Which type of usb charging port do you prefer on flashlight

That would be a bit silly when you consider that you can buy a 5 pack of USB C cables for $3 delivered, and that the only thing worse than one tiny fragile USB socket would be adding a second one in series.

It is mechanically inferior. It’s almost as though I am in the twilight zone to have a conversation with people who can’t even grasp the basic fundamentals of mechanical strength, which benefits from more material. It is impossible to make a tiny connector with a small fraction of the amount of the same material, as strong.

I’ll leave it at that and you can buy whatever you want, but I for one will not be buying any lights that recharge from a flimsy little USB socket. I only buy lights with very good body threading so I can just swap my cells manually without thread wear concerns, and not have the downtime charging it which is a win/win situation for me.

I have a motorola droid zforce that use a usb C… the charger failed within 8 months…

When my phone, computer, webcam, mouse, etc all use USB C there is 0 reason to have to keep around a legacy USB cable/charger just for a flashlight which isn’t with the times.

If you get in a car accident you have bigger problems than a broken port on a flashlight.
Also, a more robust connector (for example USB A as you suggested) would not help at all in that situation, unless you want a port the size of a neutrik NAC3FC-HC on your stupidly large device, any connector would break.

USB C connectors do not break when putting it in your pocket with stress on the connector, now you’re just making up BS.
Obviously people have the charging port on their phones break if they are abused, that happenes with USB C, micro USB, lighting, and literally everything else because people don’t know how to take care of their stuff.

Insertion is one of the main ways that a connector’s robustness is defined by. Maybe you should google it?
https://www.arrow.com/en/research-and-events/articles/usb-type-c-living-up-to-the-hype

It’s only been within the past decade that built in charging has become common to find on flashlights.
Also, in case you haven’t noticed, new flashlgihts are being designed and released every few months, so yes if I’m buying a newly released flashlight it is modern, it is not some 100 year old potato.

USB C is new that’s why it’s not on many things yet.
It’s replacing type A, as well as micro USB, mini USB, USB B, USB 3B, etc etc etc.
Obviously more things have the old ports but in the near future I don’t want to carry around an extra cable and charger for an outdated flashlight when all my other devices use type C.
The point is that if you want to adapt to the future you can’t stick to old technology and refuse to evolve (although many old people do this because they’re afraid of change)

Still, for some reason you choose to deceive yourself into believing it is weaker because it is smaller.
Maybe you drive a big truck too because of course bigger is always better! :person_facepalming:

I really don’t want any of the above mentioned. I just like to charge my cells with a charger not built into a flashlight. Don’t know why, there is probably no good reason I should prefer that method but it just works for me. If for some reason, and it’s a very small chance that something would happen with my battery I don’t want it taking out my light in the process. Single cell chargers are a dime a dozen most of the time. I always have a spare cell on me, I always have a charger within easy getting to distance. I guess the way I look at it is if you have room for the proper cable for whatever your flashlight takes to charge the battery inside, why not have a charger on hand that can charge any number of different cells. Maybe I am just talking out of my butt or something. I just really don’t take into consideration on board charging when I buy a light. Have never used that feature and don’t see why I would.

I voted for micro USB because it’s still the most common connector, and very few flashlights need more than 5V 2.4A for charging. Nothing I own uses USB-C.

Another point is that USB-C equipped desk chargers often have one or two USB-C outputs, along with three or four old-style USB outputs. In that case, I want to keep the USB-C port free for something like a tablet or small laptop, so I’d rather plug the flashlight into an ordinary USB port.

Give it two or three years. As USB-C adoption rises and I upgrade my devices, I’ll probably be voting for USB-C.

I have no interest in proprietary connectors of any kind, whether mechanical or magnetic. Lose the cable, lose the charging capability. I want something that’s both standard and commonly used enough that I’ll have an identical cable for another device already. Even if you lose all your cables on a trip, you can still nip into a supermarket and buy a USB cable.

