If there’s one piece of my EDC (Everyday Carry) item that I use multiple times per day (or, more often, at night), it’s my flashlight. I’m always rooting around in a closet or otherwise searching for various items, and the light comes out. Or I might get up in the middle of the night and not want to wake up my wife, so I use the low-lumen output of a flashlight to navigate around rather than flipping a hardwired light switch.
Handheld flashlights are an important part of my daily routine. Over the years, I’ve had some great lights and some that weren’t so great. A few were total garbage. Today, we’ll be looking at a few lights that have worked very well for me. I also tried to cover the full price spectrum since not everyone is made of money.
Note that all of these aren’t necessarily “Tactical” lights; sometimes you just need an everyday type of light for all occasions or just for utility. On the other hand, some lights can cover both tactical and utility functions, giving us more bang for the buck.
Let’s dive in!
Surefire Sidekick
This tiny light resides on my bedside table (next to an actual tactical light for things that go bump in the night). It’s a true marvel of technology and one of the most useful utility lights I’ve ever owned. What makes it so useful? In short, every single thing about this light makes it attractive!
First, it’s rechargeable, so if you hate having to constantly buy batteries, this light relieves you of that. For me, I have to charge mine maybe once a month, and sometimes, it will go more than a month without a recharge. Mind you, I used mine on the lowest setting most of the time, which preserves the battery.
And speaking of settings, this light has three of them:
- 5 lumens for a 45-hour run time.
- 60 lumens for a 4-hour run time.
- 300 lumens for a 1.25-hour run time.
At 300 lumens, the light is rated for 66 yards. At five lumens, it’s perfect for moving around the house or other areas without disturbing others, giving just enough light for navigation but not enough to draw much attention to the user. The 60-lumen medium setting is a good all-around brightness. When using the light at 300 lumens, it does heat up after a short time, though. There is one button on this light, and each time it’s pushed, it will cycle to the next brightness setting.
The beam not only reaches out but provides a generous flood to illuminate objects in the periphery. It’s great for all-around utility, but it’s not likely that anyone will make room entries with this light. And that’s okay because it’s not designed for that.
With the polymer body, this light weighs just two ounces with the battery installed, and it’s just 2.5 inches in length. Mine wears an optional pocket clip for convenience in the event I want to take it along with me. There’s an attachment point in case you want to put a ring through it and attach it to a set of keys, which is a useful way of carrying this light.
As far as durability goes, I dropped one of these lights in my yard and didn’t realize it. It was then run over by a lawn mower and flung a considerable distance. When it was found, it still worked despite being damaged. That light is still working to this day! This one retails for less than $30, making it a true bargain.
Surefire EDCL2-T
Surefire’s EDCL2-T is built like most Surefire lights…like a tank! It’s powered by two CR123A batteries (I like the rechargeable Surefire batteries).
This light can be used as a Tactical light or as a utility light because it has two outputs:
- 1,200 lumens for a 1-hour run time.
- 5 lumens for a 60-hour run time.
So whether you’re just navigating around and need a tiny amount of light or you’re blinding an attacker, this light will do it for you. There is a tail switch that cycles through the light levels and that offers constant-on or momentary-on light. A clip allows it to be attached to pants or other gear for convenient carry. It weighs 4.1 ounces, and the body is made from aluminum with an anodized finish. The outside of the body has knurling for a sure purchase.
This one sells for $198.99 as this is written.
Surefire G2X Tactical Light
Surefire’s G2X is another dual-output light, so it can serve as a tactical or utility light. The body is polymer, while the head is aluminum.
The two outputs are:
- 600 lumens for a 1.5-hour run time.
- 15 lumens for a 52-hour run time.
The first push of the tail cap switch gives the user 15 lumens, and when pushed again, we get 600 lumens. The light has a considerable amount of flood, so it lights up a wide area. The tail switch allows either momentary on or, if pushed harder, constant on. The polymer body is nice in freezing temperatures, as it doesn’t get as cold as metal. It’s more comfortable in the hand, not to mention very durable.
