LEDs: characteristics, markings and types. Characteristics of LEDs: main parameters and distinctive features Which LED is in a flashlight

Let's consider LED products, ranging from old 5 mm to super-bright high-power LEDs whose power reaches 10 W.

To choose the “right” flashlight for your needs, you need to understand what kinds of LED flashlights there are and their characteristics.

What diodes are used in flashlights?

High-power LED lights started with 5mm sensor devices.

LED flashlights in completely different designs, from pocket to camping, became widespread in the mid-2000s. Their price has dropped noticeably, and the brightness and long service life of a single battery charge have played their role.

5mm white ultra-bright LEDs consume 20 to 50 mA of current, with a voltage drop of 3.2-3.4 volts. Luminous intensity – 800 mcd.

They perform very well in miniature keychain flashlights. The small size allows you to carry this flashlight with you. They are powered either by “mini-pen” batteries or by several round “tablets”. Often used in flashlight lighters.

These are the types of LEDs that have been installed in Chinese lanterns for many years, but their life is gradually coming to an end.

In search lights with a large reflector size, it is possible to mount dozens of such diodes, but such solutions are gradually fading into the background, and the choice of buyers falls in favor of flashlights with powerful Cree-type LEDs.

These flashlights operate on AA, AAA batteries or rechargeable batteries. They are inexpensive and inferior both in brightness and quality to modern flashlights with more powerful crystals, but more on that below.

In the further development of flashlights, manufacturers have gone through many options, but the market for quality products is occupied by flashlights with powerful matrices or discrete LEDs.

What kind of LEDs are used in high-power flashlights?

Powerful flashlights mean modern flashlights of various types, ranging from those the size of a finger to huge search lights.

In such products, the Cree brand is relevant in 2017. This is the name of an American company. Its products are considered one of the most advanced in the field of LED technology. An alternative is LED from the manufacturer Luminus.

Such things are significantly superior to LEDs from Chinese lanterns.

What Cree LEDs are most commonly installed in flashlights?

Models are called consisting of three or four characters, separated by a hyphen. So diodes Cree XR-E, XR-G, XM-L, XP-E. Models XP-E2, G2 are most often used for small flashlights, while XM-L and L2 are very versatile.

They are used starting from the so-called. EDC flashlights (everyday carry) range from small flashlights smaller than the palm of your hand to large, serious search flashlights.

Let's look at the characteristics of high-power LEDs for flashlights.

Name	Cree XM-L T6	Cree XM-L2	Cree XP-G2	Cree XR-E
Photo
U, V	2,9	2,85	2,8	3,3
I, mA	700	700	350	350
P, W	2	2	1	1
Operating temperature, °C
Luminous flux, Lm	280	320	145	100
Illumination angle, °	125	125	115	90
Color rendering index, Ra	80-90	70-90	80-90	70-90

The main characteristic of LEDs for flashlights is luminous flux. The brightness of your flashlight and the amount of light that the source can provide depends on it. Different LEDs, consuming the same amount of energy, can differ significantly in brightness.

Let's look at the characteristics of LEDs in large floodlight flashlights :

Name
Photo
U, V	5,7; 8,55; 34,2;	6; 12;	3,6	3,5
I, mA	1100; 735; 185;	2500; 1250	5000	9000...13500
P, W	6,3	8,5	18	20...40
Operating temperature, °C
Luminous flux, Lm	440	510	1250	2000...2500
Illumination angle, °	115	120	100	90
Color rendering index, Ra		70-90	80-90	80-90

Sellers often indicate not the full name of the diode, its type and characteristics, but an abbreviated, slightly different alphanumeric marking:

• For XM-L: T5; T6; U2;
• XP-G: R4; R5; S2;
• XP-E: Q5; R2; R;
• for XR-E: P4; Q3; Q5; R.

The flashlight may be called “EDC T6 Flashlight”, there is more than enough information in such brevity.

Flashlight repair

Unfortunately, the price of such flashlights is quite high, as are the diodes themselves. And it is not always possible to purchase a new flashlight in case of a breakdown. Let's figure out how to change the LED in a flashlight.

To repair a flashlight, you need a minimum set of tools:

• Soldering iron;
• flux;
• solder;
• screwdriver;
• multimeter

To get to the light source you need to unscrew the head of the flashlight; it is usually attached to a threaded connection.

In diode test or resistance measurement mode, check the serviceability of the LED. To do this, touch the black and red probes to the LED terminals, first in one position, and then swap the red and black ones.

If the diode is working properly, then in one of the positions there will be low resistance, and in the other - high. This way you determine that the diode is working and conducts current in only one direction. The diode may emit faint light during testing.

Otherwise, there will be a short circuit or high resistance (open) in both positions. Then you need to replace the diode in the flashlight.

Now you need to unsolder the LED from the flashlight and, observing the polarity, solder in a new one. Be careful when choosing an LED, consider its current consumption and the voltage for which it is designed.

If you neglect these parameters, in the best case the flashlight will quickly dry up, in the worst case the driver will fail.

A driver is a device for powering an LED with stabilized current from different sources. Drivers are manufactured industrially for power supply from a 220 volt network, from a car electrical network - 12-14.7 volts, from Li-ion batteries, for example, size 18650. Most powerful flashlights are equipped with a driver.

Increasing the power of the flashlight

If you are not satisfied with the brightness of your flashlight or you have figured out how to replace the LED in a flashlight and want to upgrade it, before buying heavy-duty models, study the basic principles of LED operation and the limitations in their operation.

Diode matrices do not like overheating - this is the main postulate! And replacing the LED in a flashlight with a more powerful one can lead to this situation. Pay attention to the models in which more powerful diodes are installed and compare them with yours; if they are similar in size and design, change them.

If your flashlight is smaller, additional cooling will be required. We wrote more about making radiators with our own hands.

If you try to install such a giant as the Cree MK-R into a miniature keychain flashlight, it will quickly fail from overheating and it will be a waste of money. A slight increase in power (a couple of watts) is acceptable without upgrading the flashlight itself.

Otherwise, the process of replacing the brand of LED in a flashlight with a more powerful one is described above.

Police lights

Such lanterns shine brightly and can act as a means of self-defense. However, they also have problems with LEDs.

How to replace the LED in a Police flashlight

The wide range of models is very difficult to cover in one article, but general recommendations for repairs can be given.

1. When repairing a flashlight with a stun gun, be careful, preferably use rubber gloves to avoid electric shock.
2. Flashlights with dust and moisture protection are assembled on a large number of screws. They differ in length, so make notes from where you unscrewed this or that screw.
3. The optical system of the Police flashlight allows you to adjust the diameter of the light spot. When disassembling the body, make marks on the position in which the parts were before removal, otherwise it will be difficult to put the unit with the lens back.

Replacing the LED, voltage converter unit, driver, and battery is possible using a standard soldering kit.

What kind of LEDs are used in Chinese lanterns?

Many products are now purchased on Aliexpress, where you can find both original products and Chinese copies that do not correspond to the stated description. The price for such devices is comparable to the price of the original.

In a flashlight that claims a Cree LED, it may not actually be there; at best, there will be a diode of a frankly different type, at worst, one that will be difficult to distinguish from the original in appearance.

What might this entail? Cheap LEDs are made in low-tech conditions and do not produce the declared power. They have low efficiency, which is why they have increased heating of the case and crystal. As has already been said, overheating is the worst enemy for LED devices.

This happens because when heated, the current through the semiconductor increases, as a result of which the heating becomes even stronger, the power is released even more, and this avalanche-like leads to breakdown or breakage of the LED.

If you try and spend time searching for information, you can determine the originality of the product.

LatticeBright is a Chinese LED manufacturer that makes products very similar to Cree, probably a coincidence of design thought (sarcasm).

On the substrates these clones look like this. You can notice the variety of shapes of LED substrates produced in China.

Counterfeits are made quite skillfully; many sellers do not indicate this “brand” in the product description and where the LEDs for flashlights are produced. The quality of such diodes is not the worst among Chinese junk, but it is also far from the original.

Installing an LED instead of an incandescent lamp

Many people have horse races or incandescent lamps collecting dust in old things, and you can easily turn it into LED. For this, there are either ready-made solutions or homemade ones.

Using a broken light bulb and LEDs, with a little ingenuity and solder, you can make a great replacement.

In this case, an iron barrel is needed to improve heat removal from the LED. Next you need to solder all the parts to each other and secure with glue.

When assembling, be careful - avoid shorting the leads; hot glue or heat shrink tubing will help with this. The central contact of the lamp must be unsoldered - a hole will form. Pass the resistor lead through it.

Next you need to solder the free lead of the LED to the base, and the resistor to the central contact. For a voltage of 12 volts you need a 500 Ohm resistor, for a voltage of 5 V – 50-100 Ohms, for power from a Li-ion 3.7V battery – 10-25 Ohms.

Selecting an LED for a flashlight is much more difficult than replacing it. It is necessary to take into account a lot of parameters: from brightness and dispersion angle to heating of the case.

In addition, we must not forget about the power supply for the diodes. If you master everything described above, your devices will shine for a long time and with high quality!

LED operation is based on semiconductor knowledge and practice. They have been known to mankind for almost half a century. Moreover, all the raw materials for the manufacture of such lighting devices have been familiar for more than 20 years. However, it was only recently that we succeeded in connecting them correctly and obtaining impressive LED characteristics. This lighting represents an innovative breakthrough, making diodes quite efficient and environmentally friendly. It is believed that such accessories are much more economical than classic incandescent lamps. They can be used in various areas of human life, not only because of ease of use, but also due to the desired glow temperature.

