I saw one ad (eBay? Amazon?) that was for a “lot” of cheapies - a kind that I have a few of and like. But the lumen rating was for the lot! Simple addition of over-inflated values. Nuts.
I bought a set of 10 for $22 via eBay. I lubed the battery compartment threads and put Loctite on the lens bezel (one earlier one had gotten lost due to loosening). Chucked the shitty carbon cells for Duracells. Lithium cells would be good if we were still in Chicago…
For less than $3 each, get a pile, put them all over. (But I did recently get an Olight when on sale - they’re far better but too expensive for a sack-full.)
I’d suggest headlamps instead of flashlights. They might seem less handy at first, until you actually have to change that tire or add more coolant, and then the hands-free aspect of them will be invaluable.
I’d also suggest something that takes either AA or AAA rechargeable batteries. The reason is then you don’t need special batteries just for your flashlight, so you’re more likely to have spare batteries handy. Also the chargers are cheap and easy to find.
I like the Milwaukee 2103 headlamp, 350 lumens, usually available for about $25. It has a wide flood pattern, much more useful than a spot beam. It takes AAA batteries, and has a comfortable strap. The nice thing is that the light is a warm white, which gives good color rendition, and makes it much less irritating for the user and everybody around them. They also make a step up model with a spot beam added.
OK, let me chip in with my opinion then. I would go for a multi-functional flashlight both compact in size, like a smartphone, and powerful as a lamp. Since I am a person with outdoor hobbies, it was quite difficult to find something that could suit my needs. Having tested a couple of models, I found a compact and smart-looking VONT camping lantern with the “keychain” function. This was a cool thing to find on Amazon, and the lifetime warranty is just another nice thing about this light. It’s not a flashlight, but it’s a good thing to carry when it is still dark in the morning.
These flashlights look suspicious. Because the important accessories of the flashlight are not explained in detail. For example, if you want to buy a 1000 lumens flashlight, then the lamp beads, transmitter or lens must be guaranteed, uh uh. The 1000 lumens flashlight I know, plus one is usually more than $60. I think a few dollars is a scam. Cree’s LED is currently the choice of most LED flashlights. Because you are considering bringing it to your family, 1,000 lumens is actually a bit redundant. 200-300 lumens is actually quite enough and bright. Consider buying a few keychain lights or small flashlights. My favorite is Olight i1r 2. I bought it for $15, and 120 lumens is enough for me. You might as well take it to see if it fits. https://www.olightstore.com/i1r-2-kit-double.html
The flashlights I use most are headlamps from Coast or Milwaukee.
Why headlamps? Because they free your hands, and because they’re always pointed where you’re looking, especially if they’re the wide-angle flood beam variety, not the spotlight variety. They also usually lack the pointless and annoying strobe “feature.”
Why Coast or Milwaukee? Because they both make lights with a totally even, broad beam, with no “hotspots.” Hotspots can make it hard to understand what you’re seeing, in my opinion, because the uneven lighting disrupts 3-d perception. Also headlamps cast minimal shadows that you can see, which is good, but it also removes another way to understand the 3-d shape of things.
But I prefer Milwaukee, because the color of the light is very slightly warm, which is less irritating and cold-feeling than the usual, and provides better color rendition. That can be a safety issue if you’re dealing with color-coded wires or such. They call that feature “TRUEVIEW.”
For a regular flashlight, at least one review site recommends the ThruNite Archer 2A, not least because it has two switches (on/off and intensity) and because you don’t have to move through the pointless strobe function at all. It takes 2 AA batteries (not lithium), and it’s on sale now for about 40% off.
For a flashlight they’ll actually use, I’d recommend the Olight i3E that takes a single AAA battery, or the rechargeable i1R that’s actually a bit smaller and brighter, and slightly more expensive. Both are keychain flashlights, so they will actually be on hand should the need arise. If your family is SAR or LEO, they will not suffice, but otherwise, they’re great.
ADDENDUM: The reason I suggest flashlights that take ordinary batteries, instead of ones that have built in rechargeable batteries, is that rechargeable batteries are cheap, and can be used in any device (or at least the NiMH ones like Eneloops can). And you can charge them outside the flashlight. So if your flashlight dies, you can immediately swap out the battery, start the old one recharging, and get working again, just like the batteries on cordless tools. Also, if you don’t have a spare rechargable battery, you can use a regular alkaline battery. So you save money and gain function.
I haven’t used to Olight lights, but they are generally well-regarded and on my list…
If you want a budget-ish light that works well, is rechargeable, and doesn’t stretch credulity with its specs/reviews, I highly recommend the Nebo Flex (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M9C5M19/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). Not sure it’s really 450 lumens, but it’s definitely birght enough for most everything I’ve used it for. Size is great (fits easily in a pocket or tool kit or glove box), magnetic base, and rechargeable via mini USB.
I like their Rebel as well since it can be a headlamp or handlamp, but the proprietary charger annoys me. Wish it was just USB C or mini USB since I pretty much always have one of those around. Since I usually have a hat in the car, I can clip the flex to the brim anyways and I can’t see much of a difference in brightness between the two (supposedly 600 vs 450), but it’s also a good option.
Theres a lot of complaints online about o-lights, specifically from users who have had failures. Ive got one of their nicer handheld lights i have to reach out to them about warranty on because it started turning off with a light tap on the bezel/ light body. Ive also got a couple weapon mounted lights from them which have held up to hundreds of rounds of 9mm recoil. My current decision is to not buy more of their stuff but i did go a bit crazy for a while with some of their sales. I wouldnt buy their stuff at msrp.
