Everyone knows a thing or two about flashlights. When you find yourself suddenly plunged into darkness, you reach for a flashlight. However, what if the flashlight you reach for is not bright enough or too bright? This is all determined by the number of lumens it emits.
Lumens optimally determine how bright your flashlight is or the area it will cover. And when most people go flashlight shopping, they often ask, how many lumens do I need in a flashlight?
Well, this article is here to answer all these questions! We’ll discuss lumens and how they affect flashlight choices.
That being said, VEVOR offers the best flashlight, with a good range of lumens that can illuminate the darkest areas while being versatile, durable, and adjustable enough to provide illumination in various circumstances.
Table of contents
Demystifying Lumens: A Bright Light on Flashlight Output
Before you can answer the question, “How many lumens do I need in a flashlight?” you must first fully understand what lumens are.
What are Lumens?
Lumens are simply the unit of measurement that determines the amount of light emitted from a flashlight and how bright it will be. While Watts measures power consumption, lumens relate to brightness.
Basically, the higher the lumens are, the brighter the light will be. Lumens are usually denoted by “L,” and flashlight lumens can range anywhere between 500 to 10000.
Understanding Lumens vs. Beam Distance
In order to know how many lumens you need in a flashlight, you must also understand the difference between lumens and beam distance.
Lumens and beam distance both relate to the capacity of a flashlight but in different ways. While lumen measures how bright the light is, beam distance refers to how far the light can travel.
Now, don’t be blinded by high-lumen numbers, though. While high lumens often indicate bright lights, keep in mind that a flashlight with high lumens may not have intense capacity due to low beam distance.
What this essentially means is that a high-lumen flashlight with a low beam distance will emit light that will be dispersed over a wide area but may not reach certain distances. Alternatively, a flashlight with low lumens can still illuminate objects that are far away due to concentrated beam or long beam distance.
Now, while high-lumen flashlights are great for illumination, there are some downsides to it. They tend to drain the battery of flashlights more quickly than low-lumen flashlights due to their high capacity. They also generate a lot of heat and can sometimes drain unnecessary power especially if they are equipped with rechargeable batteries.
Understanding the relationship between lumens and beam distance will help you make the right choice when selecting a flashlight.
How Many Lumens Do I Need in a Flashlight
Now to the ultimate question, how many lumens does one need in a flashlight? Well, the answer varies. Different lumens work for different occasions. Let’s discuss them below.
Lumens for Your Daily Tasks
For everyday tasks, you do not necessarily need high-capacity flashlights with high lumens. Everyday tasks include finding your keys, reaching the corner of a dark cupboard, reading at night, night light, backlight.
With this in mind, flashlights with lumens of about 100 to 150 or even less will suffice for simple everyday household tasks. Some of these flashlights include pen lights, keychain lights, and micro LED lights.
Such low-lumen flashlights, which are great for everyday tasks, are typically small and compact. They’re easy to carry about and portable enough to fit into a purse, car compartment, or pocket. They also have low beam distances, which usually stretch for only about 3 to 5 feet.
They’re functional enough for small activities but will not suffice for outdoor use. They’re also relatively cheaper and more affordable than other flashlights with higher lumens.
Flashlights with such low lumens usually have cell batteries or AA batteries, which do not typically have a long life span.
These batteries often need to be changed in order to maintain functionality. Therefore, if you’re looking for a flashlight that offers high power for outdoor events, you will have to consider flashlights with more lumens.
Lumens for Work light
Next, we have lumens for work lights. These are slightly higher than lumens for daily tasks but not high enough for extended outdoor adventures or emergencies.
Flashlights in this category typically have about 400 to 1000 lumens. They tend to combine energy efficiency with brightness, portability, and functionality.
If you’re looking for flashlights in this category, you’ll often find them equipped with rechargeable batteries or lithium cell batteries. This makes them practical choices for simple outdoor activities because they can easily be recharged ahead of time.
Flashlights with this amount of lumens can be used as light sources for outdoor work. For example, if you need illumination to look under the hood of your car or engine, these types of flashlights will be appropriate.
You’ll also find them helpful for DIY projects, light repairs around the house, or even cleaning out your attics and basements.
They often illuminate a distance of up to 200 meters. Therefore, besides using them for work, you can use them on your nightly walks or runs.
When it comes to the pricing, they fall around the low to medium budget range. They’re more expensive than pocket-sized flashlights, but less expensive than flashlights for extended outdoor adventures.
Lumens for Outdoor Adventures
Now to the high capacity lumens. Besides lumens for daily tasks and work light, we also have lumens for outdoor adventures. These typically fall within the range of 1000 to 3000 lumens, making them significantly brighter than flashlights with lumens for daily tasks. They’re beam distance usually stretches over an impressive distance of more than 500 feet, making them powerful illuminators.
This category includes flashlights that have a good level of illumination capacity for outdoor adventures such as extended camping, hiking, or walking your dog at night.
Flashlights with this amount of lumens can comfortably light up a small room, so they are perfect for hunting at night too. You’ll find tactical flashlights in this category too. These are flashlights that can be used by hunters, law enforcement personnel, rescue teams, special forces, or security personnel as a blinding or disorienting weapon.
