many usb power banks have very long lasting led flashlights that would be better for hiking/camping where weight is a big factor imho
One thing a good flashlight shouldn’t be is cheap, or at least, not if you want a bright, consistent light source.
Also, a quality flashlight shouldn’t have a ‘zoom’ function, if the reflector is well designed, then it should give either have a wide, even flood with a decent range, or an outer flood with a bright centre spot.
I’ve got small, pocket-sized lights that take either AA-sized 3.7v 14500 Li-ion or 18560 Li-ion cells, which give maybe 2-400 lumens, up to 900-1000 lumens. The cheapest are around $11, a little TrustFire light hardly bigger than a AA cell, up to roughly $50-60.
It’s perfectly possible to spend a couple hundred dollars on a high-end flashlight, putting out maybe 3-4000 lumens, I have a pocket-sized light, 18650 powered, with three emitters, that has a turbo function lasting a couple of minutes that can set fire to cloth or paper! That’s at 2500 lumens, that’s a crowd-funded custom light that was cheap at around $60.
None of those ‘tactical’ lights are tactical, or useful in a ‘tactical situation. A proper tactical light should have a quick on-off tail switch, with additional strobe, and should be capable of being mounted under a gun barrel for true tactical situations.
I have a lot of cheap Chinese brand-x pocket sized flashlights with zoom functions (to create whatever width of beam you need) and they’ve been giving me bright, consistent light for years.
They are the same, made by the same manufacturers, as name-brand flashlights for several times more money. But if you want to pay for a brand name, go ahead, of course.
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