Characteristics

In order to understand the principle of operation of the devices, you need to know the following characteristics of LEDs:

1. Luminous flux. This parameter is measured in lumens (Lm) and shows the amount of light that the lamp produces. The higher this indicator is, the brighter it will shine.
2. Power consumption is measured in Watts (W). The smaller this parameter, the more economical the energy consumption.
3. Light output, its unit of measurement is considered to be Lm/W. It is central to the operation and efficiency of the entire lighting device.
4. Radiation direction diagram. Parameter of the luminous intensity curve, due to which the fluxes emitted by the diodes are distributed.
5. Color temperature (shades of white light). It is measured in degrees Kelvin in the permissible range from 2700 to 7000 K. The shade of a warm color is considered the most favorable for the eyes, which varies up to 4000 K, and all indicators that are higher are usually referred to as “cool white”. Most often, lamps with warm light are much more expensive than lamps with cold light, since this is directly related to the features of their production.
6.Color rendering index. This value shows how truthfully the color of an object illuminated by the selected lamps will be displayed. The higher this parameter, the more truthfully the shade of the original object is conveyed.
7. Performance of lighting devices. The most correct decision is to choose branded manufacturers, since such companies can provide more accurate technical characteristics of LEDs, thanks to which the device will last the stated operating time. Also, such lamps provide protection against voltage surges and overheating.
8. Device size. There is no need to judge the advantages and disadvantages based on the size of the crystal. It does not matter whether the LED is large or small, the most important thing is its power.

Considering these characteristics of LEDs, you can choose exactly the device that will give the maximum effect from its intended use.

Quality indicators

The quality indicators of an LED product can be judged based on the following criteria:
- manufacturer (preferably products from well-known companies that publish open data on the reliability of their devices);
- the use of a specially designed design and shape for the fastest possible heat removal, regulating the temperature during operation of the chip;
- optical (lighting) specifications of the LED lamp, which can be obtained from an independent laboratory or manufacturer;
- high-quality guarantees;
- results of long-term tests of the functioning of devices.

White varieties

Most often in everyday life, for decoration and lighting, white LEDs are used, the characteristics of which depend on their tone.

• Warm white light: its color temperature is 2700 K and it has a slight yellowish tint, similar to the flame that a candle emits. This shade is typical for incandescent lamps; it calms and relaxes. It is important to note that using a matte or transparent shade will change the shade to a softer or richer one. This type of light is not the main one, but it is perfect for additional and decorative lighting and will be ideal for installation in bedrooms. Thanks to it, you can create harmony and homely warmth in the room.
• Natural white light: Its color temperature is 4200K, it is the most popular and most commonly used. Suitable for use as the main source of lighting for both commercial and domestic premises. Can be used on all types of surfaces, such as a kitchen countertop or a desk in an office. Like warm light, natural has several shades. Fixtures and lamps with matte dispersion will have a completely different saturation spectrum than devices with a transparent bulb. It helps produce more accurate and directional light than matte, through which soft highlights of an unobtrusive shade are emitted.
• Cool white light: its color temperature is 6000 K. It has a peculiar bluish tint. This tone is very bright and is most often used for offices and also as local lighting. It has become quite widespread in parking lots, at entrances, in local areas, as well as in parks, alleys and squares. Often installed to illuminate street advertisements, commercial signs, and more.

Types of LEDs

There are a variety of LEDs, the parameters and characteristics of which completely depend on their types:

1.Blinking: used in indicators to attract attention. This type is practically no different from the usual ones, however, for its production a built-in multivibrator circuit is used, which flickers with a break of 1 second. The main types of such diodes distribute single-color light rays; more complex ones in their characteristics can flash in several shades alternately or simultaneously, thanks to the RGB parameter.

2. Multi-color blinking LEDs, the characteristics of which are quite diverse and can be represented in two different crystals, working one towards the other, therefore, when the first one lights up, the second one goes out completely. With the help of a current that moves in the initial direction, one color appears, and in the opposite direction another color appears. Thanks to this type of work, a third color is formed, since the two main ones are mixed.

3.Tri-color LEDs, the parameters and characteristics of which consist in the presence of several light-emitting diodes, not connected to each other, but combined in one housing. They work separately, they can light up at the same time, but their controls remain completely different.

4. Light-emitting RGB diodes with blue, red and green elements, which use a connection with four wires and a single common cathode or anode.

5. Monochrome displays with seven segments, as well as using starburst format. Such screens show all the numbers, and some even a certain set of letters. Using Starburst allows all symbols to be displayed.

Alphanumeric and numeric displays, which were quite common in the 80s, became less popular after the advent of LCD monitors.

Advantages of LED lighting

As a relatively new technology, LEDs are generally superior to many lighting sources in terms of light quality, energy efficiency, environmental friendliness and cost-effectiveness. The characteristics of LEDs are superior to those of high-incandescent lamps in almost all areas of application, but such lighting cannot yet solve all the tasks. White diodes have already proven themselves to be an excellent alternative to fluorescent tubular and high-pressure lamps. But a short amount of time still needs to pass before such technologies begin to be used in the public system.

What does the SMD marking mean?

The decoding of this indicator sounds like Surface Mounted Device, which translated into Russian means “a device that is mounted on a surface.” Such a device is a diode, and the surface in our case is the base of the tape.

Any SMD LEDs, the characteristics of which are similar to those of all other similar lamps, consist of several crystals placed in a housing with contact leads, as well as lenses that form the luminous flux. It is emitted by semiconductors and directed into a miniature optical system, which is formed by spherical reflectors, as well as the transparent body of the diode itself.

What other characteristics do SMD LEDs have? The marking, which is represented by numbers on the tape, shows the dimensions of the crystal in millimeters. The SMD-based strip bends very well in the longitudinal direction.

What does the DIP LED marking mean?

There are also LEDs on sale, the characteristics of which are very similar to SMD. According to their technical parameters, they are a cylindrical body, which is placed on an end strip. This type has good silicone protection. The numbers that are present in the marking, as well as for SMD, indicate the diameter of the diode.

To illuminate furniture, you can use such crystals, only for glass shelves. Unlike the previous tape, this type bends very well in the transverse direction.

Parameters of a high-quality LED flashlight

Today, you can buy a large number of conventional flashlights on the market, but they are being actively replaced by LED ones. This happened primarily due to the fact that the latter give much brighter light.

In order to choose the right LEDs for flashlights, the characteristics of which are very diverse, it is necessary to take into account all the basic requirements of the buyer when choosing. What you need to pay attention to is the type of beam, it can be wide or narrow. Which type to choose depends on the future application. For example, in order to be able to see objects at a distance of 30 meters, it is better to choose a flashlight with a wide beam, while models with a narrow beam can illuminate distant objects well. Most often, such lighting is provided by tactical devices used by tourists, hunters and cyclists.

Another important factor affecting the operation of the flashlight is the type of power supply. For the simplest household appliances, ordinary AA or AAA batteries are used, but for strong and powerful devices this volume will not be enough. In this case, it is necessary to use lithium-ion batteries, which can operate continuously for 5 hours.

It is worth paying attention to LEDs for flashlights, the brightness characteristics of which differ from each other by no more than 40%. The quality of the selected devices is guaranteed by the presence of markings. In cases where it is absent, we can talk about an uncertified product, most often made in China.

LEDs from CREE

This company specializes in the manufacture of high-quality and bright diodes. She was one of the first to develop new white light bulbs, thereby setting a new milestone in the industry.

CREE LEDs, the characteristics of which are presented, remain competitive in their industry:

They have record luminous flux values ​​reaching 345 lumens at a current of 1000 mA;
- thermal resistance at a low level;
- relatively wide angle of study;
- miniature, evenly distributed crystal;
- maximum current reception up to 1500 mA;
- improved silicone lens instead of glass;
- maximum crystal operating temperature 150 °C.

As you can see, such technologies are just coming into force and bring exceptional benefits from their use. Every day new discoveries are made, LED lamps become more economical and brighter, thanks to which they rightfully begin to occupy a leading place in the lighting arena.

Features of SMD 5050 tapes

LEDs in this series have a size of 5x5 mm and a luminous flux depending on color, which ranges from 2 to 8 lumens. They can also be divided according to the degree of moisture protection - IP20 and IP65, since they have two different types of coatings, namely polyurethane and silicone. The former can only be placed indoors, while the latter, accordingly, are suitable for the street, since they are not afraid of excessive humidity.

5050 LEDs, whose characteristics and properties help create bright light, consist of three crystals with different or identical diodes in one package. Multi-colored lamps are called RGB (red-green-blue), after connecting controllers, you can get a variety of colors in them.

The main technical characteristics are:

Transparent and rigid polyurethane coating;
- high-quality soldering;
- the number of LEDs per 1 meter is 60 pieces;
- cutting ratio - 3 crystals, which is 50 mm;
- width, length, height in mm 10 x 5000 x 3;
- the power supply is connected to 12V or 24V DC.

Features of SMD5730 tapes

Adopting high-efficiency 5730 LEDs, the characteristics and properties of high thermal conductivity and low resistance ensure a long service life of the device. They are resistant to vibration, high environmental humidity and temperature changes. They are small enough, have a wide beam angle and are perfect for any surfaces during installation. They can be purchased in reels and tapes.

Many people like to use 5730 LEDs, the characteristics of which are suitable for use in various devices, which is very convenient for both ordinary users and designers. They are indispensable for lighting retail and office premises, where not only high energy efficiency is considered important, but also comfortable light transmission.

