For me, all my new flashlights and any bright ones from past purchases are my favorites.
I’ll start with the Olight S-Mini Cu and Ti Limited Edition.
I soon got a buyer remorse after I clicked PAY :person_facepalming: for not one, but two of them.
One is the polished titanium in NW and the other one is the Cu Rose Gold in CW.
However, once I received them, I really really like them. They are very well made and beautiful.
These are the only flashlights that are more collectible item than all the rest that I have.
They are showcased on my nightstand as a piece of art.
I wish I have the budget to collect the rest of the variations: Raw Copper, “Black”, Bead Blasted, Rainbow PVD etc.
The biggest-bang-for-the-buck has to be Convoy L6 which I have Clear in CW and Black in NW.
These two are really well made. I really really fall in love with my L6.
Very bright, yet very affordable. Steady at tail-stand. I am considering buying 1 or 2 more.
Next in line would be the Thorfire S70. The body is not as well designed as L6, nor is the workmanship.
However, I am a sucker for flashlights with big head and massive heatsink.
Two-cell version of JM35 with XHP50 CW emitter. Though less popular now that it has been surpassed by L6, I bought it anyway. I love the shape and the diameter contrast between the body and the head. I even ordered a 2nd one, a single-cell version with MT-G2 NW emitter. It is on the way.
BTU PK26, a unique flashlight that takes 26350. It sure wins the trophy for the fattest, shortest, flashlight with high lumen output and high capacity battery. It is my favorite EDC. I bought 2, one CW and one NW. However FT screwed up and sent me a NW.
Now, I am thinking buying another one in CW.
Manker MK34. I am also a sucker for lights with unique design. With 12 emitters grouped in 3 group of 4, it fits that category.
I first got the Nichia 219C NW version thinking it will be bright with pleasant tint. However, to my horror, it was way too much yellow and reminded me of old incandescent light bulb with very warm temperature. I swear it must have been around 3500K color temperature. I was misled by wrong information on the vendor website. I asked to exchange the light and now I got the XP-G3 CW version which is much brighter than the 219C NW. Now I am happy with this unique flashlight.
I so like this unique design that I have a Noctigon Meteor M43 on its way.
DQG Tiny 26650 7x. At the time I ordered all my new lights in NW thinking they will be really neutral white. Just as the Manker mixed-up unfolded, I found that my new DQG Tiny NW is almost as yellow as the Manker 219C. I am thinking of selling it and buy the CW version. It is too bad that vendors use NW for anything from 5000K down to 3000K. It should not be called NW if there is more yellow than white.
A real NW to me is the Acebeam K40M with MT-G2. It is a white light with slight yellow tint or a little bit yellow light with much white in it. It does make skin tone looks better than with many of the CW flashlights.
Anyway, The K40M is my work horse. I use it everyday in my rest room while getting ready to go to work. After a couple years it is still one of the brightest lights that I have.
Imalent DN70, like OP, I have one as well. I love single-cell 26650 flashlights because they fit better in my palm and the battery has higher capacity than 18650. They are far more steady when tail-stand than 18650 flashlights. I chose DN70 over the competitor offerings because it has blue color accent at the bottom. Black color flashlights are generally boring to me. Other features I like from DN70 are the dual switch, the OLED display, the excellent knurling and of course the XHP70 CW emitter.
For smaller AA EDC, my favorite is Xtar WK50. It takes 14500 to make it three times brighter than with an AA alkaline or NiMH.
I have several of them which I bought from an Xtar dealer a few years ago. So I have one everywhere, in my pocker, at work, in my back pack, glove compartment, on my night stand, in several drawers etc.
They produce more than enough lumen for most of my purpose. I was in a dark network closet doing re-cabling. The WK50 with 14500 battery provided enough light that allowed me to complete my work quickly and accurately. I had one tail-stand at maximum output to light up the entire room and another one in my hand or my mouth to light up the small area in front of me. I have used the WK50 for many other usage now and then.
Next, I perhaps have an almost complete set of those Skyray clones. From the 3x emitters, 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x, 8x, 9x. A few years ago they stopped at maximum 9 emitters but now they have them up to 14x (LOL). So I bought the ones I didn’t have. I understand that the LEDs are under-driven but they are bright enough, some of them are in fact very bright. I have been using them when I go to my backyard. The very bright floody lights fit the purpose well. In cooler nights, the lights have beneficial undisclosed feature: hand warmer!
Lastly, I also like to play with those branded 2x18650 flashlights that I have such as Olight M3X Triton, Nitecore MT40, Sunwayman T40CS Plus. I found that The M3x with the extension tube removed can use 2 x 18500 battery. It is really fun to go through my sets of 18500. Every hour I replace with two fresh batteries after the existing ones depleted.
The MT40 can use 4 x 16340, but I’d rather put 4 x 18350 for a little bit more runtime and have fun using the flashlight with unintended battery model.
Ok I promise this is the last one. You got to have one of these flashlight that is shaped like a straight security baton.
I have two. Althought the light is dim unmod, it is really fun to carry along with me. Leave one in the car as a safety device such as when you need to break you car window in an emergency. Now I need you modders to give an idea how to improve the brightness of this baton flashlights.