Did you ever wonder why the majority of flashlights are black in color ? Seems an odd choice for something you only need when your in the dark .
Colors evoke. The black color creates a mental impression of solidity and no-nonsense toughness. And it’s relatively neutral, if one is color-coordinating an outfit. It probably sells a ton of cheaply made flashlights, to say nothing of all the good ones.
Who would buy a white flashlight, for example? How many would be repelled by a pink flashlight? Some lights have been orange, but apparently they didn’t sell as well as black ones or else mfrs would be making lots of orange lights.
Yes, black does look much better . But being almost 70, I don’t see very well in the dim light. I keep small flashlights here and there around the house. Some I bought in red or blue .
on the black ones I use yellow self sealing silicone tape and wrap some around the body of the flashlight. Just a thin ring that helps me spot them in the dark.
I also bought some tiny orange O-rings from China . they fit nicely in the groves of the AAA flashlight bodies.
I think black is also the hardest type of ano. And the only color they can ano to type lll hardness. So it might be a durabillity thing.
That be my guess too. When aluminum flashlights started out I would say that represented a quality tough light. Maglite has a type II anodizing and started out only in black.
I have finned quite a few maglites on the lathe and the anodizing is very hard. They claim its type II but it seems harder than that to me, more like type III. When I machined them about 10 years ago it was like trying to cut threw rock. No chips, just dust and pieces flying off. Once you got threw the anodizing it cut just fine but it was very hard on cutting tools. Black tends to not show dirt or grease either so if it was in a working mans hands it still looked good.
I suspect it’s the least expensive.
But also black has been the Tactical, Operator, Ninja, CoolGuys color for years.
The most likely to sell in larger numbers.
I too think something other than black makes a lot of sense.
And a contrasting or always lighted switch.
Day-glow yellow for a light meant to be used for emergencies.
All the Best,
Jeff
How stretchy are these rings? The 16mm version has internal unstretched diameter of 14mm. Wondering if it would stretch enough to fit over Convoy S2+ (24mm dia).
My father had a 2 - D cell flashlight when I was a kid. It was chrome . It was the only flashlight he ever owned. I inherited it and then passed it to one of my sons who probably traded it for a 6 pack or beer.
It was sure easy to find in the dark .
I got some fancy yellow reflective tape on Aliexpress . It arrived yesterday . It looks nice but the adhesive is not the best so I’m not sure how long it will stay on .
Here is a quick description of anodizing types.
If type 111 anodizing is used, black is the most effective color that covers or hides the hard coat that anodizing creates. This is the reason for black. Type 11 and type 111 are basically the same except type 111 uses longer exposure time and higher amperage to burn deeper.