For those who use LEDs, markings, characteristics and properties are of no small importance. They have a number of advantages over their predecessors, namely:

Phosphor white LEDs with a nominal power of 0.5 W are distinguished by a significant service life, stable performance and high-quality performance;
- high resistance to temperature changes, vibrations and high environmental humidity;
- degradation of the luminous flux - no more than 1% for 3000 hours of operation;
- the body is made of high-quality heat-resistant polymer that can withstand up to +250 °C;
- LEDs are fully suitable for reflow soldering.

The problem of choosing LEDs is acute due to their wide range and unlimited price range. The production technology and parameters of LED lamps are accelerating very quickly. It is difficult to keep up with new products, and it is even more difficult to figure out which diode is better, which is newer, and what should be bought in this or that case.

Of course, you should choose a light source based on your needs. If you're a fanatic of new products and love to test the length and width of the beam in the company of like-minded people, naturally you need the latest super-bright new products. For hunters, fishermen, divers and other lovers of active pastime, the brightness, focusing or scattering of the beam, and its color tint are important.

Decoding bin codes of LEDs

When producing LEDs, they are assigned bin codes. At first glance, this abracadabra does not mean anything. Only knowing the classification, it becomes completely clear which diode is in front of you. The LED bin includes data about the housing design, color subgroup, color shade, brightness code. There are additional digits related to the internal production code; they are of no value to the user.

For example:
XPGWHT-L1-1C0-R5 is a diode with an XPG housing, color - WHT (white), subgroup L1 - white, 1C0 - shade according to the ANSI table, R5 - brightness code (139-148 lumens at 350 mA).

Cree XLAMP XR-E

A common but rather outdated LED. It is a small crystal with a protective glass lens mounted on a substrate, which acts as a heat sink and serves as the basis for contacts.

The luminous output depends on the brightness code and ranges from Q2 (87.4 to 93.9 lumens) to R2 (114 to 122 lumens) at 350 mA. As a rule, a diode of this class is used in inexpensive flashlights. The maximum temperature of the light-emitting crystal is up to 150 ° C, when operating with a maximum current of no more than 1 A and a voltage of no more than 3.9 V.

Available in colors:
warm white - 2700-3600°K;
neutral white - 3700-5000°K;
cold white -5000-10000°K.

Cree XLAMP XP

• XPE. This series is especially popular due to the combination of reliable design, increased light output characteristics and reasonable cost. Externally, the crystal is larger than previous series, the reflector is shallow. Maximum temperature 150 °C, current 1 A, voltage 3.4 V. Cree XPE has a wider temperature color scale, the “Outdoor white” shade has been added to the scale with a range of 4000-5300°K. This is a more natural cool white color. Luminance bins: N4, P2, P3, P4, Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5, R2, R3, this is 144-280 lm. Luminous efficiency 19-34 lm/W.
• XPC. This series is a modification of the XP-E with a current of 0.5 A and a voltage of 3.5 V. Color shades and luminous flux power are in the same range as the prototype. The luminous efficiency is higher (35-59 lm/W), so we can talk about a clear advantage in this parameter. XPE and XPC are used in small-sized hand-held flashlights.
• XPG. A new generation LED that is super bright and efficient. It has a relatively large crystal area and can withstand up to 1.5 A. The luminous efficiency leaves far behind its predecessors and ranges from 90 to 139 lm/W. Maximum luminous flux 346-534 Lm. The color shade is divided into 4 groups. Luminance bin classification: Q4, Q5, R2, R3, R4, R5, S2, S3 - determined at a current of 700 mA. Diodes of this class are used for powerful hand-held and sports flashlights. For long-range, super-bright flashlights, use the latest XP-G2 system, which has greater light output with standard performance.

Cree XM-L

Very powerful LED (10 W), used in professional flashlights and stationary lighting sources. The crystal has dimensions 2.5 times larger than XPG, which provides a wide beam of light. If you use a shallow reflector, you get a large flood spot from the flashlight. The luminous flux at a current of 3 A can reach 900 Lm. The maximum luminous flux, depending on the brightness bin, is 1008 lm. The classification of brightness bins is determined at a current of 700 mA, using: S6, T2-T6, U2, U3 (analogous to Cree J-A5).

Which diode to choose?

If light characteristics are important to you, then you don’t have to look at the LED brand, since it only determines the design features. There is no need to buy a powerful Cree XM-L diode for a keychain flashlight; XPE is sufficient here. For powerful and reliable light sources, XP-G, XP-G2, XM-L, XM-L2 are better suited.

The color group is a matter of taste. The best options are neutral or natural white. The exception is professionals who use LEDs in their optics and the spectral shade is important to them.

The power of the flashlight depends on the power source, but the brightness directly depends on the bins. At a current of 350 mA, the brightest will be Q5 and R2, at a current of 700 mA - T6, S3 or U2, U3. When choosing brightness bins, keep in mind that some of them, for example, U, can only work in the cold spectrum, so for flashlights with soft, warm light it is better to choose something with T coding.

Over the course of a long time, I have used a great variety of LED headlamps, energy-saving lamps, high-power flashlights, compact flashlights, underwater flashlights, and all sorts of backup light options, gaining a lot of experience in their practical use. In this article I will try to tell you which flashlights I chose, I will try to briefly explain what types of flashlights there are, what light sources there are, how to understand the labeling of LEDs, which batteries are better to choose and why. It should be noted that I am not a fan of flashlights; they interest me solely from the point of view of practicality and convenience. I will not chase an extra 10% of light power by buying a fashionable flashlight for $200; I will prefer to choose one that shines 10% weaker, but at the same time ten times cheaper. Let's start with the basic concepts.

What LEDs are used in flashlights

Since my goal is not to reveal the entire range of light sources that are used in flashlights, I will focus on the main, most popular sources, LEDs. I think I won’t be mistaken if I say that today more than 90% of flashlights produced are LED flashlights. Therefore, we will discard incandescent lamps and gas-discharge lamps as ineffective for our purposes.

What kind of LEDs can be found in tourist lanterns and lamps?

The most popular LED manufacturer, Cree, divides its products into two types. These are powerful LEDs, under the general name XLamp and super bright ( High-Brightness). They differ in power consumption; the first group includes LEDs with a permissible current value of 350 mA and higher. Ultra-bright ones are designed for lower operating current, on average 30-50 mA. I would include COB LEDs in the third group; this is a relatively new technology that allows several light-emitting crystals to be placed in one housing. The advantage of this technology is the relative cheapness of such elements, since each element does not require a separate housing and does not need to be soldered separately. The downside is that the energy efficiency of placing several crystals in one housing has not improved, but the area of ​​the emitting surface has increased, which is critical for powerful long-range flashlights; a larger light source is more difficult to focus.

These are all surface-mount diodes; they are installed on a thermally conductive substrate. There are also indicator-type LEDs, on legs, which are mounted in holes on the board (since there is no problem with heating). They have a fairly low brightness, but at the same time they are extremely low-power (below 25 mA), which allows them to be used in those lanterns and lamps for which it is not the brightness that is critical, but the operating time.

Now I will try to explain with examples what types of diodes are used for what purposes, and will also tell you how to decipher the names of LEDs.

What makes the LED glow? A little about drivers

Two parameters are important for LED operation - operating voltage and current. The operating voltage of an LED is sometimes called "voltage drop". This means that after our LED passes through, the voltage in the circuit will be less by exactly the amount of this “drop”. If we supply 6 volts of power to an LED, which has a voltage drop of 3.7 V, then it will consume them, and the device connected after it in the same circuit will receive 2.3 volts. But the most important thing for us: LEDs care about current, not voltage.

He will take as much voltage as he needs, but he will try to absorb all the current. If your power supply can output 100 amps, the LED will draw current until it burns out. The operation scheme is simple: the LED consumes current and heats up as a result. When the LED heats up, the resistance of the LED drops, which means more current can pass through it, it heats up even more, the resistance drops even more, and so on. If you do not limit the current, the LED will simply burn out. Therefore, there must be a limiting element in the LED power circuit.

In general, in series with the LED, we need to install a current limiter, a “neck” through which more will not pass than our LED can absorb. This element is called "driver". The simplest driver is a resistor. It is used in those circuits where there is no brightness adjustment and the power supply voltage does not fluctuate.

More complex drivers are able to stabilize the operating voltage at the level of the LED voltage drop, and also regulate the current, thereby changing the brightness of the light. The driver is also responsible for the various lighting modes of the flashlight (flashing light, SOS, etc.).

It must be said that the brightness and durability of the flashlight depends on the driver.

Using high-power Cree LEDs in flashlights

Let's start with Cree high-power LEDs, since most of the high-power flashlights you have to choose from will be built with Cree diodes. What do you need to know about these LEDs to choose the right one? The first is the manufacturing technology, such as the XM-L and XM-L2. With the same power of 10W and maximum current, the XM-L LED will produce a luminous flux of 1000 lm, and the Cree XM-L2 will produce almost 1200 lm.

However, in the marking of diodes the so-called brightness bin. During manufacturing, technological variations are possible, so each batch of LEDs is sorted by brightness and color shade of white. The brightest diodes are sold more expensive, less bright - cheaper. Cree's brightness marking goes from bin J - this is approximately 30 lumens at a current of 350 mA, to bin U2 - more than 300 lumens at the same current.

What else is important? The hue of the light emitted. The main sources of light in nature are heated bodies. Therefore, initially the spectrum of visible radiation, which depends on the heating temperature, measured in Kelvin, is called the term “color temperature”. In the description of LED flashlights that can be bought on Aliexpress, you rarely see an indication of color temperature; usually the terms “Warm white”, “White” and “Cool white” are used, which means “warm white”, “white” and “cold” white". From personal experience I can say that in most cases it is worth choosing cool white. I compared in camping conditions, in the summer, while fishing. With the same brightness of the glow in a beam of cold white light, the picture turns out to be more contrasting and more detailed.

