5 Tips To Help You Find The Right Flashlight For Your Needs

Whether you are lighting up the inside of a tent, hiking, need lighting during an emergency or searching for someone in the dark, a flashlight is an essential tool for your camping trip!

With so many different types of flashlight with their own individual specifications, we have summarised key factors and described how to quickly find the most important information about a flashlight, so you can choose the ones to best suit your needs!  

1.  Eight Different Types Of Flashlights And Why To Have Each Type

It is good to know about the different types of flashlight, before choosing one for your trip. Our range of EDC , tactical , pen lights, headlamps, bike lights, high power and camping flashlights can be researched on this website. 

Headlamps

Headlamps are often overlooked as a choice for camping flashlight but advancements in technology mean that they have the runtime, power and portability to free your hands whilst giving a good amount of power and runtimes. They are particularly helpful if a camping companion is injured and you need to provide assistance in the dark!

EDC flashlights

EDC or 'everyday carry' flashlights are torches for general use. They tend to be  smaller and lighter in weight than tactical flashlights and range from small keychain lights to medium hand held torches which are about the same length as your phone.  

Tactical Flashlights

Originally made for aiding firearms to identify targets in low light environments, tactical flashlights are primarily used by enforcement, security and military professionals. As tactical flashlights are normally made with high quality, durable materials and tend to be powerful whilst remaining compact, they are very good as camping torches and the additional power of them makes them useful for search and rescue as well as getting attention in emergencies. Tactical flashlights have additional features such as strobe and SOS flash modes along with tactical strike bezels and normally have more than 1,000 lumens output.

Keychain flashlights

Keychain flashlights typically have an output similar to that of a phone flashlight and are easy to remember to carry around as they are attached to your keys. They are very compact and effective for finding things inside the tent whilst relieving the battery of your phone flashlight.

Pen flashlights

A pen is generally useful to have on a camping trip. Wuben's range of pen flashlights include the E61 and E62 which as well as being pens, have white lights to help you write in the dark and blue and red auxiliary lights to help you get attention in emergencies. They also have additional features such as a glass breaker, surgical blade and an inkless pen.  

Camping lights

Dedicated camping lights are not designed for hikes, but to give you a soft, evenly diffused light for illuminating up the inside of your tent, as opposed to projecting a long range beam with a concentrated hotspot.

Flood flashlights

Effective for search and rescue, these have a less concentrated beam spot and light up wide areas. They are also suitable for hiking trips.

Long throw flashlights

These have a more concentrated beam spot and longer range than flood flashlights. Long range 'thrower' flashlights can also act as a beacon, to signal to those who are searching for you.

2.Optional features to consider when choosing a camping flashlight

Power bank capability

Some EDC, tactical and camping flashlights can also be used as power banks! They typically have the capacity for one full phone charge and this useful feature will help ensure that your phone battery does not fully drain out whilst on your trip.  

Compatibility with a diffuser

A diffuser is a cap that cover the lens to enable it to provide a soft and more spread out light for the inside of your tent, rather than having a concentrated hotspot. Diffusers can make long range throw flashlights suitable for use as indoor camping lights!

Switch options

There are two main types of switches used for flashlights- side and tail switches. They both have their own advantages and are a matter of preference. There are also two types of on settings - 'momentary-on' and 'constant-on'.  Momentary-on means only having to slightly press the button to operate and it will turn off as soon as the button is released.  Constant-on means clicking the button so it stays on. Many flashlights have both of the on modes and both side and tail switches.

Ability to mount the flashlight

Whilst resting in the tent or carrying out a task outdoors in the same place, mounting options are helpful to keep your light source at the same place, allowing you to free your hands. Many flashlights can be mounted to magnetic surfaces or attached with a lanyard or hook.

3.ANSI FL1 standards will give you key flashlight information quickly

ANSI is an abbreviation for the American National Standards Institute, which is a non-profit organisation.   In 2009, ANSI created the 'FL1' standards to ensure that flashlight companies tested their products and used  terminology in the same way to enable the consumer to compare different torches easily. For an example, we are going to use this table which is for the Wuben C3.

The table shows specifications for 4 output modes - in this case the C3 has 'high', 'medium', 'low' and 'eco' modes.