The Way I Look At LED Flashlights

[space cowboy]

After reading many posts here as well as other forums & reviews I have come to a conclusion on them from my perspective. Twisty's are the most reliable as there is not much to go wrong. Cllicky's can go bad but, not in all brands. High lumen output can get the led hot & shorten led bulb life. High lumens shorten runtime for sure, some lasting only 1 hour. The conclusion is get what you want but, beware of the above observation.

[jzmtl]

Cllicky's can go bad but, not in all brands.

Clicky break in every brand, but realistically it happens very rarely.

[Styerman]

Some clickies are better than others , a McGizmo McClicky being one of the better ones , ditto the one on the Ra Clicky . Over driven and more importantly , under heatsinked is a recipe for premature death .

As in all other facets of life , KISS applies .

Many makers inflate their output figures , beware , lumens at the emitter as opposed to out the front of the lense . Remember that it takes a 2-3 fold difference before the eye can discern much difference , especially when you get over 120 Lumens .

People are way to quick to pick on the latest LED de jour , regardless of whether it gives any long term advantage .

Chris

[jim guy]

some high output leds have good run times, I have a led lenser thats about 190 lumens and runs on alkalines. Still have same batteries in it when I got it. I use it about 30 mins or so every other day and Ive had it about a month or so.

[Magnus]

some people like their flashlight to act as a handwarmer. 

It is true that high output lights have low run times, but it is more about having that power available than using it all the time.  My P7 flashlight will run out of juice in under an hour on max, but on low will last 10-20 hours easily.