Penlights! Who Else Is Lying About Lumens as Much as Harbor Freight? Part 1

Part 2 with pricey penlights is now up!

Our Amazon store includes the winners: https://www.amazon.com/shop/torquetestchannel Because our amazon store ONLY includes winners. Why did we not include the Streamlight Stylus Pro or Coast? If a light that cost 2x as much as the rest won it would have been a hollow victory. But when we do more, definitely adding it!
Torque of TTC is working for Astro Tools, who also make lights. TTC is not the only testing out there, always consider multiple sources before making a decision!

I’ve been carrying a non-rechargeable AAA microstream as part of my EDC for at least 5 years and I love it. Recently upgraded to the rechargeable version and it’s even better. At least half a dozen colleagues have gone out and purchased one after I used it on the job. Well done testing, as usual, TTC!

I have a simple one setting penlight called Hybeam. It uses one AA battery and is very bright. I now realize I bought it 4 years ago and it has the same battery.

Wow! Great video, thanks.

No need for a flashlight in the engine bay of a Mazda 😉
(at least my wife her Mazda 3 presents itself as very reliable up until this day at 80.000 miles0

I would love to see you test the vast fire hunting light

The MAXXEON Cyclops is defientlty the best light ive used for underhood repair at night. Lights is not always bright at drag strips

Have you seen the Klein flash with earth magnet on the end. Side light and top light.. I like the side light with the earth magnet combo a lot.

I use the streamlight every day and I have been impressed from day one. It's cheap, bright and rechargeable, let's just say everyone is getting them for Christmas

Love your channel, however I don't understand comparing Lights using a single AAA battery to 2xAA and rechargeable models, that makes no sense. I have tried dozens of different Brands of EDC AAA lights, and without a doubt the Olight i3T is the best one that I have found. I use my EDC light everyday at least a dozen times due to aging eyes. I often hold it in my mouth leaving my hands free. It has a momentary on switch which is a must for me. It has Low which is great for seeing your way at night or to read a package with tiny print or searching for that lost screw under your car seat and an extremely bright high position that will illuminate a hundred feet in my back yard or for looking deep into an engine bay. EDC lights were never designed to work on cars. So I don't understand your test review.. I don't know what the warranty is because I have never needed it. I have had maybe 6 of them over the past few years as they tend to get lost or "borrowed" and I have given probably a dozen as gifts as well. I always keep a spare in case I cant find mine or to give to someone who admires how bright it is. I will say it will eat a battery fairly quick if you use the high a lot but its worth it for me. A few times I have felt the heat on my leg when left on high in my pocket its that bright. I use the cheap Dollar store batteries and they do die faster but at the cost seems more economical. Also I put four orings on the barrel to help with the grip to turn on the firm switch. I think you should give it another shot, BTW, the Streamlight is my second favorite

I've had the Streamlight and Olight myself for several years. The Streamlight I carry daily at work and it's been great, highly recommended. It's not too often that I have to switch to a bigger light. The switch did fall off once but a little thread locker seems to have fixed that. The Olight is pretty meh, not really bright enough to be very useful.

I currently own about 10 Penlights and use them almost daily for work, add to that about 10 that have failed me over the last couple of years and i would consider myself experienced when it comes to those kind of lights. By far the best i have ever used is from a part retailer in Germany called Würth. I'm pretty sure they don't make them themselves so there is a chance you can get it (probably cheaper) under a different Name. Würth calls it the "WHX2R". It uses a single rechargeable AA Lithium battery that can be swapped out easily or charged inside the lamp using a magnet charging cable. Its got a strong magnet to stick to stuff and its underrated in terms of Lumens (they claim 150) and runtime. Water resistant, robust, reliable. I would recommend it to anybody who can life without having the brightest light on sight 🙂
Including tax this light cost my ~60€ in 2019

Please review headlamps

Great review. Thank you!

I have the energizer pen light and I love it feels nice in the and really bright for nice and easy use

I had some overpriced Snap-on light before buying my Streamlight Microstream USB. As an auto tech I can confirm it is probably the best light for this trade at any price point. It even tastes better than the rest lol.

on the point of not accepting products from companies directly, have you guys ever asked if they'd be willing to reinburse you after you've purchased the product from one of the usual sources, thus removing the usual cherry-picking concerns from the equation?

I’ve had the olight for a few years and I’ve liked it. I keep it in my leatherman belt pouch along with two extra batteries. I use eneloop rechargeables so there’s no waste. I’ve only ever needed both batteries twice, once when the car broke down, and once while trying to find the deer my wife shot. Glad to know I didn’t get pick a bad one!