That is, if we need the brightest flashlight, then we should choose a flashlight based on the XM-L2 LED with a brightness bin of U2 and a cool white tint.

For example, here is a table of the color temperature of natural light sources.

Okay, we chose the LED flashlight. Powerful, bright. The question remains: what will we feed it with? The Cree xm-l2 LED in maximum mode consumes 3A, and in normal mode 700 mA at 2.85 volts, it is usually powered by 18650 lithium batteries, the maximum capacity of the most expensive ones is 3700 mAh at a voltage of 3.7 volts. Thus, under ideal conditions (if we do not take into account the driver efficiency), our flashlight will operate for only 96 minutes at maximum brightness or about 6 hours at normal brightness from the most expensive battery.

And here the question arises: will six hours of flashlight operation be enough for one fishing trip? Does it make sense to spend five dollars on one battery, which will last for 6 hours of a not very bright glow, or is it better to order a flashlight that is less bright, but longer lasting? Do we need a flashlight of such crazy brightness (and 1200 lumens is the brightness of a 100W incandescent lamp), or is half enough? This is where we begin to consider other types of LEDs in flashlights, for example XR-C, XR-E, XP-C or XP-E, which, although they produce a smaller brightness bin during operation, are much less power-hungry. I will not describe the characteristics of these LEDs; you can easily find them in search engines. Below, in the descriptions of the flashlights, I will mention which LEDs I used and for what.

Flashlight Small Sun ZY-A21

I bought it as a good long-range flashlight powered by nickel AA or 14500 lithium batteries. At first I was very pleased with the brightness, but the manufacturer let me down: he installed the wrong driver. A couple of years after purchase, the flashlight began to blink, I took it apart, measured the voltage and current. It turned out that the driver in maximum mode delivers a current of 2.1 A, and in “half” mode 1.1 A, with a maximum allowable current of 1A for the installed Cree XR-E LED. This increased the brightness of the glow, but greatly reduced the service life of the diode, which eventually turned black.

Taking advantage of the fact that Aliexpress has LEDs, I ordered an XP-L LED instead of the XR-E, which can easily handle 3 amps. The only thing, as I already said, was in vain that I ordered warm white. Should have ordered cold.

What happened as a result: the brightness increased greatly, both in maximum and half mode. But due to the different shape and size of the LED, the size increased and the clear boundary of the light spot disappeared, since the flashlight reflector was designed for the “lensed” XR-E. The range remains the same: high brightness compensates for defocusing. A huge plus is that the LED operates in a gentle mode and now the flashlight will last for a very long time.

Overall thought: I very rarely use this flashlight for its intended purpose. Mostly it stays at home in case of a power outage. For those who need to shine far and brightly, it would be more suitable. For example, a security guard of a large area, to shine a light on who is walking around at the other end of the hangar, and, if necessary, to hit the villain in the head with it. When fishing, in 99% of cases a headlamp is enough.

Due to its fragility, the A21 flashlight is no longer produced, and I would not recommend it. But with the XP-L diode it has every right to exist, so I will recommend two budget flashlights from a trusted manufacturer, of the same design, with XP-L and XM-L diodes (the first is brighter, but a couple of dollars more expensive).

Headlamps from Aliexpress

Fishing headlamps are an irreplaceable thing, so I have five of them. Firstly, I rarely go fishing alone. Secondly, a flashlight for a fisherman or tourist is an essential item: you should always have two spare ones. And finally, the first flashlight was bought about fifteen years ago, when Cree LEDs were legendary, and flashlights with these diodes were bought by enthusiasts for a lot of money. By and large, there were no normal batteries back then, so the most important indicator for a headlamp was the operating time from one set of batteries. Let's start with it.

Economical headlamp with LED indicators

The most popular flashlight of the mid-2000s. I've seen versions with 3, 9, 12, 18 and even 24 LEDs. Crazy numbers of up to 500 lumens were written on the packages, but in fact the indicator LEDs have a brightness of about 2 lumens per unit. They had no height adjustment, no beam focusing, but they only weighed about 30 grams. At the same time, a huge plus is energy consumption, or rather, the lack thereof. The operating current of one diode, depending on the model, is up to 20 mA. The flashlight, forgotten in the bag and turned on at minimum brightness, was still glowing on the next fishing trip, a week later. At full brightness, another flashlight could work for two days in a row. Of course, it’s difficult to find such a grandfather now, but a flashlight can successfully replace it: an ultra-bright COB diode, at least a day of work at full brightness and up to a week of work in economy mode (using alkaline batteries). And all this joy is less than two dollars.

Another flashlight similar in ideology, with an important improvement: the ability to adjust the angle of inclination. COB is used instead of indicator LEDs, this greatly increases brightness, although it reduces operating time. The price is the same.

You definitely need to have one of these flashlights. I always have it in my car, in case I need to change a tire, fuse or check the oil level at night, or if the other lights get wet while fishing. Eneloop batteries are installed inside (in another article), they quietly hold a charge for more than a year.

A headlamp that stands the test of time

I bought two of them in 2011, when the first affordable Cree Q5 went on sale, I remember it cost me $16. This is a very serious lantern, with an adjustable beam, which can be used to illuminate fish when fishing, and hang it over the table at dinner. A set of batteries is enough for one night. There is a tilt adjustment and a comfortable strap. A good economical option at the current price.

I highly recommend this flashlight if you have several sets of AAA batteries that can be used in this flashlight. If not, read on.

Headlamp for Cree XM-L from Aliexpress

Headlamps with powerful LEDs, which actually replaced all my other flashlights. I bought the first one when I saw one on a friend's fishing trip. A huge reserve of brightness, in maximum mode it is used very rarely, but is indispensable when landing large fish: even a wide beam penetrates the water for several meters. For example, if you are standing on a cliff and landing a large catfish in a landing net with a four-meter handle, then you can see both the landing net itself and all the maneuvers of the fish under your control.

Was purchased complete with batteries and car charger. The big plus is that you can charge it right in the car. The downside is that I got the version with a slot for one battery. Now they sell a version with two batteries for the same money (about $7). Why do I recommend the dual battery version? Cree XM-L is a very powerful LED, up to 10 W in maximum mode. I bought 12 2600 mAh batteries, one battery lasts for an hour in maximum mode and three hours in economy mode. If you fish all night, the battery has to be changed. Two batteries (5200 mAh) would be enough for the night, and since the discharge current per cell would be half as much, this would increase the operating time by another 15 percent. And if necessary, two-cell flashlights can easily work with one battery, since The connection there is parallel. The weight of the extra battery can be ignored, since it is located on the back of the head and is not felt at all.

Flashlights, so I bought myself one, thinking I was done searching for the perfect flashlight for my needs. Be careful: after purchasing this flashlight, it is advisable to unscrew it and drip sealant into the threaded connection. This will protect you from a lens suddenly flying into the snow, which is very inconvenient to look for at night, but will allow you to disassemble the flashlight if necessary (I can’t imagine why, but you never know).

Just now, when I was taking photos of flashlights for this article, I noticed that the second flashlight contains not an XM-L, but an XP-E2. I was sure that there was XML and at first I was upset, but I remembered that in the fall I used both flashlights in the field in turn and did not notice any difference. Most likely because the XP-E2 has half the emitting surface area, due to which the beam is better focused. But it consumes three times less energy, i.e. will work three times longer. Perhaps this is truly the ideal flashlight: 12 hours at half brightness, 5 hours and a powerful thin beam at full, the optimal compromise between brightness and operating time.

Comparison of flashlight brightness on XP-L, XM-L and XP-E2

Final photo illustrating the previous text.

1. In the center is an XP-L V5 LED flashlight. As you'd expect, it produces the most light. However, the shade - warm white - softens the picture. Due to the use of the wrong LED in the flashlight for which it was designed, the beam is not clearly focused, the light spot has blurry edges.
2. On the left is a flashlight with an XM-L T2 diode, cool white. Not as bright, but perfectly focused. The picture is more contrasty.
3. On the right is the flashlight on the XP-E2. The light spot is smaller, the focus is excellent, the brightness is also decent.

Draw your own conclusions. At the moment, I use the third flashlight most often.

As a rule, when the thought of buying a flashlight comes - whether out of necessity or “just in case” - few people understand that the modern flashlight is no longer what it was before. Therefore, in the minds of most people, a flashlight is still just a tube with a weak light bulb and batteries that do not last long.

Lantern in human daily life

In fact, lighting fixtures have changed a lot. Technological progress in this area is proceeding by leaps and bounds, and over the past few years a large number of models have been released that are radically superior to their predecessors. Many features have appeared that determine the reason why this flashlight is better in some conditions, and another in others. Let's take a closer look at what a modern flashlight is and what you should pay attention to when choosing.

