The two most important indicators to look for when purchasing a flashlight are battery and lumens.
battery: There are two main categories of flashlights and headlamps. There are rechargeable flashlights and flashlights that use batteries. The difference lies in the charging method. AA or AAA batteries are easy to find and quick to replace. When the light turns off in the dark, you’ll see the genius of separate batteries. This means that rechargeable lights can be charged by the same power bank that charges your devices, and these days, with USB-C, many lights can be recharged in less than an hour.
I used to swear by battery options, and while I still recommend a headlamp or flashlight with a removable battery in many situations (emergency kits, for example), I have to say that I’ve come to appreciate the convenience of an everyday charging port. Carry a flashlight or camping headlamp. Personally, I use the Nitecore NU25 in most situations, except for long backpacking trips where I bring my Petzl Tikka and an extra set of batteries.
Lumens: Flashlight and headlamp companies are very concerned about lumens, which is the measure of brightness in their flashlights, but the truth is, they don’t always want more lumens. We didn’t test a single flashlight or headlamp that wasn’t bright enough. Here you’ll find lights with everything from 300 lumens to 1,000 lumens, spotlights that will temporarily blind you with just a brief glance. In most cases, this range is 300 to 1,000 lumens. Tasks like reading a book in a tent at night require much less light, but a good headlamp will have a variety of brightness levels. Use low-power mode, typically around 40 to 60 lumens, which is the desired level. reading. Also look for a strobe mode that pulses light. The strobe feature is great for rescue situations because the flash is more noticeable than a steady light.
The light source of most flashlights and headlamps these days is LED. Although there are still many traditional light bulbs available, LED’s ratio of light output to energy use is difficult to match.
