“What makes a light ‘the best’ is different for each user,” explains Housely. Most everyday flashlight users can consider the 1-500 lumen range to be a solid bet. For common outdoor tasks, anywhere between 300-900 lumens will do the trick 900-1500 lumens is ideal for work lights, and for hunting, law and military, a range of 1250-2500 lumens is enough to get the task at hand accomplished. Most 100-lumen flashlights are pocket-sized models and are a good choice for stowing away in the glove compartment or in your camp bag. The average number of lumens in a standard flashlight is 100 - this is enough for urban environments as well as campsites and is good enough for general use. What's the average number of lumens in a flashlight? Do you need both your hands for your work? Get a headlamp! Do you need something that can easily be pulled in and out of a pocket while being held securely? One of our mid-range lights is probably best.” While lumens are a useful measure, they're not the only determination of quality when it comes to a flashlight.

Think about what you will be using your flashlight for and pick one in a size or style that will be most convenient for you. “We'd recommend that size should be one of your first considerations. (Lumens are the measure of intensity of the light coming out of the flashlight - the more lumens a flashlight has, the more output it is capable of.) However, he’s quick to note that flashlight shoppers are easily blinded by lumens. Everyone wants the brightest lights available,” says Housely. “Lumens are the first thing that most people look at.

He points out that there are a wide variety of LED flashlights available, and prudent shoppers will factor “size, beam pattern (spot vs flood), battery type, runtime and, most importantly, brightness,” into purchasing decisions. “I’ve been involved with the industry since 2005 when LEDs were just starting to replace incandescents,” says Housely. Daniel Housely is an LED flashlight expert and the owner of - one of the oldest LED flashlight e-commerce stores on the block. Compared to traditional incandescent bulbs, LED flashlights aren’t just brighter - they’re also more energy efficient, compact and resilient to damage.

Highest lumen flashlight