It’s powered by two CR123A batteries.
This one does not have a pocket clip, so it must be carried either in a pouch or holster or a pocket. This light can always be found by my bedside in the event that I have to deal with an emergency at night. It’s not large, at 5.2 inches long, and weighing 4.4 ounces, so it can be comfortably carried on the person should you desire to use it like that. This one would also be great for a compartment in a vehicle, giving the user two excellent levels of light. It can either blind an attacker or illuminate them, or the 15-lumen setting is great for walking around and doing other administrative things.
At the time of writing, this one sells for $80.99. Surefire’s lifetime warranty is outstanding should you ever need to use it.
Streamlight Macrostream
This is another winner: Streamlight’s MacroStream USB flashlight. This light has a tail-cap switch that offers both constant on and momentary lighting. It’s durable, constructed of aluminum, and can take abuse.
The length is 4.5 inches, it weighs 2.2 ounces, and it fits into the pocket exceptionally well, being secured with a pocket clip. There are two output settings:
- 500 lumens for a run time of 2 hours.
- 50 lumens for a run time of 8 hours.
As the name implies, it is rechargeable by using a USB cable. This is a really nice little light that just slips into the pocket and disappears until it’s needed. The circumference isn’t huge, which helps it to tuck away efficiently. The lens is polycarbonate, which is nearly indestructible, and the light is water-resistant.
An added bonus is that it’s light enough that it can be clipped to the brim of a hat and used hands-free. As I write this, it retails for $53.99, which is a great price for such a light.
Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA
I carry the Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA light on my person daily, and it has proven reliable and effective more times than I can count. There are three outputs, and the user can program the sequence that he or she wants the levels to activate with the tail cap. I have mine set so that High is the first output, then strobe, then low. This light can use either a standard AA battery or a CR123A battery.
The three outputs are as follows with the CR123A battery:
- 350 lumens for a run time of 1.5 hours.
- 40 lumens for 14 hours.
- Strobe for 3 hours.
With a AA battery in place:
- 150 lumens for 1hour, 20 minutes.
- 40 lumens for 7.5 hours.
- Strobe for 3 hours.
I like being able to use two different types of batteries in this light. I often use AA batteries but will occasionally throw in a CR123A battery. There is a pocket clip, so this can be found in my left front pocket most of the time (whenever I am dressed). The light is 4.25 inches long and weighs just 2.4 ounces, so it’s not a hassle to have it in my pocket.
It’s bright enough to function as a tactical light, which is why I have it set up with the brightest setting as the first selection. However, at the lower settings, it’s nice for utility work, as it’s not overly bright.
This light has been dropped and banged around a crazy amount of times. It’s well-worn but shows no signs of failure. Best of all, as this is written, the price is $43.99, which is very reasonable, in my opinion. Streamlight has a lifetime warranty, so you’re covered in case anything goes wrong.
Force Options
Some of these flashlights give us a force option. What I mean by that is that we can consider them as a level of force to defend ourselves. There are two ways in which we can approach this:
- Light that blinds attackers. If a person is temporarily blinded, it’s a lot more difficult for him to attack us. And some of these tactical lights certainly can blind an attacker, at least for a few seconds, which gives us time to either get away or initiate defensive measures.
- Impact Device. Some of these lights are sturdy enough to act as an impact device by using them to strike an attacker. This is especially helpful in non-permissive environments in which we are not allowed to be armed. The light gives us the ability to be somewhat armed. It’s also helpful in situations where we need some help but might not be justified in using deadly force.
Closing Thoughts
We’ve examined several lights at a wide range of prices. Just because you don’t have a lot of money to spend doesn’t mean you can’t score a high-quality light.
As we’ve seen, the majority of these lights have dual output and can function both tactically and as utility lights for mundane tasks. And if you’ve followed my writings (or ravings), you probably know by now that I love gear that can perform double duty.
Finally, the lights allow us to retain a force option, even in non-permissive environments. What’s your favorite handheld light? Let us know in the comments!
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