I. Purpose and methods of using flashlights

This “baby” will be practically invisible on a bunch of keys, but will be able, if necessary, to illuminate the area for several tens of meters

Initially, you need to understand for what purpose the flashlight is being purchased. It’s unlikely just to “see in the dark”! What do you need a flashlight for: for work, for home, for search and rescue operations, hiking, scuba diving, hunting or exploring all sorts of secluded and dark corners, such as mountain caves or the depths of city sewers? Depending on the purpose of the flashlight, you can determine which of its functions are really needed, and which will only result in additional financial costs or a useless increase in weight and dimensions. For example, as a lantern for a dacha or at home, the simplest sample will suffice - not even necessarily an LED one, but even an incandescent lamp, powered by D-size alkaline batteries, because large dimensions and weight (within reasonable limits) are not in this case a decisive or even significant factor. For tourism, the best option would be a multi-mode LED flashlight with modern lithium batteries, since not only brightness is important here, but also the minimum weight of batteries that you will have to carry with you. If you need to free both hands, a flashlight with a head mount will come in handy. Let's look at the main capabilities of all types of modern flashlights from the perspective of an ordinary consumer. types of LEDs for flashlights and the benefits of each. Flashlights produced by Olight will be presented as an example.

Flashlight-keychain, or “keychain”, as the name suggests, is attached to a bunch of keys. This flashlight is intended for use at ultra-close distances - for example, to illuminate your feet or find a keyhole in the dark. For these purposes, one mode of operation with a glow intensity of 3-5 lumens is quite sufficient (this, of course, does not mean that it is impossible to be brighter). For such flashlights, the main requirements are lightness and compactness, so a simple 5 mm LED and lithium batteries in the form of thin disks (the so-called “tablets”) are usually used, and the body of the flashlight itself is made of plastic. Recently, a good alternative to such flashlights are products of a traditional cylindrical shape, but very small and lightweight, using AAA batteries/accumulators for operation (in common parlance - “little fingers”). The body of such flashlights, like those of their more “adult” counterparts, is made of aluminum with protective anodizing of high hardness, less often - of polished stainless steel and titanium alloys. They often have a modern, powerful LED and several operating modes, as well as full protection from moisture. Control of the operating modes of such flashlights, as a rule, is carried out by rotating the “head”, and not by a button, since the latter noticeably increases the dimensions of the flashlight - and for the “switch”, as a backup, “just in case” flashlight, this is absolutely useless. An example of an excellent “turnkey” is the Olight i3S EOS (see).

The choice of a flashlight is primarily determined by its future purpose.

EDC flashlights(Every Day Carry- English "everyday wear")- one of the most popular categories with a wide variety of choices. There are both the simplest cheap single-mode devices and branded, expensive and multi-mode devices. As a rule, flashlights in this category are very compact, often equipped with a clip for attaching to a pocket or belt. Such lamps are used mainly in the city; their application options are very diverse, since they are already capable of providing a fairly decent brightness of the luminous flux. Multi-mode flashlights are good because at the minimum brightness mode they are convenient to shine under your feet, and the maximum glow will be quite enough to illuminate the road several tens of meters ahead. The power of such flashlights varies on average from 3-10 lumens in minimum mode, and the maximum brightness will depend on the batteries and LED used. Typically, such flashlights on one AA battery produce a maximum of about 120-150 lumens - on lithium batteries, usually two to three, and sometimes four times more. In addition, such flashlights often additionally provide flashing modes - more precisely, SOS mode (low-frequency light pulses) and strobe mode (high-frequency flashing - suitable, for example, for defensive blinding of an aggressive person, an angry dog ​​or a suddenly arriving tax inspector).
The most popular power supply for EDC flashlights is AA batteries/accumulators, sold on almost every corner; There are also options for lithium batteries/accumulators: CR123A, 16340, 14500, less often - 18650 or two CR123A elements.

Compact EDC flashlights + switch

For EDC flashlights, the body material is usually aluminum alloy with high hardness anodizing. Thanks to this, the flashlight has a sufficient margin of strength for most conditions of use, and the hard anodizing protects it well from abrasions and scratches. In addition to aluminum, stainless steel and titanium alloys are also used - however, the thermal conductivity of these materials is lower, so it is better not to use such flashlights often at maximum modes. But the appearance of polished “stainless steel” or titanium is very solid, and the latter is also almost as light as aluminum, although noticeably more expensive. The shape of the light spot for EDC use is desirable with a wide “hotspot” (central bright spot) - this will make it much more convenient to illuminate objects at close distances, for which such flashlights are intended.
An excellent example of EDC flashlights is the Baton series from Olight: S10, S15 and S20 (see -).

By placing such a diffuser on the “head” of a hand-held lantern, you can get a good replacement for a camping lantern.

Tourist lanterns- also a popular type of lighting fixtures, largely similar to the previous one; but here increased brightness is already very desirable - as well as, and this is important, increased battery capacity. Lanterns for tourism must have several operating modes, thanks to which you can easily illuminate a forest path, a table at a campsite, and the interior of a tent. For hiking or cycling, an important point to pay attention to is the balance between the energy intensity of the power source and its weight, so the best option for a hiking flashlight would be to be powered by 2-3 lithium disposable AA batteries (alkaline AA batteries are also possible, but lithium ones are lighter) - or from one high-quality 18650 battery with high capacity. The use of batteries of sizes D and C for hiking is highly questionable due to the poor weight/energy capacity ratio. Flashlights with 4-8 AA batteries or 2-3 18650 batteries can, of course, also be suitable for travel purposes - but, as a rule, it is easier to take an additional power supply for a more modest flashlight. The light spot in tourist flashlights, as in EDC, is preferably wide - due to the increased power, such a flashlight will easily illuminate fairly distant objects. It is also useful when choosing a tourist lantern to pay attention to security - especially moisture resistance. The security of the flashlight is described according to the international specification IPxx, where the first of the numbers “XX” indicates the level of protection from foreign objects (usually dust), and the second - the level of protection from moisture. Maximum protection corresponds to the IP68 index - this is ideal for a travel lantern; however, IP67 will be quite sufficient, but less is no longer desirable. Manufacturers produce a variety of accessories for tourist-type flashlights, thanks to which you can significantly expand the range of capabilities of your flashlight. For example, there are diffuser attachments that scatter light - thanks to which, instead of glowing with a narrow beam at close distances, the flashlight will illuminate the space around it like a regular light bulb or candle.

Universal (tourist) lanterns

An example of successful lantern models that can be confidently used for tourism purposes:
- Olight ST25;
- Olight R20 and R40 - great for tourism, as it is equipped with a microUSB port for charging from external sources: power bank, solar panels or car cigarette lighter (see i).
Also suitable for tourism is the Olight S20 Baton series (see).

Tactical/Hunting Flashlights designed specifically for use in combat conditions, most often in conjunction with weapons. There are flashlights designed for installation only on short-barreled weapons (pistols and revolvers), and there are options for long-barreled weapons (shotguns and rifles). Such flashlights are used to illuminate the target, as well as to blind and disorient the enemy.
When used for its intended purpose, a specialized tactical flashlight has to withstand considerable tests - this includes recoil when fired, and various shocks, vibrations, etc.; therefore, such flashlights must have increased strength of the body and threaded connections, as well as more reliable “filling”. The bodies of “tactics” are made of aluminum alloys, less often - of steel and special composite materials. Previously, incandescent lamps were used as light emitters, which have now almost completely given way to powerful LEDs. Modern LEDs create a luminous flux with a brightness of several hundred lumens, making it possible to effectively illuminate targets at a distance of hundreds of meters. The “tactical” beam, as a rule, is very narrow - and this is done in order to avoid blinding the owner of the flashlight by the reflection of light from nearby objects falling into the light “cone”. A tactical flashlight usually has a direct switch button - the flashlight begins to shine before the button is locked in the on position, thanks to which you can very quickly turn the flashlight on and off, as well as give a “blinking” signal. In addition, the “tactician” can be equipped with an external button for remote activation, which allows you to quickly control the flashlight mounted on the weapon: thanks to the presence of such a button, the shooter is not distracted from observing the target.
Tactical flashlights are often equipped with a steel bezel in the form of a toothed ring, so that the flashlight can be used as an impact tool - for example, to break window or car glass - as well as an impact weapon without the risk of damaging it.
Initially, tactical flashlights usually used a pair of relatively capacious, but rather expensive and disposable CR123A batteries, but thanks to the proliferation of 18650 batteries, tactical developers began to use them as the main power supply. As rare exceptions, there are tactical flashlights powered by AA and even AAA batteries.

Examples of excellent tactical flashlights from Olight: M18 Striker, M20SX-L2 Warrior, M21X-L2 Warrior, M22 Warrior, M3X Triton
(see 10–15).

Search lights- as a rule, they are quite large and weighty, with a short glow time, but at the same time with very high brightness. Basically, there are two types: those that shine relatively close, but with a wide beam, and, conversely, long-range ones with a narrow beam of light (the effective lighting range of the latter can reach a kilometer or more). To power the LED, either several 18650/26650/36650 batteries or special non-separable battery packs are usually used here. Typically, such flashlights are used in professional activities - for example, by rescuers, huntsmen or the military - therefore they meet the most stringent requirements for product reliability and security. Examples of such flashlights from Olight: SR Mini Intimidator, SR52 Intimidator, SR95S UT Intimidator, SR96 Intimidator, X6 Marauder (see 17–20, 23).

