You can tell a lot about an engineer when they head out into the field. One thing I usually look for: do they have their own flashlight and is it halfway decent? I had an older Fenix and it has come to the end of its road and I’m starting to look around for another flashlight…curious what you all may recommend?
I’m not terribly picky - I want something sturdy to stand up to the industrial plant environment, has good battery life (preferably rechargeable), and capable of at least 1,000 lumens.
I always have flashlights with me. On my key chain, on my phone, at home, in my car. My latest is a rechargeable led headlamp from china, which was very cheap and works very well, and is super bright.
Do you use the app on your cell phone that activates the camera flash?
I find that bright enough for most purposes.
That’s what I use. Mainly at Sammys last walk of the night, to find his . . . deposits. It’s a bit awkward handling the phone/light and bag. I’m going to keep my eye out for compositepro’s headlamp.
I have a Thrunite TC12 that I like. It outputs 1100 lumens in a decently tight beam, it’s usb rechargeable (with a removeable 18650 battery) and so far it seems pretty sturdy (I don’t work in mills as much as I used to, so I haven’t put it fully through the wringer yet, but all indications are good so far). I also carry an older AA powered T10 every day, so that’s often in my pocket at job sites as a backup light (it’s also easier to hold in my mouth when needed). On my list of things to get is a decent headlamp that shares the same 18650 battery, but I haven’t gotten around to that yet.
I also have a charger/battery bank from them that I like to pair with the light since they share the same removable battery, thus giving me a spare battery for my light and/or a battery bank for my phone (handy when traveling for work). It’s unfortunately discontinued, but hopefully someone makes a similar product.
Last thing to add is that I believe some fancier batteries have come out since I bought that TC12, so it might be worth looking into that if you want bleeding edge performance or even more battery life. USB C charging might also be worth seeking out, depending on what your other devices use for charging.
I have always used Ledlenser lights. Have found them to be very good overall.
Except we call them torches, I’ve never understood why they are referred to as ‘flashlights’ in the US. In my experience, flashing would be an unwelcome feature for a torch.
Early flashlights ran on zinc–carbon batteries, which could not provide a steady electric current and required periodic “rest” to continue functioning.[1] Because these early flashlights also used energy-inefficient carbon-filament bulbs, “resting” occurred at short intervals. Consequently, they could be used only in brief flashes, hence the common North American name “flashlight”.
I have used many flashlights that just were not bright enough. Now I take my mountain bike lights with me to sites. They are very bright, throw light a long ways, rechargeable batteries last quite a while (1hr45 @ full power), weatherproof, durable, but they are expensive. I use Niterider Lumina 650 to 1200 lumens. The 1200 lumen version runs about CAN$175. The lower lumen version ones are less than $100. I don’t think I would buy one just for site work, but as I have them already … I haven’t found anything else that will beat them for illuminating dark places (other than the more expensive bike lights that pump out much more lumens).
My understanding of early zinc-carbon cells: (Corrections cheerfully accepted.)
As the cell discharged, hydrogen was formed and interrupted the current.
Later developments included additives to absorb the hydrogen and/or making the carbon electrode porous to allow the hydrogen to migrate out of the current path.
Is there any other information on the development of modern zinc-carbon cells?
Why are nearly all flashlights BLACK? You need a flashlight just to find your flashlight :)
But they’re not just “black”, they’re “tactical black” - whatever that means.
Somewhat related . . .
As the circle of light increases, so does the circumference of darkness around it.
Albert Einstein
“marketing black”
Flat black, not shiny black?
What I want is strategic black :)
I’ll see your strategic black and raise you a tactical black. grin