The Ten Best Flashlights 2020
State of the Union
The flashlight market has gotten so wide, wholly, and wild that it is virtually impossible to keep up on everything, though Zero Air does a good job trying. “Legacy” brands like Surefire and Streamlight were surpassed by Fenix and oLight and they too have been passed by the likes of Acebeam and Imalent.
Here is the Ten Best Flashlights from 2019, so you can see where we have been.
We are on the verge of a true revolution in production lines—the widespread adoption of USB-C charging. Not only is the protocol easier to use than the micro USBs (its directionless!), it also offers charging times heretofore unseen in consumer electronics. The first true EDC light with USB-C charging will have a huge competitive advantage. Alas, USB-C is still confined to soda can lumens cannons and full sized “tac” lights.
Surefire is in need of a serious refresh, especially on the EDC front. Their Titan Plus, long a favorite of mine, it a bit long in the tooth compared to the likes of Rovy Von and Nitecore, each of which have keychain lights that hit 1,000 lumens and include built-in charging. Even Streamlight has started making more advanced lights than the old stalwart, releasing a mini-USB charging version of the Microstream and an 18650 light.
The 10,000 lumen barrier, which was rarely exceeded two years ago has multiple sub $100 entries (though the price does not include the necessary 4 x18650 cells required to power the light). A lot of these torches have non-insane form factors. This previously ignored category of lights might just show up on these webpages for a review in the near future.
As bleeding edge emitter and charging tech pushes the light world forward, we are still treated to some truly great designs from Jason Hui. As with last year, he is dominating both the mass produced and the high end small batch part of the market. His commitment to runtimes and safety are admirable, but it is his design knowledge that helps him outpace everyone.
The custom world is still in the “crazy body tube” phase where you have a $900 body housing an off the shelf $6 board. This gives a lot of lights the “kit car feel” where they look like a Ferrari but run like a Fierro. Lux RC, Muyshondt, and Hui still lead in the custom category largely because they have developed their own guts. There are a few other makers out there that look interesting. I am waiting with baited breath (and terrified wallet) for Focus Works EDC Dreadnaught (price range: $1,800-$3,000!). Lux RC has started making more Minions and they are awfully tempting. I am still waiting for a USB-C charging custom light, but I don’t think that will happen for a long time. The engineering involved in that is probably beyond the abilities of a small batch maker and amortizing the cost of that work would be impossible.
The state of the flashlight union is very strong in 2020. I think Rovy Von is the company to watch in the production space and Focus Works is the company to watch in the custom space with the cavaet that you should pay attention to anything Jason Hui or Enrique Muyshondt release.
Ten Best
Best EDC Light for Most Peoplet: 47s Mini Turbo Mk. 3
The FourSevens Mini Turbo Mk. 3 is the best light for most people, whether they are flashlight fans or not. Its very small size, easy to use UI, and surprisingly good throw for a compact light make it an easy choice. It should have been the overall winner last year, but my fascination with high end lights and gee whiz features blinded me to what most people want in a torch.
Thankfully, after a discussion with my mother, I have seen the error of my ways (oh Moms aren’t they great). My parents moved out to Massachusetts after my wife was diagnosed with cancer and their house’s construction has been slowed by Covid-19. As a result, in a true role reversal for a nerd, they are living in my basement. To aid getting around at night, I gave them a flashlight and time and again, my Mom selected this light. I tested out a few others and no matter what she came back to this torch. She can make it do just about everything she needs it to and its small enough she can drop it in a pocket and go.
This simplicity is something that enthusiasts, like myself, ignore. Simplicity is a feature, but in our rush to embrace the Anduril 2.0 UI or 12,000 lumens we enthusiasts forget that. For the money, if you just need a torch to stash in the kitchen junk drawer or one to drop in a pack for an overnight hike, this is your pick. And I have discovered over the past two years that this is one of my favorite carries, even with multiple $500 torches in my collection. It is a great, simple light for a truly great price. Jason has also made it the centerpiece in a system of accessories (chargers, carry systems, and a headlamp strap) that turns the light into a do-everything solution. Buy it. Your life will be better because of it.
Runner Up: Surefire Titan Plus: while not as bright or versatile as the Mini Turbo Mk. 3 the Titan sports a commonly available battery, a good form factor, Surefire’s punchy optics and legendary durability. There are some tweaks I would make (which I have made to my Titan Plus) and I’d like a new emitter and in-light charging, but as it is this is a very good light for most people.
Best EDC Light, Price No Object: Torchlab BOSS 35
Four years in and the BOSS 35 is still the most advanced light available in a semi-production scale. An Oveready collab with Russian flashlight savant Torchlab, this light can scream at 3200 lumens, whisper at .1 lumens, has the best form factor for a light ever, and is just slightly bigger than your thumb. It also programs via a pulse code video and a website that allows you to tweak literally everything about the light from runtimes to output. You can even, unwisely, toggle off safety protections. If you do, be prepared for a puddle of aluminum after that, as the LEDs are driven so hard and the light is so small that physics dictates an incendiary end. Leave the safety on and you get the best light ever made.
