Which Flashlight Brand Wins?
We compared 19 flashlight options head to head. Olight came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping olights, stream light, o light torch and olight flashlight land here for the head to head that settles it.
Olight
Price shown in test: $140 (stated as the most expensive of the 19 tested)
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Acebeam Defender P17
Price shown in test: $120
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WindFire
Price shown in test: $33
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Claimed output | Weight | Brightness initial | Brightness at 30 sec | Brightness at 15 min | Temperature after 15 min | Battery capacity tested | Max current/wattage test | Turbo mode (15 sec limit) | Brightest lasting mode, initial | Brightest lasting mode, 30 sec | Brightest lasting mode, 15 min | Light throw (candela, 10 lux assumption) | Current/voltage under load |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Olight$140 (stated as the most expensive of the 19 tested) | 4,600 lm claimed max output, max throw 260 m claimed, IPX8 waterproof claimed, battery rated 5,000 mAh claimed, includes a holster | 207 g | 5,491 lm (beat its rating) | 5,377 lm, finished 1st of all 19 in the 30-second brightness ranking | 1,347 lm, finished 2nd of all 19 in the 15-minute brightness ranking | close to 125 F | 4,820 mAh vs 5,000 mAh rating, finished 3rd in the battery capacity ranking | 42.5 watts, finished 1st of all 19 in this test | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Acebeam Defender P17$120 | 4,900 lm claimed max output, battery 5,100 mAh claimed, max beam distance 445 m claimed | 233 g | 5,119 lm (beat its rating) | just over 5,000 lm, cited as 5,002 lm in the final ranking recap, finished 2nd of all 19 in the 30-second brightness ranking | 1,288 lm, finished 3rd of all 19 in the 15-minute brightness ranking | 134 F | 4,340 mAh vs 5,100 mAh rating (came up short) | one of four flashlights (with Olight, LK360, ADDplus) that produced over 40 watts, exact figure not given | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Fenix$80 | 3,100 lm claimed, broadcasts light 284 yd claimed, battery 5,000 mAh claimed, impact resistant to 1.5 m | 148 g (very light/compact for its output) | 3,510 lm (brighter than advertised) | dropped below its 3,100 lm rating to 2,673 lm | 1,270 lm, the brightest reading up to that point in the countdown of tested units | 160 F, by far the hottest of all 19 flashlights tested | 4,370 mAh vs 5,000 mAh rating (came up short) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 4WindFire$33 | 200,000 high lm claimed (a much lower claim than several similarly priced rivals), projects up to 1,640 ft claimed, side light, 7 modes, IPX5 water resistant, type-C rechargeable, USB output | 296 g | 2,293 lm, by far the brightest at that point in the countdown | about 2,050 lm | 565 lm, the most light at 15 min among products tested up to that point | close to 124 F | 4,640 mAh vs 5,000 mAh rating | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5Streamlight$107 | 2,000 lm claimed, 2.25 hour runtime claimed, battery 4,900 mAh claimed, sliding sleeve protects USB-C port, IP64 dust tight and water resistant | 236 g | 2,579 lm (beat its rating) | 2,570 lm (still better than advertised) | about 1,507 lm, finished 1st of all 19 in the 15-minute brightness ranking | 138 F | 4,480 mAh vs 4,900 mAh rating (came up short) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6Nitecore$110 | 6,500 lm claimed, throws beam 437 yards claimed, fully charges in 1 hr 15 min, 61 hr runtime on slow mode, six brightness levels with digital display | 158 g | not tested | not tested | not tested | 127 F | not tested, excluded due to internal battery design (grouped with Blukar/Nebo/Coast in the narrator's stated battery-test exclusion list, though Blukar's non-battery-tool weight test earlier suggests possible inconsistency; kept as stated) | not tested | 10,921 lm, by far the brightest single reading in the entire video | 1,609 lm | 1,563 lm | 1,070 lm | not tested | not tested |
