Maglite XL200 LED Flashlight, Black

MagliteLED XL200, The newest, brightest member of the XL series of compact flashlights offers 5 basic, easy-to-use functions plus advanced features and the stunning brightness of a next-generation LED.

Maglite XL200 LED Flashlight, Black

Length: 4.8 in. Barrel diameter: 1 in. Head diameter:1 in. Weight with batteries: 3.68 oz. Easy to use. Powerful projecting LED beam. Push button tail-cap switch. Compact pocket size design. 172 lumens. Runs up to 2.5 hours on high power and 218 hours on low power setting.

• Five selectable modes: high power, strobe, night light, signal, and SOS
• Beam distance of 138 meters at 173 lumens (as product improvements are made, performance may change without notice)
• Rugged machined aluminum construction, anodized inside and out for improved corrosion resistance
• Sealed at both ends with high-grade rubber o-rings and lip seals
• Features an adjustable beam

When you can get a pocket flashlight for a couple of bucks, why would you get a flashlight like this one?

1. Brightness. This is as bright as any flashlight that I have ever owned, save "million candle power models". I own an XL100, this flashlight seems to be brighter. If you look into the light it will dazzle you, even on a bright Florida day.
2. This flashlight has every function that the XL100 does, plus the safety mode (which works exactly like the safety mode on the XL100 did). With the XL100, you needed a flashlight to look at the back of the XL100 to figure out which part of the light to aim up - the 100 went into modes by which part of the side of the flashlight was up and I frequently got it wrong. I like the 200 scheme a lot better, it can be done one handed, in the dark and counting is a lot more sure than aiming.

The functions invoked by clicking the button some number of times. A quick click turns the flashlight on. Push and hold, and you can adjust the brightness. You tilt the flashlight left or right to brighten or dim it. There is a slightly broader spot for the max position, so it is easy to make the light "brightest".

Two clicks get you into flash mode. Hold the button and tilt the flashlight to adjust the speed of the flash. The effect is that of a strobe light. You can "freeze" a ceiling fan or a running dog, but when you look at the fan you can see that to brighten the flash, the light stays on a lot longer than a xenon flash, there are several quick flashes although this effect was more pronounced on the XL100 than the XL200, but you can make the fan appear to run forwards and backwards. Fun and games at parties, but if you set it at a very low rate, it will flash for quite a while, I'd imagine a week or more would not be exceptional. Or it could flash faster for a warning. The intensity of the flash can be adjusted.

Three clicks is night light mode. This is simple. The flashlight does not move for a second, it dims. You move the flashlight, it brightens to full. Then, with no movement for a second, it dims again. This is handy as a tent light, or in a power failure. This mode is not affected by dimming.

Four clicks is manual signal mode. There is one point in the flashlight's rotation at which the flashlight is off and you twist it a bit and it comes on. With practice, you could send morse code in this mode. Dimming works in this mode.

Five clicks puts the flashlight into sos mode. Dimming works in this mode.

Finally, there is the safety mode. I believe that this was not on the XL100, can't find mine right now. With the flashlight turned off, point it straight up, push and hold the button. Point it straight down, release the button. The light should turn off, then it is in safe mode.

To take it out of safe mode, point it up, press and hold the button, point it straight down and release. This is exactly the same move you used to put it into the safe mode with one button push pointing straight up and one straight down.

This flashlight sounds complicated, it is not. It can be operated with one hand, with no issues. If you can click a button between one and five times, and hold or not hold the button on the last click, and (if you want to use the safety) point a flashlight up and click the button on the back, then point the flashlight down while holding it, you can use every function on the flashlight, but here are the real reasons to buy it:

1. It is bright. 
2. It is pre-focused to maximum brightness. If you want to light a room more or less evenly, you can unscrew the cap, but otherwise you leave it on and leave it tight. There are many places where you need a light, this makes the light handy. You can dim it by unscrewing the cap, but it makes way more sense to dim it by holding the button and twisting the light.
3. It is light and can fit easily into a pocket, purse, or holster.
4. Simple functions are easy to operate, while harder functions are harder to operate. If all you want to do is turn the light on and off, push the button once, quickly. If you want to dim the light, push the button and tilt it.

You can buy a flashlight for $5. This light is seven times better than a $5 flashlight. I have a bunch of $2 flashlights scattered around the house for our frequent power failures, but the light I carry is a maglight, reliable and made in the USA.

This is the first LED flashlight that I thought was every bit as bright as any incandescent flashlight of the same size or slightly larger, as bright as a krypton style bulb that was in the 5 D cell lights that Mag sells.