About flashlight performance measurement

You may have heard the term ANSI FL1, which are the standards for flashlights, ensuring that models are tested and rated in the same way. Most manufacturers follow the ANSI FL1 standards describing their flashlights. Based on those info below, you can compare different flashlights, determine the quality, and choose a suitable one.

*Light Output: Measured in lumens. This is a measure of the intensity of the light coming out of the flashlight, on the highest brightness setting powered by new batteries. It may also be shown for multiple light settings.

*Beam Distance: Measured in meters. This is how far the light will shine before the brightness diminishes to the equivalent of the light from a full moon.

*Run Time: Measured in hours. How long does it take the light output to drop to 10% of the rated output on new batteries. Light output may gradually decrease over time, or remain largely constant and then suddenly decrease.

*Max Intensity: It’s the brightest point of the flashlight’s beam. And it’s measured in candela.

*Impact Resistance: It’s how far the light can be dropped onto concrete and still work properly. This test is primarily to ensure the light remains functional after occasional accidental drops.

*Waterproof: Rated using the IPX system. Water resistance is important if using your light in the rain or around bodies of water.

Besides, there are also some other non-ANSI-rated attributes will also influence the flashlights’ performance and your selection, such as, beam type (flood or spot), battery type, lighting modes, UI controls, size and weight, shape and materials, carrying options, accessories…

And what are your thoughts about this?

Well, the real question is how many flashlight manufacturers actually evaluate the performamce of their lights against the ansi srandards? How many run them through the IP certification test? How many test them for impact resistance? There are so many variables to consider with those, and testing is expensive, so I deduce that some cheaper brands just test a couple sample lights with somewhat-scientific methods (“hey, drop it on the ground a few times” or “crap! I dropped it in the toilet, but it still works. Yep, IP68.”). If they want to do it right, you send 5 samples to an independent testing conpany who tests them to the exact ansi protocol in the lab. Fenix, Acebeam, Olight, Skilhunt, Zebralight, and Thrunite have very trustworthy performance figures from the factory.

The problem with ANSI tests is that it measures output at 30 seconds and until the light gets to 10% output.
A shady company can maintain full lumens for 31 seconds, drop it to 11% and get huge runtime numbers.

This is uncommon but lumen maintenance until the battery is empty is rare.

What i like to see is the brightness vs runtime graph. And a great light is one where once the light settles to steady state (temperature regulation may prevent full lumens for long) it stays consistent brightness until the low voltage warning.

And ideally the light tells you when the battery is below 30% so you can decide to use a lower mode if you are far from home or don’t have a spare battery on you. And even better one that also tells you when the battery is above 80%.

Acebeam, Fenix, Thrunite, Olight, Cyansky all use constant current drivers in most of their lights. They give consistent (fully regulated) output throughout the runtime and have great thermal control. It is easier to get consistent output with those drivers, and they usually test the lights with their own batteries for even more consistency.

^ This!

A much smaller pet peeve for me is ANSI Beam Distance measurement. The good news is we have a consistent standard, so it is easy to compare different lights from varied manufacturers. My small complaint is that the distances computed are way too generous. I generally divide ANSI ratings by 4 to get a realistic range for my tired eyes!