What lightweight, practical flashlights would people recommend?
I want something that I could use while camping, dog walking, and general day-to-day tasks (finding something under the bed for example). Currently I use my phone torch, which isn’t particularly practical. My previous (battery powered) torches have died after too short a space of time - I want something that will last.
One with a clip would be handy, so I could attach it to a cap.
I see lots of ones online with insane lumens. 1000 lumens seems like overkill for my purposes!
Not too worried about price (within reason!)
Many thanks for the detailed write-up! Are you aware of anything with similar specs that could be charged by USB-C? That does sound ideal, but if I could avoid having to buy the battery and charger separately that would be neat.
That said, having a backup battery on hand would be useful… How long do NiMH batteries hold their charge while not in use?
That does sound ideal, but if I could avoid having to buy the battery and charger separately that would be neat.
AA NiMHs are $1.50 to $2. AA NiMH chargers are $10. Mayyyyybe $20 or $30 if you get a fancy one. Are… you SURE that you wanna get more complex than this?
AA NiMHs are damn near disposable in my experience. The trickle-charger ($10 for an 8+ hour slow charger that requires 2 batteries at a time) is fine. If you want a charge within 4 hours or less, that’s where $20+ chargers come in. But trickle-charge is fine?
Basically: NiMHs can be left overcharged, as long as they’re overcharged slowly. They’ll just radiate heat when they reach a state of overcharge, but its actually a safe situation. (maybe reach 120F or 50C temperature during overcharge, but otherwise they’re fine). A $10 trickle-charger has no smarts, it just overcharges the batteries you connect. You set a kitchen timer and 20 hours later you take the batteries out, because they’re probably overcharged by then.
To answer your question: yes, USB-C AAs exist. But in my experience, the $10 trickle-charger + $2 NiMH is cheaper than buying USB-C AAs. The USB-C charger “inside” the AA also removes room for chemicals (An Energizer or Eneloop AA is 100% chemicals to make as much energy as possible). So you lose on battery life, and the electronics will cause self-discharge (so you’ll also have less life).
So you’re spending a lot of extra money on worse-specs. IMO not worth it, just stick with the classic NiMH from Eneloop (or reasonable competitors) + standard charger. Buy as much chemicals as you can, lol.
There are USB-C AA chargers btw.
https://www.amazon.com/EBL-Individual-Technology-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B077XCKC2G
How long do NiMH batteries hold their charge while not in use?
Modern NiMHs are “LSD”, low-self-discharge and have specifications of 1Y to 10Y (!!!) of charge hold. However, older “classic” NiMHs self-discharge within 3 months (!!!).
The brands I discussed: Eneloop, Energizer, and AmazonBasics, should have over 1Y of charge. If you want an “emergency” battery, I suggest Lithium (not Li-ion, but Energizer Lithium)
These will give you enough charge, and have over 10Y worth of life. But they are NOT rechargable. So they’re “emergency use”, leave in the car kinda thing. They’re also quite expensive ($2+ for non-rechargeable), but their long-life makes them ideal for an emergency use “forget-about-it” battery to leave in a toolbox or something.
Ah great post - many thanks for the information! Gives me a lot to consider.
So what about flashlights with non-removable batteries? The small Olight ones for example appear to use a magnetic charging attachment. Would you still recommend a AA NiMH flashlight, for the fact that they potentially have a longer lifespan?
small Olight ones
Which small ones? All of the Olights are larger than the Zebralight SC53 except for the AAA Olight. Bigger flashlights will have more lumens and more energy. The question is what’s the right size for EDC?
Zebralight SC53 is on the smaller side: 77mm long, 21mm diameter (round). But all 1x AA flashlights will be about this size, its just the nature around designing a flashlight around a 50mm long AA battery. AAA is even smaller but you lose out on Lumens significantly: the AAA Olight is 180 Lumens, about half the light that the AA design gets you. But it is even smaller and easier to keep in the pocket, so that’s the tradeoff.
A lot of people like the 1000-lumen sized flashlights, they’re a touch bigger and they use Li-ion batteries instead. But again, its about the size difference. What size do you want to carry with you?
For me, I think AA makes the most sense. They have cheap chargers made by a large number of competing manufacturers. If I “lose” my AA charger, I know I can get a replacement for $10 to $20. What happens if you lose that magnetic charger? Can you ever recharge that flashlight?
