I used to think my dad was insane for having flashlights in all areas of the house. Ever heard the saying "He's his father's son"? Yup.

They're in my tool bag, tool boxes, stuck to the steel bulkhead in my van, in my garage, basement, upstairs, in the kitchen......

I bought a headband light with a switch that's too easily slid to ON, so the batteries are dead more often than not. I went to a gun store yesterday for a few things and on Black Friday, they have a $20 mystery box filled with items that would sell for at least $50 and inside, was a headband light similar to the one linked above, with a different name and color. I'll be tossing the old one next time I see it.

I have cheap ones from Harbor Freight with a tether- they're not bad and when they have a coupon, they're free or 2 for $3. I also have a few that have a hook for hanging, with a group of LEDs on the face and a row on one end- they're pretty good and most of them take 3-4 AAA batteries. I have a few Mini MagLites that have the incandescent bulb- I almost never use them because of bulb/battery life and cost. The one that takes four D-cell batteries only cost $15, but I never use it because I got this-

[Link: skywalker.com]

It doesn't have a sharp edge around the lens, but the sleeve is turned aluminum, so it has small pyramid-shaped areas that would work great for smacking someone in the head and collecting skin/DNA samples. It can be adjusted to flood an area or for a bean that's so narrow beam it projects a crisp shape at long distances. The Skywalker site shows that it's good to 300 yards- not sure whether they mean it's visible at that distance or it will illuminate something at a useful brightness, but it's pretty annoying when it shines into someone's eyes at the brightest setting. It has Bright, Dim and flash, which is useful for shining into a wall or other space that it lit, but I need to see if the gap or hole I shine into can be used for fishing cabling. It also has a metal bead on the end, for breaking glass.

I used it when I was feeding cables at a house that's a three hour drive from here and the first time I worked up there, I was pretty tired at the end while I cleared my stuff out and since I had needed my ladder elsewhere, I didn't notice that I left it on a heating duct. I realized this when I was about halfway home and there's no way I was going to drive back for a flashlight. I returned two weeks later and the first thing I did was make a beeline to the basement, where I saw the beam from my flashlight, shining very brightly. I think I bought it in 2013 and if I have replaced the batteries more than once, I would be surprised.

Best flashlight I have owned.