Just as every day carry (edc) on your person is a thing, what you always have with you in your vehicle is also important to consider. I'm going to be doing a couple of posts on this topic and to start things off, I'm going to talk about flashlights.
I'm very much what might be called a "flash-o-holic" so I'm going to spare the community here the deeper dive into this topic. What I hope to do is get you thinking about this subject if it is something your haven't considered before. To keep things simple, I'm going to give you my choice and the reasons why. Without further ado, my vehicle flashlight is,
Olight Marauder Mini 2
I currently have the original Marauder Mini (in the bright orange you see in the picture) and since Olight was running a Black Friday sale, this was an easy update to make. The original is a good choice and I'll be putting it in another vehicle but the Mini 2 addresses one major complaint people had about the Mini. I'll cover that below but in no particular order these are my reasons for choosing the Mini 2.
1) Power to Size ratio - This flashlight, while not something you would typically carry on your person, is small and fits in your hand well. If you have medium to large hands you might even think it could be longer. As it is, the Mini 2 fits not only in the Bronco glove box but also the center console with some room to spare. The battery is a single 32650 cell which is also not the typical size you will see in most larger flashlights. However, at 7500 mAh, the runtime you get is higher than 18650 or 21700 cells. Lights with larger capacities will use multiple 18650 or 21700 cells so this could bother some people but it comes with the battery so I'm fine with it. The battery is removable so you do have the option of keeping extra for extend use cases.
2) Beam patterns - The Mini 2 is an excellent flood and spot light but the major upgrade is that now you can run both channels at the same time. This was one of the most glaring issues with the original Marauder Mini. The LEP type of spot on this light is great if you need to put an intense amount of light in one area. If you've ever been out in the middle of nowhere or on a camp site and someone has gone missing, you know how important it to be able to focus a lot of light into an area of interest. Equally important is understand the visual context of what you are looking at and that means being able to see a wider field of view. The Marauder Mini 2 gives you the best of both worlds simultaneously when you need it.
3) Special functions - The Mini 2 has strobe, red light and work light functions. Of those, the work light is the most useful. It is a single floody LED light on the side that is perfect for up close work. It feels more natural using this light in such situations since the Mini 2 is top heavy. Inverting the light to use its moonlight level to say inspect your Bronco on the trail is fine but you might find that the side light is better. You have the choice. The strobe and red channel have their uses but I would have liked to see a beacon mode in addition to or instead of the strobe. Definitely not a deal breaker. The red channel is the brightness emitting flashlight I have now. Red light preserves your night vision and also doesn't travel as far as as white light or other colors. The original Mini has a single red emitter but also a green and blue. Green and blue have their uses too but generally speaking, if you're going include a non-white light channel, red is the most useful.
Olight did a great job on the Marauder Mini 2 and it is one of the best all around flashlight I have. The feature set is perfect for the adventurer and that aligns perfectly with the mindset of many Bronco owners. That said, I would recommend to anyone want looking for vehicle flashlight. You might even want to consider it as your goto flashlight for home
I'm very much what might be called a "flash-o-holic" so I'm going to spare the community here the deeper dive into this topic. What I hope to do is get you thinking about this subject if it is something your haven't considered before. To keep things simple, I'm going to give you my choice and the reasons why. Without further ado, my vehicle flashlight is,
Olight Marauder Mini 2
I currently have the original Marauder Mini (in the bright orange you see in the picture) and since Olight was running a Black Friday sale, this was an easy update to make. The original is a good choice and I'll be putting it in another vehicle but the Mini 2 addresses one major complaint people had about the Mini. I'll cover that below but in no particular order these are my reasons for choosing the Mini 2.
1) Power to Size ratio - This flashlight, while not something you would typically carry on your person, is small and fits in your hand well. If you have medium to large hands you might even think it could be longer. As it is, the Mini 2 fits not only in the Bronco glove box but also the center console with some room to spare. The battery is a single 32650 cell which is also not the typical size you will see in most larger flashlights. However, at 7500 mAh, the runtime you get is higher than 18650 or 21700 cells. Lights with larger capacities will use multiple 18650 or 21700 cells so this could bother some people but it comes with the battery so I'm fine with it. The battery is removable so you do have the option of keeping extra for extend use cases.
2) Beam patterns - The Mini 2 is an excellent flood and spot light but the major upgrade is that now you can run both channels at the same time. This was one of the most glaring issues with the original Marauder Mini. The LEP type of spot on this light is great if you need to put an intense amount of light in one area. If you've ever been out in the middle of nowhere or on a camp site and someone has gone missing, you know how important it to be able to focus a lot of light into an area of interest. Equally important is understand the visual context of what you are looking at and that means being able to see a wider field of view. The Marauder Mini 2 gives you the best of both worlds simultaneously when you need it.
3) Special functions - The Mini 2 has strobe, red light and work light functions. Of those, the work light is the most useful. It is a single floody LED light on the side that is perfect for up close work. It feels more natural using this light in such situations since the Mini 2 is top heavy. Inverting the light to use its moonlight level to say inspect your Bronco on the trail is fine but you might find that the side light is better. You have the choice. The strobe and red channel have their uses but I would have liked to see a beacon mode in addition to or instead of the strobe. Definitely not a deal breaker. The red channel is the brightness emitting flashlight I have now. Red light preserves your night vision and also doesn't travel as far as as white light or other colors. The original Mini has a single red emitter but also a green and blue. Green and blue have their uses too but generally speaking, if you're going include a non-white light channel, red is the most useful.
Olight did a great job on the Marauder Mini 2 and it is one of the best all around flashlight I have. The feature set is perfect for the adventurer and that aligns perfectly with the mindset of many Bronco owners. That said, I would recommend to anyone want looking for vehicle flashlight. You might even want to consider it as your goto flashlight for home
