Stanley Fatmax Flashlight: Definitive Review (2023)
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Welcome to our Ultimate Review of the Stanley Fatmax Flashlight 2023.
This is our new favorite flashlight for car camping, late-night dog walks, star-gazing trips, and much, much more…
It’s one of the most awesome flashlights out there.
We compared the Fatmax to some of the top-rated rechargeable flashlights.
Keep reading to find out how it compared in our side-by-side tests.
In this comprehensive review we’ll cover:
- How long you can expect this flashlight’s battery to last and the different settings
- Why it’s completely different to many other rechargeable flashlights
- Our favorite things about the Fatmax Flashlight
- Plus lots, lots more
We’re also going to spill the beans on why we awarded this Stanley hand-held spotlight our coveted TopNotch Top Pick award.
So if you want to find out all the nitty-gritty details about it, you need this review in your life today.
Ready?
Let’s shine some light on the situation…
- Battery Life: 7 hours on low
- Light Output: 2200 lumens
- Construction Material: Aluminum, rubber, and plastic
- Weight: 862g
- Manufacturer: Stanley
Bottom Line : An extremely bright waterproof flashlight
Pros
- Delivers up to 2,200 lumens
- Runtime of 7 hours
- USB power charger
Cons
- Chunky
Our Verdict: Stanley Fatmax Flashlight
The Stanley Fatmax Spotlight ticks every box when it comes to what we look for in a chunky ole’ flashlight.
And that’s an impressive feat.
After all, we’re lucky enough to be able to get our hands on some seriously great flashlights.
So we can be a bit fussy…
Let me tell you why we love this flashlight so much.
The rugged and chunky design means it’s tough and built to last.
If you accidentally leave this flashlight on the roof of your SUV and drive off… it’ll still work just fine (and yes we tried and tested this accidentally!).
While the pivoting stand makes for hassle-free, no hands use.
PLUS… the huge 2,200 lumens of brightness means you’ll never be found scrambling around a dark camping ground again.
While all those features combine to make the Stanley handheld spotlight a beast of a flashlight, it does have a few small downsides…
Its larger-than-average size does mean it takes up quite a bit more room than your average rechargeable flashlight.
So we wouldn’t recommend it for an ultralight backpacking trip, for example.
It’s also not waterproof, so if you leave this outside your tent and there’s an unexpected downpour, you’re going to be disappointed when you return to it.
But even with all that said…
If you’re looking for a multi-purpose, user-friendly flashlight for longer camping trips, RV vacays, and around the home, then the Stanley Fatmax Light is definitely at the very top of our recommendation list.
Many RV owners know how important it is to keep a reliable flashlight when traveling, and it’s certainly one of our first items when packing.
Related: 10 Best Rechargeable Flashlights
Analysis Comparisons and Test Results
When reviewing the best rechargeable flashlights we took our selection of 47 best-performing models on a wide range of camping trips in many different environments.
From fishing trips to the lake, and RV trips to National Parks, (and of course we used them for late-night dog walks at home) we put them all through their paces.
And the Stanley Fatmax light emerged a very firm favorite.
When judging each flashlight, we used a range of tried-and-tested metrics to compare them to each other.
That way, we keep our testing as fair and unbiased as possible.
We look at features including battery life, brightness, and ease of use, to name just a few.
During our testing, we found the Stanley Fatmax rechargeable spotlight to be an excellent choice if you’re looking for a versatile and easy to use flashlight that also offers truly impressive levels of brightness.
With that being said…
If you’re looking for a compact and lightweight flashlight which is better suited to backpacking trips or as an emergency flashlight, then the Fatmax 2200 lumen rechargeable spotlight is going to be way too big and heavy.
Instead, we recommend our Editor’s Choice, the Streamlight Professional Flashlight, as an excellent alternative for that scenario.
Next up, let’s take a look at just what makes this Stanley Fatmax LED spotlight our TopNotch Top Pick in the rechargeable flashlight category.
Battery Life
You can have the brightest flashlight going, but if its battery only lasts half an hour you’re going to be pretty disappointed.
In fact…
We consider battery life to be one of the most important features of any rechargeable flashlight.
We’re happy to tell you…
… that our Stanley Fatmax spotlight performed impressively well in this category.
Battery Life Rating
In fact, it was just ONE MARK away from scoring top position.
It has a range of brightness settings – meaning the battery life can be for up to as much as 7 hours on the low setting.
After reviewing plenty of flashlights, we can confirm that’s super impressive.
Choose the high setting, and you’ll find a reduced runtime of just 1 hour.
BUT it’s important to note…
This flashlight offers such a high level of brightness, you won’t often need to use the high setting under normal circumstances.
Even better eh?…
Once charged, it’s battery holds a charge for an incredible 12 months!
So if you leave this flashlight in the trunk of your car and need it for an emergency months later… you can still rely on it to light up easily.
