100000 lumen flashlight

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Note: we reviewed hundreds of flashlights, and add about 10-15 new flashlights each month. Many listings on eBay or AliExpress claim their flashlights are 100,000 lumens, but none of them really are.

The only real 100,000 lumen flashlight?

Imalent MS18

Imalent MS18
Imalent MS18 runtime
SpecsHighlights:
Max. output100,000 lumens. We measured 101,000 lumens at turn on
LED18* CREE XHP70.2
BatteryBuilt-in battery pack with 8*21700 batteries
ChargingBuilt-in, 19V DC charging port
Best forNot for children. Great for flashlight enthusiasts, search and rescue etc.

If you’re looking for a real 100K flashlight, there is currently only 1 that exists. And that’s the Imalent MS18, with built-in fans, and a carry strap. Yes, if you want to reach 100K output, you bet it will be big and heavy.

It’s interesting to note, that we are usually one of the first websites that test these high end flashlights, so our review of the MS18 already dates back to 2019, when almost nobody had ever heard of it.

Only in the last 1 or 2 years have there been tiktok videos showing the MS18 in full power, 3 years after the fact, lol.

Anything that put out this amount of lumens will generate an immense amount of heat. And the only way you can control that a little bit is by keeping the flashlight cooled. And that’s why the Imalent has cooling fans built in, and some sort of a liquid cooling system.

And I have to admit, these 100K lumens aren’t ANSI lumens, because that’s only possible at turn-on. According to the ANSI FL1 standards, the measurement should be done 30 seconds after turn on. And for the MS18 that is slightly below 70,000 lumens, which is still not bad!

The only real problem with the MS18 is the 10K lumen mode. Because the flashlight will not turn on the built-in fans (they are not temperature controlled) won’t turn on. If you keep the flashlight running for a long time, the body of the flashlight will heat up immensely, and this can cause skinburn, but also damage the flashlight itself.

For charging, they include a 19V charging adapter, to charge the 8 pieces of Samsung 40T 21700 batteries in 4.5 hours from empty to full. That’s not fast, but you could always buy a second battery pack, that could be used while the other one is charging.

Why I think this is worth considering

  1. The only real 100,000 lumen (mass production) flashlight
  2. No need to look after 8 individual 21700 batteries
  3. Comes with a 19V charging adapter, so you don’t need to buy a separate charger
  4. Has (noisy) built-in fans to keep the output as high as possible

Use one of our discount codes to reduce your cost:

At Imalentstore: 1lumen (for 10% off)

At Nealsgadgets: 1LumenMS18 (for $200 off)

Flashlight with more than 100000 lumens

Imalent SR32

imalent sr32 inhand
imalent sr32 v2 runtime 10minutes
Specification:Highlights:
Max. brightness:120,000 lumens (I measured 101,000 lm)
LED type:32* CREE XHP50.3
Battery type:8*21700 (built-in battery pack)
Charging:100 Watt USB-C
Best for:Search and rescue
Extra:Built in fans

We tested 2 copies of the SR32 and our seconds one performed as expected, while the first one had some issues. Turbo would start over 100,000 lumens but drops slowly, while High dropped directly.

The output is just insane, and it performs better than the MS18 by a fair margin, especially when it comes to sustained output.

It’s also great to see that Imalent moved away from their DC-charging plugs, and welcomed USB-C charging. They even included a 100Watt USB-C charger in their package to have a total charging time of only 1 hour and 15 minutes. And that with 8*21700 batteries inside.

This is why we think this would be a better option

  1. Turbo can reach over 100000 lumens at turn on, and about 90,000 lumens for 50 seconds
  2. Removable carry handle with built-in switch
  3. Can be used without the handle!
  4. Battery pack can be used as power bank
  5. Can get spare battery packs
  6. Can charge battery pack when removed from the head
  7. A real low-output mode (30 lumens)
  8. Cooling fans work well, to keep the temperature in check.
  9. Sustains over 17,000 lumens (longer than any other brand/model)

Interested? Get one at Imalent with 10% off, using our coupon code: 1lumen

FAQ:

If you’re looking for similar buyer’s guides, but with different outputs, here are the ones we currently have:

Questions about 100 000 lumen flashlights

  • How can you see whether a flashlight can really do 100,000 lumens or not?

    It’s hard to see without actually testing it. But there are a few things to keep in mind:
    1. If you want to reach 100,000 lumens in a production flashlight, you need many LEDs. So if you see a flashlight with only 1 LED…. walk away.
    2. It needs lots of power to reach this output, and if it has 1, 2 or even 4 batteries, it will never ever reach that high. It needs at least 8 high-current batteries to reach that output for even a few seconds.
    3. The cost of building such a powerhouse will be very high. Just the battery pack alone would cost at least $100 for parts alone. The Imalent MS18 and Imalent SR32 (currently the only 2 reaching 100K lumen) are over $600.

  • How much does a 100000 lumen flashlight cost?

    The Imalent MS18 is currently at around $650-$700 without our discount coupon. You can find a discount coupon in our Imalent MS18 review. Also, check out the Imalent SR32, an even better flashlight in my opinion.

  • Is 100,000 lumens possible in a flashlight?

    Yes, and we tested it. But it will only be possible for a couple of seconds before it drops to far below 100K. If you build your own gigantic flashlight, you could possibly do a bit better, but for any mass-production flashlight, you can only do it for a few seconds.

  • Is there a 1 million lumen flashlight?

    No, there isn’t. The brightest is still just over 100K and it will probably take many more years (2030 perhaps?) before we can see anything close to 1 million lumens. Don’t trust anything from eBay or AliExpress that lists anything close to 1,000,000 lumens…

Here are a few 100,000 lumen flashlight listings you should not trust

I looked around and found many so-to-call 100k flashlights, and you should never buy any of these, thinking you get anything near 100K.. You should be happy if they even hit 1/10 of their promised output… Even 1/10 would be impossible for these! I think a more realistic figure would be 1,000 lumens.

Be warned!