Search lights

Headband Olight H15S Wave interesting, first of all, with the ability to turn it on and off “hands-free” - due to a special touch system

Headlamps by analogy with telephone headsets, they are also sometimes called HandsFree, since the owner’s hands remain free when working. This type of flashlight is well suited for many areas of use - including as an auxiliary “close combat” flashlight to the main “blaster”.
One of the most important parameters of a headlamp is its weight, which is why such flashlights are usually made from a lightweight aluminum alloy, often in combination with polymers or composite materials. There are, of course, forehead covers made entirely of plastic - but these are, as a rule, the cheapest models; Such budget products, as a rule, have serious drawbacks - either the brightness of the glow is too low, or the strong heating caused by the operation of a powerful light source (which cannot be avoided due to cooling problems in the plastic case), as a result of which the flashlight quickly fails. The optimal power supply for a small and lightweight headlamp is AA and AAA batteries/rechargeable batteries, as well as CR123A. If you need a flashlight that is more powerful or has a larger energy reserve, you will have to sacrifice wearing comfort, since the use of an 18650 battery or several AA batteries (less often AAA/CR123A) leads to an increase in the size and weight of the flashlight, and this makes its use less convenient. However, the complex problem of user convenience and the availability of a large energy reserve is being solved - for this purpose, headlamps with separate blocks are produced; The emitter of such a flashlight is traditionally mounted on the forehead, and the battery pack is located on the back of the head - thereby ensuring uniform weight distribution and comfortable operation with the flashlight.
The typical lumen output of headlamps is 30-150 lumens. There are also models with a brightness of several hundred lumens or more - but they are already quite weighty (from 100 g without batteries - and even more with a separate battery pack). The shape of the beam of the “headlamp” can be different and is chosen for specific tasks: if it is necessary to shine mainly at close distances, then a wider beam is desirable (it is even possible to use a uniform flood light), and if the flashlight is to be used instead of a hand-held one to illuminate medium and long distances, then This is where a narrow beam comes in handy.

Headlamps

Options for good headbands from Olight:
H15S Wave - is powered by an original Li-Ion battery or by 4xAAA, and due to the standard light diffuser it can create both a narrow beam and a wide beam (see 21);
H25 Wave - is powered by a remote battery pack, which can be put in a pocket/backpack or placed on a belt under clothing (which is especially important when using the flashlight in cold weather). Another feature of the flashlight is contactless on/off and a “power bank” built into the battery pack, which will come in very handy if necessary to recharge, for example, a mobile phone (see 22).

Underwater, or “dive”, flashlights, are used by swimmers when diving (diving) to significant depths during the day or at night, as well as during underwater hunting. The main requirements for such lanterns are complete waterproofness and sufficiently high brightness. Such flashlights are most often controlled by a large lever/button or a magnetic ring, which makes it easy to turn on the flashlight and switch its operating modes even when wearing diving gloves. Power supply - high-capacity lithium batteries of standard sizes 18650, 26650, 36650; built-in batteries are also often used, and sometimes several AA batteries. It is important to remember that it is undesirable to use an underwater flashlight - especially a high-power one - in the maximum glow mode in air, since the design of such flashlights is designed for normal cooling only in water; In the air, the underwater light can overheat and fail.

Zexus ZX-500: 300/150 lm, operating time 72 h/144 h, 3xD power supply, dimensions 100x180x85 mm, weight 420 g

As the name suggests, they are designed to illuminate a campsite or any other wide area. Most often, camping lanterns illuminate everything around them with flood light - like a candle or light bulb - but there are also options with a wide, but directional light. The main criterion when choosing a camping lantern in most cases is not the brightness of the glow, but the time it operates on one set of batteries. It is also useful for such a flashlight to have several operating modes - including the SOS distress signal mode. In addition, for a camping lantern, as well as for a hand-held tourist one, the weight and size characteristics are extremely important - a lantern with 3-4 D-size batteries is unlikely to be comfortable to carry on a hike, but a lantern with 3-4 AA (AAA) batteries or one 18650 battery is quite . Powered by D or C batteries, it is suitable for stationary use - or for camping. The body material of camping lanterns is usually plastic, metal is used less frequently. There are camping lanterns with built-in chargers - mechanical (you need to turn a handle, like old trucks) or solar-powered (in this case you need direct sunlight) - with which you can recharge a dead battery. Examples: Zexus ZX-500 (see).
Flashlights with adjustable focus (zoom), also known as “lens lenses,” are specially allocated to a separate category because they are somewhat popular in the ultra-budget class, but due to their design features they are not the best option for purchase. The design of such flashlights is based on a scheme with a variable distance between the lens (usually aspherical) and the LED, thanks to which it is possible to obtain a beam both in the form of a very wide light cone for short distances, and a very narrow and long-range beam (and without side illumination). Such flashlights have both advantages and disadvantages - and there are many of the latter. Designs with a movable “head” are usually poorly protected from moisture, dust and sand; moreover, the movable head part with the lens can become “loose” over time and stop being fixed in the desired position. In turn, designs with a moving LED (movable inside a fixed housing) are bad because over time the wires between the control board and the diode break off; In addition, these flashlights usually have insufficient heat dissipation, which also does not add to the reliability of the flashlight. Another significant disadvantage is that up to 50% of the light is lost at a long focus. Of course, there are also branded lens flashlights that are made much better than budget flashlights - however, they retain the fundamental features of variable focus. Of course, “lens cameras” also have advantages - flexibility of use; Sometimes it is useful to be able to switch from a narrow beam, used to illuminate deep dark spaces (such as tunnels or wells), to a wide flood light, which is useful, for example, for economic activities at a rest stop.

II. Characteristics and indicators that determine the level of the flashlight

The most popular “ultra-budget” lenses

There are a huge number of different flashlights on the market - and when you want to buy a good flashlight for a specific purpose (or for all occasions), you ask the question “Which one is good?” After all, you want the lantern to never let you down when it comes down to it. So, if you need to buy a really good flashlight, it should be a brand name. Well-known flashlight manufacturing companies value their image very much, so they usually take full responsibility for their product, strictly observing warranty obligations and often even providing post-warranty service. In addition, branded flashlights usually have a huge variety of control options and operating modes, so such flashlights are much more pleasant and comfortable to use. Non-branded flashlights are captivating mainly due to their price - however, in this case the buyer inevitably gets a pig in a poke. Using a flashlight of unknown origin can reveal a whole bunch of problems and shortcomings - these are low-quality materials, poor threads, poor heat dissipation, lack of moisture protection, an unpleasant “bluish” spectrum of light, poor soldering of electronics, etc. In addition, indicators of the brightness of the light and the beam range of non-brand flashlights, as a rule, is seriously overestimated - often by several times, or even orders of magnitude. Such “marketing” is designed primarily for uninformed buyers who, in addition, have poor eyesight, so that the extra zeros assigned to the characteristics do not arouse suspicion. They rivet non-branded products - no matter what Germany, Switzerland or America appears on the labels - mainly in China. Actually, Chinese origin is no longer an unambiguous synonym for low quality - many serious American and European manufacturers have been either using components made in the Middle Kingdom for quite a long time, or have completely transferred production to China; in addition, many Chinese companies have already achieved recognition of the high quality of their products on the world market - and lanterns are no exception. However, there is a fundamental difference between the products of a specialized plant, equipped with the latest equipment with strict quality control and staffed with well-trained and responsible personnel, and the products of some garage-basement workshop, whose employees received technical education by dismantling stolen mopeds, and to stimulate the flight of thought of designers Only gaoliang moonshine is used. However, the staff of the latter enterprises also need to feed their families - this is precisely what explains the abundance of lanterns of unknown brands and origins on sale, the quality of which varies not only from name to name, but even from copy to copy of products of the same name. It is clear that purchasing such a lantern is pure lottery. Hence the conclusion: if you need a flashlight extremely rarely (for example, to go down into the cellar to get potatoes or find a switchboard when the light suddenly goes out), then perhaps a non-branded flashlight will suffice - as long as it is not the cheapest. If the flashlight is planned to be used for more or less serious tasks - for example, hiking in places remote from civilization, exploring some abandoned corners, speleology, diving, hunting, search and rescue or military operations, where the quality and reliability of the flashlight can depends on the life and health of the owner and people close to him, you need to choose only a branded product, it will more than pay for its price.

Type of light source - all about LEDs

Back in the 1920s, Soviet physicist Oleg Losev, while studying the phenomenon of electroluminescence, predicted the appearance of solid-state, that is, not requiring a vacuum, and small-sized light sources with a very low (within 10 volts) supply voltage, and later received two copyright certificates for the device , which he called a “light relay” - here what is LED. However, the poor development of semiconductor technologies has led to the fact that for a long time LEDs were used only as indicators - luminous points of various colors. In recent years, there has been a real revolution in this area, which has led to the creation of super-bright LEDs. Before their appearance, the source of light for lanterns was incandescent light bulbs, but now LEDs have replaced them almost completely. The fact is that lamps have very significant disadvantages compared to LEDs: first of all, they have a short service life (especially in situations involving extreme conditions, frequent vibrations, shocks), as well as low efficiency - with the same electric current consumption The lamp shines much weaker than the LED. True, lamps also have their advantages; one of the most significant is the correct temperature spectrum - due to which the colors of objects illuminated by such a lamp, unlike LED lighting, are not distorted. Another advantage of incandescent lamps is the absence of additional electronics, which could potentially fail and let the owner of the lamp down at the most inopportune moment; although, of course, in high-quality flashlights the likelihood of this is minimized.

