I'm a borderline flashlight nut, but try to keep it reeled in to practical levels. I no longer feel a need to blind a charging elephant at 1000 paces. Mostly I need a flashlight to find things I've dropped in a dark corner, or see what's making a ruckus in the back yard. That said, I'm positively impressed with this flashlight. 1. Bodaciously strong magnets on the end and the side. These support the weight of the flashlight in many attitudes without sliding off. The plastic extends a bit beyond the magnet surface to help keep the magnet from touching or scratching what you stick it to. Can't stick to everything every time yet, but comes as close to that as anything I've ever seen. 2. A good forward beam. It compares very favorably to my 2D LED Maglite when peering around the backyard, but is much lighter to carry than a 2D Maglite and the plastic does not freeze your hands like aluminum does when the weather gets colder. 3. The area light on the side is very nice when working on something or trying to read instructions in the dark. You don't get that blinding hot spot in the center that blinds you to everything else, you just get a nice even illumination. Really nice for working under the hood of your car, or on a workbench at night. It still casts a little harsher shadows than the 30 or 50 LED light bars, but overall is very serviceable and nicely included in a small package here. One note, as others mention, getting the 34;guts34; out the first time to install batteries can be a little tricky. It takes some fingernail action to try to catch the edge of the reflector to get some purchase. Things get much easier once the batteries are installed, then just a little tap or snap of the wrist will move the guts forward to where you can reach the batteries. I also find the orange color very practical. Trying to find a black flashlight when it's already too dark is just silly. Yes, black looks more 34;manly34;. Blaze orange or bright yellow shows up when you need it. An extra star just for the practical color. It's a tool to make things visible at night or in the dark, not a fashion statement about how macho you are or a weapon to fend off multiple attackers. (There are better tools for that. I don't need a flashlight to pretend its a war club or mace, or to scare off burglars with it's bright blinky lights.) I need a flashlight that I can find in dim lighting, that reliably comes on every time when I push the on button without shaking, bumping or banging on it, tolerates being dropped now and then, and gives me good spot lighting plus good flood lighting. This one hits on all cylinders. It doesn't impress my friends or neighbors much, and it doesn't particularly frighten off large wild animals, but its a good decent working light that does it's job very competently.
Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]