10 mo. ago • 100%

[Recommendation Request] What's a good entry level right angle flashlight?

I'm thinking about getting my first decent flashlight. I find that most of the time when I want a decent light, it's when I'm walking the dog or taking out the compost, and I'm struggling to juggle a light with what I'm doing, so I'd like something I can tuck in a pocket and have it illuminate what I'm doing.

I'd prefer something with a fixed right angle; I'm not terribly interested in a swivel.

USB-C charging woul be best. I can see the appeal of magnetic charging, but I've got so used to having everything on USB-C that I'd rather not have another proprietary cable around.

I'm a little bit intimidated by some of the programming diagrams I've seen. I don't think I need a light with over a dozen different lighting and strobe modes. On/off is fine, high-mid-low is also great, but much more than that and I worry about getting lost.

I've seen some with the option for a red light as well as white, and that's appealing, but not essential. I like the idea of not having to totally lose my night vision when I turn on my flashlight. Powerbank function, similarly, is appealing but by no means essential.

Budget is $70, tops, but if there are models that are cheaper but still quality construction, I'm open to suggestion.

Thanks for the help!

14 comments

Here are 11 right-angle lights with USB-C, a sub-lumen mode to preserve dark adaptation, and a standardized removable battery of some sort. If you can wait a couple weeks for shipping from China, the Convoy H2 with Nichia 519A LED for excellent color rendering is a good choice.

If the USB port can be on the battery instead of the headlamp, there are several good options using the 14500 (AA-size Li-ion rechargeable) and 18650 (larger Li-ion rechargeable) batteries which can be found with USB-C ports on them, such as this 14500 from Skilhunt and this 18650 from Acebeam. The Skilhunt H150 is an excellent 14500 right-angle light, and their H04 series are nice 18650 models. Nichia 519A LED suggested in either case.

If you can give up the sub-lumen mode in favor of faster shipping and USB-C on the light itself, the Sofirn SP40A is a reasonable option. I suggest it over the HS40 due to color rendering, though the latter has higher maximum brightness.

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You’d have to reconsider your aversion to the swivel head but I love my Nicron N9. It’s got 3 or brightness levels you just click to scroll through. The fact that the head swivels makes it a lot easier to pocket. I’m a tech and work in a lot of dimly lit places. The magnetic base makes it easy to slap it to something and use it as a work light too. I really really like this light and it’s pretty cheap too.

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I like my Sofirn HS40. It only has a few modes but it has USB-C charging, a fixed right angle, and water resistant to 2 meters submersion. Throw the magnetic tailcap on there and you can stick it where you need to.

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- Seconded. I've got a couple of Sofirn lights and they're excellent value. Their UI is pretty straightforward as long as you avoid their pro models which use Anduril or other "enthusiast" firmwares.
  
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Let us know what you go with. I was looking at the oLight and the coast hx4 and the “Faxins clip on flashlight”. I’m currently using the Ascher bike lights (turns out the round ones have a clip that works on clothing, which is decent if a bit too narrow a beam).

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Skillhunt H02 has been my go-to for years. I've bought several of them for myself and as gifts

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- A note on the skillhunt stuff, their lights with magnetic charging connectors are really poorly designed, the charging contact is a dead short to the battery making them both not waterproof and a potential explosion hazard.
  
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  It's not a dead short; there's a very fast acting circuit breaker when it's shorted. It can spark and I do find that to be a significant design flaw, but it can't drive the battery into thermal runaway or significantly heat objects other than fine wires, steel wool, and similar.
  
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I carried a streamlight on my bunker gear for years. It's survived a large number of structure fires and car wrecks and still going strong.

For something small, I've really been enjoying my hanklights, he released a smaller right angle light last year, ordering can be a little overwhelming, but r/hanklights has some good guides. Mine has survived going through the washer and the dryer, and is my duty light on the ambulance I am working on. Yes, it has a lot of features in the UI, but you don't have to use them, and there are good guides to figure out the basics. 99% of the time I just use on off.I can provide my build list if you are interested to simplify things.

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Head lamps. You look like a total idiot, but there's no chance of it falling out of your pocket into a pile of dog poop.

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If you just want something cheap to get the job done, this is what the US military issued me for the past 20 years. It's efficient, reliable, and has a bunch of colored screens stored in its base for easy swap out. Plus, a convenient belt clip on the back.

The only downside is that it takes 2 D batteries. No USB charging. But it was designed for use in WWII, so it's kind of an old-fashioned device.

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- @cobysev @GraniteM I have a french version from 1942 and modded it with a pretty low power, 2700~3000 K single LED drop-in, and more importantly a 18650 battery with integrated USB charging. I built a cheap 2D-18650 adapter by hollowing a piece of wood from the bottom and putting a flat-cut screw through the top to make contact. My grandpa use it and is happy with it. Way more runtime, bit more light, same temp.
  
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