Flashlights
I put this here because we need another one for the coach as well as at home. We bought a supposed 3,00 lumen flashlight from Bass Pro, for 70.00. It was rechargeable. Plugged it u to an hdmi adapter...
Forum Discussion
I agree that most of the lower-cost, generic flashlights (of which there are tons on the internet shopping sites) greatly exaggerate their output. A good brand will specify "ANSI lumens" which means that model of light has been tested in a calibrated light sphere for actual output.
Another thing about cheap generics is that they tend to use the harsher blueish LEDs, 6000 degrees Kelvin or even higher (if they don't say the color temp, figure it's blue). I like to get lights that have color temps anywhere from 2700K (similar to incandescent bulbs) to no higher than 5000K (neutral white). A few makers (like Zebralight) even offer "high CRI" (color rendering index) LEDs, which show colors of illuminated objects most faithfully and pretty consistent with the full spectrum of sunlight.
A good light will also be more shock resistant, usually, than a budget variety light.
If someone wants just simple on-off and no modes, they won't like any of the lights I like. The Sofirn SP36, for example, will ramp continuously from about 1 lumen to 5000 lumens; it remembers the last setting the next time you turn it on; it has shortcuts (hold the button down for low, or double-click for high), flashing modes, electronic lockout, battery state of charge readout, and more. The commonly used settings are easy to remember, but for anything fancy I have to refresh my memory with the manual!
Another thing about cheap generics is that they tend to use the harsher blueish LEDs, 6000 degrees Kelvin or even higher (if they don't say the color temp, figure it's blue). I like to get lights that have color temps anywhere from 2700K (similar to incandescent bulbs) to no higher than 5000K (neutral white). A few makers (like Zebralight) even offer "high CRI" (color rendering index) LEDs, which show colors of illuminated objects most faithfully and pretty consistent with the full spectrum of sunlight.
A good light will also be more shock resistant, usually, than a budget variety light.
If someone wants just simple on-off and no modes, they won't like any of the lights I like. The Sofirn SP36, for example, will ramp continuously from about 1 lumen to 5000 lumens; it remembers the last setting the next time you turn it on; it has shortcuts (hold the button down for low, or double-click for high), flashing modes, electronic lockout, battery state of charge readout, and more. The commonly used settings are easy to remember, but for anything fancy I have to refresh my memory with the manual!
