How to make a pinhole camera with a flashlight

You need: cereal box, tissue paper (or onionskin), tinfoil, black crayon, cellophane, flashlight

Step 1: Cut an opening about 3 inches square out of the bottom of a round cereal box.

Step 2: Paste very thin paper over this hole.

Step 3: Cut another square hole, about the size of a small postage stamp, in the center of the top of the box.

Step 4: Cover this new square hole with tinfoil.

Step 5: In the center of the tinfoil make a small hole with a pin.

Step 6: Cut out a paper doll and crayon it black.

Step 7: Tape the doll with cellophane tape to the glass of a flashlight.

Step 8: Hold the box about 2 feet away from the lighted lamp (preferably in a darkened room). Point the pinhole at the lamp and look at the tissue paper.


What you will see: An image of the doll is thrown on the tissue paper-upside down.

Why: The rays of light travel in straight lines from the lamp to the image, as shown in the illustration. This is what happens in our eye. The image forms upside down on the retina.

Need a reliable affordable flashlight? Don't go for the cheap flashlight that'll last a few weeks - visit Klarus Light's website and browse through the wide range of tactical, durable flashlights that will last you a life time!

Every Man Should Carry a Torch

From helping you find your way back to your campsite, to allowing you to find a missing widget under the bed, to providing illumination when the lights go out, to warding off a would-be attacker, there are few tools as handy and essential as the flashlight. And there are few tools that elicit as much affection and attachment. I think our British friends’ word for the flashlight – torch – gets right to the heart of the appeal. The flashlight is simply the latest iteration of the ancient need to carry fire in one’s hand.

As we’ve moved from burning branches to battery-powered tubes, the number of options for handheld light has multiplied. You may think that all flashlights are the same, but boy you’d be wrong. There’s more to know than you could possibly imagine. Today, we’ll stick to the basics that every man should know and consider when buying a flashlight.

Five Basic Categories of Flashlights

• Keychain/EDC
• Utility
• Tactical
• Heavy-Duty or Industrial
• Emergency

Now that you have all this information, what do you do with it? Klarus Light is the best website to take a look at for a wide variety of flashlights and accessories.

Is it possible to catch a fish with just a flashlight?

Simply shining an ordinary flashlight at the water won't help your fishing -- not by much anyway. 

Now, if you are fishing on a lake or pond and have a light powerful enough to penetrate deep into the water (say, more than 3 feet), you might be able to attract some smaller baitfish. Juvenile fish are attracted to light, and adult fish are attracted to juveniles. 

So, when you see ads for "miracle lights" that help you catch dozens of fish, it's just a bright, waterproof light that shines down into the water to bring up very small fish. Any similar light will do, Klarus light has a wide range of tactical flashlights that can be ideal. The fish you want to catch follow the small fish and pretty soon it's a real party.

If you decide to go night fishing, a battery operated fluorescent lantern is best to take with. Make sure it is one that is very bright. Hang it out over the gunwale on an oar, and when there is a little wave action the water might actually get on the lantern, so it’s best to get one that is water resistant. 

Night fishing can be a bit slow moving at first, but it's worth it for the occasional really good night. Also, take your kid night fishing like this and they'll NEVER forget it!

How to build a simple flashlight with your kids

Have you or your children ever wanted to build your own flashlight? The following spells it all out for you. Just remember to have fun!

First you need to gather up all of the materials you will need. Below is a list of the following items needed to conduct this project:

• x2 D batteries
• x2 13cm pieces of #22 copper insulated wire with the ends stripped off
• toilet tissue roll – cut to 10cm in length
• 3 volt flashlight bulb
• x2 brass fasteners
• 3cm X 8cm cardboard strip
• A paper clip
• Small paper cup
• Tape

Are you ready? Let’s get started.

>> Push the brass fasteners through the tube and attach the paperclip. The paperclip will act as your on/off switch.

>> Attach a wire to each fastener on the inside of the tube.

