Best Flashlight for 2024 - CNET

Article updated on October 19, 2024 at 10:51 AM PDT

A flashlight is something you want ready before you need it. Make sure you have one of the best for when it counts.

Choosing a flashlight might seem straightforward, but there are a few key factors to consider -- especially brightness and lumens. Durability, whether you prefer flood, spot or adjustable beams, and the type of light -- LED, incandescent or krypton -- are other important factors to consider.

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CNET spent hours researching and testing over a dozen different options to bring you the best flashlights of 2024.

Ultimately, our pick for the best overall flashlight is the OLight Baton 3 Pro. This baton-style flashlight packs a brightness punch at 1500 lumens but in a small package of just four inches long.

Coming in at $70, the Olight Baton 3 Pro might outprice the cheaper options, but it more than makes up for it with impressive performance across the board. Not only does it sport impressive light output, but that output remained incredibly consistent across a full hour of testing. At just 4 inches long and weighing less than a quarter of a pound, it can go anywhere you do, and that small package comes loaded with features. The Olight boasts five separate power settings ranging from a dim "firefly" mode to the ultra-bright turbo mode, a lock to prevent accidental activation, a strobe effect, IPX8 (2 meter) water protection and even a magnetic wall holster. Taken together, it's no wonder the Olight Baton 3 Pro takes our top spot.

The ThruNite Archer is a popular flashlight, and our testing certainly showed why. Frankly, there is not better value for the money than this narrow, baton style flashlight. Its compact aluminum frame feels natural to hold and belies its impressive light output for up to 30 minutes before falling to lower lumen values. The two-button control scheme will feel familiar as soon as you pick it up, with an on/off button and a brightness selector. Factoring in the removable belt clip and IPX8 waterproof rating, you can't go wrong for just $30.

If you're planning to spend some time camping out in the wilderness, chances are you're looking for a little more from your equipment. While you could certainly take a standard flashlight, a flashlight like the LE rechargeable camping lantern offers far greater utility. To start, its wider beam and longer throw allow illumination of a much larger area, while the sidelight modes allow a softer light for use inside a tent, for example. In case of emergencies, it also includes a power bank to fully charge your smartphone.

Sitting comfortably atop the field, the Fenix PD36R Pro simply outperformed everything else we tested. With eye popping light output, more than 42 hours of battery life, and IP68 water and dust proof certification, there isn't an application where this bad boy won't excel. It is compact enough to carry every day, has the longevity to accompany you even on long trips away from civilization and includes the easiest access to a strobe feature of any light we tested, making it ideal for self-defense. If you can stomach the $120 price tag, you'll walk away with one of the most impressive flashlights on the market today.

My testing of these flashlights consists of three phases: first gathering basic specs such as dimension, weight, material and any special features, followed by light level intensity tests and finally beam width measurements. Light level intensity tests were conducted by setting up the flashlight with a tripod 6 feet from a reflective screen in a pitch-black room. Using a specially calibrated LED light meter (LED light is measured differently than fluorescent or incandescent light), flashlight output was measured in Lux over the course of an hour to give an idea of brightness, consistency and battery life.

It should be noted that despite testing in near complete darkness, with products loaded with brand new batteries and/or a full charge, that these aren't absolute measurements of each product's output. Instead, the data paints a much better picture of each flashlight's performance relative to each other. As with light bulbs, you'll see a dip in output as the flashlight heats up, followed by a precipitous fall as the battery runs out of juice. You can see a visual of this on the graph of normalized outputs expressed as a percentage of initial output below. Understanding this helps to explain the plethora of choices you have when choosing a flashlight. Do you prefer very high initial brightness that drops off quickly over time or a lower initial output that remains very steady over time?

Beam width tests are much simpler. With the flashlight again set up 6 feet from a wall, a simple diameter measurement was taken of the beam of light. While useful for most of the units tested, the Lantern style lights are designed to throw their light across a much wider area and as such are excluded from this testing.

Finally, the team at the lab spent time with each flashlight and discussed impressions of each. What special features do they include? How do they feel to hold or to carry with you for a while? What about operating them in the dark? Are they liable to roll off a table if set down carelessly? Particular attention was paid to the Ingress Protection, or "IPXX" ratings of each unit. These ratings, governed by the International Standard IEC 60529, dictate the particle and waterproof ratings of the flashlights. Issues encountered during testing such as flicker or heat buildup were noted carefully, since it doesn't matter how bright a flashlight is if it's too hot to hold onto during operation.

A relative blessing in the broad sea of available flashlights is that they are generally accurately priced based on what you can expect from them in terms of performance. While all flashlights saw some decline over the course of the testing, output, consistency and longevity all increased proportional to the pricing of the units.

