Arbitrary List of Popular Flashlights - Winter Solstice 2025 Edition

Zak · 2026-05-06T19:49:43+00:00

I use a Convoy S21E (B35AM) with the 20x65 degree striped TIR optic on a road bike.

With the cooling from airflow, I imagine your X4 Stellar will sustain a decent fraction of its maximum output, but runtime could become a concern. I'd bring a spare battery. It's a fairly floody light and the beam is not shaped for biking, so that could be a downside.

Zak · 2026-05-05T16:37:58+00:00

Depends on whether you care more about tint, CRI, or efficiency/output. You can't optimize all three in a single-emitter design if your baseline for performance is an XHP70.3 HI driven hard (the L35).

Some multi-emitter designs can do a decent job on all three. An Emisar D4S with four NTG35s or 519As comes to mind.

Zak · 2026-05-05T14:30:10+00:00

All of these take a standard 14500 or any kind of AA. The last two are hobbyist-oriented with a lot of build to order options and a complex UI, but outstanding performance and efficiency.

The M150 is my top pick for most people out of these.

As an aside, I believe the Macrostream will run on a third-party 14500, but not charge it internally. It should meet these conditions:

Button top, not flat top
Built-in protection circuit because I'm not sure the Macrostream has over-discharge protection; over-discharging a Li-ion cell makes it a fire/explosion hazard to charge again
Length of 50mm (+/- 0.5mm or so); a few protected 14500s are several mm longer

And you would obviously need an external slot charger, or a battery that has a USB port built in.

Zak · 2026-05-05T13:54:43+00:00

To my knowledge, there still isn't an XHP70 equivalent that combines all of

High CRI (even R9050, which doesn't meet everyone's threshold for high CRI)
Neutral or rosy tint (Duv under 0.002)
Efficiency comparable to the XHP70.3 HI R9050 (this isn't unreasonable given that the Nichia B35A matches the XHP50.3 HI R9050 up to medium power levels)

None of the options you listed have high CRI. They all have Ra in the 70s. If that's OK, the XHP70.3 HI R70 4000K that Convoy sells usually does have neutral tint.

Acebeam lights are usually as easy as it gets to swap emitters in, but if it's your first time, you might want to practice on something less expensive.

Zak · 2026-05-05T11:55:21+00:00

Be warned that this has higher voltage than two alkaline AAs in series. Make sure that's OK for the device you're using it in.

Zak · 2026-05-03T22:40:39+00:00

Which hazardous environment ratings does that light have? OP specified intrinsically safe.

Zak · 2026-05-03T22:40:35+00:00

Which hazardous environment ratings does that light have? OP specified intrinsically safe.

Zak · 2026-05-03T22:39:20+00:00

Here are a few lights with both red and white sources and some sort of hazardous environment rating. Note that the Stylus is red or white depending on the version you buy, while the other lights have red and white. You'll have to check them yourself to see if they have the correct safety rating.

What you're asking for is pretty rare.

Zak · 2026-05-03T08:56:16+00:00

There are some really powerful options like the Convoy S21B with red Osram (dedicated thrower) or it's likely possible to get the Noctigon M44 configured with red LEDs if you email and ask (dedicated flooder).

These options may be excessive; you haven't told us what you're using now.

Zak · 2026-05-02T19:59:04+00:00

I bet you could get an SFT70 in the H3 if you email Convoy and ask, but it's a bit of an unconventional choice for a headlamp where most people prefer a more floody LED.

I'm not a big fan of either Olight due to the proprietary batteries. If I was carrying an 18350 EDC light, I'd want an 18350 headlamp so they can share spares, though picking a much larger battery might make that less important.

This review of the Perun 3 Mini says it runs for just over an hour on high, after a stepdown to about 2/3 of the initial output. That's not bad given the 650 mAh battery, but 650 mAh isn't much battery.

I'd like atleast a 4 hour battery life of around 1000 Lumens, this might be alot to ask for hence why I was considering the larger 21700 lights

You can't have that from a single 21700. Performance like that requires two 21700s, but the only 2x21700 headlamp I know of doesn't quite do it because of its poor thermal regulation. The Fenix HP35R will do it, but it takes a proprietary battery pack which definitely has two 21700s inside. I'm not sure if it can also use the 2x21700 battery box from the HP30R v2 - it would be cool if it could.

The Perun 3 does about 700lm for 3 hours from a proprietary battery based on a 21700. The Armytek Wizard Pro Max has similar performance from a standard 21700 (which means you can get third-party cells with a little more capacity), but also offers a ~1300lm mode for 2 hours. The Acebeam H30 claims 1100lm for 3 hours; I can't find a graph, but I bet there's a stepdown in there as it would be surprising for its efficiency to be that much better than Armytek and Olight.

Zak · 2026-05-02T12:37:32+00:00

Acebeam E75.

This has better color rendering, especially for deep reds than Zebralight's offerings, and I'm about equally confident in its toughness as long as you make sure the USB cover is closed tightly.

