A right-angle flashlight is a staple for many firefighters. This type of flashlight can be very versatile to suit the needs of a firefighter. But there are a lot of these lights to choose from and working out which ones will do the job can be quite challenging. So, we’ve done it for you.
The 10 best right angle firefighter flashlight options are:
- Streamlight 90540 Survivor LED Right Angle Flashlight
- Pelican 3715 Yellow Right Angle Fire Flashlight
- Brightstar Responder Right Angle Flashlight
- Nightstick XPP-5566GX Green Intrant Intrinsically Safe Permissible Dual Angle Light
- Streamlight 88834 PolyTac 90 LED Right Angle Polymer Flashlight
- Streamlight 88087 ProTac 90 Right Angle Light
- Streamlight Survivor Rechargeable
- Streamlight 88830 PolyTac 90 LED Right Angle Polymer Flashlight
- Pelican 3415 Right Angle LED Flashlight
- NITECORE MT21C 1000 Lumen 90 Degree Tiltable Head Multifunction LED Flashlight
So, let’s take a quick look at what these flashlights are and why they’re needed before diving into our top 10 and then we’ll finish with a quick buyer’s guide to help you pick the best right angle flashlight for your needs.
Your # 1 priority is keeping your family safe. As a firefighter, I recommend everyone has updated smoke detectors that don’t require battery changes, like these ones from Kidde, a fire extinguisher, like this one from Amerex, and a fire escape ladder if you have bedrooms above the first floor, I recommend this one from Hausse.
Also read: The 10 Best Firefighter Helmet Lights: Reviewed
What Is A Right Angle Firefighter Flashlight/Light?
A right angle firefighter flashlight is like a regular flashlight, but it has a bulb which is mounted at 90 degrees from the handle or can be moved into a position which is 90 degrees from the handle.
These flashlights often make it easier for a firefighter to work than a regular flashlight. They can be clipped to the turnout/bunker coat for hands-free light or handheld similar to a regular flashlight.
They tend to use a lot of power to provide a very bright light but, thankfully, modern-day battery technology means that they can often run for several hours before they need a charge or new batteries.
Why Do Firefighters Need These Flashlights?
You’d think that fire would provide enough light for a firefighter to work, but every firefighter knows this isn’t the case. A good flashlight helps to cut through the smoke and enable the firefighter to work effectively and safely. The right angle style light in particular is able to be used hands-free by hanging it from your coat.
They can also help when it comes to signaling for assistance when you discover someone trapped in wreckage or if you become trapped yourself, most flashlights will have a built in “SOS” function that allows you to call for help, easily.
Finally, they’re also good for helping you focus your attention on what really matters when you’re working – a solid beam of light can help cut down on distractions because it forces the eyes to the point that really matters.
The 10 Best Right Angle Firefighter Flashlights
All of the flashlights in our round up are excellent and you should be able to find one that suits your needs easily. We use our top pick the Streamlight 90540 survivor out of preference, but we’d be happy to use anything else we recommend here too.
1. Streamlight 90540 Survivor LED Right Angle Flashlight
Our top pick for the best right-angle firefighter flashlight is this excellent model from Streamlight, who you will soon notice have quite a few products in our top 10. Streamlight is one of the most reputable flashlight brands around and they know exactly what it is firefighters need.
Their C4 LED lighting can produce extremely powerful (even blinding) light and it’s completely impervious to shock. It has an expected lifetime of over 50,000 hours and the reflector system ensure that the beam really cuts through the dark up to 400 meters away. Even though it’s powerful, the batteries will run for a long time before exhaustion.
We really like the push button actuator on the top – if you’re wearing heavy gloves then controlling a flashlight can quickly become a pain in many cases, but this one is really easy to operate in gloves.
It has multiple light modes that allow you to tailor the light to the situation and, of course, it has an SOS feature in case things go wrong on a job.
It’s really well made and it’s not only tough enough to take a few knocks but it’s also water resistant to the IPX4 standard. You’d have to be trying pretty hard to break this flashlight in ordinary use.
