When going camping, there are few tools more valuable than the flashlight. If you are camping in the wilderness there will be no manmade light to guide your way when the sun goes down.
Therefore having a flashlight can be extremely valuable to help you navigate your surroundings and stay safe. There are many things to consider when buying a flashlight to make sure they match your needs accordingly.
Within this article, we will give you some great options for flashlights to buy and what you should be looking for to make sure the tool is right for you.
Top 5 Camping Flashlights
5. Most Popular
- Superior Brightness: Equipped with the superior Cree XML LED, this lantern provides an intense beam of light up to 1000 lumens, bright enough for outdoor searching and emergencies, with a maximum illumination distance of 500m (1640ft).
- USB Rechargeable with Power Bank Functionality: Our lantern incorporates built-in rechargeable batteries, chargeable through the provided USB cable. Its power bank feature allows it to double up as a charger for your mobile phone, with blue indicators on the base showing the battery level.
- Comfortable to Carry: Featuring a length-adjustable shoulder strap along with a large comfortable handle, this lantern is designed for easy transportation during outdoor nighttime activities. It is relatively lighter compared to similar models.
4. Fan Favorite
- Bigger, Brighter, Better – Hold the GearLight in your hand and know you’re holding something substantial. With a solid build and blinding brightness, the S1200 outshines the competitions. This mid-size flashlight is big on power but compact enough to fit in your backpack, survival bag, or car glove compartment
- Super Bright Wide Beam & Long Battery Life – Ultra wide beam effortlessly illuminates a whole room or backyard. It is 12 times brighter than old incandescent lights. Easily lasts for an entire camping trip using 3 standard AA’s. Compatible with 18650 or 26650 rechargeable batteries. (Batteries are not included)
- Zoomable & Multiple Lighting Modes – Adjustable zoom feature allows you to focus in on objects hundreds of feet away or zoom out to sweep a large area. Multiple settings replace the need for different flashlights. Makes for a practical addition to any household or emergency kit.
3. Budget Option
- BRIGHT LED BULB: This solar powered torch light is equipped with an LED bulb, to shine brighter than other small flashlights. Put it in the sun or wind it up to recharge
- EFFICIENT: 6min of winding or cranking generates 1hr of light. Internal battery stores solar & cranking power so you always have a charged self powered hand cranked flashlight source ready
- COMPACT AND PORTABLE: With a convenient carabiner that can hook on a backpack or keychain, your super small flashlight is easy to travel with and a great addition to your hiking survival gear
2. Fully Featured Option
- 【LED Hand Crank Flashlight】: On the bottom of LED flashlight, there are four indicators which displays the battery capacity (0-25% -50% -75% -100%). In an emergency or if the battery is depleted, electricity can be generated manually – 60 SECONDS MOVE, YOU CAN USE 10 MINUTES. Energy conversion reaches 68%.
- 【Flashlight 3 in 1】: This flashlight has 3 functions, Front projector (front lighting), White side light (side lighting), Red signal side light (SOS side red light), ideal for area lighting or camping. The brightness can be adjusted between 3 modes, maximum 6000 lumens this allows that the irradiation distance can reach 800 meters.
- 【4500mAh Rechargeable Battery】: With an integrated rechargeable battery of 4500mAh, the battery life can reach 10 to 20 hours maximum, when fully charged. Equipped with a USB port, you can also consider the cranklight as a power bank in case of emergency.
1.Editor’s Choice
- Solar & Hand Crank Powered Flashlights No Batteries Needed — This no battery flashlight is perfect for emergencies, power outages or anytime you need light.
- High Efficiency of Energy Conversion Cranking Flashlight — Just 1 minute cranking will generate enough power for 1 hour long using time.
- IPX6 Waterproof and Submersible up to 45 Feet — Very durable and handy tool for home and outdoor use. Such as for Vehicle use, Camping, Hiking, Travel Etc. Whether you do survival adventure or rock climbing this no battery spotlight is a must have.