Best UI: JetBeam Raptor RRT-01 v.2
UI is to flashlights what tires are to high end cars. Everyone is all excited about the horsepower (lumens), torque (throw), and runtime (acceleration), but in the end all of the power in the world won’t do a car a bit of good if the tires are junk. Tires are ALWAYS in use. In the same vein you are always using a UI and the Raptor’s UI is the best in the world, bar none. It is as nothing can get better than this. It works blind, it works for neophytes, and it please enthusiasts. Given my choice, the selector ring would always come out on top. I think that the HDS Rotary might have implemented it better, as you can go from off to any brightness directly thanks to the combination of a switch and a selector ring, but the Raptor is a very close second. If MBI was still making lights, I think I could be persuaded that it is unique “clockface” UI was better, but its not around anymore. Sad face.
Runner Up: HDS Rotary: see below.
Brightest EDC: Lumintop F3wa
Of course there are brighter lights and yes the UI verges on something that earns you a DSM-V diagnosis, but if you are looking for a light under $100 that can fit in your pocket and blind people in broad daylight, this is it. There are bunch of variants—color swaps and different materials, so you can get a light that will tickle your fancy. It does, of course, get hot, so be careful, but its whisper bright moonlight low is really the hidden gem here—its genuinely great, especially when you consider it can also breathe straight up fire on the top end.
Runner Up: Pick your poison. Lumens aren’t rare these days, which is why you should have long ago stopped using them as the metric for evaluating torches.
Best Runtimes: Muyshondt Aeon Mk. 3
Still winner and champion. I have owned two Mk. 3s. One was carried so much that the thread for the screw holding the clip in place stripped out. The second was sent as a warrantied repalcement for free. The first Mk. 3 was the prototype. It came out about five years ago and as I just wrote, I carried it quite often. Even with all of this time and use, I have still only gone through four batteries (tiny CR2s, nonetheless). But even that number is inflated as I threw out one battery before I shipped the first one back to Enrique. So really, I have used three. Three in five years. You’ll go through car batteries faster than that.
Runner Up: Muyshondt Beagle: Same guy, same nutty runtimes but in a larger package.
Best Lux Light: Prometheus Delta
This light is so beautiful, so easy to use, so bright, and has such a glorious beam and pattern that its really among the best lights ever made. Sure, the average person won’t appreciate all of the niceties, like the custom board, and the spun electroplating but if you are a flashaholic this is your jam. I hate to resort to a car analogy again, but this light tickles the fancy of flashlight fans in the same way the the steering on Lotus is a siren’s song for driving enthusiasts. This light is right at the edge of “tool” and probably more accurately seen as jewelry, which I normally detest, but even crotchty opinionated reviewers can be hypocrits.
Runner Up: McGimzo Haiku: Still one of the most exotic, hard to find, and functional lights ever made and a perfect predecessor to Jason’s gem.
Best Light For Emergencies: Streamlight Protac 1L-1AA
These two have been trading places for a while, but living in the middle of a pandemic has taught me a thing or two. Yes the Rotary is easier to use and bombproob, but it is also heavier. What really cinches it for me is that the Protac’s dual fuel ability means you will almost never be out of light and in an emergency that is the highest priority.
Runner Up: HDS Rotary: Still really good and still in my nightstand as my #1 go-to light for when shit hits the fan or something goes bump in the night.
Best Light with a Different Form Factor: Frelux Synergy
Ben at Frelux is doing what all gear geeks secretly want to do—have a production shop in his actual garage (he had a great IG post showing a new CNC being installed and being such a tight fit that he had remove the rubber strip from the bottom of his garage door for it to get inside). But you’d never know from the light that comes fromt that humble, classically American place of origin. Its perfectly machined and he really takes advantage of the form factor, giving the light a ton more versatility. It stands in almost every possibile position and it still slides into a coin pocket nicely. It even has great runtimes. If you are tubed out, this is a perfect light for you. They are hard to find in stock, but are pretty inexpensive given their quality and limited production runs. There is also a AA version if you like a little more heft in your light.
Runner Up: Nitecore TIP2: Its brighter than the Frelux, but not as durable or as cool. Still, its weird form factor hides in a coin pocket and stands in multiple positions. Its also about $200 less.
Best Keychain Light: Rovy Von A2 (Hi CRI)
Rovy Von should be on this list more than it is. Its lights are crisply made, sport great specs, and carry well. But Rovy Von cannot seem to get UIs right. Their double tap to turn on UI in current models is a deal breaker for me, but the old A2 didn’t use this convoluted system. Its the size of half your thumb and his 600 lumens, so yeah its a killer keychain light. And the A2 is all steel (which is okay here, as the size is so small that steel’s weight penalty doesn’t really matter) so it will handle your keys with aplomb.
Runner Up: Nitecore TIP2: See above
Best Full Sized Torch: I have no idea
We are on the cusp of a light revolution with high speed USB-C charging and interal batteries that make tubes a thing of the past, but no company has really embraced all of the advantages in a single full sized light. I like the USB-C Eagletacs, but I am not sold on which one. I like some Imalents too. Olight makes a few lights that look interesting but it is still stuck on the mag charging thing that I just don’t care for. In the end, I have yet to see a clear winner. That said…
Runner Up: Eagletac TX25C2: I still love this light. I wish it had a new emitter and USB-C charging because this body tube design CRUSHES everything else out there. Its not even close. The TX25C2 tailstands light a champ, its clip is a washer style clip that is snug but removeable without tools, and the head is deep without being comical. Eagletac, just update this light, please. It was a classic.
Amazon Purchase Link
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