Arbitrary List of Popular Flashlights - Spring Equinox 2026 edition

I'm a bit late on this one because I've been busy with Ceilingbounce, but it's here now and I revised the enthusiast section.

https://zakreviews.com/arbitrary-list.html

#flashlight #flashlights @flashlight

Summary

The Nitecore P27iX is a tactical flashlight that impresses with a well-designed user interface and four special "M515S" LEDs. The multi-stage tail buttons provide direct access to four brightness levels, while a sliding switch reliably protects the flashlight against accidental activation. Only the SET button on the head requires some getting used to. Also worth mentioning are the battery level indicators and the USB charging port with its metal flip cover.

The width of the beam can be adjusted in three steps – a useful, though not strictly essential feature. In addition to the four regular brightness levels, there are two particularly bright modes called "Search" and "Lumin Shield". Some of the button assignments can be customized to suit personal preferences.

A major drawback, in my view, is the proprietary battery. A design that works with standard 21700 cells would have been clearly the better option. The NL2155HPi is not only relatively expensive at over $30, but its long-term availability is also not guaranteed.

The full review is available here:

English review at BudgetLightForum
German review on my website

The only 18650 headlamps that I know of, Hank and Firefly, both require flat tops. Other "enthusiast" headlamps like Skilhunt and Zebralight also require them, though that matters less to me since they're non-Anduril anyway.

Anyone know what the deal with this is? Is it just lumenitis? It also occurs to me to call that "lumen bloat", similar to Javascript bloat. I'm an experienced enough user to not care about that any more. I'd rather have fewer lumens and keep the ability to swap 18650's (including button cells) between my various lights and other devices. For a headlamp I prefer a floody beam since if I want to check out something in the distance, I can pull a handheld thrower from my pocket.

Interchangeable battery tubes (18350/18650) would also be a plus.

Thanks.

Left to right: Olight i3e with Glow Rhino Spark locator, Lumintop EDC01, Lumintop EDC15 with Wurkkos HD12 clip, Wurkkos TS10v2, Convoy T3.

Micro-reviews: i3e is nice but too bright (90lm/70 minutes). I'd prefer 30lm/3.5 hours. Skilhunt E3A is same idea, has high CRI led available if purchased direct, but is harder to find at US dealers. It's possible to change the brightness of both lights by swapping an 0603 sized resistor, i.e. you need SMT rework tools, but some BLF'ers have done it. I'll want to attempt this if I can get access to the tools sometime. I'll note that I tried a mostly-depleted alkaleak AAA (1.0V OCV) in the i3e and got no light at all. Some other lights are able to reach lower voltages and still make some light.

Spark locator works but the next bigger size (Ember) should be a lot easier to find in the dark. It does cost 2x more and both are sort of mismatched to these tiny cheap lights.

Lumintop EDC01 is ok, needs a pocket/hat clip. Comes with a GITD diffuser/end cap (not shown) which is kind of nice, and also a split ring / gate clip. Also has a GITD O-ring in the bezel, but that has such short persistence that it's almost useless. It has mode memory and levels are in H-M-L order. I'd prefer L-M-H and no memory, or maybe even just two levels (20 and 100lm). Beam is floody which I like. Uses one AAA cell, 10440 not allowed. The old Fenix LD01 felt more solid but is long discontinued. I haven't tried the current E01v2 which has a similar setup to this Lumintop.

Lumintop EDC15 is the lightest weight current production AA light that I know of at 20.5g, and it's pretty small too. It has 4 levels + strobe, uses AA or 14500, and came with a 14500 with a USB-C charge port, nice. (Product page says micro-USB but must be out of date). It also has mode memory. If up to me I'd give it L-M-H (3 levels), no memory, no strobe. It also came with a diffuser, gate clip, and split ring, but no pocket clip. The Wurkkos HD12 clip fits nicely. I haven't tried the TS10 clip on it yet.

