• The brightest flashlight is now the Imalent M18 which shines at 100,000 lumens. It costs about $670.
• Another very bright flashlight is the Acebeam X70 shines at 60,000 lumens. It costs around $550.

The Brightest Compact Flashlights and Headlamps

• The Acebeam X80-GT is the brightest compact flashlight — it shines with an impressive 32500 lumens. It costs around $280.
• The brightest headlamp is the Lupine Betty Rx14 — it shines with 5000 lumens and costs around $1095.
• The brightest flashlight that uses AA cells is the Nitecore EA81. It shines at 2150 lumens. It takes eight AA batteries and costs about $120.
• The brightest headlamp that uses AA cells is the Fenix 15-U — the maximum output is 900 lumens. See a full review.
• The brightest headlamp that uses 16580 cells is ThruNite TH30 — maximum output is 3350 lumens
• Surefire has released the Titan Plus, a new keychain flashlight that produces 300 lumens at the highest light mode. It costs about $81. See the full review.

Brightest Compact Light: Acebeam X-80-GT

The Acebeam X8-GT0 shines at 32500 lumens — impressive for such a compact light!

It runs on six 18650 rechargeable batteries and has a beam range of 525 meters.

It is waterproof and impact resistant to 1.2 meters.

Home page: Acebeam

Another Bright Compact Flashlight: Thrunite TN36 UT

The Thrunite TN36 UT6 is a compact flashlight that outputs an impressive 7300 lumens. It runs on four 18650 rechargeable batteries. It’s waterproof to IPX-8 Standard (1.5 meters) and impact resistant to 2 meters.

The Thrunite TN36 UT6 is available on Amazon for about $230

The Brightest LED Flashlight That Uses AA Batteries: Nitecore EA81

The brightest flashlight with AA batteries is the Nitecore EA81, which shines at 2000 lumens. It takes eight AA batteries and costs about $200.

It’s waterproof to IPX-8 Standard (1.5 meters) and impact resistant to 1.5 meters.

The Nitecore EA81 is available on Amazon for about $280.

The Brightest Keychain Flashlight: Titan Plus

Surefire has released the Titan Plus, a keychain flashlight that produces 300 lumens in its highest light mode. Before this release, the brightest keychain light produced about 80-120 lumens, so this threefold increase is significant.

I’ve purchased this light and will be testing it soon. The 300-lumen mode lasts about 1 hour using a AAA Ni-MH battery.

All Surefire flashlights are designed and built in the USA, although some components are still sourced outside the US. Surefire says:

We do import a few components – most notably, the finest light emitting diodes (LEDs) from top-notch manufacturers outside the country – to incorporate into our products. All of that said, we do rely on as many American-made parts and components as possible, and the assembly of these components is done under our watchful eye in the U.S. to ensure optimal quality.

The Titan Plus is available from Amazon for about $81.

The post The Brightest LED Flashlights appeared first on Reactual.

This LED headlamp is capable of outputting 900 lumens in “burst” mode — but only for 30 seconds at at time (it must cool down afterwards).

However, in “high mode” it outputs 400 lumens and lasts an average of 3.5 hours in this mode.

The headlamp has regulated output, so it doesn’t dim as battery voltage drops, however the higher brightness settings eventually become unavailable. In mixed usage consisting of approximately 75% medium and 25% high, the high setting becomes unavailable after about 5 hours using 2300 mAh batteries.

The  Fenix 15-UE weighs 5.4 ounces (154 grams), this is excluding batteries and headlamp straps.

The photo at the top of the page shows the 15-UE in “burst mode”. Here is an example of it in action in “high mode”:

The maximum beam reach of the 15-UE is 583 feet (178 meters). The headlamp is IPX-6 Water Resistant –basically, this means it is splash proof but not submersible.

The LEDs used in this lamp are Cree XM-L2 U2 —  these are the highest-performing, commercially available single-die LEDs.

The Fenix 15-UE is available at Amazon for around $63.

The post The Brightest Headlamp That Uses AA Batteries (900 Lumens) appeared first on Reactual.

