Right Angle vs. Straight Flashlight
Only 1 of many questions when deciding on which flashlight is the right one for you. And for the most part that it boils down to is, what's your needs?
You could have the most powerful flashlight at hand, but is it right for the environment you will dive yourself into more? So for this, let's just start with whether you need a right angle or a straight flashlight.
We're going to use the Olight Perun Mini and the Olight S1R Baton II to look at this case. *Both available in our store
Straight Flashlights
This is the most traditional style of flashlights. Simple and can be durable. The toggle switch (or sometimes a button) are usually located near the lens or somewhere on the side of the cylinder casing. With straight styles, they tend to be slightly brighter based on that the light emitting is tunneled as a beam for a farther reach. They can also have clips for hats to be used a head lamps.
Right Angle Flashlights
These flashlights have a 90 degree rotation of the head of flashlight. This becomes versatile in many ways. The switches (or buttons) are usually located on the side of cylinder casing or sometimes on the top of the head. Right Angle flashlights don't give out a beam light effect like the straight styles do, however the lights are more flooded, meaning it spreads out more.
So let's get into some of the categories that may help you decide which style you prefer using these Olight flashlights as test objects.
- Handling
- Mobility
- Lighting
Handling
This category focuses on how your grab the flashlight. When it comes to naturally a flashlight, what fees best to you?
For straight flashlights, there's the simple hold where the head is near the thumb side of your hand, but there's also where the head is on the pinky side of you hand instead like in the picture:
You can see where for some flashlights the button is on the back where you would click the button.
As for the right angle flashlight, the only way is holding it where the head is closest to the thumb.
As you can see here, you could also have a variant of holding the right angle for precise handling.
Mobility
Here we will look at where both styles are mounted or placed in order to be functional at a moments notice.
Both of our Olights have a magnetic bottom for not only recharging but also for mounting on metal objects when you need an extra hand. And with their small form factor design, they are lightweight and don't take any space on your person.
Straight flashlights can be clipped on your belt or in a pocket for carrying, and can be pulled quickly. It's very handy to use especially if you have the button on the bottom for that movement when grabbing the flashlight at your natural grip. Another is that it's very useful as a headlamp that can be easily slide the clip on the brim of your hat for dark environments.
Right Angle flashlights are tended to be more hands free for the user whenever possible. Clipped on your belt or front pocket of your jacket, you can easily leave it in place and turn it on with the button on top. These could also be put on the brim of your hat, but depending on the light spread and angle it can be bothersome. Most people will use a head gear if needing something as a headlamp.
With the Olight Perun, they come with a headlamp strap that can can mount your right angle flashlight. What this helps also with is the angle you can rotate the flashlight if you want the light to emit lower or higher.
Lighting
Both flashlights have a good range to light an area. There are some few differences you can notice from both styles.
If you're wanting a beam that is super bright and can reach more in distance, straight flashlights has the advantage. The candela (light intensity) is normally up to twice as much as the right angle and has more distances (ft) than right angle. So when looking at flashlights, even though they may have same lumens, there are other factors that come into lighting.
However, if you need your flashlight to light up as much surface area as you can, right angle flashlights does a good job of illuminating your front and side views.
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So to sum it all, both styles can help you in your everyday tasks. Style of the flashlight is just one factor of picking your flashlight. Other factors can include but limit to: size, thickness, water resistance, shock absorbent, hours of battery, etc. Choose the right flashlight for the right job.
We recommend Olight and their small form factor models for their readiness that don't take up much space.