The Gearlight LED Flashlight and Rayovac Value Bright 75 Lumen Floating Lantern, for example, may not have performed well at all in our testing, scoring low marks for light output and consistency, but they remain Amazon bestsellers due to their very low price point.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Olight Warrior X Pro was the only flashlight to challenge the Fenix's impressive performance, even surpassing it in some categories. However, despite its first-rate numbers, this flashlight grew unreasonably hot within minutes of activation and quickly reached a point where it would be unrealistic to operate it without a thick pair of gloves.

Another interesting option is the Maglite ML300LX LED 3 Cell. At a foot long and weighing nearly a full pound, this flashlight is reminiscent of the type you'd see a police officer pull out of his trunk in an old movie. With strong light output and very impressive consistency over the full hour of testing, this is an excellent flashlight if you prefer a bulkier option. Similarly, the Infinity X1 2500 and 1500 flashlights fell into a comparable testing pattern. They offer both rechargeable or replaceable battery packs, which is certainly a perk, but the price tags associated with their outputs simply don't measure up.

Of the smaller, baton-style lights I tested, the Streamlight ProTac 2L-X was just OK, with a decent initial output but a drop to effectively zero after just 20 minutes. The larger Alifa Rechargeable LEDhad better output and consistency and an adjustable beam but weighs more than any other non-lantern light we tested, at 1.3 pounds. It also includes promotional material claiming an output of 200,000 lumens -- an exceedingly unlikely number. Just 4,000 would be enough to claim the crown for highest output we tested.

Your own eyes and a camera flashlight can do a lot of good work if you're worried about hidden cameras.

The obvious use of a flashlight is to make a dark area brighter with you controlling where the light goes. But an overly bright light in a small area can sometimes have the effect of making it nearly as difficult to see as the darkness did. Getting a light with the proper brightness level is important, and you can check the lumens rating to know how bright or dim a flashlight will be.

The higher the lumens, the brighter the light will be. While flashlights generally land between 20 and 3,500 lumens, the average output for general use is usually in the 100 lumens range and illuminate objects at around 20 to 30 feet. But some flashlights will offer a range of lumens, allowing you to control how bright your light is.

The bulb type of your flashlight can play a big part in many factors, including brightness, light color, battery life and more. There are three common types of light sources for flashlights: LED, incandescent and krypton. Incandescent bulbs are much like the standard light bulbs you have or had in your home. There is a filament inside the glass that heats up when electricity is passed through it, which generates light and heat.

More modern flashlights use LED or krypton bulbs. LED, or light emitting diode, options can produce very bright light, use less energy, and barely emit any heat. LEDs also have a much longer lifespan than incandescent bulbs. Krypton bulbs operate similarly to an incandescent bulb, but the glass fixture portion is filled with a mixture of krypton and xenon gases with a filament passing through it.

LED lights have become the most common for many of the reasons listed above. While these lights can be a bit more expensive than other lighting types, in the long run, they will last longer and get more use per charge than others.

Another factor to consider when picking out a flashlight is the style of light beam you need. The three primary beam types are flood, spot and adjustable. A flood beam is going to work best for smaller rooms or seeing objects that are closer to you as it will cast a wide beam of light. If you want to look at something more specific or further away, then you'll want a spot beam. But to get the best of both worlds, consider an adjustable beam so you can change it from flood to spot or anything in between.

First, you'll want to think about the category that works best for your application. Small, baton style flashlights are easy to fit in a pocket or purse and are available any time the need arises. They'll also never leave you with your hands full -- making them easy to bring along on tasks that require other equipment. On the other hand, a lantern style flashlight will trade economy of size for a wider beam and extra features, such as a built-in power bank or alternate lighting modes. There are also tiny key chain flashlights, headlamp flashlights and heavy-duty flashlights focused on durability.

Flashlights come in a lot of different shapes and sizes. Here you can find baton-style lights, which are what is commonly thought of when talking about a flashlight. These are the types with the light on one end of the device with the rest of it being the handle. There are also lantern types that offer 360-degree light for illuminating an area. There are also larger floodlight-style, headlamps, magnetic options and many more.

Aside from those differences, there are considerations on the type of light source and power source. Incandescent bulbs have been the common option for many years, but LEDs have taken over thanks to the overall brightness boost, longevity and reduced power requirements. As for power, while plenty of flashlights still use replaceable batteries, like AAA, AA, C and others, rechargeable flashlights are becoming increasingly common.

No, as this is affected by the lens shape, light source, and distance between the light source and the lens. Most flashlights offer a wide beam output to illuminate an area. Some offer wider lights than others, but that is the most common beam shape. However, many flashlights now offer adjustable beam shapes for area, spotlight or anything in between to best fit your situation.