SOLVED (UPDATE BELOW): Hello Moth brothers and sisters. I managed to get a family ring very, very stuck on my finger this week. After exhausting all of my increasingly desperate ideas for getting it off, I went over to my neighbor’s house. He’s a firefighter and was kind enough to grab a ring cutter and rescue my rapidly expanding purple finger.
I had my McBob Armytek out so he could actually see what he was doing, which naturally led me to the only reasonable conclusion: I should thank him with a flashlight.
Budget is around $70, although I can stretch a little if there’s an obvious winner.
He’s not a flashlight nerd, so I don’t want to give him Andúril homework. I’m thinking:
Simple UI — something FC11C-ish: hold for moonlight, double-click for turbo, otherwise pretty intuitive
Durable/reliable enough that I’d feel good giving it to a firefighter
USB-C charging because I don’t want to gift him a battery-management hobby
Good general-purpose beam rather than a dedicated thrower
Ideally something that feels substantial enough to be a nice thank-you gift
I’ve been buying flashlights for long enough that I feel like I should have an obvious answer, but somehow I’m drawing a blank.
What would you guys give him?

UPDATE:

Moth Siblings, you have all been incredibly helpful. After analyzing all the information you provided, I’ve decided on two gifts:

1. Purple Acebeam Pokelit — rather than trying to guess at his professional needs, I’m getting him something fun for general use. Plus, it commemorates the Purple Finger Incident.

2. I’m going to smoke him a brisket, because food and flashlights are my love language.

🙏 May the moths ever follow your lumens. 🙏

I've just been rebuying the same model for close to a decade.

For context: live in Brooklyn and during the summer months the creeps/psychos seem to be out in force. My wife is petite and has been the target of threats and abuse. Thankfully no assaults yet but it has been happening in the neighborhood. We have a dog so we're hesitant to get a pocket pepper spray, but I'd like to buy her something that would really disorient/blind the shit outta someone if need be for a brief time so she can run away/find safety. Battery life isn't super important as this would be hopefully be basically never used and if it was would ideally only be on for a short duration. I don't know shit about flashlights but figured you lot would know just the thing. I'd really appreciate any help you can give. After someone told her he'd "snap her neck" the other day I don't want to wait any longer.

I have lots of flashlights and all of them are kinda basic in color and material. I’m looking to get something with more of a WOW factor like a piece of jewelry or art. Show me what you got. Strut your favourites here.

Please, fans of this emitter don't kill me.

I bought a Convoy H4 B35am 4500k, I chose this Emitter because is generally considered very natural light and high CRI.

Unfortunately this is not my case! too red or rosy, indoors is not bad but outdoors everything is reddish or brown.

I took this photos for you to have an idea(they're not perfect but you can have an idea), in the left low side there are some blue flowers, the B35AM just make them completely disappear and also some green in comparison with a SFT70.2 that show every color as it is in day light.

My question:

If I go up to 5700k or 6500k will fix this? Or should I try a nichia 519a 5700k?

* I work in automotive painting, even in my off work time I like to see colors as they really are.

The man comes through time and time again. Issues are resolved to the best of his ability, he covered Covid shipping issues, tariffs, he mods lightly to customer's spec without question, doesn't ask for more money, just a darned good dude. My last order was 'lost' by the last mile shipper- we gave the shipper the time to make it right and then I let Simon know about it. He instantly responded with apologies for failures that were clearly not on his end, and immediately shipped out another replacement, with the mods that I requested prior.

A true class act. Simon, you absolutely deserve your reputation.

Brother, everyone here loves you and wouldn't be upset if you raised your prices a little bit for you to continue to innovate just behind the curve with the highest quality, yet tested components. No bullshit features, just the highest quality at a great price- like the Brass T8.

Y'all send Simon some love on this.

Spoke to them and they ignored me about simply turning their car lights off when warming up their car… has been happening about 6 months now maybe more… called the cops today and they told me get darker curtains and it’s not a crime… F that, need a light I can directly point at their house that’s bright enough for them to understand what the business is. Just something indiscreet so when they finally come over to my house we can have a conversation.