Wurkkos TS10v2: probably familiar to most of you. I also have the TS10SG and I like the SG a little better, though opinions vary about this. I wish the series hadn't been discontinued. Note, this light is 14500-only, not dual fuel. The Emisar KR1AA is a few mm longer and dual fuel and I'll probably get one sometime, though I prefer the TS10SG's throwier beam.

Convoy T3: Pretty decent for this style of mix and match light. Host looks suspiciously similar to Sofirn SP10 Pro host not in photo. I got it with an 1800K LED which I'm still getting used to. I have the 12 mode group driver that I haven't yet taken out of the light. It has a reflector which makes a somewhat focused beam that still has good spill. The slightly smaller T5 has an optic that's more of a flooder. My main wish for these lights is to be able to reprogram the modes since this would be a very good "granny light" if it were only possible to configure it with 1 level of around 50 lumens. It's rather large for a 1AA/14500 light but that's fine. There is some work happening on BLF about reprogramming some of the Convoy drivers, which use a Sonix MCU with an 8051-like instruction set. But that will probably come sooner to 18650-powered drivers, plus will require removing the driver and maybe de-soldering an MCU pin, so it's much nicer to have Anduril and flash pads. On the other hand the Convoy tail clickie switch has positive tactile feel, guarantees zero parasitic current drain, and the lights are much more affordable than a KR1AA.

Summary

The Armytek Predator Pro Max lives up to its name: compared to its predecessor, it is brighter, has a longer runtime and more throw – all while maintaining nearly the same size. It comes with a new side button, which eliminates the need to loosen or tighten the head to adjust the brightness. Other features like the electronic tail switch and the convenient magnetic charging system are still included.

However, if you don’t want to use the flashlight at full power all the time, it can quickly become a challenge to use: in the dark, the side button for adjusting the brightness is hard to find, as it neither stands out in color nor in shape.

The full review is available here:

English review at BudgetLightForum
German review on my website

It's on sale for $60 with SBT90.2 led which is a quite expensive led. I generally prefer small lights but whenever Wurkkos puts an Anduril light on sale, I get FOMO since I think the light is being discontinued.

There's some discussion here: https://old.reddit.com/comments/1t5exay

I'm holding off from the partly comparable TS26 because of its driver issues (moon mode probs) and it's LEDs, though who cares about moon mode in a monster light anyway?

Also, what is so great about the SB90.2 LED? Convoy and Hank charge quite a lot extra for it.

The TS30S blurb claims 295K candela in turbo mode (6K lm) though that seems suspect since 1086m throw is claimed, which would be more like 100k cd.

The Noctigon K1 with same led has comparable throw and output and is of similar size but 2x the price.

In practice idk what I'd do with such a big light. My TS11 probably fulfills my needs for a thrower.

It's a portable light source, technically a flashlight

Summary

I have not seen more light from a flashlight of this size. Thanks to its flat form factor, the Wuben X1 Pro fits easily into your pocket. With spotlight, floodlight or a combination of both, the light can be adapted to any situation. Active fan cooling allows for longer operation at high brightness. The batteries can either be charged directly in the light via USB-C or quickly replaced if needed.

However, the specified 12300 lm output is not fully achieved and also drops quickly within the first few seconds. After that, 3000 lumens are maintained consistently for about 1.5 hours. With heavy use, the fan could be affected by water and dirt, but it can be replaced relatively easy if needed.

The full review is available here:

English review at BudgetLightForum
German review on my website

I'm wondering if there is a decent affordable cell welder. Purpose is rebuilding tool batteries and that sort of thing on an occasional basis. K-weld has been recommended but is pretty expensive and might be overkill. https://diy500amp.com/ has a bunch closer to my price range but might be underkill. Any thoughts? Thx

I don't like this retailer but this is a very sparse category (headlamps under 1 ounce) and I happened to be across from one of their stores today, so I picked up 4 of them (two red and two teal). Weight is 27g all up (light, headband, and batteries). The light separates from the backing clip and the light+batteries weigh 18g so the rest is about 9g. It might be possible to golf away a few grams by replacing the headband with some shock cord, but treating 28.35g (1 ounce) as the target weight, this light comfortably hits the target and I can skip further optimization.