These types of flashlights are also great for outdoor adventures because they are sometimes equipped with self defense features and have various light modes including strobes.
They are equipped with rechargeable batteries or lithium cell batteries for heavy-duty use and longevity. They’re also among the more expensive category of flashlights, so you may have to budget higher than flashlights with lumens for work light.
Lumens for Emergencies
Finally, let’s discuss lumens for emergencies. This category features some of the most powerful flashlights you can get, with lumens that are from 3000 and above. This means that they could be 7000, 10,000, 25,000 lumens, or even more.
These flashlights are built for emergencies such as power outages, car emergencies, or being lost or stranded outdoors. They are known for their extremely high performance and impressive beam distance, which stretches out for over a mile.
Due to their high performance, flashlights in this category are usually heavier and less compact than the other flashlights mentioned earlier. They may not be as convenient to carry around, but they certainly provide the illumination one needs during emergencies.
These flashlights are also more expensive, but they are worth it as they are equipped with long battery lives and SOS modes for emergencies. You’ll often find them equipped with built-in cooling systems to help regulate the heat produced from their high performance.
If you ever find yourself in a rainstorm and your power goes out, these flashlights will do a good job of keeping your house illuminated for a good number of hours.
Some of the best flashlights you can find in this category include the VEVOR 10000 Lumen Flashlight. This is a high-quality, durable flashlight that has an SOS signaling mode.
It also has a 2200mAh battery capacity that can easily provide illumination for 5 to 10 hours. It is multi-functional and great for emergencies because, besides providing illumination, it can also power your cell phone and other electronic devices using a simple USB adapter.
Beyond Lumens: Additional Flashlight Features to Consider
Now, while lumens are the major things to look out for when choosing flashlights, there are also additional flashlight features to consider. They include:
Beam pattern (spotlight vs. floodlight):
- Every flashlight is designed with a unique beam pattern that affects how the light it produces will be perceived. It could either be a spotlight or a floodlight. A spotlight provides illumination that is focused on one particular area, while a floodlight illuminates a wider area with lighting that may not be as intense as that of a spotlight.
Spotlights have focus, narrow beams that can travel for longer distances, making them great for search and rescue operations or spotting objects at a distance away. On the other hand, floodlights have wider beams that are dispersed over a large area at a time. They’re better for close-range tasks.
Battery life and type (rechargeable vs. disposable):
- Flashlights can either be equipped with rechargeable or disposable batteries. If you want an option that provides sustainability and eco-friendliness, choose a flashlight with rechargeable batteries. However, if you want a flashlight to use from time to time, consider getting one with disposable batteries that can be tossed out once they’re worn out.
Durability and water resistance:
- A good flashlight should not only provide illumination but should also be durable enough to resist water and harsh weather conditions. Always look out for the IPX rating, which tells you how resistant your flashlight is to water and dust. An IPX rating of at least IPX8 is satisfactory.
- Additional features: Look out for additional features, such as grip, strobe function, zoom function, etc. Zoom function allows you to seamlessly switch from floodlight to spotlights, while strobe mode can be used for SOS signals or self-defense.
The VEVOR 2 Pack Flashlight is made from waterproof aluminum alloy, which is strong and water resistant. It has a comfortable grip and is easy to carry around during outdoor activities. What’s more? It is also equipped with several additional features such as strobe mode, which is great for emergencies.
Unveiling the VEVOR Flashlight Advantage
Now that you know all the necessary information about lumens and additional flashlight features, you can make your choice out of the many flashlight options available. Luckily, VEVOR’s comprehensive range of flashlights makes it easy to choose–equipped with everything you need in a flashlight and more
If you’re looking for a multi-function flashlight that can allow you to choose between flood beams and spot beams, the VEVOR 2 Pack Flashlight will be more than adequate. It provides up to 5 flexible brightness adjustment modes, including high, medium, power saving, strobe, and SOS signaling.
Another pretty cool and efficient flashlight VEVOR offers is the VEVOR 10000 Lumen High Lumens Flashlight. This is a powerful piece of equipment that has an irradiation distance of up to 1700 feet away from darkness. It can be used for any occasion, including patrolling, camping, fishing at night, night riding, and simply finding your way in dark situations.
VEVOR has a unique 12-month warranty that allows you to return the flashlights you purchase within 30 days of delivery. You can have a full refund in as soon as 2 to 14 days.
Plus, if you have any questions, concerns, or queries, VEVOR’s every-ready customer support team is always available to help you out 24/7 Monday to Sunday.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve discussed all there is to know, you should easily have your answers to the question, “How many lumens do I need in a flashlight?”.
Remember that it all depends on the purpose of the flashlight. If you need it for small, everyday tasks such as reaching a dark cupboard, low-lumen flashlights of less than 500 Lumens will suffice.
However, if you’re going on an outdoor adventure, look for flashlights with lumens between 1000 and 3000.
The best flashlights, like the VEVOR High Lumen Flashlight, can provide up to 10000 Lumens while giving you the option to adjust the light intensity as you please. And if you’re looking for something with lower lumens and great functionality, the VEVOR 2 Pack Flashlight is also a premium choice.
What are you waiting for? Visit the VEVOR website today to find your perfect flashlight and illuminate your world with confidence!
