Questions
The questions people ask about flashlight specifications, and the ones they ask about how this site works.
By Scooter M. · Published · Updated
Split into two halves: the technical questions, which are mostly answered in more depth in the reference section, and the questions about Beam & Bezel itself, which are answered in full on the methodology page.
For most people, far fewer than the market implies. Indoors, 50 to 200 lumens. Walking a path, 50 to 150. Trail running, 300 to 500 sustained. Close work in a panel or engine bay, 300 to 700 diffused. Above those levels you are usually adding glare rather than visibility. How many lumens do I need works through the arithmetic.
Lumens measure total light output in every direction; candela measure intensity in the brightest part of the beam. Reach depends on candela, not on lumens. In our set a 1,650-lumen light reaches 1,300 meters and a 2,800-lumen light reaches 380. Lumens vs candela explains why.
Thermal step-down. An LED turns most of its input power into heat, a small body cannot shed it fast enough, and the driver reduces current to protect the emitter and keep the light touchable. Every high-output light in a small body does it, which is why sustained output matters more than the peak figure.
Convert the cell to watt-hours — milliamp-hours divided by 1,000, times nominal voltage — then divide by the power draw. A 3,400 mAh 18650 at 3.6 V is 12.2 watt-hours, which at a 2-watt output is about six hours. Flashlight runtime has the full method.
No. The standard defines how to measure; it does not require independent testing, certify anybody, or audit published figures. Every FL 1 number you read anywhere is self-reported by the manufacturer. The ANSI FL 1 standard explained covers what that means in practice.
IPX4 is splashing water from any direction. IPX7 is immersion to one meter for thirty minutes. IPX8 is continuous immersion to a depth the maker specifies, and IP68 adds dust tight. The water digit is not cumulative: an IPX6 light has been tested against jets, not against immersion.
For any light used at close range, usually yes. Going from CRI 70 to CRI 90 is a bigger perceptual change than doubling the output, and it costs roughly 10 to 20 percent of the lumens. For a thrower it is not worth it, because reach is exactly what you give up. CRI explained covers the metric.
Rechargeable for anything you use regularly, because it is cheaper and lighter for the same energy. Disposable lithium primaries for anything that waits in a drawer, because they hold their charge for about a decade while a lithium-ion pack self-discharges. A hybrid that takes either is the best answer for most people.
Not a question we can answer honestly, because we have never handled these lights. What we can say is which brands publish enough for you to verify their claims. On the products we cover, Streamlight publishes the most complete tables by a clear margin. Our brand comparisons set out who publishes what.
Because we do not have them. Beam & Bezel owns no lights, has no laboratory and has handled nothing. We say so on every roundup rather than implying otherwise. What we publish instead is compiled manufacturer figures and reproducible arithmetic, which a reader can check — see our methodology.
Because a score implies a measurement we did not make. We publish the manufacturer's own figures, the arithmetic that connects them, and a plain statement of which light we would buy for which job. We also do not publish Review or AggregateRating structured data, for the same reason.
Because a price renders on this site only when the live data layer has a figure less than 48 hours old. When it does not, we show the words rather than a number we cannot currently verify. At launch the layer is empty, so every button reads Check price — which is the system doing exactly what it is designed to do.
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No. We accept no samples, no sponsored placements and no paid links. It is an easy commitment for us to make, because we do not test products and a sample would serve no purpose.
Because we would have to guess or copy from somebody else. A field reading 'not published' is a finding: it tells you the manufacturer chose not to state that figure, which is genuinely useful information about what you are buying. We never substitute a number from another review site or a forum.
Because several manufacturers' own sites would not serve us a product page when we built this site. Where that happened we cite the brand's own listing and label it as such in the spec table, so you can weigh it against a proper spec sheet. Manufacturer documents are always preferred where we could reach one.
Where a maker's own site and its own retail listing disagree, we print both and say which we used — the Petzl Actik Core is rated 625 lumens on Petzl's site and 650 on its Amazon listing. Where our arithmetic disagrees with a claim, we flag the conflict rather than repeating the claim.
Prices refresh automatically and continuously. Roundups are re-checked every 90 days, reference guides every 180, and every published specification is audited against current manufacturer documents quarterly. Our editorial policy has the full cadence.
Tell us and we will verify it against the primary source and correct it within 48 hours, with a dated note on the page saying what was wrong. We do not quietly edit a figure. Write to info@beamandbezel.com or use the contact form.
No, and we do not collect email addresses for one. The only personal information this site receives is what you type into the contact form. Our privacy policy sets out the detail.