Pluses: 1) the light runs on included lithium primary batteries. They won't leak and have known low temperature performance and long shelf life. 2) Cheap ($1.97 at the store mentioned). The nearest competitor that I know of is $11 (UST Tight Light and harder to find). 3) Very simple UI: press on, press off. No modes. Large, easy to use pushbutton. 4) smooth flood beam, fine for up-close repair work or walking to the loo in the dark. No real throw but this is more like a keychain light than a caving lamp. Maybe a light to stash away in case something happens to both your "real" light and its backup.

Minuses: 1) Large pushbutton might be easy to press by accident. If stashing the light away just in case, I'd leave the protective tab installed in the battery compactment, which also ensures no parasitic battery drain. Then pull the tab out before using the light. But it would be good to have a software timeout or lockout. 2) The headband is too short, maybe intended for kids, or maybe I'm just swell-headed. I can wear it when adjusted to the maximum but it's tighter than I prefer. I might sew in an extra inch or two of fabric, or replace the headband with shock cord. 3) While it's very small for a "proper" headlamp, it's much bigger than a Photonlight or similar. 4) Not that waterproof, particularly because of the slot left unsealed by pulling out the battery tab. Of course you could cover that with a bit of tape, but that could be awkward if you pull out the tab in the field. 5) Need Philips screwdriver (a 4mm driver bit is probably enough) to change batteries.

I think the use of CR2032's is a win for this light specifically, on the assumption that you'll use the light only very occasionally or as a backup for a backup, like a Photon light. The stated runtime is 3 hours and I can believe that. Two 2032's have about as much energy as a charged AAA Eneloop so there's plenty there. I'd expect a long tapering "tail" as well, but haven't yet tested. I will do a brightness and runtime test once I get some kind of measurement setup in place.

The 4 leds are SMT with the usual crappy tint. Maybe you could replace them with high CRI leds if you were nerdy about it. Someone actually mentioned that. It might even be possible to replace the 2032's with a small lipo pouch cell.

Main more serious alternative in the sub-1-oz category that I know of is the Nitecore NU05 v2, which unfortunately has just 1 hour runtime (40 lumen output that can't be adjusted downward). I haven't yet gotten to try one of those so can't compare directly. Maybe soon though. Black Diamond's 2032 light ($20 iirc) is discontinued and the Petzl e+Lite ($30+) might also be. The Petzl is of far better quality than this thing, but the cost is outlandish unless you're really trying to prove something.

My main immediate modification will be to staple a piece of Countycomm GITD tape to the headband, as I do with almost all my headlamps, to locate the light in the dark. Put the tape at the "far" end of the headband so you can use the LED's to charge up the tape. The staple is because the tape's adhesive isn't that strong under flexing, and it can fall off if you just stick it onto the headband. You could sew it instead of course.

3.5 stars out of 5 given the niche category and the low price. Main deductions are for the short headband, the waterproofing issue, and the easy accidental activation. This all could have been fixed very easily during design.

I weighed this with a crappy kitchen scale with 1g resolution and poor consistency, but will use a more precise scale when I get a chance.

I wonder if someone here with suitable test equipment could run a graph on a chemical glowstick, the ordinary 12 hour kind, not a special fancy one. I'm basically hoping for a rough estimate of the lumen output and its decay over time. I did a bit of web search and got drastically varying numbers. I guess I could make an eyeball estimate, but would want to use a reflector of some kind for the ceiling bounce.

Does anyone know if reflectors like the below are still being made? Of course I can DIY one if necessary. Web search didn't find anything quickly, but it's difficult to keep the results relevant.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/nos-vintage-glow-stick-lantern-1960s-4706797024

I'm quite dubious of chemical light in this day and age, but they come up in discussions sometimes, so I'm interested in a concrete comparison against flashlights. Thanks!

Added: I'm happy to reimburse the cost of a few glowsticks if you're up for running this test. Or it's possible that I could order some and have them sent to you (Home Despot free delivery). PM if you want this.

