How to Buy a Flashlight

What is a Flashlight?

A flashlight is a portable device that emits light from a small light bulb. It is an alternative to electric powered lighting. While most flashlights are hand held, there are some that are helmet mounted for miners and bicycle mounted for bicyclists. Flashlights are mostly used for camping, hiking, and other activities that involve the outdoors during the night. Flashlights are also used in households. They are used in households during blackouts and also when working in dark areas or outside during the night. Another name for a flashlight outside of the United States and Canada is a torch or an electric torch.

Selecting a Flashlight

There are several different types of flashlights. The three major types of flashlights out in the market are Incandescent bulbs, LED lights, and HID.

1. Incandescent bulbs: These are the flashlights that have been around the longest time and are probably the least expensive. These flashlights use incandescent bulbs that produce a very bright light that is transmitted through a glass bulb, but it wastes a lot of energy because it produces heat. Since this flashlight wastes a lot of energy, it goes through bulbs and batteries very fast. A perfect example of an incandescent bulb flashlight would be a Maglite, such as the ones police officers use.



2. LED lights: These are flashlights that use light emitting diodes to produce a high-powered light, hence the name LED lights. These flashlights are much more efficient than incandescent bulbs because they do not waste energy making heat. LED flashlights have no glass in them, which makes them more durable than incandescent flashlights but they also come with a higher cost. When LED flashlights first came out into the market, they were only available in colored lights but now they have a white light that is more like a bluish white color. Some people tend not to like the bluish white color since they are used to the white yellow color from incandescent bulbs.



3. HID: These are flashlights that use High Intensity Discharge bulbs as the light source. The bulbs have an electric current that passes through ionized gases, which produce a very bright light that is one of a kind. The life of these bulbs is much longer than that of incandescent flashlights. HID flashlights are not very common because they are pretty bulky and very expensive when compared to the other flashlights.

Flashlight Material

The materials used for the casing of a flashlight are either Plastic or Aluminum.

• Plastic: It is very light and inexpensive to produce. This is perfect if you just need the flashlight for light use. If you need to do little things around the house or in the backyard, a plastic flashlight should be suitable for that.
• Aluminum: This material is long lasting and rugged. Unlike plastic, aluminum is going to cost you a little more money, but it is a good investment in the long run. This is perfect if you are going to be using it often because it is heavy and durable.

Other type of Flashlights

Headlamps are hands free lights that are an alternative or an addition to flashlights. Hikers and bicyclists mostly use them. Similar to flashlights, headlamps come with a different type of bulbs. The majority of headlamps are adjustable so you can adjust the brightness and the angle of the light. That is why they are popular amongst hikers and bicyclists.

Shake flashlights are flashlights that produce light by shaking the magnets that are inside of them. Once you have shaken the magnets inside the flashlight for about a minute, you get a couple of hours of LED light. This is not the greatest invention, but these flashlights are ideal for emergency situations when you need a light without any power source. You have to be very careful not to leave these flashlights around computers or credit cards because the magnets inside of them are very strong and they can damage your belongings.

Novelty flashlights are also used by many people. Some are Keychain Lights, while others are in the shape of animals such as a Lizard Flashlight, or a Frog Flashlight. There are also many types of Waterproof flashlights and Camo Flashlights.

                                           

Power source for Flashlights

Most flashlights use batteries as their main power source. Flashlights use various batteries such as alkaline batteries, lithium batteries and rechargeable batteries. There are also some flashlights that are solar powered. Solar power means that they get energy from a solar cell, which is powered by the sun or sunlight.

Consider the following when buying a flashlight

Flashlight bulb

• Choose bulbs that provides 8,000-15,000 candlepower, so you can get effective lighting.
• Make sure you purchase bulbs that are replaceable. That gives you the option to replace your light bulb with a better one, such as a halogen bulb or krypton that will give you better lighting.

Flashlight crystal

• Choose a flashlight with fine crystal reflectors, because it will make the light clearer and stronger.
• Flashlights with shattered reflectors will produce spot beams.

Battery

• If affordable, buy a flashlight that uses rechargeable batteries.
• Disposable batteries need to be replaced frequently and it can get expensive.