Of the 20 lights I own that have usb charging I only plug in one or two of them using the USB port.
One I plug in is because the usb port is on top and easily accessed …plus … the light is Paracord wrapped and unscrewing the tail cap has a tendency to mess up the wrap.
The other might be a 21700 that usb charging on the cell itself . The extra length makes it not chargeable in my most commonly used charger (Zanflare C4) … (I do have a charger that will charge it )…but it’s just easier to plug in the cell .
I see USB charging in a light as potentially a useful feature and an attractive sales point to some … but I rarely use them since I keep lots of batteries charged up and can swap to a fresh cell in a matter of seconds and be done with it.
How often do you use USB port charging?
Never use USB charging. IMHO the implementation on lights is poor at best.
Cant use the light while charging.
Charging system rarely work as it should ans in some cases is dangerous as batteries get over chargeed.
USB port is entry point for water.
USB port cover feels like a power button in the dark.
Relatively rarely. Have a few times on my nov-mu v2 as I’m planning on ongoingly using that one as a photo and ambient light and I have a battery that’s dedicated to each of my highest use light so I don’t spread its cycles across all my batteries, since it gets cycled more often than most, so I’ve USB charged that (and did with the nov-mu v1 I was using before I got the v2), but in general if I do USB charge a light it’s because taking the battery out would be inconvenient (or I’m on the go and didn’t bring or don’t feel like digging out a travel charger) for whatever reason, but will generally still use a dedicated charger when at home. Neither of my main EDC lights have USB charging, although I do keep a USB-powered travel charger in my car and backpack. Other than that, if I’m reviewing a light I’ll USB charge it a few times as part of testing.
(Excluding lights that only USB charge like my X2, SR32, or X75)
Frequently. I think the concerns regarding water ingress and durability are largely overblown - based on my own personal real life experience of living in a wet, humid, tropical country - and staying on a property with numerous waterways and ponds (and subsequently having dropped many a flashlight or two into aforementioned waterways and ponds).
The convenience of USB charging far outstrips any concern I may have regarding the waterproofing.
I forgot about keychain lights like Rovvyvon V7 ,Tube or the MiniX . They offer no other option but to charge via usb .
So I suppose my question is really about lights you could charge either way . Not lights that offer you no choice .
Charge the cell. When it goes from red to green or otherwise lets you know it finished charging, immediately pop the cell and measure the voltage. If 4.20V or less, it’s good.
And I’ll pretty much always use built-in vs going through the tedium of pulling out my Ope, plugging it in, then waiting for it to charge hoping no feline ankylosaurus bashes the charger to loosen the cell and make it start all over.
Plus, I’d rather wear out the charging contacts over a billion cycles, vs wearing down the threads and O-ring(s) with constant screwing/unscrewing.
I rarely use USB charging, I’ll generally swap out the battery for a charged one so that the light’s good to go and slap the other into a bay charger. Plus I like that with the bay charger I can see the charge status so I know how far along it is.
USB charging is nice to have as an option, but I am increasingly leaning towards just buying a single-bay charger and taking that and a spare battery if I’m away from home.
I almost never use (built in) USB charging on flashlights, only on flashlights that I give away to someone, to check if the termination voltage is correct, preferably slightly below 4.2V, to be on the safe side.
Since (at this moment in time) all my flashlights are single cell, I prefer to charge them in a dedicated charger (most of the time my Opus BT-C3100), so I can keep an eye on them and follow the progress. I also tend to be on the ‘conservative side’ and charge my cells rather at 1A instead of the sometimes 2A some flashlights do. (The (bigger) cells are probably fine with that, but given the fact that I have the time to wait for it to charge, I just go for a slower charge.
I have a Sofirn Q8 Plus coming up, which is my first multi cell flashlight (3x21700) and maybe with that one I MIGHT use the build in charger from time to time, but maybe I will end charging those cells also externally in the end.
EDIT:
I also forgot about this one: I do have a Jetbeam Mini ONE SC on my keychain, that I have to charge via USB(-C) because of the built in battery.
I am very surprised in these answers. A good desktop charger has 100s of features that let you analyze the battery and tell you the condition. The batteries charge better and faster in a bona fide charger.
I am very surprised that the same people who use Andruil, a 100% enthusiast user interface, also use the “dumb” built-in charger and not an enthusiast charger like an Xtar VP4.
As mentioned, nothing wrong with built in charger, I am just surprised how many BLF members did not choose to use an enthusiast charger.
The IF25A that rides my coffee table 24/7 gets USB charged. I run an alternating set of Vapcell G50’s in it, and reliably the OBC terminates at 4.17V. Only have to do it maybe once a month as it’s primarily used as a night lamp in sunset mode or candle mode with 30 minute timer > z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z. I’m usually sitting right next to it whilst charging, so no worries. All my other cells go into the Opus. I’ll sandbag until I get 3 or 4 ready cycle to make it worthwhile to pull it out.
I have Zanflare F1, Wurkkos HD50, Sofirn H25L and Sofirn SP33S and I just try charging function to see stop charging voltage value and it was ok but I never use it.
Now I wait to receive Wurkkos WK03 TLF and I will do the same but I rather like charging batteries in Lii202, Lii500 or Lii 600 chargers.
Flashlights with non removable batteries like Trustfire minix or Nitecore Tiki or some chinese no name with Usb A charging are only ecception for me but I inspect charging current and capacity with Usb multimeter.
I only use usb charging with an inline usb tester connected
Won’t buy a new light without it
Thinking about selling all my none usb lights because I don’t use them.
One exception-my Q8 which I use as a lantern. Have to be very careful of the o-ring when screwing on the head. Too cheap to buy the new version with usb charging. Not crazy about usb charging of a multicell light anyway.
The usb tester tells me all I need to know about the charge current and I always test the cutoff voltage the first time I charge a new light.
Don’t think I have a USB chargeable light that can’t be used while charging. I often put my Anduril lights in sunset mode while they charge at night.
I’ve checked the end voltage on the lights I own and they always stop at or just shy of 4.2V. I also only use 500mA supplies with them, unsure if they can take more tbh but doesn’t really matter to me.
When water is a risk I usually take a non-USB light, but I do often shower with a USB light inside, no failures in any lights yet
Can’t comment on the button thing as that’s seems like a personal taste thing.
Anyways, yeah I don’t see a reason not to use USB if the light has it. Only saves a couple seconds every charge but it’s nice imo, especially on lights with small batteries that need to be charged often.
I have enthusiast charger also - but it’s just a question of convenience sometimes. After a long tiring day/night, sometimes I just can’t be arsed to faff about with the external chargers. Yes, I know it’s not as efficient as using a ‘proper’ charger, and probably in the long run there’s some effect to the overall life of the battery.
But sometimes I just don’t care about all that. I just want to be able to plug the thing in just to top it up. That’s not so unreasonable is it? Of course, I prefer in-built circuit to have real cut-off and real LVP.
I never use built-in USB charging unless it’s the only option. Only way I ever use one is outside. I simply don’t like the idea of sealing a LiIon cell in a relatively robust metal tube and applying charge current through a circuit of unknown design and precision over which I have no control, nor can I monitor the process. Looks too much like a pipe bom*b to me.