Brightness
While the battery life is the most important consideration when selecting a new rechargeable flashlight, brightness comes a close second.
Let me tell you why…
Finding your flashlight emits a sad glow instead of brightly illuminating your surroundings is a disappointing experience.
As well as being a safety concern.
Brightness Rating
If you need your flashlight in an emergency, for example, to send a distress signal, the brightness it emits is going to be incredibly important.
Luckily…
The Stanley Fatmax rechargeable spotlight outperforms every single one of its competitors, and then some.
Offering a HUGE 2,200 LUMENS of brightness, you can rely on this flashlight to perform outstandingly.
The design of the LED cluster means the beam of this flashlight is pretty concentrated. While the manufacturers, Stanley Fatmax, don’t provide a specific beam distance, we can confirm the Fatmax LED spotlight can illuminate pretty much as far as the eye can see.
Also interesting to note…
… is this flashlight comes with a red lens that can be used in case of emergencies to signal for help.
This is just one of the many features that made it easy to choose this flashlight as our TopNotch Top Pick.
Beam Quality
Hold on… how is beam quality different from brightness?
Read on to find out more.
A flashlight can offer an impressive level of brightness in terms of lumens, but if the LED cluster is poorly arranged, or the angle of the reflector is wrong, you’ll end up with a diffuse beam pattern which doesn’t actually shine a light on anything much.
Beam Quality Rating
And when you’re trying to hammer in a tent peg or open a particularly difficult zip on your tent, that can be pretty frustrating, to say the least.
Luckily the Stanley Fatmax spotlight doesn’t fall into that category.
The high powered 10 watts LED offers a focused beam, with the brightest point being in the center. This is great for a wide range of activities.
What’s more…
The beam quality is just as good (albeit less bright of course) on the low setting.
Thanks to the constant light output, the beam quality won’t vary as the battery level goes down.
So no dimming and flickering here.
We’ve used it for a range of night-time activities.
From a midnight round-up of escaped horses to early-morning campsite departures – this beam won’t let you down.
Ease Of Use
Even the brightest flashlight needs to be easy and intuitive to use.
Otherwise, there’s just no point.
When considering ease of use, we look at factors including power button location, hands-free use, and any extra features designed to make your life easier.
Let’s find out more…
While the Fatmax didn’t score top marks here, it’s still very easy to use.
Ease of Use Rating
Let’s look at what we loved first.
The pivot stand means it’s super easy to use hands-free. This is great when setting up at your camping ground, or even eating a late dinner.
The trigger operated power button is sensibly located on the handle, which we like.
Now for the not-so-good news…
We wish it had a medium setting, which would make it much better suited to situations where you’re looking for some diffused light, such as reading or cooking.
For hand-held use, it can start to feel pretty heavy after a while, too.
Durability
When it comes to durability, you want to know you’re buying a new flashlight that’s going to stand the test of time.
While the Stanley Fatmax LED is pretty durable overall, it does have one issue which means it’s ratings dropped down to the middle of the table…
Want to know what?
It’s not waterproof.
Durability Rating
We’re surely not the only family who’s accidentally left kit out at night – only to wake up listening to the rain in a panic – or at least we hope it’s not just us!
While it IS rugged and chunky, we feel the lack of waterproof protection does let it down.
Many of the other flashlights we reviewed offered IP ratings to show their resistance to both dust and water.
While the Fatmax doesn’t have such a rating, don’t let that put you off completely.
Just remember to treat it with a little more care during the rainy season!
Features
While not overflowing with features, our Stanley Fatmax flashlight doesn’t score too badly here.
Here’s why…
The easy USB charging method makes it a breeze to get recharged.
Pop it in the car, in your kitchen, or plug it into a power pack and you’re good to go.
The trigger style power switch is easy to use, even for kids.
Features Rating
Something else we love…
You can plug your electronic devices into it to give them a quick recharge. That’s such a great feature!
But…
We’d love to see a medium brightness mode, as well as an SOS distress signal.
Our Final Verdict: Stanley Fatmax Flashlight
We made it.
Hopefully, now you understand all the reasons why the Stanley Fatmax did so well when we added up the final scores.
We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it as our TopNotch Top Pick.
It’s winning combination of rugged good looks, chunky handle and super bright light helped to set it apart from all the other rechargeable flashlights out there.
Our Final Verdict Rating
Conclusion: Stanley Fatmax Flashlight
Now let’s tie things up.
By this point…
… you should know exactly what we loved so much about our Stanley Fatmax spotlight.
The chunky, comfortable design makes it a pleasure to use.
It’s now a firm favorite amongst the TopNotch team.
It combines great value for money with unbeatable brightness and battery life.
Using it on the hands-free pivot stand means it’s easy to illuminate your whole campsite.
When comparing the Fatmax to all the other flashlights we reviewed, it was easy to choose this as our TopNotch Top Pick.
From RV trips to weekend camping, and even emergency power outages at home – this is a great choice.