The Fenix LD01 is barely large than the AAA battery it uses (we recommend using a low-discharge rechargeable NiHm AAA battery). It is very bright — it produces 80 lumens on its highest setting, which is brighter than most full-size flashlights.

The Fenix LD01 is solidly built — it uses a Cree Q5 LED as its light source, and the lens is made of toughened, anti-reflective glass. It weighs 1.6 ounces, and it is “IPX-8 water proof”, meaning it is suitable for continuous submersion. The flashlight is also RoHS compliant — it does not contain non-toxic heavy metals or flame retardants.

You can the Fenix LD01 from Amazon for about $40.

Schrade Titanium Keychain Pry Tool

Weight: 0.5 ounces (14 grams)
Titanium Type: 6AL-4V Titanium Alloy

This Titanium Key Chain Pry Tool by Schrade is made with solid 6AL-4V titanium — an alloy that is stronger than pure titanium (the exact chemical composition is: 6% aluminium, 4% vanadium, 0.25% iron, 0.2% oxygen, and the remainder titanium).

This is 6-in-One tool, it’s: a seal belt cutter, a bottle opener, a flat head screw driver, a wrench driver, a scraper, and a pry tool. It weighs just 0.5 ounces, and it’s 3.25″ long (8.2 cm).

Titanium Split Pea Lighter

Weight: 0.5 ounces (14.3 Grams)
Titanium Type: 6AL4V Series Titanium Grade 5 Alloy

The Titanium Split Pea Lighter can be used as an candle in an emergency and carried on your keychain. A removable lighter insert allows it to be used as a waterproof titanium pill vial. It sells for $30 from County Comm.

Leatherman Charge TTi Titanium Multi-Tool

Weight: 8.2 ounces (232 grams)
Titanium Type: Alloyed Titanium Handles, S30V Stainless Steel Blades

The Charge TTi Titanium Multi-Tool by Leatherman is one of the few multi-tools that incorporates titanium into its construction. This tool has titanium handles and a titanium outer coating for extra strength, and a little bit less weight.

You can get the Charge TTi Titanium Multi-Tool on Amazon for about $100.

Leatherman Micra Tool

Leatherman Micra is a keychain-sized multi-tool that contains a total of ten tools, including a pair of scissors. The Micra weighs 1.6 ounces, and it’s 2.5 inches long when closed. Leatherman tools are guaranteed for 25 years (10 years for their lights). Specifically, the company says “we will gladly repair or replace it, at our discretion, with one of equal or greater value”. Over 120 buyers on Amazon, rated it an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars. The Leatherman Micra is available on Amazon for around $20.

Another good keychain-sized multi-tool is the Gerber Shortcut Mini-Scissor Tool.

Arc-AAA LED Flashlight

Designed for keychains, Arc-AAA flashlights are barely larger than the AAA batteries they contain. The exact dimension are: 2.5 inches in length, 0.5 inches in diameter, and 0.75 ounces in weight. The Arc-AAA is made in Phoenix, Arizona by Arc Flashlights. The company only makes keychain-sized flashlights, and put a lot of attention into the design of their lights (see the FAQ page of all the technical details).

The Arc-AAA is warrantied for life against manufacturing defects. It features a Nichia white LED light, and is waterproof to 100 feet. I’ve used this flashlight for about five years, and I’ve never had any issues with it. It has fewer scratches on it than my other keychain lights, perhaps due to its “Type III Hard Anodized 6061 Aluminum” casing.

The price is $29.95 for the standard model, and $44.95 for the premium model Arc AAA. It’s available directly from the manufacturer Arc Flashlights. There’s also three titanium models available that range in price from $125 to $140.

We like this flashlight because it’s made in the U.S. with a lot of attention to design detail. It’s also slightly smaller than the Fenix LD01 (below). However, the Fenix LD01 (see above) is much brighter than the Arc AAA, producing 80 lumens, which is quite bright for a keychain-sized flashlight. 

The post Buy It For Life: Keychain and Pocket Tools appeared first on Reactual.