How to Buy a Flashlight

There comes a time in everyone's life where you need to use a flashlight. Whether you use it to illuminate a trick-or-treaters path or to shed some light until you locate the blown fuse in the fuse box, having a functioning flashlight is key. Here's how to go about buying the right flashlight.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Determine what you need a flashlight for. For example, if you are using it once a year for trick-or-treaters, then you can buy a theme flashlight that is durable enough to last for the evening. Camping, on the other hand, requires a more powerful and reliable flashlight.

2. Decide how large you need the flashlight to be. A flashlight that stays in your purse for those "just-in-case" occasions are much smaller than a flashlight used for a late-night hiking trip.

3. Know the power source. Most flashlights operate on batteries. Flashlight batteries vary from running on normal A through D sized batteries to special types of batteries such as the square 6-volt. If you know the type of power your flashlight requires, you can prepare with replacement batteries in the event your batteries die, since a flashlight is a tool that most times you use unexpectedly, as in a power outage.

4. Think about who may use the flashlight. If you're buying a flashlight for a child or elderly, make sure the flashlight isn't too heavy and that the on-off switch is easy to operate.

Tips & Warnings

• Every household should buy a flashlight or two. It's better to have one and not need it than to need it and not have it.