Hey guys,
I’m about to develop a new flashlight and wanted to get some real feedback before moving forward.
For those of you who actually use flashlights on the job (mechanics, security, etc.):
– What do you mainly use them for?
– What features do you actually rely on?
– What’s missing from your current setup?
Any honest input would be really helpful.
Ability to tailstand on a non-ferrous flat, level surface.
A forward -clicky tail switch that offers half-push, momentary-ON before latching. But that precludes a tail magnet, which is also useful. Don’t know how to overcome that. Any such thing as a side clicky?
CRI high enough to render sometimes subtle variations of wiring insulation colors very well.
Onboard charging, provided it terminates correctly, and the waterproofing cover is robust.
I just pick the right tool for the job. If I need a thrower, I’ll grab a thrower. If I need a flooder, I’ll grab a flooder. If I need lots of oomf, I’ll grab a big donk and use that, etc.
Answers depend on what that “new flashlight” is supposed to be. EDC, diving, keychain, “tactical”, etc.
As @slmjim stated, some ability to mount on the operator, PPE, or to other surface that may or may not be magnetic. Hands free can be very important. Also, highly oil resistant texturing, and some level of instrinsic safety might be nice. High CRI with good red values all around would be nice as well. UV as a hidden flip up port would be handy, wouldn’t want to risk reverse sparking phosphors with accidental button presses, but would still allow inspection of UV dyes, leaks, etc.
Also, going to assume that you’re with ultrafire, lol…
It’d be neat if someone would design a flashlight with a user interface that could be customized by the end user through a GUI application. This could happen via a USB connection to a computer with a desktop program or a bluetooth connection to a phone app. The process should not require internet connection though, and there should be a back-up partition so that if the user made a mistake in their visual programming, they can swap over to a default UI until they get home. Ideally, an-out-of-the way or dedicated hidden button would swap you to the backup UI.