Types and varieties of LEDs

Manufacturers of LEDs, like any electronics, are constantly improving their products, so on the flashlight market you can find different types of LEDs, which are quite difficult for the average user to understand. The most popular LEDs are from the American company Cree Inc.: XR-E, XP-E, XP-G, XM-L, as well as the newer XP-E2, XP-G2, XM-L2 - these LEDs are most often installed in small flashlights ( except for the XM-L and XM-L2, which are very versatile and suitable for both compact EDC flashlights and powerful search engines). Cree MT-G2 and MK-R LEDs, as well as Luminus' SST-50, SST-90, SBT-70 and SBT-90 LEDs, are typically used in large, powerful multi-battery searchlights. In addition, LEDs are distinguished by brightness bins - special codes for a system for sorting LEDs by brightness. Cree LEDs have a alphanumeric designation; for XM-L(2) diodes the most common bins are T5, T6, U2, for XP-G(2) diodes - R4, R5, S2, for XP-E(2) diodes - Q5, R2, R3, for XR diodes -E - P4, Q3, Q5, R2.
Therefore, if a manufacturer or seller indicates that “a flashlight uses a T6 diode,” he means the XM-L T6 diode.

types of LEDs for flashlights, brightness

If we distribute the popular ones according to a conventional brightness scale, as they increase, it will look like this: P4-Q3-Q5-R2-R4-R5-S2-T5-T6-U2.
One of the main differences between diodes is their size, or more precisely, the area of ​​the light-emitting crystal. The smaller the crystal area, the easier it is to focus its glow into a narrow beam - and vice versa. Therefore, the old XR-E LED is the easiest to focus, and a fairly large XM-L will shine much wider under the same conditions. If you need to get the narrowest possible beam from the XM-L LED, you will have to use a fairly large, wide and deep reflector, which will negatively affect the weight and dimensions of the housing. But with a small reflector on such an LED you will get a very successful pocket flashlight with a wide low beam.

Value for money

When choosing a flashlight, naturally, you should read description of LEDs and take into account the brightness of its glow. It is measured in lumens - the more lumens in the luminous flux of a flashlight, the brighter it shines and, accordingly, the faster it “eats” the energy reserve of the batteries. When comparing branded flashlights, you can more or less confidently rely on the values ​​of their brightness declared by the manufacturers; however, things are not always so perfect. Previously, some manufacturers were somewhat disingenuous when calculating lumens in their flashlights, often not taking into account light losses in the optical system at different temperature conditions, etc., as a result of which the declared characteristics turned out to be somewhat overestimated. Nowadays, to equalize the characteristics of flashlights from different brands, a special unified standard is used that defines methods for measuring brightness and range (ANSI FL1) - and if the characteristics were measured according to the ANSI standard, this will be indicated on the packaging. Often there is a kind of “strategy”: some time after starting to work at maximum power, the brightness of the flashlight automatically decreases. It's called Step Down (English: “one step lower”); Such an operating algorithm often serves only to provide the manufacturer with the opportunity to indicate the maximum possible brightness value on the packaging. However, in some cases, “stepdown” is really useful - thanks to it, the batteries do not run out as quickly as they could if the flashlight was constantly working at maximum. It also happens that a product with a more focused beam, but lower brightness according to the ANSI standard, can outperform a more powerful flashlight with a wider beam in terms of range - the optical system and the LED used play a role here. In a word, branded flashlights can be safely selected and compared according to the brightness specified by the manufacturer, if it was measured according to the ANSI standard - but it is also advisable to take into account the features of the flashlight’s optical system, as well as the presence of a “stepdown” in some models.

Reflector/aspherical lens/TIR lens - all these devices are needed to focus the light emitted by the LED; Simply put, they form a light beam.
A reflector is the best option. Thanks to it, a bright central spot and noticeable side illumination are obtained. This structure of light is very convenient for orientation in the illuminated space - both at close and long distances. In addition, the reflector can be smooth or textured (with an inner surface that looks like an orange peel). Due to the smooth reflector, the flashlight will shine further, so this option is useful for long-range flashlights, while the textured one has another advantage - thanks to it, the transition from the central spot to the side illumination occurs more smoothly, so this form of light is more convenient for close distances, which is important for EDC lights.
The aspherical lens in variable-focus flashlights creates light from a wide flood beam to a very narrow and fairly long-range beam. As described above, such flashlights are quite highly specialized and are not very convenient for comfortable use in different life situations.
The peculiarity of the TIR lens (Total Internal Reflection) is that, unlike a reflector, a TIR lens collects all the light from the LED into one beam of a predetermined width, practically eliminating side illumination. In this way, you can get a very narrow and long-range beam, necessary for search or tactical flashlights, or, conversely, a very wide beam, well suited for hiking, headlamps or EDC flashlights.

Applications of LEDs

Often, when choosing a flashlight, a consumer wants the maximum range of light from it - however, in most cases, long-range flashlights are not needed at all. Most often, a flashlight is used to illuminate nearby areas or objects located at a distance of no more than a few tens of meters. Long-range flashlights shine for a hundred meters and further - however, often with a very narrow beam that poorly illuminates the surrounding space, especially at close distances. As a result, when illuminating distant objects with such a flashlight, the user will not be able to see what is in the immediate vicinity of him - figuratively speaking, under his feet. Of course, the flashlight can be periodically moved, moving it from side to side and up and down - but in such cases it is much easier to use a flashlight with a shorter range, but with a wide beam that can perfectly illuminate everything that is needed at the same time. So, knowing quite obviously that long-range flashlights, indispensable for rescuers, hunters or the military, are not particularly useful in everyday use for everyday tasks.

The photo shows a comparison of the lighting tonality provided by LEDs of three different spectra: “warm”, “neutral” and “cold”. When choosing the light temperature of a flashlight, you need to focus on the following points: an LED with a warm spectrum of light minimally distorts the colors of the illuminated object, but has lower brightness than an LED with a neutral spectrum - and even more so a “cold” LED. With the latter, it's the other way around. Therefore, if you need a powerful search or tactical flashlight, where brightness is more important, then it is better to choose LEDs with a cold spectrum of light. If the flashlight is needed for everyday tasks, tourism, or for use as a headlamp, then correct color rendering is still more important - and, therefore, an LED with a warm spectrum of light will be more advantageous. Neutral LEDs are the golden mean both in terms of color fidelity and light brightness.

Comparison of “warm”, “neutral” and “cold” light. The first one distorts colors less, the last one is more contrasting and powerful, “neutral” is the golden mean

An ordinary AA battery with a nominal voltage of 1.5 volts with a high current consumption will not be able to produce the required voltage and will “sag”, plus the voltage will quickly decrease as it discharges - and therefore, the brightness of the flashlight on such a battery will also decrease quickly . To ensure that the brightness does not decrease along with the battery discharge, modern flashlights are equipped with special electronic power stabilizers. A flashlight with such a stabilizer will maintain the brightness mode until the last moment; and when the battery voltage drops below a certain threshold level, the automation will simply switch the flashlight to a weaker mode - which the flashlight will also stably and persistently adhere to until the battery runs out completely.

Not counting the cheapest flashlights that only have an on/off button, most modern, even non-branded, flashlights have several operating modes, including strobe (high-frequency flashing) and SOS (distress signal). Non-branded products usually have three operating modes (maximum power/average power/strobe) or five (minimum power/average power/maximum power/strobe/SOS); in this case, the average power usually corresponds to 50% of the maximum brightness of the glow, and the minimum - 10% (of course, it happens differently). In branded flashlights, everything is much more complicated. Here, operating modes can be controlled by buttons (conventional mechanical or electronic), rotation of the “head”, rotation of the magnetic ring, as well as a combination of the above. Some flashlights have a variety of sensors on board for turning on/off or changing modes - for example, a motion sensor that allows you to switch modes by gently shaking the flashlight, or an infrared sensor that turns the headlamp on/off when you wave your hand in front of it without any pressing buttons. In order to determine preferences, it is best for a potential user to try one way or another on their own, since each of them has its own characteristics - which in practice can lead, for example, to the fact that you will need both hands to control your flashlight. If this is not critical, then you can choose what you like best. Branded flashlights also have many modes of operation. Here it is worth mentioning flashlights with the ability to smoothly, steplessly change brightness or independently program operating modes. On the one hand, this is convenient because you can ideally adjust the glow mode to a specific situation. On the other hand, knowing about the operating time from one set of batteries in each of the fixed modes, you can quite accurately calculate the required number of batteries that you should keep in reserve for a particular task - in flashlights with smooth adjustment, such calculations can be made perform only in the maximum or minimum brightness mode.

Ordinary aluminum reflector (reflector), TIR lens, aspherical lens (for flashlights with variable beam width)

The main (and best) material for the manufacture of modern powerful flashlights are aluminum alloys, the most important advantages of which are lightness, sufficient strength, excellent thermal conductivity and relative low cost. Also, thanks to the protective anodic coatings, which are hard and wear-resistant, flashlights with aluminum alloy bodies are quite difficult to scratch. Steel is also used in the production of housings for flashlights, but much less often - since the flashlight becomes heavier, and the LED, due to the lower thermal conductivity of steel, cools much less well during operation, which is why it can simply fail. However, if you do not need high brightness, then a flashlight in a polished steel case will be an excellent fashion accessory. Quite often there are also flashlights made of titanium alloys (usually with a polished body surface, but sometimes matte). These lanterns are not inferior to steel ones in either durability or stylish appearance - but at the same time they are somewhat lighter, and also usually much more expensive. Plastic in the design of flashlights is used, as a rule, as a complement to aluminum - or for the bodies of low-power flashlights, such as camping ones or simple headlamps.

Modern flashlights have a fairly durable, most often metal, body that protects glass and electronics from external mechanical influences. However, even after purchasing a branded lantern, you should not thoughtlessly test its strength by throwing it from the roof onto the concrete - it is still not intended for this. If you choose a flashlight for maximum protection from shocks and vibrations, then it will definitely be a tactical flashlight designed for installation on a weapon and can easily withstand the dynamic loads that occur during a shot. High water resistance level IPx7/IPx8 - when the flashlight can be safely dipped into water - is present in almost all branded flashlights, even fairly budget ones. Exceptions tend to be budget flashlights, variable focus flashlights, camping flashlights, and some headlamps that will safely survive only average rain.

