Should I Buy a Bright Flashlight?

Q: My friends have very bright flashlights. Which one should I buy?
— Ryder, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A: Focus on function rather than flash. A flashlight’s brightness is measured in lumens; the higher the lumens, the more powerful the light. You can buy lights that generate more than 10,000 lumens, but that’s way more than you’ll need for a Scout campout.

For walking around camp or getting ready for bed inside your tent, consider a flashlight or headlamp with a brightness level of 1,000 lumens or less.

I like NEBO flashlights, like the rechargeable LUXTREME NANO ($28.99, nebo.acgbrands.com). It’s compact at just over 3 inches long, yet it’s strong enough to produce 420 lumens of light.

If you want to go hands-free, try headlamps like the BioLite Range 300 ($39.95, bioliteenergy.com) or the NEBO MYCRO 450 ($29.99, nebo.acgbrands.com). The BioLite recharges really fast through its USB-C cord — eight minutes of charging provides an hour of battery life. The NEBO comes with a clip, so you can wear it on the bill of your baseball cap.

For your campsite, look at lanterns that produce a few thousand lumens. The Duracell solar lantern ($39.99, duracelllights.com) is a nice choice with a 3,000-lumen capability. It offers multiple brightness options, plus it can recharge with a built-in solar panel.

You can find an assortment of other lighting options at the Scout Shop.