Do you have a favorite flashlight? 8 considerations to help you pick the best one for your everyday needs

A flashlight is an essential tool to have in your backpack, suitcase, or purse. You need to make sure that the flashlight that you have is light and easy to carry. Here are eight pointers to remember when buying every day carry flashlights. (h/t to GrayWolfSurvival.com.)

1. Get a flashlight with an end power button instead of a side button. Ideally, your flashlight should be placed in your pocket. However, there might be others things there such as keys or your wallet. When your flashlight is mixed in with other things, and your flashlight has a side on/off button, the tendency is for it to turn on a lot of times. This can cause your flashlight’s battery to drain prematurely.
2. Your flashlight must have a good waterproof rating. Flashlights are rated by the International Protection (IP) marking code to determine how they fare against intrusion (body parts such as hands and fingers), accidental contact, dust, and water by mechanical casings and electrical enclosures. If the flashlight has no rating for a particular standard, the category is left blank or by an X. 
3. It is important that your flashlight uses rechargeable 18650 or AA batteries. Rechargeable batteries have over twice the voltage and more ampere-hours. Your flashlight should also take two CR 123a batteries, but these are not rechargeable. It is also important to use a flashlight that uses batteries that you can easily find anywhere, such as regular AA or AAA alkaline batteries.
4. Acquire a sturdy, reliable flashlight. Browse over Candlepower Forums or The Flashlight Forum to find out more about efficient flashlights on the market. 
5. Get a flashlight with a USB connection on the case for charging.
6. Acquire a flashlight with multiple brightness settings. You need to have at least a dim mode and a bright mode, and preferably, also a middle brightness mode. There will be instances when you need enough light to not be in total darkness, but not so much as to alert a predator of your presence.
7. Your flashlight must have a strong housing. Most flashlights don’t have an IP code for this category. Consider one that has a metal housing.
8. Buying flashlights that use a light-emitting diode (LED) bulb is best. 

For more stories on camping awareness and preparations, visit Preparedness.news.

Sources include:

GrayWolfSurvival.com

Fenix-Store.com