Looking for a good quality rechargeable flashlight

[Earl McLain]

Good, durable, reliable and tough--Streamlight. Their Survivor Atex will penetrate well beyond 20' and also has excellent smoke/vapor penetration without defusing. They are not cheap, or even inexpensive. In a smaller version, the ProTac is an excellent little light as well. Our volunteer fire department issued ProTacs for helmet mount and Survivors for bunker coat chest pockets. Bought a ProTac for each of my wife and my own night stands--only light i'd trust to get me out of a fire (at least in that small size--Survivor would be gaudy on the night stand!!). I have a Survivor as a regular use light--holds charge a very long time.

Buying them was "cry once" for sure--but that was 6 years ago and i may never buy another.

[Jerome Stanek]

My go to one for long distance is this one I got bundled

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-60...000113773712--

[Brian Runau]

Costso had these on sale for about $30 and I bought four or five of them. They come with a removable rechargeable battery, or you can put standard (or rechargeable) C- cells in them. The light is bright and a charge lasts a long time. They have both a USB-A and USB-C port for charging them (the C port will charge faster). There are four small blue LEDs by the on/off switch to indicate the status of the charge.

You can adjust the size of the beam by turning the lens part of the flashlight. I would prefer if it adjusted to a smaller beam, but it's okay.

Mike

Got one of these in store for $21. Thanks brian

[Erik Loza]

Brian, sounds like you found what you were looking for but I wanted to put in another good word for Fenix flashlights. I have purchased several over the years and they continue to be my go-to brand. Not inexpensive but also, not unreasonable IMHO. I use headlamps quite a bit (including shop work) and one thing that sold me on higher-end flashlights was the lack of eye fatigue I experienced with brands like Fenix or Zebralight. The “budget” headlamps/flashlights seemed OK if it was only using one for a few minutes but doing something like working under the house/crawlspace or under a vehicle for an hour or two, the light quality and color temperature of the higher-end flashlights made everything easier. Just my 2-cents and glad you found what you were looking for.

Erik

[Cameron Wood]

The best ones IME are USB bike lights. I have various ones- very bright & run many hours. Even the cheap ones on Amazon are decent, although they may not last as long as the better quality ones.

https://www.amazon.com/CECO-USA-Rech...g%2C122&sr=1-9

[Curt Harms]

Thank you George. Very generous. I think the one at Costco will work for us. Won't use it a lot, but when you need it... Brian

How fast do the batteries in rechargeable flashlights self discharge? Or do they? My concern with flashlights as Brian alludes to is that it's been months since I needed that flashlight so never charged it then when I did need it, it would be dim if it worked at all. Newer non-rechargeable batteries are supposed to stay usable for up to 10 years. How long can rechargeable batteries go without being used or charged?

[roger wiegand]

It varies with different manufacturers. For an 18650 Li-ion battery like a small flashlight or headlamp (or Tesla) might use the rate averages between 0.5 and 3% per month under reasonable storage conditions. The loss rate isn't linear, the battery will lose charge faster when stored at a high SOC, but that rate of loss drops off pretty quickly. Loss rate is higher at higher temperatures, as well as at very low temperatures (eg -20F). NiMH batteries lose charge much more quickly and are not as good for seldom used items. That said, my camera flash with NiMH cells has gone 2-3 years without use and still functioned, at least for a little while.

[Steve Demuth]

I second this. I bought my wife a Dewalt 20V rechargeable 6 or 7 years ago, with 2 batteries and a recharger. Haven't worried about night lighting since. It sits on the woodbox in our mud room, near where we come and go, and has been a complete success - bright LED light, focus ring, and long life. We haven't used any other flashlight since, and this light gets a lot of use during lambing and other winter activities, since we have no general yard lighting.

[John Goodin]

I bought a Led Lenser M7R, now P7R, 13 years ago for work. It throws a bright flood beam and is quite bright. After dropping it 7 feet onto concrete they fixed it for free and quickly. It has been dropped and banged hundreds of times since then.

The 18650 battery lasted ten years before I replaced it with another I had bought with original purchase. I hesitated at dropping 100 bucks but seriously consider it to be the second best purchase I ever made, right behind a light blue 1984 Honda Accord.