Review: Duracell Durabeam Ultra Flashlight

When a flashlight comes with a gimmick as part of the sale, we always think twice about how that light will perform. Shouldn’t a flashlight be able to sell itself based on its features, quality, and design? Yet the Duracell Durabeam Ultra Flashlight, which sells with a “Livemylife” glow-in-the-dark wristband, is easily one of the best and brightest LED flashlights that is on the market today.

We were pleasantly surprised to see that this flashlight comes in more of a kit than an individual flashlight. Powered by threeC-cell batteries, you’re able to get 4-5 hours of life from the high beam and over 30 hours of use from the low beam. That is just the beginning of the story that this flashlight is able to tell.

What Are the Features of the Duracell Durabeam Ultra Flashlight?

• This flashlight offers a light exposure rating of 270 meters, which is about equal to what our testing results happened to be.
• It is a flashlight that is rated to have a 1300 lumens intensity. We found that to be fairly accurate when the flashlight is first turned on with fresh batteries. After some use, there is a noticeable decline.
• The casing of this flashlight is reminiscent of older Maglite flashlights. It’s weather-resistant, but you don’t want to expose it to a lot of moisture. It will handle a drop from about thigh-high.
• Instead of being forced to rotate the bezel to take advantage of the zoom function on this flashlight, there is a slide that is controlled with your thumb. The location is in a natural position that works with how most people hold a flashlight, making this model very easy to use and control.

We decided to test out some rechargeable C-cell batteries with this flashlight just to see how it would operate. The results were somewhat mixed. There is a definite decrease in the light output the flashlight is able to achieve. The advantage? You don’t have to keep purchasing C-cell alkaline batteries to run your flashlight.

We prefer to use this flashlight for indoor needs, but it could also function well enough for some outdoor needs as well. Just keep it away from moisture whenever you can.

Our One Issue with the Duracell Durabeam Ultra Flashlight

This flashlight is rated for use at 4-5 hours on the high beam and we found that if you run this flashlight continuously, that’s a fairly accurate claim. The only problem is that the average household isn’t going to run a flashlight for 5 hours at a time. You turn it on when you need it and then you turn it off, right?

That action actually drains the batteries and reduces run time. Under standard use conditions, you could reduce the rated running time by more than 50%. This is because there is a higher surge demand on the batteries when the light is initiated.

If you plan to use this flashlight for longer periods of time, then you’re going to love what the Duracell Durabeam Ultra Flashlight can provide for you. It gives you the illumination when and where you need it.

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