Some people have mentioned 5.5mm barrel connectors, and I see where they’re coming from, but I wouldn’t want them. Consumer consensus has already gone for USB-based options; most people already have lots of USB chargers and cables to use, so it makes sense to me to join the herd.

+1

No option for “Prefer NO USB port/internal charging”? That’s my vote.

There’s no way I’m trusting charging Li-ion cells as an afterthought with the quality deficiencies rampant in the marketplace and the consequences of improper charging/treatment of Li-ion cells. I’ll continue charging my cells externally where I can keep an eye on them.
Maybe some manufacturer with a proven trustworthy and strict quality control track record might get my green light for internal charging some day, but for now, the only instance I can think of that it might be a good idea is for solar charging DBSAR’s BLF Ultimate Lantern while in the field as being worth the risk.

Hmm, that would be pretty handy though.

Good points, Phlogiston. +1

Who knows if in a year or two USB-C falls short and a version superior to USB-C is adopted. That may make it not easy to find USB-C cables. My personal preference on USB-C is that I will wait and see how it does once it has been widely implemented and used for long enough for real world durability to be accepted. Maybe it will live up to the expectations and be universally adopted or maybe it will be quickly passed over for the next bigger innovation. Hopefully it does live up to expectations and increases the universality and durability of charging, but I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t.

I’m still sticking with my external charger.

Carrying around a cable is far lighter, smaller, and more convenient than carrying around a whole charger.
Especially if your phone already uses that same type of cable and then you don’t need to carry around any additional stuff.
Great for when you need to charge the flashlight outside of home, like at work or when travelling.

Instead of 1) unscrewing flashlight 2) removing battery 3) placing battery in charger 4) screwing flashlight together to avoid misplacing a part 5) waiting for the battery to charge 6) unscrewing the flashlight again 7) placing the battery back into the flashlight 8) screwing the flashlight together again
You can simply plug in a cable, wait for it to charge, and unplug the cable.
Just like a phone.
You can charge it from a laptop or phone charger without needing a bulky li-ion charger.

no charging port at all

I completely understand. I am just not very trusting of charging cells inside the light I may be depending on. If I know I will be gone for most of the day I will throw a few extra cells in my pocket and not even take a charger with me. When travelling I take a charger. My work doesn’t require the use of a flashlight for any kind of extended duration’s so that really never comes up. I am kinda anal bout lights. I usually have at least two on me and if I know I will be gone for the entire day I usually have a few more in my “zombie bag” that goes everywhere with me. That’s what the wife calls my bag I carry with all the things a man thinks he needs to go grocery shopping. You know, knives, guns, flashlights, fire starters, first aid kit, multi tool, para cord, etc. LOL

I don’t know, I just don’t trust onboard charging. I don’t want a 4 dollar battery destroying a 50 dollar light. Will it happen? Most likely not. I just don’t want to take the chance. I do like a lot of the options that USB C can bring into the flashlight industry though.

Obviously both the battery you use and the charging circuitry in the light should be high quality for safe use.
This is no different or any less safe than having a high quality li-ion charger.

Built in charging does not require a special battery, it could be any battery you currently use.

Yes, I understand that I don’t need a special battery and we would all like to think that what we are buying and using are high quality and will work perfect without anything happening to them. Just me personally if, and it’s a big if, something does happen to a cell I would prefer it to destroy itself and not take my light out with it. That’s it. If the battery takes out a charger with it that is fine with me but I would prefer to still have my light intact and working for the back up cells I have in my pocket. Some folks spend lots of money to mod and fine tune their lights and make them truly unique. I am sure they wouldn’t want a cell, cheap junk or good quality, even quality stuff fails occasionally, destroying their light.

I do have a few of those cells with the charging circuit built on top of the cell itself so I can remove the cell and plug the micro usb cable into it. They are pretty cool and work fairly well but they do make the cell not fit in some picky lights. I guess if I had to choose I would take that over any light with on board charging.

