Best flashlight of 2023

WildTrail WT3M

This is the shared number 4 from the list of most popular lights at budgetlightforum.

The WT3M is a triple LED, high power compact flashlight. Although WildTrail is a throwback brand from the early days of enthusiast flashlights, the WT3M is by no means an outdated light. From our review: “Nothing else out there looks like the WT series lights (especially when buck naked), and for the price, it’s hard to beat the performance and features. I obviously got a very nice bin of XHP50.2’s, and the beam is fantastic with a nice balance of flood and some throw. You get an excellent driver, onboard charging, and excellent thermal performance to boot. It’s also fully moddable, so if you get tired of the 50.2’s, they can easily be swapped for either SFT or SST40s. The thermal performance is very good for a small light as well, further accentuated by Anduril’s thermal configurability.

There were some issues though. I didn’t like the flimsy charge port cover, nor the errant clear coating with resultant connection issues and flickering (although easily remedied). The lack of a pocket clip for EDC duty was also annoying, as was the unimpressive peak charge current on my sample.

Although it doesn’t do anything remarkably better than the competition, all things considered, the WildTrail WT3M is an excellent light and a great option if you’re in the market for a hotrod triple. The future seems to be very bright for WildTrail and I hope to see more like this in the future.” Check out the full review of the WildTrail WT3M here.

Lumintop GT Nano

Smallest thrower in the world

The smallest thrower flashlight in the world. The GT Nano’s entrance into the tiny thrower scene is kind of ironic since Lumintop used to make the longest-throwing LED flashlight in the world (the BLF Gigathrower), but that title has been reclaimed by the Astrolux MF05/Mateminco MT90 Plus (also featured here).

A polar opposite from the Gigathrower, the GT Nano, really is nano! It’s a tiny light running off a tiny 10180 Lithium-Ion battery, but still manages to reach distances most larger lights cannot.

When you thought you’ve seen it all, Lumintop introduced this little monster. The baddest little thrower in the world! When I tested this flashlight I was surprised it could really produce more than 450 lumens. I even measured 525 at start. Of course, the output drops like a rock, but this must be the coolest little thrower in the world. Quite amazing for sure. And in terms of throw, I measured 35,000 cd which equates to a throw of up to 374 meters or 409 yards.

If you’re looking for a keychain-sized flashlight thrower, this is probably the one you are looking for. Read our full review of the Lumintop GT Nano here.

Emisar D4K

The Emisar D4 has been on the most popular flashlights list for a couple of years.

People love, what they call, “Hank light”. Hank is the owner of Intl-outdoor store, and has 2 flashlight brand names under his belt. One is Noctigon, and the other is Emisar.

Both brands are customizable, and probably the only 2 brands with this many options when it comes to LEDs. Each light gives you the option to choose between several types of LEDs, but also optional accessories like magnetic tailcap, different optics, boost driver upgrade, deep carry pocket clip, etc.

That’s the reason why this brand is so loved in the community.

You can pick and choose the options you want to get the best flashlight possible, without having to mod! We haven’t reviewed the D4K, but we have reviewed the previous, 18650 version, the Emisar D4v2, to give you some impressions.

Convoy S21D

Convoy is loved by many in the flashlight community. Why?

Because they are affordable, with lots of options for different LEDs, optics, and you can easily get spare parts on AliExpress.

Wurkkos TS10

From Josh’s review:

The Wurkkos TS10 is one of the most “bang for the buck” lights out there right now, if not ever. Anduril 2, 1400 lumens, triple TIR optics and great feel. With auxiliary lights to boot! The user interface could be a learning curve that is a little much if someone new is thrown into the Anduril firmware, but to some, that just means a lot of new exciting things to learn. Everything considered, the TS10 flies to the top of my list as the most “giftable” lights out there. Now, if you receive one with the Anduril bugs that mine have, I have to give this 4 stars. If you update the software, or buy one after the updates, it is enough to earn another half of a star. There are still a few issues, like the heat and it could use a thinner (more pliable) or redesigned pocketclip.

Maxtoch Owleyes W PRO

World’s farthest-reaching flashlight below $2000

• Farthest reaching LEP Flashlight (this is not an LED flashlight)
• Dual head LEP flashlight (Laser Excited Phosphor)
• Max output: 1200 lumens
• Works on 2*21700 batteries

LEP flashlights have become immensely popular recently. We reviewed about 40+ of them, and the Maxtoch Owleyes W PRO came out as the best-performing LEP flashlight (and LED in that regard as well). Its specs rating claims a beam intensity of up to 4.0 Mcd, but mine was able to reach 3,996,000 cd. This means a beam distance of 3998 meters / 4372 yards / 2.48 miles. That with just the white beam, and it throws much less with the yellow, green, or red filter.

The Lowest mode is still able to reach up to over 2100 meters / 2300 yards with a beam intensity of 1,170,000 cd. Medium mode is still good for 3200 meters / 3500 yards. Most flashlights can only dream of these numbers. If you don’t mind a long flashlight with 2*21700 batteries, this is what you should get.

Interested in reading more: check out our review of the Maxtoch Owleyes W PRO.

Acebeam E70-SS

The best looking flashlight of the past few years

Most beautiful designed flashlight

• Max output: 4,000 lumens SS version
• Max beam intensity: 12,100 cd
• Works on 21700 batteries

We reviewed the Acebeam E70-SS (Stainless steel) which is specced lower than the aluminum version (4,600 lumens), it’s still an eye-catcher.

In Turbo and High mode, the light produces around 1000 lumens for almost 3 hours, while Medium 2 produces around 500 lumens for almost 6 hours. That’s quite a performance for such a light. And last but not least, Medium1 lasts for more than 20 hours at roughly 140 lumens.

Interested in reading more: check out our review of the Acebeam E70

Imalent RS32

The brightest flashlight of 2023, and nothing else comes close!

Most powerful flashlight

• Max output: 120,000 lumens SS version
• Max beam intensity: 1,090,000 cd
• Works on 8*21700 batterypack

The Imalent SR32 is the new Lumen King… and nothing comes even close!

It dethrones the Imalent MS18 as the brightest flashlight on planet earth, with 20K more lumens. And that’s just incredible.

Our review will be ready in May 2023