Our only minor complaint with this flashlight is that it only takes alkaline batteries which means generating waste – but you can get this light with a rechargeable battery and charger here.
The only reason the rechargeable version wasn’t rated number one is because is about twice the cost. For more information about this model, see below #7.
As is, for the price, it’s the best value right angle flashlight in our tests.
You can find the Streamlight 90540 Survivor LED Right Angle Flashlight on Amazon.
Click here for current price on Amazon
2. Pelican 3715 Yellow Right Angle Fire Flashlight
Pelican is another brand that firefighters know they can depend on and this right-angled flashlight is an excellent example of why firefighters can trust Pelican products. It’s a decent sized flashlight.
We like the fact that Pelican is prepared to support the build quality of their flashlights with a lifetime warranty though we’ve yet to have to test that warranty in practice.
The built-in battery life indicator is a nice touch and it means you can have a good idea of how many spares you need to keep on you to get through a call.
It has some downcase LEDs that help to light your path as the front beam does all the work. That beam has a choice of several different signalling modes to work with and the 174 lumens high intensity mode really does cut through the darkness.
We like the built-in clip for attaching it to your coat and it feels solid enough that it should stay there without any issues.
The water resistance is good, and you can completely submerge the Pelican without it getting damaged.
The price is lower than many equivalent models and that ought to make it appealing to a wide range of firefighters trying to keep their costs down.
Our only real issue with the Pelican is that it’s a bit heavier than we’d like. It’s not so much that it’s too heavy but every ounce counts when you’re decked out in your full PPE.
You can find the Pelican 3715 Yellow Right Angle Fire Flashlight on Amazon.
Click here for current price on Amazon
3. Brightstar Responder Right Angle Flashlight
Brightstar also has a solid track record in providing products for firefighters and their emphasis with this flashlight is that it’s “intrinsically safe”. The design is compliant with the UL913 standard which reduces the risk of the flashlight exploding when in hazardous environments and that’s a big selling point.
The beam is very strong, you can get up to 477 meters of penetration from it and it brushes aside smoke and really lights up an area. At 205 lumens it’s one of the brightest flashlights in our tests.
It’s very well made and not only does it meet the waterproofing IP67 standard but it’s also been designed to be dropped from up to 30 feet!
The clip provided with it to attach it to your coat is very easy to use even if you don’t have perfect visibility when you’re putting it on.
You can use either lithium ion rechargeable batteries (one battery is included in the set with the flashlight) or you can use 6 x AA batteries to power it. We like that there’s a choice between the two, but this is a fairly power-hungry flashlight and 6 x AA batteries does add to the weight.
And that’s really the only downside to this flashlight – it’s heavy but it’s designed to do a heavy duty job and it does it better than most other flashlights can.
You can find the Brightstar Responder Right Angle Flashlight on Amazon.
Click here for current price on Amazon
4. Nightstick XPP-5566GX Green Intrant Intrinsically Safe Permissible Dual Angle Light
The Nightstick may be the most flexible flashlight in our test not only does it have 8-different modes for lighting, which might be some kind of record, but it also has a dual angle and that means it can double as a standard flashlight as well as a right-angled flashlight.
You can run both the flashlight and the floodlight at the same time on this model so you really can see pretty much everything. The flashlight gives you good penetration levels into darkness and smoke while the floodlight allows you to keep an eye on this in your peripheral vision.
We like the fact that it uses rechargeable batteries because we’re very much pro saving the planet but we do feel that it might be better if you could also use alkaline batteries. However, the battery life seems to be fairly reasonable – so it might not be an issue for you.
It’s one of the lightest units in our tests which is always a nice thing and it’s decently waterproof and shock-resistant too.
However, the downsides of this flashlight are the controls – they really needed to test the design while wearing gloves. It’s much harder to operate the buttons in gloves than on some of the other models in our tests.
You can find the Nighstick XPP-5566GX Green Intrant Intrinsically Safe Permissible Dual Angle Light on Amazon.
