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LED flashlights that burn for 100-plus hours may sound pretty cool, and they are… if nothing important or dangerous is going on around you in the dark.
But that little power thrifty “night light” doesn’t shine very far, or have much impact when you are trying to see what creature is lurking in the dark outside your camp. And that 100-plus hour flashlight would never be able to blind an assailant during a nighttime run-in with a 2-legged predator.
With that in mind, meet the SOG Dark Energy 214. This palm-sized cylinder full of sunlight has many more features than you would expect from such a petite package. The housing is aggressively checkered with a rough texture which provides you with a great grip, wet or dry, with gloves or bare handed. It’s actually quite reminiscent of the checkering on the handles of many SOG fixed blade knives. The on/off button is full click, but it also comes with two “half click” options: 40% power and a mesmerizing strobe light feature. The integrated clip fits snugly on a belt or the inside of a pocket lip.
Here are SOG Dark Energy 214 Specs
• Length: 3.8″
• Weight: 3.0 ounces
• Body: 6061-T6 Aluminum
• Run Time: 80 minutes on high, 180 minutes on low
• Max Output: 214 Lumens
• Battery: CR123A
• Bulb: R5 LED
The Achilles heel of this little guy is that it eats up batteries just like all its tactical flashlight kin. But that’s part of the deal with these ligths. It takes a lot of juice to light up the night. The only other little gripe that I have would be that there’s no way to adjust the beam spread.
In summation, this compact, versatile light is small enough to store in a pocket or clip to your pack, and powerful enough to be a great survival kit addition.