I'd love to see a test of rechargable keychain lights. I have a bunch and constantly figting to find a decent one that I can still find a month later.
Another good test, would be high-CRI lights only. I personaly only use cri lights with nichia and similar leds. The bright blue-white just look brighter but without revealing as much detail.

Love your videos. You should try testing the led garage lights sold on Amazon and Home Depot. Claims to have 10-15 -20,000 lumens.

No Surefire Titan? I love mine. Had it for years and still carry it in my pocket every single day. Yes they are expensive but I feel like mine has been worth it.

I have a number of flashlights including Lumintop, Fenix, Surefire, and numerous no name type lights. For a low cost and very durable 1 cell EDC light that fits well in your pocket, I suggest the Lumintop AA and the Lumintop AAA. They look very similar, one obviously being smaller than the other. The Lumintop AA looks like it will barely hold an AA battery if you sit one next to it. They are very compact and they're very durable. I've dropped mine numerous times on tile, cement and hardwood surfaces. They take any kind of AA battery, plus the 3.7v 14500 batteries. They claim 650 lumens with the 14500. I don't know about that, but on high it's too bright for most indoor, non tactical uses. I seldom use the 14500 cell unless I'm at the deer lease. Just the AA lights up my back yard very well. The lowest setting is perfect for late night trips to the restroom. I carry either the AA or the AAA when showing homes as a real estate state agent in the evening. Both do the job extremely well. They have an optional magnetic tail cap that's very strong. I use it along with the diffuser in my hunting shack, which has metal walls and roof. The lowest setting has a claimed run time of 30+ hours. I have not timed it, but these lights seem to really get a long run time from just a single battery. I also like that the pocket clip is reversible, so you can clip it your your hat brim if you need a headlamp. The AA version occasionally goes on sale for about $15 -16. The magnetic tail cap bumps it to just under $20. With a USB rechargeable 14500 included they run about $28. I just bought 2 more of the AAs for a total of five AAs and one AAA, as I like to stash them everywhere. My oldest one is about 3 to 3.5 years old and is the bedside light. The on and off switch probably gets clicked at least 5 or 6 times a night. Sometimes a lot more, and it's held up. They are extremely durable lights that are affordable and lightweight while also having some very useful features for my purposes.

I bought that Quantium pen light since I needed a cheap pen light for work. Does the job quite nicely for $20

"Receptionists…" haha

I chuckled when the amazon special came out, of course advertising a whopping "1000 lumens" 🤣

I received a Streamlight as a Christmas present and have been very happy with it, so much so that I ordered a second using your link. It's small enough to to keep on one of my keychains.

I would be interested to know if lithium batteries would make the energizer and olight more appealing.

No maglight?

I would be very surprised if any of them are telling the truth. Of course Amazon are the worst. They are scammers. I don't get why anyone is stupid enough to by anything from them.

Can you do some pelican products. There seem to be tough, simple, and backed by a bullet proof warranty

As someone who isn't working in cars but electronics and computers the Lumintop and Streamlight seem the most useful to me. One runs on AAA for basically no downtime (and AAA are also available as rechargables) and the other is super compact for smaller corners. And half an hr of light is enough for that kind of work. And both of them are robust enough.
In theory the Olight would be small and runs on AAA, but the light is just not there.
The Thrunite seems like a useful one for a walk at night. Not super bright, but enough to see the path and with enough battery life that it'll last till you're home.

You are missing out on a good segment of flashlights in my opinion. 14500/AA lights. I don’t know if klarus still makes one but OLIGHT makes 1 and definitely need to check out the SKILHUNT E2A
95cri and plenty bright with a really nice diffused beam

Would be amazing if you did the same test with bike lights.

the older i get the bigger my EDC kit gets. started out just being a knife. now its a knife, bifocals to see with, handkerchief to blow my nose, flashlight cuz everything seems darker now, Advil for my pain, snack so my blood sugar don't drop. they say life gets easier when u get older, i say B.S. lmfao.

About the cheap one that advertised a ton of lumens-

I bought a 5 (or maybe 10) pack of those years ago. I love them for being cheap and disposable. I’ve carried them around for years. They are not great, they fall apart, they aren’t reliable after 8months, but I still really like them for the cost.

I would not recommend them if you need something reliable or for real work. I mostly used mine for locating cats (under couches), walking through the house at night without turning on lights, etc