| 7Nextorch$79 | 3,000 lm claimed, beam distance 260 m claimed, battery rated 4,800 mAh, 10 light modes, 2 m drop proof, IPX7 waterproof | 235 g | 3,650 lm, 2nd brightest starting point among units tested up to that point | 3,612 lm | 741 lm, one of the brightest up to that point | 107 F, one of the coolest yet | 4,580 mAh vs 4,800 mAh rating | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8Skyfire$40 | 10,000 high lm claimed, projects up to 5,000 ft claimed, 5,000 mAh battery claimed, 4 adjustable modes, smart switch, battery level indicator, zoomable lens | 376 g | 744 lm | 708 lm | very close to 400 lm | 139 F | 5,390 mAh vs 5,000 mAh rating, finished 1st of all 19 in the battery capacity ranking | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 108.3 m, finished 1st of all 19 in this test | 1A: 3.71V; 2A: 3.48V; 3A: 3.18V (only 10 W of power); 4A: dropped below 3V and the test was ended |
| 9LK360$40 | 990,000 lm claimed, 15 hour runtime in low mode claimed, five modes (strong/medium/weak/strobe/SOS) | 459 g, by far the heaviest of all 19 tested | 2,573 lm, brightest so far in the countdown at that point | 2,105 lm | 558 lm, about the same as WindFire | 137 F | 5,000 mAh, finished 2nd of all 19 in the battery capacity ranking (no manufacturer rating given; transcript once mislabels this brand 'OK360' in the battery section, resolved as LK360 by context) | one of four flashlights (with Olight, ADDplus, Acebeam) that produced over 40 watts, exact figure not given | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 10Nebo$50 | up to 3,500 lm claimed, 4 light modes, includes a power bank for charging smart devices, battery claimed 20 hr operation and 4,500 mAh (2 hrs on highest setting) | 378 g | 4,399 lm (brighter than advertised) | 4,000 lm (still brighter than advertised), finished 3rd of all 19 in the 30-second brightness ranking | 930 lm, the brightest up to that point in the countdown | 125 F | not tested, excluded due to internal battery design | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 11Coast$55 | 4,500 lm claimed, pure beam focusing optic (shines two beams from one optic), 5 light modes, slide focus | 360 g | just over 1,900 lm | 1,874 lm | 552 lm, better than average | 115 F, cooler than most | not tested, excluded due to internal battery design | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 12Anker$34 | super bright 900 lm claimed (a modest claim versus rivals), projects up to 1,000 ft claimed, up to 6 hrs on medium beam, LEDs rated 50,000 hr lifespan, 3,200 mAh rechargeable battery claimed | 224 g | just under 1,300 lm (beat its modest 900 lm claim) | 1,118 lm | 414 lm, better than average | 126 F, same as Alifa and WindFire | 3,129 mAh vs 3,000 mAh rating (beat rating) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 13Alifa$32 | 980,000 high lumens claimed, kit includes TWO flashlights, battery capacity 10,000 mAh claimed (8 to 20 hrs use), claims 250,000 charge cycles (explicitly not tested) | 246 g | 664 lm | 550 lm | 252 lm | 126 F | no reading given in the transcript; this brand is NOT in the narrator's stated battery-test exclusion list (Blukar/Nebo/Coast/Nitecore), so its battery result appears to be a transcript/caption gap rather than a deliberate skip, flagged rather than assumed | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 14Ikeeruic$28 | 990,000 lm claimed, five-mode LED flashlight, battery capacity 3,000 mAh claimed, project up to 1,500 ft claimed, up to 12 hrs on high | 298 g | close to 1,506 lm, by far the brightest up to that point in the countdown | 1,370 lm | just over 300 lm | very close to 110 F | 3,070 mAh vs 3,000 mAh rating (beat rating) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 15Esgofo$27 | 1 million lm claimed (same outlandish claim as Phixton below), illuminate object up to 3,280 ft claimed | 306 g | 588 lm | around 558 lm | 119 lm | 114 F, cooler than most | 3,730 mAh vs 6,000 mAh rating (came up well short) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 97.5 m, finished 2nd of all 19 in this test | not tested |