Buyer’s Guide: Camping Flashlights
What price can I expect for a Camping Flashlight?
Camping flashlights can have a wide variety of features and ways in which to put these features to use. Due to this, the prices of these flashlights can rise or fall depending on the features they have or do not have.
Generally, you can expect the price to be anywhere from $10 to $40 depending on the features they provide and how reliable they are built to be.
We will now go over what features you can expect to find available on flashlights and why they can make your camping experience much easier, as well as the differences between battery-powered and windup flashlights.
Battery Powered Vs. Windup
Battery Powered Flashlights
These flashlights are powered by either rechargeable or replaceable batteries and tend to be more powerful than a windup flashlight might be, although this is not always the case.
Even still there can be a great variety in battery-powered flashlights depending on the bulbs, how many batteries are used, and which type of batteries power the device.
These flashlights are best used if you have the ability to recharge them or have spare batteries available that you can swap out if the batteries currently powering the flashlight run out.
See the most powerful camping flashlights on Amazon
Windup Flashlights
Where windup flashlights differ from battery powered ones is that they can be charged by the use of kinetic energy. What this means is that you can charge up your flashlight by turning a crank connected to a motor within your device.
This will charge a battery within the flashlight and allow you to use your flashlight without having to swap out the batteries and instead potentially save you some money on buying batteries.
These flashlights will typically hold less charge than a battery-powered device and be less powerful, although powerful windup flashlights do exist.
See the latest flashlights on Amazon here
Which is better?
Choosing which type of flashlight to go with will depends very much on what you need from the device. Each type of flashlight has its own strengths and weaknesses.
If you need a flashlight that is ready to go in an emergency then you should choose a battery-powered flashlight. This kind of device will also typically be more powerful and have a longer battery life, so if this is important to you then consider battery powered.
However, if you want a device that doesn’t have the added cost of batteries and you do not foresee yourself being unable to keep your device charged, then you should consider a windup flashlight.
Light Output
The light output of a flashlight can vary depending on a few different things. The type of bulb being used by the device, the charge of the batteries, and the material the light shines through can all impact the lumens a flashlight can achieve.
Some flashlights will also allow you to change between multiple brightness settings, as sometimes you will need to make full use of the brightness of your flashlight, and lowering it can help conserve battery life.
The higher the lumens, the brighter the light, and a typical flashlight will be at around 100 lumens.
Beam Distance
Another factor in the perceived brightness of your flashlight would be the beam distance. This is measured in meters and it signifies the distance the beam of light travels before it is roughly as bright as the light from a full moon.
This is because the light of a full moon is considered to be safe enough to be able to travel outdoors, at least whilst being careful. The beam distance of a flashlight will change depending on which brightness mode you use and the intensity of the light.
Battery Life
One crucial aspect of a flashlight’s functionality is its battery life. It is important for you to look into the battery life of any flashlights you buy so you can know how long it can light your way.
The way battery life is measured is in hours and the 5-hour battery life would mean that the flashlight would be powered for 5 hours before it reaches 10% charge capacity.
Battery life is measured the same on both battery-powered and windup flashlights and it is definitely a factor worth considering when looking at flashlights to buy. Obviously, the longer the battery life the better as you will be able to use the device longer.
Durability
As you will be using your flashlight whilst you are camping in the outdoors with rugged terrains and potential rocks and other tough materials present in nature, it is important you consider the durability of the flashlight.
After all, you would not want a device that will break after the first time you might accidentally drop it. You will want a flashlight that is drop resistant and is made of durable materials such as steel or aluminum.
Some flashlights can also have rubber padding on some areas to help mitigate the damage from dropping them.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, there are some great options for flashlights out there no matter if you want a windup or battery-powered device.
Keep in mind the durability, battery life, beam distance, and light output and you are sure to find the flashlight that is right for you.
Hopefully, this article has been useful in giving you some potential options and some of the features to be looking out for when shopping around for flashlights.