Click here for current price on Amazon
5. Streamlight 88834 PolyTac 90 LED Right Angle Polymer Flashlight
This is a “Super Tac” device from Streamlgiht and that means it’s a very high-performance piece of kit. It also uses the C4 LED system which means you can expect an incredible level of brightness (they say it’s 3x brighter than a standard LED light but we had no way to measure that to see if it was true).
The parabolic reflector system in this model means that you can really focus that bright beam of light where you want it and still keep your peripheral vision which means you shouldn’t lose sight of the important things.
It’s a completely rechargeable battery system though and again, we’d like a choice to use alkaline batteries if necessary but at least the 3V CR123A batteries are a standard lithium cell, so buying spares isn’t an issue. It will run for about 3.5 hours from 100% to 10% charge.
They provide a limited lifetime warranty on this flashlight which is always nice to have. The waterproofing is to the IPX7 standard.
The push button system on the cap makes it pretty easy to work in gloves too.
However, despite all this – the design just feels a little cheap and plasticky. It’s slightly less expensive than our top choice but we think it’s worth paying the extra if you can rather than buying this.
You can find the Streamlight 88834 PolyTac 90 LED Right Angle Polymer Flashlight on Amazon.
Click here for current price on Amazon
6. Streamlight 88087 ProTac 90 Right Angle Light
The big deal with this Streamlight flashlight is that it’s the most flexible when it comes to fuel sources, while it does use a CR123A lithium battery (which it ships with – spares are also easy to buy) it can also use AA Alkaline or AA lithium batteries and that means you should never find yourself out of charge.
It’s surprisingly bright too though it’s not as bright as some of the models in our tests. It uses the same C4 LED technology as other Streamlights but its maximum beam distance is only 147 meters which is still a good reach. It’s worth noting, however, that if you’re using AA batteries this drops to about 93 meters.
The run time is decent and in low power mode it can go for about 15 hours, though in full power (depending on the battery) it goes from 1 hour and 45 minutes to as long as 5 hours and 30 minutes.
You can program the switch on this flashlight to get the beam you want when you tap it. That’s a nice piece of customization.
It’s also shockproof, waterproof (to IPX7) and high temperature resistant and thus a great firefighter’s choice.
Overall, we think we’d use this as a backup light as the battery flexibility is awesome but we’d prefer it was just a bit brighter.
You can find the Streamlight 88087 ProTac 90 Right Angle Light on Amazon.
Click here for current price on Amazon
7. Streamlight Survivor Rechargeable
As the name suggests, this is a rechargeable flashlight, and like all the other Streamlight models it incorporates their C4 LED lighting technology. It can put out up to 175 lumens over a distance of just under 380 meters which makes it a very bright light indeed.
You’ll get an impressive 3.5 hours out of the battery on high power and it can run for 13 hours of “low mode” which still pushes out 60 lumens over a 219-meter beam distance. There’s also an ultra-low-power mode, the “moonlight mode” and that battery can go up to 20 days on that!
It’s fully water resistant to the IPX4 standard and it can be dropped from heights of 6 feet without breaking.
It comes with a fast charger in the box to ensure that you can get it back up to full charge easily between calls.
This model is relatively new to the market, so we can’t get any feedback on it from other firefighters, as yet but it’s a very promising start and it might end up moving up the ranks in a later review of right angled flashlights.
It is, however, a little bit more expensive than some of the other models.
You can find the Streamlight Survivor Rechargeable on Amazon.
Click here for current price on Amazon
8. Streamlight 88830 PolyTac 90 LED Right Angle Polymer Flashlight
This is a great choice for many firefighters. It’s very compact and it clips easily on to your turn-out gear or it can be inserted into a head strap and used as a helmet-light too.
We found it was one of the easiest models to operate while using gloves and you can change light modes just by clicking the large button mounted on the head of the light.
The bulb is very powerful, and you can get a 170 lumen beam that runs for up to 3.75 hours at a time, the low performance mode can give you up to 30 hours of up time too.
As you’d expect for a flashlight that’s this compact, it’s also very lightweight but without compromising the impact resistance or the waterproofing (which meets the IPX7 standard).
The only thing we didn’t like is that it feels a bit cheap and cheerful in the hand and we’re not sure that it will last as long as some of the other flashlights in our review.
You can find the Streamlight 88830 PolyTac 90 LED Right Angle Polymer Flashlight on Amazon.
Click here for current price on Amazon
9. Pelican 3415 Right Angle LED Flashlight
This is the second Pelican light in our round up and it’s sort of the little brother to an elder sister. It’s not as powerful as our earlier pick but it’s still capable of 653 lumens in its brightest mode and can offer a beam distance of about 184 meters.
The running time of 5 hours is very impressive for high mode and the 61 hours in low mode is quite incredible. We also like the fact that it comes with a magnetic clip so that it can be attached to a steel surface as well as to your uniform.
The lifetime guarantee is amazing – they promise to replace this light in any circumstances even when you break it. As you might expect that means that shock-proofing and waterproofing on this model are excellent.
Our only real grumbles are that this one doesn’t have a rechargeable battery option and that it’s a little less bright than the other Pelican flashlight. It’s a very solid choice.
You can find the Pelican 3415 Right Angle LED Flashlight on Amazon.
Click here for current price on Amazon
10. NITECORE MT21C 1000 Lumen 90 Degree Tiltable Head Multifunction LED Flashlight
Our final product in our round up is the NITECORE MT21C which has a tiltable head that allows it to be used as a standard flashlight as well as a right-angled flashlight. We hadn’t come across the company’s products before, but this is an impressive piece of kit.
It’s reasonably powerful and can provide 1000 lumens over about 160 meters which puts it about mid-ranking compared to the other flashlights in this review. However, the incredible 700 hours of high efficiency running on a single charge cannot be beaten.
You can use alkaline batteries, but you can use either 18650 or CR123A lithium batteries which ensures that you can easily purchase rechargeable spares. It comes with an 18650 and a charger as standard.
However, we weren’t entirely impressed with the beam color or the overall build quality – it’s not the cheapest flashlight in our test but you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was.
You can find the NITECORE MT21C 1000 Lumen 90 Degree Tiltable Head Multifunction LED Flashlight on Amazon.
Click here for current price on Amazon
What To Look For In A Right Angle Flashlight For Firefighters
So, what should you look out for when you go buy a flashlight for yourself or another firefighter?
Light Output (Lumens)
Generally, the brighter the light, the better and brightness is measured in lumens. You should be aiming for at least 160 lumens in high mode and there are flashlights that can offer even more brightness.
Intensity Of The Beam
The beam also needs to penetrate the darkness and the smoke. The intensity of the beam is measured in candelas (not lumens) but often the more useful figure is the maximum beam length which can give you an idea of how far you can see with the flashlight.
Overall Size And Weight
Right angled flashlights, particularly handheld ones, can be a little more bulky than a standard flashlight or helmet light but you still want to try and keep the size and weight to a minimum if you can – every ounce counts when you remember that a firefighter’s gear can weight up to 70lbs in total.
Battery Type
We prefer flashlights with dual power sources that allow you to go green and use rechargeable lithium ion batteries most of the time but which can be filled with easily available alkaline batteries if necessary.
Battery Life
How long will your flashlight work when in full power and low power modes? This is important because if it won’t last long enough, you’re going to need to carry more spare batteries andthat means more weight while you’re working.
Quality Of Waterproofing And Shockproofing
There’s no such thing as 100% shockproof but you should at least be able to drop your flashlight a few times without it breaking. Waterproofing is an essential part of the use for a firefighter and it helps if the flashlight is certified to specific standards.
IPX7 is particularly good as it means the flashlight can be immersed in water for up to 30 minutes to a depth of 1 meter.
Budget
Finally, your budget matters too. Some flashlights can be very expensive though our top pick in this review is in the mid-range, you can spend up to $200 on a flashlight if you want. We’d advise you make certain that whatever you spend buys the features you really need.
Conclusion
We hope that our 10 best right angle firefighter flashlights options has been useful. We feel that the Streamlight 90540 Survivor LED Right Angle Flashlight is the best choice for firefighters and it’s the one I use myself, but any of the lights in this guide can do a decent job and shouldn’t let you down when you’re working.