Unlike batteries with an output voltage of 1.5 V, NiMh (nickel metal hydride) batteries produce a nominal voltage of 1.2 V - so some flashlights may not work correctly with them. However, high-quality NiMH rechargeable batteries, unlike batteries, usually allow branded flashlights to produce all of their manufacturer's stated lumens.
This type of battery is often called a “pinky” or “mini-finger” battery. Flashlights powered by such a battery are very small and light - their weight can be only 10-30 g. Maximum brightness is about 60-80 lumens, which already allows you to shine well for a dozen or two meters; However, with such brightness, the AAA battery will not last long, about 30-40 minutes - so such flashlights are usually used as spare ones “just in case”.
The AA battery is the most popular type of battery, which can be bought on almost every corner. Its capacity is 2-2.5 times higher than that of the “little finger” one, so flashlights on AA batteries will shine longer - and at a higher brightness (90-120 lm). Brand flashlights, when using high-quality batteries, produce about 140-160 lumens or more on a good NiMH battery. The dimensions of flashlights on AA batteries are noticeably larger than AAA flashlights - it’s not always possible to hang them on a bunch of keys - but they still remain quite compact (weight - in the range of 50-80 g, length - no more than 8-10 cm).

Comparison of the dimensions of popular lithium batteries (from left to right): 10440 (AA), 15270 (CR2), RCR123A, 16340, 14500 (AA), 18650

Flashlights powered by two “pinky” batteries are quite rare - as a rule, these are branded flashlights made in the form of a stylish pen in multiple color options. Their brightness is usually 150-200 lumens - however, they do not work at this brightness for long. However, due to the very small reflector, such flashlights provide a wide beam, very convenient for close-range lighting.

In such flashlights, the batteries are installed sequentially one after another, resulting in a fairly long (about 15 cm) and thin flashlight. Compared to one battery, there is already twice as much energy in reserve, so the brightness of such flashlights is also increased - and reaches 250 lumens or more; To save energy, however, you can always switch to a more economical mode. In general, flashlights with two AA batteries are the most versatile in terms of the prevalence of batteries, dimensions, weight and brightness.
One of the most popular types of power supply - both for the majority of non-branded and especially budget flashlights, and for some branded ones (at present, however, they are already structurally outdated). The main disadvantage of this type of power supply is that despite the fairly large mass and dimensions, the total energy intensity is still quite small; In addition, as a rule, such flashlights do not stabilize the brightness of the glow as the batteries are discharged.
and Flashlights powered by several AA batteries are very diverse - from tourist and simply universal ones (for 3-4 AA batteries) to long-range search and underwater ones (for 8 AA batteries). The characteristics of such flashlights are usually similar to those of powerful flashlights on lithium batteries - but they have advantages where it is easier to get AA batteries/rechargeable batteries, or for those users who prefer batteries of this size (for example, if a charger with sets of spare AA batteries is already available , but I don’t want to buy a separate charger for lithium cells and such batteries themselves).
Currently, branded flashlights using this type of battery are practically no longer found. The only exception is the very popular at one time, but already outdated baton lamps from the American company Maglite.
This type of battery is somewhat more popular than the previous one, and, in addition to Maglite baton flashlights, is also used in some models from the brand manufacturer Fenix; although, of course, this cannot be called widespread. Most often, D-batteries are now used in large camping lanterns - usually in quantities of 3-4 pieces at a time.

Two disposable batteries in the form of thin disks with a diameter of about 2 cm are used in ultra-compact keychain flashlights - usually having a plastic body and equipped with a simple 5 mm LED. Such flashlights are distinguished by their very small dimensions and weight - but the light they also give is rather weak (however, it is more than enough if you need to illuminate a keyhole or not miss the steps in a dark entrance). For a “just in case” flashlight, such a power supply kit is through the roof.
This battery is similar in size to an AAA battery - as a result, some “key switches” that normally run on AAA batteries can also be powered by such a battery. In this case, the brightness increases by 2-3 times, but the operating time in maximum mode is significantly reduced - literally up to ten minutes. There is another serious drawback - a small flashlight with such an increase in the brightness of the glow heats up very quickly and can fail. Therefore, it is better not to use a flashlight with such a battery at maximum. The capacity of the 10440 battery is about 300 mAh, the voltage is 3.7 (3.6) V.
Flashlights powered by these disposable batteries are very rare - but the option for a “switcher” is very interesting. Element CR2 is almost 2 times shorter than 10440, but one and a half times thicker. Voltage - 3.0 V, capacity - about 800 mAh. Instead of disposable CR2 batteries, you can use a 15270 battery with a voltage of 3.0 V and a capacity of about 200 mAh.

Olight SR95S-UT Intimidator: Luminus SBT-70, 1250/500/150 lm, operating time 3 h/8 h/48 h, range 1000 m, power supply – special battery pack, dimensions 325x90 mm, weight 1230 g

A disposable lithium battery with a voltage of 3 volts is a compact and lightweight battery, and at the same time has a very decent capacity (about 1500 mAh), due to which flashlights using this battery are quite popular. Such flashlights are very well suited for EDC use, since they are very light and compact, while the brightness of the glow reaches 200-250 lumens (with an operating time “at maximum” of about an hour), almost catching up with more serious flashlights. The main disadvantage of such batteries is the cost, since instead of one CR123A you can buy 4-7 high-quality AA batteries.
Lithium batteries, similar in size to disposable CR123A batteries and designed to replace it. There are two versions of such batteries: with a voltage of 3.0 V and 3.7 (3.6) V; and if the first type of battery is absolutely interchangeable with a CR123A battery (the only difference is that the battery capacity is about three times less), then the second version with increased voltage must be supported by the flashlight itself, otherwise it may fail. If the flashlight can work with a battery having a voltage of 3.7 (3.6) V - the capacity of such batteries is greater than that of “three-volt” ones and is 500-700 mAh - then the use of this battery will provide increased brightness , reaching up to 350-450 lumens. However, it should be taken into account that with such a bright light, the body of a compact flashlight may not be able to cope with the heat removal from the LED, as a result of which the flashlight may become so hot that it is impossible to hold it in your hand and, ultimately, fail. So you shouldn’t get carried away with the maximum glow mode in such cases.
Lithium is a lithium battery, similar to an ordinary AA battery both geometrically and in terms of nominal voltage - 1.5 V - but its capacity is 2-3 times greater (about 3000 mAh), and its weight is 1.5 -2 times less. In addition, this battery can withstand high current loads perfectly, so a flashlight with such a battery will shine no worse than with a high-quality NiMH battery, and maybe even better. The main disadvantage of such batteries is the price; as in the case of CR123A, instead of one AA Litium, you can buy 4-7 regular high-quality AA batteries.
The battery is the size of a AA battery and has a capacity of up to 800 mAh. The main advantage of flashlights using these batteries is their versatility. When using 14500, the brightness reaches 350-450 lumens with an operating time of about half an hour; If such a battery suddenly “runs out”, then it can easily and naturally be replaced with a ubiquitous AA battery - and your flashlight will continue to shine, albeit not so brightly.
Two disposable lithium batteries installed in series one after the other. Previously, this type of power supply was most often used in tactical flashlights, less often in EDC; is now commonly used as a backup power supply for flashlights using 18650 batteries.
The most convenient type of power supply for most modern flashlights, which has gained popularity due to the best combination of overall dimensions, weight and energy intensity. The 18650 is slightly larger in size than a finger-type battery, its weight is 45-50 g, and its maximum capacity is up to 3600 mAh. There are a wide variety of flashlights using this battery - from small flashlights for EDC to fairly large tactical and search models. In general, if you don’t mind the need to buy a special charger (except for flashlight versions with a built-in charger), flashlights with this type of battery will be the best in terms of size/weight/brightness.

Thanks to the use of two 18650 batteries at once in the flashlight, an increase in the brightness of the glow or operating time is achieved, but the weight of the flashlight also increases (can reach 200-500 g) and overall dimensions. Most often, the batteries in such flashlights are installed in series one after another; sometimes a removable extender extension is used for this. There are also flashlights with parallel arrangement of batteries to reduce size. But in any case, such flashlights, as a rule, differ in power and range - with a “kill” range of up to half a kilometer or more.

A stylish flashlight made of polished titanium stands out among its aluminum counterparts - and will be an excellent assistant for every day.

This type of power supply is used, as a rule, in search (less often, underwater) lights using the most powerful diodes - like SST90, SBT70, MK-R or several XM-L2. The brightness of such lanterns reaches thousands of lumens, and their weight is half a kilogram or more; they can be either ultra-long-range with a maximum range of over a kilometer, or providing wide coverage at a range of up to several hundred meters. In any case, such flashlights require especially careful handling - because, firstly, they are quite massive and, if dropped, are more likely to fail than their lighter counterparts, and secondly, the cost of such flashlights is very high.
The batteries are as long as 18650 and slightly larger in diameter, due to which they have greater energy capacity. Typically used in powerful search and diving flashlights, although there are also compact “pocket” ones based on one element 26650.
In some cases this is a necessity - for example, in heavy-duty flashlights, where a large number of separate batteries would otherwise have to be used - in others it is done for greater convenience of the owner, since the charging process here is no different from charging a mobile phone, and no additional chargers are required. There is no need to purchase devices for this. In some flashlights, the “native” battery, charged by the built-in charger, can, if necessary, be replaced with a third-party one (although this third-party battery cannot always be charged). This can be useful if somewhere along the way the “original” battery runs out, but you still need to keep the light on.