Reintroducing Ceilingbounce - flashlight testing and runtime graphs for Android

In 2015, I wrote an Android app for flashlight reviewers. If you read or watch many flashlight reviews, you've probably seen graphs with a black background and a yellow line generated by Ceilingbounce. Unfortunately, the tools used to build it were abandoned by the volunteers who created them, and soon after became incompatible with the current state of Android. I couldn't release updates, and installation on new devices required developer tools. Now it's back, and more features are coming soon.

https://zakreviews.com/ceilingbounce.html

#flashlight #android #app @flashlight

Summary

With the HD02, Wurkkos has once again released a well-designed flashlight. It offers a powerful spotlight, UV light and a green laser. The real highlight, however, are the two fold-out wings, which provide even floodlight illumination with adjustable color temperature.

The user interface is straightforward: unfolding the wings automatically turns on the floodlight. A rotary switch allows easy selection between spotlight, UV light and laser. With the magnet and tripod thread, the flashlight can be mounted in many ways. In an emergency, it can even be used as a power bank via the USB port.

The full review is available here:

English review at BudgetLightForum
German review on my website

Several years back I reviewed this tiny zipper pull light: https://lemmy.world/post/2163520

I stuck one of them into a mesh pouch where I carry stuff like toothpaste, and more than a year ago (IDK exactly when) it turned on by accident. I left it on to see what would happen. It has stayed lit ever since, though by now the glow level is completely useless for illumination and barely viable as a locator. As someone in Bored Of The Rings said of the parody version of Gandalf's staff lighting up in Khazad-dûm, it's about half as bright as a dead firefly. But I can report that with some dark adaptation, I can see it from 5+ feet away (and probably further) in a darkened room. I finally just got around to replacing the battery with one of a pack that I got on ebay (link in the original post).

I also notice that the light itself is discontinued now, oh well. It does seem to me that it turns on by accident too easily. I might stick down the on-off flange with a bit of tape to prevent this.

The original vendor blurb just said 24 hours of light so I might use up a battery to test that, or maybe for a week. It might be ok as a short term alternative to a tritium marker for that much time. I would say in its current state it's way dimmer than a tritium marker whose tritium isn't nearly depleted.

It also seems to me that at under 3 grams, this is maybe the most extreme ultralight headlamp out there, if you stick it to your forehead with a piece of tape. It DOES put out enough light to be useful in that setup, for limited notions of "useful". You can navigate a dark room without bumping into stuff, you can see near-distances enough to change the battery in your main light without having to fumble around by feel, and so on.

Since the light is just a direct drive SMT led and a CR927 cell, it could be that something similar with a CR1616 and a resistor (or go big and use a CR2032) could be used as an H3 substitute that would last for months.

Summary

Apart from the similarity in name, the Vastlite Minima Bow LED has little in common with the earlier Minima Bow featuring a laser light source. In fact, it is a completely new model with conventional LED technology.

The cool-white light shows a pronounced corona around the spot with a yellow-green tint. Operation via the mechanical tail switch is mostly intuitive – if it weren’t for the rather unnecessary blinking modes, which can be easily activated unintentionally.

With a different LED, the Vastlite Minima Bow LED could have been an attractive EDC flashlight: slightly warmer, without the ugly corona, with better color rendering and perhaps a small TIR optic instead of the reflector.

The full review is available here:

English review at BudgetLightForum
German review on my website

Summary

The Nitecore EDC07 offers a few interesting surprises: two MCT LEDs with adjustable color temperature produce a pleasant, slightly floody beam. The classic tail-switch operation is easy to understand. Thanks to the plastic body, the flashlight is remarkably light at just 70 g. However, with the plastic feel, it takes some time before you will appreciate the build quality. The strobe mode is well hidden, severely limiting its practical use.

The full review is available here:

English review at BudgetLightForum
German review on my website

They are making LEDs less than 100nm across, for use in ultra high dpi displays. That's way smaller than the wavelength of light that they emit!