to rate the amount of light emitted by LED flashlights. All the history and technical jargon aside, the best way to think of a lumen is as the amount of light emitted by a birthday candle that will reach a square foot surface from a distance of one foot.

Watts and radiance
A watt is simply a unit of electrical energy and can be very deceptive when used to measure lighting. Wattage ratings are only measuring the amount of electricity used. Since efficient technologies such as those used in LED flashlights produce more lumens of useful light for each watt of energy, a comparison of watts does not mean much. On a similar note, radiance is only the amount of energy a source is emitting but not the amount of useful light the human eye can detect.

Lux
Lux figures are also seen when buying flashlights. Since lux concerns how much light reaches a given area and not the overall light output, it can be misleading when comparing flashlights. With focusing and reflector design, more of the light can be concentrated in the center of the beam that is being measured. For most uses, the overall output is more important. However, a high lux is better for lighting up things at a distance.

Drawbacks
Before buying the brightest led flashlight, consider the drawbacks. A brighter light will require more power. Since the power source must be carried with flashlights, this will make the flashlight heavier. It will also mean it will go through batteries much more quickly. Finally, there are situations where too much light is not appropriate and less light is preferable.

Choosing the brightest LED flashlight
The brightest LED flashlights usually are classified as tactical flashlights. These are most often used for special uses such as in the military, law enforcement and with emergency workers. However, many others also use them for everything from self defense (they can temporarily blind an attacker) to camping. The output of these flashlights starts at roughly 90 lumens but can go much higher.

Fenix TK40 High Performance Cree LED Flashlight
With a whopping 630 lumens of brightness, it is hard to think of situations where this flashlight will not offer all the illumination needed. It has a four-core LED bulb and uses eight 1.5V AA batteries. While it maintains a steady output of light, it has four types of primary output to enable the user to adjust it for the situation: Turbo (630 Lumens, 2Hrs), Low (13 Lumens, 150Hrs), Mid (93 Lumens, 20Hrs), High (277 Lumens, 6.8Hrs). In addition, there are four types of strobe: Strobe, Slow flash, SOS, Fast flash.

Made of durable aircraft-grade aluminum, it has a pushbutton, tail-cap switch and various accessories to include a shoulder strap and lanyard.



Fenix TK35 High Performance 820 Lumen Flashlight
For an even bigger 820 lumens, this flashlight tops our list.



Olight M21 Warrior 500 Lumen Luminus SST-50 LED Flashlight
Although it cannot match the TK40, it still produces a very respectable 500 lumens. It has three constant brightness levels as well as a strobe: 20lm (30hrs), 80lm (8hrs), 500 lm (1.2hrs), Strobe (500lm/2.4h)

A neat function is its auto memorization of certain functions for quick access.



Coast LED Lenser HP8420 LED Lenser Focusing LED
This is a good choice for those who want respectable light output but do not need the brightest led flashlight. It offers up to 200 lumens of light on four AAA batteries with 64 hours of battery life. Its one-handed, speed-focus allows enables the user to adjust from a broad beam to a focused spot beam by sliding the head back and forth with just one hand.