Like with knives and steel, my approach to flashlights has changed over the past year or so. I thought it would be helpful to make those changes in approach explicit, so that you can better use my reviews.

Lumens: Lying Liars that Lie

Before we get to the new ideas, let’s review a few things that might be different from my approach to flashlights when compared to others. Most people looking at lights prioritize output. Lumens, however, are a terrible metric to use when choosing a light for a bunch of reasons. First, lumens lie. Well, actually, the brain lies. Lumens, you see (like that pun?), are perceived logyrthymically not linearly. A 200 lumen light and a 300 lumen light aren’t significantly different in perceived brightness. Furthermore, the scale has diminishing returns—in order to appear brighter, high lumens lights need to have many more lumens. A 1600 lumen light is not much brighter than an 800 lumen light. Here is a chart regarding lumens and perceived brightness:

The chart below shows just how much lumens don’t matter.

The index value represents breakpoints, that is, places where the eye can see a difference in brightness. For example, if you want a noticeable difference in brightness, you need to jump from 210 lumens to 323 lumens. That’s not a doubling, but ANY perceived difference. Look at the higher end of the scale—a 1500 lumen light and a 2000 lumen light are probably indistinguishable. All this means one thing—lumens lie.

Aside from lumens lying, another part of flashlight specs are misleading—max lumens. In many ways max output is as silly as peak horsepower. Many lights on the market today, especially those from upstart brands sporting triple or quadruple emitters boast 5,000 or 6,000 lumen outputs on high. This is technically true. But it is misleading.

In the Wild West of flashlights ten years ago, there was no real way to compare claimed outputs. Some were out the front measurements others were emitter lumens. So the flashlight industry got together and created the ANSI/NEMA F1 Standard (a perfect example of why industry self-regulation fails). As that link explaining the F1 standard makes clear—max lumens are really a matter of specification manipulation.

Here is how. The ANSI standard, which applies to all sorts of light sources not just flashlights, measure max output as out the front (at least it is not emitter lumens) light for the first 90 seconds the light source is activated. If there is a drop in output after that it is irrelevant for determining max output. As a result you see a bunch of runtime charts for these multi-kilolumen lights looking like the downward slope of a roller coaster lift hill—the start out really high and then come crashing down quickly. The night hikes that I do weekly provide a good example of why that kind of runtime chart is perilous. Paying a premium for a kilolumen light that is only a kilolumen light for 90 seconds at a time is a terrible waste of money.

It is sustained output over time, not a burst of light, that matters. Look at the light’s max output 10 minutes in. If that is good, then light is good. If it is not, then the max lumens are really ephemeral for two different reasons.

Body Tubes Count

Like with knives and my rethinking of the importance steel, lumens have been downgraded even further. But that is not the only parallel. Handles are crucial for knives and body tubes are crucial for lights. The BOSS 35 has been a great example of this. While, of course, the emitter, programming, and UI are still the best in the business, the body tube is what keeps me coming back. Its so small, so useful, and so pleasing in the hand that the lumens don’t even sway me when picking up the light. Over time I have kept lights long after their lumen counts lost their luster because the body tubes are good. Think about this like a fixed blade’s handle—a good handle will keep a knife with mediocre steel in rotation much longer than a knife with a bad handle and good steel. There is a reason why the body tube on the FW series looks a lot like the body tube on HDS lights—it really, really works.

Dual Fuel

Very rarely does life offer you a perfect analogy, but here it does. High performance flashlights, like high performance cars have no backup, no spare tire. If the main source of power goes you are SOL. Sure, your Lamborghini has a patch kit, but seriously who uses that thing? Certainly not anyone that can afford a Lambo. But as the bro with too much chest hair is sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tow, the guy that bought the Honda Accord has already swapped out the spare tire and is on his way. So too with lights. The FourSevens Mini series is my favorite EDC light right now for a simple reason—when its RCR123a battery goes down I can swap in a primary and keep going until I am near power again and I can recharge the battery. We have flashlights primary for emergencies and having lived through a few long periods without power post-Nor’easter, I can tell you that dual fuel lights are great. From now on this is going to be something I focus on in reviews because you can make your light dual fuel without too many compromises. And yes, this means that 18650 lights aren’t going to fare all that well. Perhaps because they are too worried about stuff that doesn’t matter—extra modes and misleadingly high lumen counts.

The One You Have On You

This leads me to the next point in my rethinking of flashlights. For EDC lights, I want something as small as possible. After all, the best light is the one you have on you. There is a role for larger lights (see below), but for EDC these 18650 soda cans just don’t appeal to me. If you haven’t noticed my EDC lights have gotten smaller over the years. Right now my go to is the 47 Mini Turbo and has been for more than a year. Even now there is nothing as small with good throw and respectable runtimes. Note I did not mention lumens, because, again lumens really don’t matter. I am also exceptionally happy with the Laulima Hoku, which is a great sized 1xAAA custom. In fact, unless I am testing or doing something specific, the largest light I regularly carry anymore is the BOSS 35. It is excellent and very small for what it is.

BITN Lights

A while ago, no light that was larger than my thumb mattered. The HDS Rotary, one of the very best lights ever made, was the absolute largest light I would carry or buy. But then stuff started getting interested in the large light space. Emitters got more sophisticated, reflectors got very large, and throw became insane.

To me, the ownership, if not carry, calculus has changed with these larger, non-EDC lights. They now make sense to own. When it was the fat plastic lights with built in handles, it was not a good trade off. Now it is. The 47 MXS is in for review and this is one of the lights that most powerfully argued that the logic has changed. Similarly the Fraz Labs Tiny Nugget isn’t really an EDC light, but it too is amazing. I tend to think of these lights as emergency lights or lights for specific uses instead of something you carry all the time. These lights are for when things go Bump In The Night, hence the name.

Trapsing off into the pitch black woods for our weekly night hike has made clear the value of throw and these lights, for the first time really, are good enough to justify their ownership despite the fact that you don’t carry them everyday.

There you have it—an explanation of my thinking on flashlights circa 2021. Tech has changed and lights continue to improve, but what makes a good light really hasn’t. Understanding that, like understanding in general, is a process not an endpoint. I am sure these points will change in five years, but for now, I am fairly certain these are correct.