Thread: Flashlight brightness technology

I looked up my $25 12,000 MCD flashlight (A Nebo) on the internet. Oddly the first thing I found was a smaller, cheaper one (still Nebo), a $16 96,000 MCD flashlight, according to the description. HUH?! I'm even more convinced that the makers don't know what they are talking about.

JimL, I think $25 range will get you a decent LED flashlight, but I think if you stick with buying at Target, Sears, Wal-Mart, etc you will find their lights are listed in lumens and are usually accurate about brightness.

Quote: Candlepower is the measurement of how bright it is at one spot (think spotlight or laser pointer). Lumens is total light output. I like to use the "hose" analogy. A hose emits water, a flashlight emits photons. If you have a hose it has a maximum capacity of water (Gallons per minute) that it can emit. HOW it emits that water is greatly dependent on the shape and size of the nozzle. A very large nozzle with a lot of...

Candlepower is the measurement of how bright it is at one spot (think spotlight or laser pointer). Lumens is total light output. If you've ever used SureFire or any lights like that, a 60 lumen two cell vs a 500 lumen 6 cell (SureFire M6 for example) both have the same brightness but the M6 puts out much more light. There's really no way to compare CP to Lumens. And even then, different companies use different ways of measuring their...

I agree that the new LEDs have come a long way in terms of output, throw and battery life. I went from a Surefire 6P to a cheapy NOMA 140 lumen light that runs on 3 AAAs. TBS the flashlight under the seat of each of my trucks is an old school 3 D cell Maglight. It's hard to change a BGs attitude with a small, plastic tactical light