| 16Phixton$24 | 1 million high lumens claimed, high beam broadcast 3,280 ft claimed, 6,000 mAh rechargeable battery claimed with battery life indicator | 292 g | 794 lm, well short of its 'million lumen' claim | 696 lm | 201 lm | 120 F | 3,790 mAh vs 6,000 mAh rating (came up well short) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 86.6 m, finished 3rd of all 19 in this test | not tested |
| 17ADDplus$20 | 990,000 lumens claimed, rechargeable LED magnetic flashlight, 9 modes, illuminate up to 1,300 m claimed, high-capacity rechargeable battery claimed up to 12 hrs | 204 g | 901 lm, about 989,000 lm short of its claimed rating | 863 lm | 378 lm | around 139 F | 4,393 mAh vs 4,000 mAh rating (beat rating) | one of four flashlights (with Olight, LK360, Acebeam) that produced over 40 watts, exact figure not given | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 18WorkPro$20 | 1,200 lumens claimed, everyday-carry mini tactical flashlight, comes with both a lithium battery and an alkaline battery option, zoomable adjustable focus | 125 g (light) | 822 lm | 863 lm (actually increased slightly) | 256 lm (dropped off sharply) | 123 F | 1,320 mAh vs 1,200 mAh rating (beat rating) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 19Blukar$10 (stated as the least expensive of the 19 tested) | 2,000 high lumens claimed, zoomable, adjustable brightness, built-in 1,800 mAh battery claimed up to 16 hrs runtime | 94 g | 141 lm | 133 lm | around 100 lm | very close to 107 F | not tested, excluded due to internal battery design | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
How it was tested
- initial brightness (lumens, integrating sphere)
- brightness at 30 seconds
- brightness at 15 minutes
- hot spot / spill / beam pattern quality (focused, medium, broad)
- temperature after 15 minutes
- weight
- illuminating a tree line 75 ft away
- light throw distance via candela measurement (10 lux assumption)
- battery capacity (mAh, drain test)
- max current/wattage output under load
- runtime on highest setting
- 2 meter drop test
“the Olight came out on top with the best average finish of 5.3, but it is very expensive at a price of around $140”
Data notes and caveats
19-brand flashlight showdown (matches the 'takes longer than average' 15-21 product pattern). Overall final ranking (average finish across graded categories, 1st through 19th place) explicitly given for the top 3 finishers: 1st Olight (5.3), 2nd Acebeam Defender P17 (6.5), 3rd TIE between Fenix and WindFire (6.8 each, explicit declared tie, preserved here rather than forced into a single rank). WindFire is not a formally declared 'budget pick' category but the narrator explicitly calls it 'a great value' and says it would be his personal choice at $33 if size isn't a concern, so it is used here as the budgetPick. Two significant brand-mangle resolutions, both cross-checked against chapter titles, the description's Products Tested list, and the later battery-capacity section: (1) a FAMOUS brand name ('Fenix') is used by the transcript for an EARLIER $24 product that chapter/battery-section evidence identifies as Phixton, while the real Fenix is correctly named later at $80; (2) 'Blue Car'/'Blue Coral'/'Blue Collar' all resolve to Blukar, 'Elepha'/'Eleaf' resolves to Alifa, 'Esco Fo'/'Escove' resolves to Esgofo, and 'Ikey Ruik'/'Icuric'/'Icurie' resolves to Ikeeruic, all via the chapter titles and description list. One data gap flagged, not silently filled: Alifa's battery capacity has no reading in the transcript despite not appearing on the narrator's stated battery-test exclusion list (Blukar, Nebo, Coast, Nitecore all explicitly excluded for internal battery design; Alifa is not on that list, so this looks like a caption/transcript gap). The 2-meter drop test noted that two flashlights (unspecified which) powered down on impact but powered back up fine, with no catastrophic damage to any of the 19 units.