10 Best Rechargeable Flashlights
Definitive Review (Buyer’s Guide) 2024

Buyer’s Guide:
How to Buy A Rechargeable Flashlight

The TopNotch Outdoor Rechargeable Flashlight Buyer’s Guide is designed to help you work out which rechargeable flashlight is most perfect for you.

Whether you need a flashlight with a super long run-time or a water-resistant flashlight with high light output, we’re going to provide all the information you need to help make your choice.

The experts agree that taking a flashlight on any kind of outdoor trip is a must, with The American Hiking Society including them on their list of 10 essentials.

Types Of Rechargeable Flashlight

Rechargeable flashlights can be broken down into two main categories:

• Everyday
• Tactical

Everyday flashlights do pretty much what the name suggests. They’re designed for daily use, with a range of features designed to suit your needs and budget. If you’re looking to buy your first rechargeable flashlight, this is a great place to start.

Everyday flashlights also come in a wide variety of different sizes – from tiny flashlights which will fit comfortably around your neck on a lanyard, to larger versions, with built-in chunky handles.

But what does tactical mean?

Now we get to the slightly more technical flashlights. Tactical rechargeable flashlights have been designed for use by professionals such as the police, and the military.

They use the highest quality materials such as anodized aluminum or alloy, as well as offering powerful light outputs.

They’ll often be waterproof and shockproof as well.

Tactical flashlights will usually be of medium size, so you can easily place them in a pocket or belt holster for quick access.

Basically, tactical flashlights are designed to take everything you throw at them and still come out the other side shining brightly.

Light Output

Flashlight manufacturers measure the light output of each flashlight in lumens. While you might see other terms such as ‘candela’, lumens is a pretty universal measurement so we’ll stick with that.

These days, the majority use LEDs as their light source rather than incandescent bulbs.

As if that’s not enough…

The rechargeable LED flashlights we reviewed offer around 600 – 1,000 lumens of brightness.

Many flashlights have adjustable levels so you can toggle between different brightnesses.

If you’re after a high lumen rechargeable flashlight, the last one in our review offers up to a huge 3,500 lumens of brightness.

That’s a lot.

Run Time

The run time of any flashlight will depend on the light output you choose to use.

Your run time will be lower when you’re using the brightest light output.

If you’re planning on taking longer trips and want to maximize your run time, select a flashlight with multiple brightness settings. Make sure you keep your flashlight on the lowest setting you’re comfortable with.

Beam Quality

The quality of your flashlight’s beam will depend on a few factors including the type and quality of LED and lens used by the manufacturer. This will affect the beam distance and beam flood.

But wait, what are those?

Beam distance is how far the beam of light reaches, and beam flood is the width that the light covers.

Let me tell you more good news…

Many of the flashlights we reviewed give the option to adjust the focus.

Also – usually, increasing the beam distance will decrease the beam flood and vice versa.

Water Resistance

This can be a useful feature for some users, although it’s often not vital. If you take your flashlight on camping trips in rainy conditions, or on fishing trips… or anywhere around water, then selecting a flashlight with at least some level of water resistance is sensible.

Water-resistance is usually measured on the IP rating scale. Higher numbers indicate a better degree of water resistance.

Want to know the best part?

If this is an important feature for you, then select the best rechargeable flashlight your budget can afford and you should find it will have a high IP rating too. There is often a strong correlation. You can read more about the IP rating in our Features section further down.

Ease Of Use

When you’re trying to turn your flashlight on in the dark, ease of use becomes pretty important.

Luckily, most rechargeable flashlights are super simple to operate.

Most flashlights feature an on/ off touch button on the trunk or tail of the flashlight, which can be operated with your thumb or finger.

Often, a USB rechargeable tactical flashlight will have a programmable power button that allows you to select which mode you want the flashlight to turn on with, and you can cycle through the different modes easily.

Size

This is an obvious but important consideration.

Let me tell you more…

If you’re going ultralight backpacking, then small rechargeable flashlights will be your best bet. Having a lightweight flashlight that fits in your pocket or backpack will help shave ounces off your pack weight.

On the other hand, if you need a car rechargeable flashlight, then selecting something heavier and chunkier will likely suit you better.

Of course, the best-case scenario is to have a few of the best rechargeable flashlights in different sizes to choose from. This way, you can match the size of the flashlight to the type of application in any given scenario.

Design

While most flashlights look pretty similar at first glance, there are a few design differences to bear in mind.

Some flashlights offer a non-slip, rubberized coating on the trunk. As well as offering excellent grip in all conditions, this can also help reduce some of the heat generated when you’re using your flashlight for extended periods on a high setting.

All but one of the flashlights we reviewed is based around a classic flashlight shape.

But why exactly is that?

This is a compact and easy-to-hold design which is why it’s stood the test of time so well.

Features

Let’s take a look at some of the different features you can expect to see while selecting the best rechargeable LED flashlight for your needs:

• Charging Method
• Magnetic Base
• Dual Power
• Variable Light Settings
• IP Rating

Now let’s take a look at each of those in a little more detail.

Charging Method

Rechargeable flashlights can usually be charged in a few different ways. Some require that you remove the batteries from the torch, and plug each battery into a micro USB charger.

Unless you have multiple chargers, you’ll need to charge each battery separately, and this can increase the time needed.

On the other hand…

Some flashlights can be plugged directly into a USB charger.

So you don’t need to remove the batteries or charge them up separately.

Lastly, you could choose a rechargeable flashlight with a docking station.

No faffing with cables, simply place the base of the flashlight in the dock and it’ll start charging immediately.

Magnetic Base

Only one of the rechargeable flashlights in our review has a magnetic base, but it’s an interesting and useful feature for some users. It allows you to attach the flashlight to any metal surface, and it’ll stick.

Let me tell you why that’s useful.

If you’re setting up camp in the dark, simply stick the base of your flashlight to your car – and you have instant illumination.

Dual Power

This simply means that you can choose to power your flashlight with regular batteries, as well as using the rechargeable batteries supplied.

Why is this a good idea?

While having a rechargeable flashlight is a great idea, what exactly do you do if you run out of power away from home?

On a longer thru-hiking trip, for example, you might go for a few days before you get to an overnight stop with power – and the chance to recharge your flashlight.

If you have a dual power flashlight, it’s easy to switch to standard batteries for a day or so, then recharge when you get the chance.

Variable Light Settings

If a flashlight offers this feature, it means you can adjust the brightness level, usually selecting from low, medium, and high. The lumen output for each of these settings will depend on the manufacturer.

But wait… what’s the benefit of that?

It means you can use a lower light setting in enclosed areas, like your tent. The brightest setting here will likely be too bright.

Using a lower light setting will also prolong your battery life.

The brightest settings are useful if you need to illuminate a large outdoor area, or are trying to locate something in the distance.

IP Rating

As we mentioned briefly when discussing water resistance, many rechargeable flashlight manufacturers now state the IP rating for each product. IP stands for Ingress Protection.

An IP rating scores how well a flashlight repels dust, and water.

The ratings for dust protection range from 0-6, and for water resistance from 0-8.

As an example, one of the flashlights we reviewed has a rating of IP65. You might see a rating of IPX7. Here, the flashlight doesn’t have a rating for dust protection, but it rated 7 for water resistance.

Why is that important?

If you know your flashlight will be subjected to both dusty and wet conditions (possibly on separate trips), then it’s important to select a flashlight with the highest IP rating (for both categories) your budget can afford.