>> Next, tape your batteries together (+to-) and place inside the tube.

>> Take one end of wire and secure it to the bottom of one battery’s negative terminal.

>> Take the other wire and insert it through a hole in the centre of the cardboard strip (the hole needs to be large enough to fit the bulb through). Then twist the wire around the bottom of the bulb and insert the bulb into the cardboard strip.

>> This strip, when taped to the tube, will position the bulb for contact with the positive terminal on the battery.

>> Punch a hole through the bottom of your paper cup and push the bulb through the hold. The cup will then act as your reflector. Secure with tape.

What happened? Did the flashlight work? It should have. If not, make sure your wires are connected securely. Back in 1898, the first flashlight was constructed and this is almost the exact same project.

Klarus Light pride themselves on manufacturing the best, most innovative flashlights in the world. For a wide selection of flashlights, visit the Klarus website and place your order today! 

Review – Klarus Light XT11

The light itself is constructed of aircraft aluminium with a dark grey hard-anodized finish that is well matched across all parts of the flashlight.

The light is easily disassembled into its component parts – Head, body, tail cap and tactical ring.  All parts thread together very smoothly.  The pocket clip can also be removed without the use of tools. O-rings installed at the head and tail help the XT11 achieve an IPX-8 rating against water ingress.

Here are some other features of the XT11:

>> The head of the XT11 features a finned base and is topped off with the removable crenelated bezel ring.

>> The bezel ring is easily removed by hand allowing the installation of the optional filters or diffuser.

>> Battery contact at the head is maintained, even under recoil through the use of a brass spring.

>> The body is finished with a checkered pattern for improved grip.  The removable pocket clip snaps securely into place and is held in place by friction against the body.

>> Lettering is a slightly off-white colour and is very sharp and legible against the dark grey background.

>> The removable tactical ring installs between the tail cap and body.  The ring also provides an additional lanyard attachment point and is able to rotate freely around the body of the flashlight.

>> Inside the tail cap a brass spring-loaded button is used to make and maintain battery contact.  Batteries may be loaded from either the head or tail.

>> The tail cap houses the two switches and has raised edges which provide a lanyard attachment point and protect against accidental activation.  The main switch protrudes slightly beyond the raised edges meaning the XT11 cannot tail stand.  A flat area is machined into the outer edge of the tail cap to allow indexing the light so that the user’s thumb is properly aligned with the switches.

>> The two tail cap switches have distinct purposes with the taller round switch serving to turn the XT11 on and off and the shorter mode button used to cycle through the operating modes.

>> The main switch is a forward clicky and allows momentary operation with a partial press and constant-on operation with a full press and click.  The XT11 always turns on in high mode first.

>> When the light is on, each press and release of the mode button will advance to the next output mode (High -> Medium -> Low -> Back to High).  Holding the Mode button for 2 seconds will activate the strobe mode.

>> The strobe mode may also be accessed directly while the XT11 is off by pressing the Mode button.

When it’s all said and done, the Klarus XT11’s biggest selling points are going to be its price and feature set.  I do believe it is a little more “tacticool” than “tactical” and it is better suited for general use rather than in a hardcore tactical environment.

To purchase the Klarus XT11 for yourself, all you need to do is visit Klarus Light's website and place your order. If you're looking for something else, there is a wide range of different flashlights and accessories to choose from!

The key component that your flashlight always needs!

The design of your flashlight’s reflector affects both the beam’s strength and focus. Without a reflector in place, no matter how powerful the light, the beam would just diffuse everywhere – like a solitary candle sitting on a table. So, reflectors are important. Without them, you just bought a very expensive candle.

But you don’t want a candle. You want a mean and surly tactical flashlight, and for that, you need to understand reflectors.

Most modern flashlights allow you to adjust the reflectors – most of the time by twisting the bezel – to narrow or widen the beam. It’s when you perform this function that you truly notice the difference in the various types of reflectors: smooth, faceted and orange peel.