Seems like people severely overestimate how often a cell “goes bad”.
Even if a cell does go bad there is pretty much no chance of it destroying a light.
Go look at some video of people shorting the cells, the worst that happens is they get hot and stop working.

Having the charging built into the cell just makes it a smaller and lower quality charging circuit, and limits the cells available unless you want to mod a high quality cell like a 35E to have that circuit.
Having it built in to the flashlight is basically the same thing as having it built into the cell, but you have the option of using any standard cell.

I voted Micro B because they’re currently super common, most all my other camping gear charge from them, so it means less cables to carry.

Honestly, if it had been an option I’d have voted lightning cable as I prefer the lightning cable to even USB C - it has the benefits of USB C and is currently more common.

I own nothing with USB C yet so don’t want to have to take yet another “universal standard” cable with me :slight_smile:

what exactly are you calling magnetic?

I know where you’re coming from there, waxing twilight.

I’m very picky about what lights I might buy with internal charging. At the moment, the only model I have like that is the Fenix UC35. Reputable brand, good reviews, tested to make sure my unit is behaving itself.

I don’t actually use the UC35, but I carry it as my backup 18650 light in backpack EDC. I don’t like the cold white LED, but it’s fully IPX8 waterproof, even if the USB port is uncovered, so it serves as a waterproof spare cell carrier and USB charger. I can even use it as a light if I’m really stuck :slight_smile:

Normally, I prefer to swap cells and take the depleted ones home for charging in a dedicated charger. The UC35 only comes into play when I’m travelling or I expect to go through several cells that day.

Here’s an interesting post from angerdan on DBSAR’s BLF Lantern thread:

The link that caught my eye was:

http://www.digitaleurope.org/DesktopModules/Bring2mind/DMX/Download.aspx?Command=Core_Download&EntryId=2630&language=en-US&PortalId=0&TabId=353

As of 20th March 2018, the major smartphone manufacturers have agreed with the EU to support USB-C in all new smartphone models within 3 years. That can mean direct USB-C support, or the provision of a cable allowing the phone to interoperate USB-C with some other connector.

Thanks for the hint to the poll :wink:

I voted for USB-C because (flash)lights with this newer standard will be still usable with the cables current in 5 years.
And i like the dual insertable socket/plug.

Here are some german language news articles, from which i’d found the english links i’d post at BLF:

Cool. I found the last couple of paragraphs in this one interesting:

I agree with the EU that devices should not come with a USB charger in the box, both to avoid electronic waste and because I prefer to pick a nice, universal multi-port charger for myself anyway.

Among other things, there will be a transitional period sooner or later where I have a mixture of old devices using micro USB and new devices using USB-C. Manufacturer-supplied chargers tend to be basic, single port units, so they only support one connector type. I’d far rather buy a universal charger with both connector types from Anker and just have one charger to carry.

i also agree that the charger shouldn’t be supplied now, i have several charger that i forgot completely about them
my charger has 5+1 Quick charge port+1 Type C port and it is enough for a geek like me

I remember the time around 2007, when miniUSB was the most common plug. Even when microUSB was released, i had a lot devices with miniUSB, which has been more sturdily in my opinion.
I hope USB-C will be as good as miniUSB.

HKJ did review the Xiaomi CDQ06ZM 60W Fast+QC+PD USB charger, which can replace my old Ravpower RP-UC07.
https://lygte-info.dk/review/USBpower%20Xiaomi%20Mi%2060W%20Fast%2BQC%2BPD%20usb%20charger%20CDQ06ZM%20UK.html
https://lygte-info.dk/review/USBpower%20RAVpower%20Bolt%204%20port%20desktop%20RP-UC07%20UK.html

To bad the Pirl Charger don’t support QC.
https://lygte-info.dk/review/USBpower%20Pirl%20Charger%204x2.7A%20usb.html