Four days after Sandy and I’m still without power. As discussed the other day, Milwaukee’s M18 power source is the MVP of the ordeal, for maintaining our only lines of communication with the world. But there are several other MVPs, most notably the flashlights and work lights that help combat the ~12 hours of darkness we face each day.
Many of these models are featured in our Top 10 LED Flashlights listing, and for good reason. They have been proven to be handy and reliable, again and again.
Elzetta LED Flashlight
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I reviewed this light a year ago and recently dug it out of storage. When I left the apartment, this is what I carried in the breast pocket of my jacket. It’s small, waterproof, and with both low light and super-bright settings.
Fenix LD20
This is what I kept within arms reach at all times. A 4-cell AA holder with fresh rechargeable batteries (Eneloops) sits on the kitchen table. Low, medium, bright, turbo, and strobe settings provide a decent level of versatility.
Craftsman Nextec Florescent Worklight
This burns through batteries quick, but it lights up a room really well. I hung it from the coatrack, stuck it to the fridge, and carried it in-hand.
Stanley Tripod LED Flashlight
I have two that I couldn’t find but luckily Stanley’s new version had been sitting on my test bench. It’s not very bright, but it provides nice illumination hands-free. Everyone in my family will be getting one or two this holiday season.
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Maglite
A while back I said that these are great for homeowners, and I was quite serious. They’re fairly inexpensive, bright, durable, and use standard batteries. I put one of my 2D lights to good use, as did my parents. My parents also gave one of theirs to my sister in the days before the storm, and I’ll definitely be replacing it for them this holiday season.
LED Headlamps
My wife put to use the pink Princeton Tec headlamp I bought her years ago, and I put my trusty Petzl Tikka Plus into use. Hands-free lighting definitely helps when carrying things up a darkened staircase.
Why so Many?
It seems as thought I sought out to use as many different flashlights as possible, but that’s not what happened. Prior to the storm hitting I put flashlights in all of the major rooms of the apartment. Different flashlights served different purposes.
The Craftsman worklight lit up the living room, but battery considerations meant only using it when we really wanted or needed it. Otherwise we just used the Stanley tripod light for dim but long-lasting illumination.
The Elzetta and Fenix logs were great for on-the-go and also came in handy when securing a 6-foot long strip of plastic trip that kept slamming against the window outside.
We could have made do with fewer flashlights and worklights, but it seems that having options helped keep us a little less miserable. It’s hard to imagine how much worse the situation would be if we had just one or two flashlights and a dwindling supply of batteries.
Which flashlights or worklights would you reach for at times like this?
John Sullivan
Not sure if you’re reading the replies right now, but if so, here’s a tip that I put into service after Hurricane Isaac:
Grab a white paper plate and a small amount of Scotch tape. Tape the plate to the lip of the bulb end of the flashlight so that the plate is angled slightly less than 90 degrees to the beam, and half or more of the beam is hitting the plate. The plate distributes and diffuses the focused beam and even a mini-maglite can illuminate a room as well as a normal lamp with a 40w bulb.
Good luck! Hope you get power back on soon and damage was minimal.
Stuart
Sounds like a nice tip, I’ll give it a try over the weekend. Thus far I’ve been reflecting most light sources off the ceiling to help diffuse them.
With mini Maglites, you can remove the headpiece/reflector and use it as a base to use the flashlight in “candle mode.” I wonder how well that would work with a diffuser made from a paper cup and tissue paper.
Paul Gatker
The Maglites are also optionally available with LED bulbs. The LED version of the AA mini Maglite is around $17.00 at Amazon vs. $13. for the older type bulb. Upgrade conversions are also available.
Stuart
I woudn’t recommend the older style non-LED Maglites for anyone buying new. The LED Maglites are just so much brighter and linger-lasting.
$17 is a pretty good price for a mini Maglite I remember paying $25 for 2AA and 3AA models just a few years ago. In recent years I have purchased maybe a half dozen more during the holiday shopping seasons.
I upgraded a 2D Maglite years ago when the modules first came out and complete LED flashlights weren’t readily available. These days it might not be very economical to buy an upgrade module vs. a new flashlight, unless you’re talking about the super high-intensity aftermarket modules.
Tony Clifton
I would think in a blackout something like a crank-up lantern would be far more useful to keep around than a ton of flashlights.
That’s not to say that flashlights aren’t useful, too, but when our power went out last summer during a storm I wished I had a lantern for general room lighting instead of trying to stand my 6D MagLite on its end on a table.
Stuart
That’s definitely something to consider, thanks for the tip!
This is the longest blackout I’ve ever lived through, and I can’t say I expect to live anywhere anytime soon where such blackouts are common.
Still, it seems that a crank-up lantern would provide a bit extra peace of mind knowing that there will still be light long after batteries run out.
Years back my family all bought self-powered flashlights that you shake to power. Low-quality and dim gimmicks, if you ask me. Maybe the tech and quality has improved, but I doubt it.
John G.
Our go-to power outage lantern is the Rayovac Sportsman. It’s a compact, three D-cell lantern that goes for about $22 at Amazon. I like that it has a high mode, that lasts about 40 hours, and a power-saving mode, that lasts about 90 hours. We have six that we keep around the house and we keep one in the trunk of each car.
James C
Glad to hear you’re OK, Stu (and still managing to blog regularly)!
Have you ever looked into solar options for charging batteries? I don’t know much about solar charging but it might be worth checking out. I love Eneloops, but IIRC it takes 10-12 hours to charge them plugged into the wall. I wonder how long solar would take.