Last week I was in Tennessee. I didn’t have a car and the only restaurant close to me was McDonald’s. At night, I kept telling myself I was going to call a cab, but let’s just say I ate a lot of McDonald’s and never want to go there again.
While I was walking to McDonald’s at night I was of course carrying (my Glock 19) and since it was dark I also had a flashlight with me. I admit that I don’t always carry a flashlight in my pocket during the day (it’s in my laptop bag) but when I go out at night I always have one in my pocket.
The flashlight that I carry these days is the Olight T-10.
It’s one of the smallest lights on the market and has 3 different settings so you can choose the brightness. The brightest setting produces 230 lumens. But what I really like about the light is how it easily fits in my pocket and doesn’t weigh much either.
The second light that I use is the SureFire G2X Tactical. This light sits right next to my gun safe in my bedroom. It’s not as small as the Olight, but I don’t carry it in my pocket so I don’t care. This light produces slightly less lumens than the Olight, at 200. However, if you’ve ever shined one of these lights in your eyes then you know it’s more than blinding.
The third flashlight I have is the NexTorch TA1.
This is a relatively new flashlight but it appears solidly built and I haven’t had any problems with it. This flashlight “only” has 60 lumens, but gives plenty of light, which is why I have no problem keeping it as a backup in my bedroom.
As far as prices go, the price for the Olight is $34, the SureFire is $73, and the NexTorch is $36. If I could have only one light, it would definitely be the Olight since it can do double duty as a pocket light and a light I can keep next to my safe at night. Plus, it isn’t expensive at all at just over $30, which means if you like to have plenty of lights around the house like I do, you can afford more than one of these.
In other words, if on the off chance you don’t have a flashlight to carry in your backpack or laptop bag… or one in your bedroom at night… you may want to check out the Olight, and from now on make sure you have a flashlight in your bedroom at night and one in your daily carry bag.