Let’s examine each of these:

Smooth Reflectors

Smooth reflectors have been around as long as flashlights. Actually, they were around before if you count lanterns as the precursor to modern flashlights. They are cheap and easy to make. That’s why they are typically found in lower quality flashlights. The problem with smooth reflectors is that they project patches of bright light and darkness. You may have noticed this when using a cheaper flashlight – there a big shadow right in the centre of the beam.

Now, some smooth reflectors are well made and can project a quality beam when tightly focused, but when you broaden the beam, the rings of shadow and light come back again. It’s just a design flaw.

Faceted Reflectors

This was the next evolution in reflector technology and eliminated the rings of shadows and light seen with smooth reflectors.  Faceted reflectors are comprised of hundreds – or even thousands – of tiny little mirrors that focus light in the same direction at a slightly different angle – this eliminates those annoying rings. Now, you do lose some of that tight focus you get with a smooth reflector, but many find the trade-off to be worth it. As a general rule, the more facets a reflector boasts, the cleaner and smoother the beam – no matter how tight.

Orange Peel Reflectors

This is the final evolution – thus far – of flashlight reflectors. Instead of facets, the entire surface of the reflector has a smooth yet textured appearance. The reflector – with the exception of colour – takes its name from its resemblance to an orange peel. Because it projects such a smooth light regardless of focus, this type of reflector is used in most high-quality flashlights like the ones found in our store.

As you consider your next flashlight, take into consideration the different types of flashlight reflectors.  Especially when you are evaluating the varying beam distances that are available on flashlights, take note of the reflector type as it just might impact which light accompanies you when the sun goes down.

For a wide range of flashlights, with a variety of quality reflectors - contact Klarus Light today!

How to find the best small flashlight for you

Power used to mean sacrificing convenience. In order to have a powerful flashlight you needed to be willing to carry around a huge, bulky flashlight. Anything that could fit in your back pocket wasn’t good for much more than reading a book or using to find the candles in a power outage.

But things have changed. Today, even small flashlights can have a high lumen output and long beam throw. Some even incorporate advanced features that previously were only found in top-of-the-line, tactical flashlights. Technology is a wonderful thing, and we live in exciting times!

So, what defines a small flashlight, and how does a small flashlight become the best?

A Small Flashlight Defined

Typically a small flashlight is under 10cm and under 100 grams in weight without the battery. Anything under 8cm and 75 grams is considered a mini-flashlight – though many people use these two categories interchangeably. Finally, under 5cm and 50 grams and you have a micro (or keychain) flashlight.

What Places a Small Flashlight Among the Best?

Now that you know defines a small flashlight, it’s time to get into what distinguished a small flashlight as one of the best.

-- An Easy to Use Interface

We bet you thought we were going to say power, right? Well, we will get to that, but we think the user interface is even more important than power. Given the size of these lights, there isn’t a whole lot of room to work with. So, an efficient and easy-to-operate user interface is a must. Make sure you can access any of the flashlights modes quickly.

-- Lumen Output

Okay, time to talk about power. This is pretty easy. In order to be ranked among the best, a small flashlight needs multiple brightness modes and a max lumen output of AT LEAST 200. Anything less and it doesn’t qualify.

-- Multiple Beam Shapes

There are two types of beams: flood and throw. Throw is long, narrow and focused; Flood is short, wide and diffuse. The best small flashlights allow you to choose between either.

-- Construction Material

There was a time when small meant comprised of inferior materials. That’s not the case anymore. The best small flashlights use the same materials as the larger ones: high-quality, aero-grade, anodized aluminium. Don’t accept anything less.

-- Impact and Water Resistance

In order to be the best, an impact resistance of at least one meter and a water resistance rating of at least IPX-7 per ANSI/FL1 standards are necessary.

Klarus Light has a wide range of flashlights, including affordable, durable and innovative small flashlights that can still provide you with a high lumen output!