I have a buddy whose birthday is coming up. He's a big-time flashlight enthusiast and collects all kinds. He likes unique flashlights and seems to enjoy novelty. He always seems to be buying a new flashlight to add to his collection. He's gotten a lot of powerful/big ones and has mentioned that he thinks he has enough of those and is going to focus on smaller, unique ones. I'd like to get him one. The price range I'm looking for is $20 - $40. Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone!

I’m looking for some flashlight recommendations, but with a slightly different focus.

I’m not necessarily looking for the cheapest or the flashlight with the highest specs. I’m interested in flashlights that you personally think offer an awesome combination of:

- Beautiful / interesting design

- Great build quality and materials

- Good functionality

- Excellent value for money

- Something that feels satisfying to own and use

- Ideally something with a bit of character rather than just a generic tube light

Please recommend based on your own personal preferences. I’d especially love it if you could include pictures of your actual flashlight when recommending it. I want to see what people genuinely love owning, not just a list of the usual “top 10” recommendations.

For some context, I’ve just ordered my first proper flashlight, the Loop Gear SK06. I really like its design and the combination of form, functionality and the overall character of it.

Now I’m wondering:

What flashlight would pair beautifully with an SK06?

It doesn't necessarily have to look similar. I’m interested in what you think would make a great companion to it, whether that's something titanium, compact, elegant, rugged, unusual, premium-looking, ridiculously practical, or just a flashlight that you absolutely love owning.

I'm open to pretty much anything and not restricting the budget to a particular range. “Value for money” to me doesn't mean cheap; it means getting something that feels genuinely worth what you paid for it.

So please hit me with your personal favorites :)

Drop the flashlight name + a picture of yours + why you love it.

I’m mainly looking for recommendations, so I’m happy to discover things I’ve never heard of before.

TL;DR: Just ordered my first flashlight, the Loop Gear SK06. Show me your favorite beautiful, well-built, functional, great-value flashlights (with pics!) and tell me what you think would pair nicely with an SK06.

Thanks!

Here's how this works - look through the comments before replying. If you don't see a light listed that you think is top 10, write a reply for that specific light (one light per reply) making your case why it is top 10. If you see top level comments for lights you agree with, upvote them.

Rules: 1. One light per top level comment. 2. If a light is already in a top level comment, don't duplicate it, upvote it (and reply to that comment with your support or reasoning). 3. For lights that come in many different emitters, keep your emitter preferences in the replies, but we don't need 40 top level comments for each Convoy or Hanklight variation. 4. The top 10 lights, based on user upvotes of the top level comments, will be consolidated into a list after 72 hours, along with a summary of the replies supporting their selection.

Soo in the follow of previous post. Which brand is more reliable? ​ I got these recommended so far: Fenix, Wurkkos, Sofrin, Convoy.. I want a good, lasting flashlight(for years to come), not too heavy/big, something I can take with me on hiking. I want it to be able to light up the entire forest if I need to (if I hear some motion nearby and gotta see what’s that) + one which won’t blow up too.. I saw some posts there and people talking about flashlights-grenades 🤔 Mechanical switch and multiple options for different light strength and width? Maybe. Plus what’s better - rechargeable by cable or batteries? Thank you for your time, help is very appreciated!

I'm going to be a vehicle operator at McMurdo Station for five months during the summer season. It'll be daylight 24/7 so it won't need to light up the night. It'll be primarily used for pre-trip vehicle inspections, looking under seats or in dark storage compartments, lighting up dark interior rooms, and looking for my chapstick when it inevitably rolls under my bed.

It needs to stand up to cold temperatures and snow. I'll probably be using it often while wearing thick winter gloves, so anything with big easy to access buttons will be good. It should fit in a reasonably sized coat pocket as well. Lastly, on a minor note, it would be nice if it was orange, red, yellow, or some other color that would stand out when dropped in the snow

... and start recommending the D4K instead! Haha, clickbait title!

The D4v2 nave is so iconic that many unknowingly overlook the more recent D4K which offers much better battery options for only a bery modest increase in size and weight.

In fact, the D4K is actually lighter than the D4v2 if neither has a battery in.

I just wish Hank could offer a sort of D4v3 with the weight savings of the D4K in the body tube and some other bits. Here's a table of the weights of different parts of each light:

I am looking for some recommendations for a new patrol light, I’m not much of a flashlight enthusiast rather just a frequent heavy user. I’ve always purchased streamlight flashlights. My department does not supply a flashlight, the first light I carried was a streamlight sl-20, then upgraded to a stinger led shortly after. When the stinger batteries began to fail I switched to a streamlight HPL with the usb charger built in, after daily charging for 4 years the usb no longer has constant connectivity and is failing.

