How To Buy The Right Microlight Flashlight

With so many Microlight Flashlights on the market how do you choose the right one?

There are so many microlights on the market and I am sure the majority of people just pick the one that looks the best, however for the person that is looking for specific functionality I hope this article will be beneficial for them.

The most popular brands of microlights today are (in no particular order):

• Photon Microlight
• Inova Microlight
• ASP Microlight
• Princeton Tec Microlight

Let’s go through each one and find out which is best suited for the end user

Photon Microlight

The Photon Microlight features an external LED (exposed) in an extremely small footprint. The most recent release by Photon is the Photon Freedom. This light has a single operation button and features multiple levels of brightness, strobe, and signaling. The Photon Microlight comes in 10 different colors of LED output. Each color has a particular purpose besides being “pretty”. Here is a short run down for the purpose of each LED (these apply for all microlights discussed in this publication) color:

• RED LED – is favored by pilot, fisherman, and astronomers for its ability to preserve night vision, allow comfortable map reading, and for safety when being viewed by others.

• YELLOW LED – Has an excellent projection in darkness up to 20 feet away.

• ORANGE LED – The orange beam produces excellent night vision illumination encompassing both aspect of the RED and YELLOW LED.

• GREEN LED – The green LED is almost as bright as turquoise, blue and white but with the low voltage needs of the green LED the run time on a Photon light is greatly increased. Approximately 20 hours of run time on a single set of batteries.

• BLUE LED – Considered the brightest and the easiest on the eyes, it is also very popular because it is considered the most beautiful color. Blue light is especially helpful for hunters and detectives who are following blood trails.

• WHITE LED – the white LED is considered the best all around general purpose light.

• PURPLE LED – produces a black light affect and causes other normally bright colors to be illuminated with the Purple LED.

The Photon Microlight is considered the first serious microlight on the market and to this day is still the most popular although many other brands are making significant headway in the microlight market.

Inova Microlight

The Inova microlight is extremely compact and flat, the advantage of the Inova microlight is the beam it projects is highly focused. The body is made of a rugged polycarbonate, an internal LED (for better protection of breakage) and a momentary on off button with a slide switch for constant on.

The Inova microlight is generally most popular with hobbyist and people who like lights that look cool. Personally this light is my favorite because it is built well and very appealing. It features a steel clip that will easily become part of your keychain. The Inova microlight comes with a lifetime warranty. Inova makes an assortment of microlights with many LED colors. The microlight comes in a variety of LED colors which include white, red, blue, and green. The case of the microlight is available in a solid black or a translucent case. The translucent case is illuminated when the LED is activated and produces a nice effect for hobbyist.

ASP Microlights

The ASP Microlight is most popular with users who would like to present a gift that shows quality. The reason behind this designation is the ASP microlight is encased in aluminum making it a unique entry in the microlight market. This advantage allows the ASP microlight to be engraved. The aluminum casing is available in many colors including:

• Red Case
• Green Case (very attractive)
• Blue Case (most popular)
• Gold Case (for a little bling)
• Silver case
• Pewter case
• Black case
• Textured case (a knurled feeling to the black case)

The ASP Microlight has an elite version which provides an SOS, blink, and a constant on feature. The non elite version only has a momentary on button.

The ASP microlight comes in three LED colors

• ASP Aspen (like the snows in Colorado) – has a white LED
• ASP Navigator – has a red LED
• ASP Sapphire – has a blue LED

The quality of the ASP microlight is excellent but the price point on the lights is a little higher then all other microlights due to the aluminum casing.

Princeton Tec Pulsar

The Princeton Tec Pulsar is a tiny light that has an external LED. Putting out a miniscule 4 lumens and weighing only 7 grams this microlight although unnoticeable is also one of the hardest to keep lit due to the amount of pressure required.

However if you are looking for a light that is not intrusive then this is the light for you. No larger then a nickel and providing sufficient light to illuminate about 5 feet ahead of the user this light is sufficient for general purposes.

The Princeton Tec Pulsar comes in two version the Pulsar and the Pulsar II here is the difference

• Princeton Tec Pulsar – has a momentary on switch only when depressed it turns on and when let go it shuts off.

• Princeton Tec Pulsar II – has the same features as the Princeton Tec Pulsar and also features a constant on switch.

In my opinion all microlights serve the same purpose, to illuminate the path in front of you a short range. However certain lights are preferred for the following reasons

Looking for a great gift?

• The ASP Microlight looks and feels the most expensive with it’s aluminum colored cases and are the most popular with companies gifting a small item to clients.

• The Invoa microlight is also very popular for the above purposes but does not look or feel as high a quality, however the Inova microlight is approximately $3.00 lower in price.

Need something tiny?

• The Photon microlight and the Princeton Tec Pulsar series are both excellent lights to hang on a key chain or keep in a pocket. You will barely notice it there.

Need functionality like a blink or SOS feature (used by joggers, bikers, hikers and many other hobbyists)

• The ASP Elite microlight and also the Photon freedom are the most popular for people that use lighting as a precaution to on coming traffic etc.

In conclusion all lights are excellent and dependable however as mentioned above each microlight serves a specific purpose. You cannot pick a wrong one you just need to decide what will fit your needs.