Why You Need To Buy More Than One Flashlight

I want to talk today about why you need to buy more than one flashlight for your home or car. This may seem so silly, but it’s not, let me explain. Sometimes we may visualize a disaster happens when the sun is shining outside. Well, the truth is a disaster or unforeseen emergency can happen at any time of the day or night. We need more than one flashlight for the reasons outlined below. It doesn’t have to be an earthquake or tornado prompting the need to be evacuated as shown in the news clips below.  Flashlights have been a mainstay for years for use around the house and yard. For short periods they provide just the amount of light to get by.  If you need light for longer periods you’ll want candles or lanterns. Just plan to be prepared for loss of power from many causes.

We Need More Than One Flashlight

1. Some flashlights need batteries and batteries can go bad and be useless. We can also run out of batteries and forget to replace the ones that go with that one particular flashlight.  Having multiple flashlights gives us backup and options, just in case.
2. I like every member of the family to have a flashlight by their bedside. If you haven’t seen my homemade emergency bedside bag here it is: Survival Bed Pouch. You can’t count on every room having light just because your’s does. Children need the added comfort of knowing they have a light source when needed.
3. Children will feel more comfortable with a smaller flashlight that fits in their little hands. We need different size batteries for different flashlights. Here is a perfect one for kids: Goal Zero 90109 Solo V2 Solar Flashlight. We always have a handy drawer located in our kitchen with extra batteries so everyone knows where to go if their flashlight doesn’t work. We’ve tried the rechargeable approach in the past, but never seem to keep up with making sure the batteries are kept charged.  I know it can save money in the long run, but I just like the convenience of changing to new batteries from the drawer.
4. This is my all time favorite flashlight: Goal Zero Torch 250 Flashlight with Integrated Solar Panel. I like this one since it can be “cranked” for power if I’ve left it uncharged from solar sources and I need light immediately. It can also be charged with a USB port, meaning I don’t have to search around for a special charger.
5. I prefer solar ones because they are typically crank, solar or rechargeable in a few different ways like the car, wall or USB.
6. If you decide to buy a flashlight with batteries you will need to replace and rotate the batteries to make sure you have fresh ones that work when needed. Make it a point to check the batteries at the same time you change furnace filters, perform seasonal projects in your yard, change the batteries in your smoke alarms, etc. Making each of these “chores” at the same time of the year makes remembering them much easier.

Battery Flashlights:

Pros: typically cheaper, but come in several sizes from very small to very large

Cons: you need new batteries or rechargeable ones and a charger for the size batteries to be charged

Solar/Crank Flashlights:

Pros: you have more than one way to keep it powered, solar, crank, USB, wall and car connections

Cons: more expensive up front

Flashlights are great gifts for college students, wedding gifts and birthday gifts (age appropriate)

Disaster Dates And Approximate Times Of Past Events

Hurricane Sandy: Huffington Post Report on Hurricane Sandy

Hildale, Utah: Flashfloods in Utah by Recent Natural Disasters

Santa Clara, Utah: Santa Clara, Utah Flood by USGS

Utah Mudslide: North Salt Lake City, Utah by NBC New

These are just a few of the natural disasters I’m most familiar with, and I can tell you, we must be ready to evacuate in minutes or seconds in some cases. Here’s the deal, we need more than one flashlight because I can tell you right now I want my own flashlight. I have headlamps as well as 20+flashlights. I do not like the dark, I want to be able to walk out my door with something in my hand to direct the way with light.