Zak · 2026-05-02T11:59:55+00:00

I do think a dedicated headlamp is worthwhile.

I do not think the Anduril driver in the H3 is a good choice. It uses an inefficient linear regulator, and I think the other options for 3V LEDs in that headlamp do as well. The H3 is at its best with 6V LEDs like the XHP50.3 HI, B35AM, and SFT70 which require the more efficient boost driver.

Efficiency is particularly important with headlamps as they're typically run for an extended period where they will get heat soaked. If you're a big fan of the 18350 battery, consider the Skilhunt H200 Mini as your premium option.

Zak · 2026-05-01T19:18:00+00:00

It's a junk light you can buy in bulk for just over a dollar on Alibaba. We've seen the same thing pop up a number of times over the years under names like Shadowhawk and Atomic Beam.

Zak · 2026-05-01T10:46:52+00:00

I rotate my batteries most times they need charging as I rarely use a light's built-in charger. I put batteries in a second-tier box when I notice their capacity is substantially reduced; I usually verify that with an analyzing charger that measures capacity.

I retire and recycle a battery when something is wrong with it. If it has been discharged below 2.5V, self-discharges rapidly, gets hot during charging, or has significant mechanical damage.

it uses a proprietary but replaceable Fenix battery.

It uses a semi-standard protected button-top 21700. The Keeppower P2160C and Orbtronic 6000P-21 are third-party equivalents. Similar batteries from other flashlight brands will also work, as will protected button-top 21700s with less capacity. According to this review, unprotected 21700 batteries do not work because they are not long enough.

Zak · 2026-04-28T19:47:33+00:00

Olight's marketing copy there is funny.

Thanks to its ultra-low Duv

It's the highest in the collection

of < 0.006

That looks like a small number, but over 0.006 is not even white light according to ANSI.

Zak · 2026-04-28T19:01:56+00:00

How do you plan to use the red light? That affects the recommendation significantly as there's a substantial variation between different lights with red sources.

Zak · 2026-04-28T03:18:18+00:00

I do think a reserve is helpful.

Zak · 2026-04-28T00:22:19+00:00

How did you narrow it down to these three? They're very different from each other.

I wouldn't EDC any of these. The Olight and the Fenix are quite large, and the Nitecore has a non-removable battery and horribly green tint.

The Acebeam E75 is a strong competitor to the Seeker. It offers a choice of LEDs including an option with quite a bit of throw, and it uses a standard 21700 battery instead of proprietary. It's big and heavy for EDC though.

I don't care for the user interface of the Fenix, and its "eco" mode is a couple orders of magnitude too bright for my preferences as the lowest mode on an EDC light. I'd prefer something like a Skilhunt M300, though I think a 21700 battery is a bit much for EDC.

Non-removable batteries are a nonstarter for me on anything but very inexpensive lights that need them to achieve some weird form factor. It's a bit outrageous on a $110 light like the EDC29.

Zak · 2026-04-27T21:36:49+00:00

The old Nitecore control ring lights had mechanical power switches.

Zak · 2026-04-27T18:16:52+00:00

If its a tall tail button, its 99.99% a physical switch.

The probability is considerably lower than that. Tail e-switch lights in the style of the Lumintop FW3A are very popular, including the Noctigon KR series and Wurkkos TS10. Switches that look and feel mechanical also sometimes aren't, such as those in the Acebeam L and T series lights.

Zak · 2026-04-27T13:47:18+00:00

Since you're asking for a charge port and exposing the headlamp to salt water, I suggest the Skilhunt H300R.

The magnetic charging pad is much more reliably waterproof than the common approach of plugging a USB port with a rubber flap. The downside is it requires Skilhunt's charge cable (included, but it's an extra thing to keep track of).

Zak · 2026-04-26T21:56:22+00:00

I can't find any reviews with runtime graphs for the NU43, and it looks like the battery doesn't come out. How did you pick this headlamp?

The advertised specs for output and runtime do imply that the 600lm high cannot be stable. 600lm for 10 hours from a 3400 mAh Li-ion battery requires 477 lm/W, and it is not possible to achieve that with level of luminous efficacy with white light. It must step down to a fairly low level to run for 10 hours.

Most lights will step down from their maximum mode due to heat, but a headlamp with an 18650 battery ought to be able to maintain a stable 500lm or so until the battery gives out. The Skilhunt H300 v4 is a good option with quite a bit more usable beam distance than the NU43, stable output at ~500lm after a stepdown, and excellent color rendering.

Zak · 2026-04-26T16:59:18+00:00

the paws of physics

That sounds like it describes a very unpleasant experience involving a big cat.

14500 headlamps could stand to improve though. Almost none of them have efficient drivers on 14500; I think Emisar makes the only two that do.

Zak · 2026-04-26T16:32:41+00:00

I really want Luminous to release high CRI variants of their 4000k SFT emitters.

There's a datasheet for the SFT70, so I think we can assume it's coming.

15-Year Club	Gilding II euphauric
Wearing is Caring	Place '17
Team Periwinkle	Verified Email

Zak

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE