Why A Flashlight's Color Temperature Matters

In the world of flashlight marketing, you may often see the term 'color temperature' used to describe the properties of certain flashlights — but what exactly does this mean? How can a color have a temperature? What implications does this have for my flashlight?

You see, not all light is created equal. Light comes in various colors and these colors can be defined by using something known as the Kelvin color temperature scale. Light characterized as "warm" (more yellow) can be found on the lower end of the scale whereas "cool" types of light (more blue) can be found on the higher end. The color temperature scale below demonstrates this quite nicely.

Certain color temperatures can be more useful than others. It all depends on the application. Higher color temperatures (10,000K) can have the appearance of being brighter — but often at the cost of sacrificing color and detail. For example, one would not use such a color temperature in an art gallery because the color and detail would simply be washed away by the light.

On the flipside, a warmer color temperature (2000K) can help bring attention to certain details but often at the cost of creating a noticeable yellow or red tint.

Historically, consumer lighting products often had a warmer color temperature which was the natural byproduct of using filament technology. As LED and HID bulbs gained popularity, consumers became obsessed with increasingly higher color temperatures. For a short period of time, this resulted in modified automobiles which had overwhelmingly bright headlights.

This trend eventually found its way into the world of flashlights as well. Manufacturers were pumping out high color temperature flashlights because they often produced the novelty effect of appearing to be overwhelmingly bright.

With time, consumers began to realize that a higher color temperature does not necessarily mean better illumination. As a result, manufacturers have started producing flashlights with warmer color temperatures. Because this technology is often times more expensive to use, manufacturers and retails will often bring attention to this feature of the flashlight.

While there is plenty of room to be pedantic about the exact color temperature a customer prefers, most agree that a neutral color temperature of 6000K-6500K will provide a happy medium between brightness and detail.