I’m looking for some recommendations for a new patrol light. I work nights, some shifts in a suburban almost city environment others in pretty rural areas. I also work river boat patrol as special assignment, the boat is equipped with a search light but grabbing a flashlight is sometimes easier for a quick look. We also run heads-up FLIR as primary, handling is more for a quick look at something in the water or on deck.

My requirements for a light: reputable and reliable brand, decent beam distance, somewhat waterproof (I’m not diving with it but it will get wet), easily swappable battery, a better charging system than usb? (What else is out there these days?), simple and easy user interface. Bonus points if it’s dual color red/white.

Hello all!

I’m looking for a small (roughly 2 to 3 inches) but _very_ powerful flashlight for my father for Father’s Day. I’ve tried looking on my own but I’m just totally lost. I even purchased one on Amazon but it simply wasn’t bright enough and, obviously, I don’t want to keep throwing away money via randomly buying flashlights and hoping for the best. lol.

Thank you SO much in advance!

ETA: Thanks again, y’all!! You’ve been _incredibly_ helpful. (Though, TBH, some of these replies truly seem to be written in another language entirely. lol. You guys know your ish!)

~50k candela in this form factor is so much fun, especially for the price point. If you haven’t given in yet, you should! This one has the W1 in it but I may try the SFT40 in 3k next. Might go for the S8 and the 8amp driver as well. I know everyone is talking about these so I feel obnoxious posting this, but the hype is real. (Convoy S6 shorty with CSLNM1 and 5 amp buck driver)

Hi all,

I have an aging mother that asked me to help prep her up better than her current older stock of lights she has.

The longest we haven't had stable power is 6 months. However, based on averages after super typhoons, the goal is to find lights that could last/help for 1 ~2 weeks of absolutely no power.

Currently, I intend to get her 3 lights.

1)a NOAA/AM/FM radio, hand crank chargeable, and useless solar rechargeable panel, with the ability to charge phones in emergencies. And yes. I know those claiming to have 10,000 MaH internal battery are lying, about their capacity.

2) a hand crank chargeable just-flashlight, but if there is a lantern version, PLEASE let me know.

3) a Wurkkos TS27 / Olight Prowess, or it's equivalent clone. Mostly for the easier UI, battery indicator, and removal of the RGB fluff.

The reason for this post is that I may be biased in my choices for her, and I may not have caught up with new lights that happen to meet these 3 different lights (for example a hand crank chargeable lantern). I look to my fellow Flashaholic who have had such similar challenges.

Anduril is out of the question.... And I already got her a Fenix PD40R V3.0. I also bought her motion detecting lights with built-in batteries for the hallways when the power goes out + the emergency light bulbs that go on when the power goes out. Yet... Somehow... Somehowww... She used all of their batteries in 2 days, except the Fenix.😭 She should have been rotating them instead of having them all running at the same time during the night.

Problem is this woman doesn't know how to conserve her lights batteries, either because she is blissfully hopeful for power to return before her lights run out of battery or she is weaponizing her ignorance for more lights via my personal funds. 😂 I am no longer there to manage that aspect for her, so the best I can do is buy and send them to her.

And while I have considered a solar charging generator, she doesn't have the... let's say, for the lack of a kinder word. .. the knack for managing it.

This is a woman who is known to buy things because she wants it, but then has someone else set it up and manage it for her. Simply put, she does not like management....

Price Range: <100$

Purpose: Having fun, impressing friends. Give me something that's gonna light up the forest.

Battery Type & Quantity: doesn't matter

Size: Fairly compact and slim, let's say 200g or lower. So I can fit it in a backpack / car glove box without taking too much space.

Type: Handheld

Main Use: Ideally a flood + a throw mode. Party trick.

I'm an industrial maintenance mechanic. I work in a cold heading and roll threading shop right now, and I use my flashlight constantly. I got my first FC11C on Amazon before I ever considered that there might be a Flashlight enthusiast community on Reddit, so I'm glad to find this flashlight so well regarded here. I have preached how much I like this flashlight to tons of people because of how affordable and durable it is.

I've lost this thing in gigantic hydraulic press oil reservoir for hours, fished it out and it was still shining bright like nothing happened. Dropped it down elevator shafts (on accident, of course) and it never skips a beat. I really abuse my flashlight.

My current light just died, and if I buy another one it'll be my 4th FC11C now. Is there a better light out there? I really don't care about lasers and strobes. I see that many lights talked about on this sub have UV capability, which I guess might be neat. I use this to light up what I'm working on, not to entertain cats or whatever.

I feel like my perfect flashlight would be an FC11C with a head that could rotate or be pointed somewhere else. The magnetic base is a must for me, and I appreciate the on-board Type-C charging. I put my light in my back pocket when I get to work, use it all day, and throw it on the charger on my desk before I leave.

Is there another light that I should be considering? Thanks in advance for your time and advice!

Hi,

After receiving recommendations from the Dutch government to have a 72-hour emergency kit, which should include flashlights, I became interested in this topic. After reading this subreddit, here is what I came up with for a family of two living in an urban area in the Netherlands. I would appreciate your thoughts and recommendations on what I should change or improve.

Primary flashlights: - 2× Wurkkos FC11C with Nichia 519A LED - 4× Panasonic and 4× Samsung 18650 batteries, charged to 3.9 V - 2× diffusers for lantern-like use

Secondary flashlights: - 2× Fenix E12 V3 Headlamps: - 2× Fenix HM23 V2

Batteries for primary and secondary lights: - 12× AA Panasonic Eneloop 2000 mAh - 12× AA IKEA LADDA 2450 mAh - Batteries of last resort: 10× Energizer Ultimate Lithium

Lantern: - Sofirn LT1

Charger: - Nitecore i4 with a USB-C to 12v cable, so I can use it with a power bank or a laptop charger

My plan is to refresh all NiMH and 18650 batteries once per year. I normally use a SkyRC MC3000 charger; the Nitecore i4 is just a backup charger, as it is small and fits easily in this case.

I decided to stick with AA batteries because of the low self-discharge of modern NiMH cells and their availability in regular stores, as well as the very long shelf life of primary lithium batteries, which can be stored for 10–20 years.

The 18650 batteries are an addition for situations where I need a more powerful flashlight. They are also standardized across my emergency radio and the Sofirn LT1 lantern, so I can interchange them if needed.

I'm doing my best to not buy more flashlights than necessary but it is very hard to resist with things like Wurkkos ts27. Before starting this kit I had only one Fenix e03 and it was enough for my lifestyle.

Update 1: This is blackout emergency kit to cover multi-day grid outage like in Spain last year or in Berlin this year. I'm not going to carry this box with me. This is not war emergency kit nor evacuation emergency kit, just a nice box for storage.

Officially may which means its my birthday month and I can add to the collection without judgment.

Been wanting the TS30s for a minute now and its on sale for $69.99 and US warehouse. I dont have a SBT90.2 yet so excited about this one.

I don't think id be maximizing the situation if I just ordered a single flashlight...

What are some of Wukkos must haves? Im thinking $200-$250 is an appropriate expenditure.

I only own their TS11 so far.

My brightest light is the Sofirn SP60

My thoughts are get maybe something that is brighter then the SP60 and have no need or interest in headlamps...other then that options are wide open

So far cart looks like (non final)

TS22

Ts30s

TS27

Curious about the DL70 @ $59?

TS12 @ $16.

TD07 @ $23

Wish they still had the Ts10 love a new "key chain" flashligh as my sofirn SC21 is getting a bit long in the tooth

Thanks friends

The XHP50.3 in 4000K seems grenish in a way. I love the TIR lense and beam but the colour is not my thing.

The M21K LHP I ordered is awesome in 3000K but maybe I would like it even more in 4000K.

I will order another lamp soon, is it possible to just order a new emitter part for the S21E? Or do you have better recommendations?

Would love to play around with another emitter for the S21E that has also as many benefits and efficiency but is more in the colour area of the LHP.

Also I would if already there order the LHP for the M21K in 4000K.

Damn one month ago I told you guys I just will order one flashlight 🤣.

Love this community btw.

Cheers

Could be a one trick pony, just fun to pull out and use from time to time, or has a weird feature other flashlights don’t normally have.