I’m a welder by trade, and I often use flashlights to inspect my work. I’ve used a bunch of Maglite solitaires for a while, but I’m getting a little tired of how fast they gunk up or burn out. Turns out, welding work is ROUGH on flashlights, especially if you keep using them through grinding and polishing. What I’m looking for is a small, very durable flashlight. Preferably under 1" in diameter, between 3 and 5 inches long, and very durable with regards to heat and abrasive, conductive dust. Ideally, I’d like something usb-c rechargeable, but without some kind of dust flap for the port I don’t see how that’s possible. The other problem I tend to have with the maglites is that I end up melting the plastic cover over the bulb. That let’s in dust, burning out the element. The front cover would probably need to be something other than plastic. Replacing the solitaires isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it’s a pain in my ass to forget to buy more and end up burning out the last one when I need it. I don’t need anything particularly bright, just indestructible.
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I’d drop the USB charging on the flashlight and get an Xtar PB2S USB-C charger/powerbank. That opens up your flashlight options quite a bit and I specifically suggest the Zebralight SC64c LE. It’s my favorite everyday carry light and among the most durable in that size range.
You’ll need some unprotected, flat-top 18650 batteries. If you’re in the US, I suggest these Panasonics from Illumn.
I agree with the Zebralight suggestions. I own way too many lights and the Zebralights are not the ones I use most often, but they are the toughest of them. They are also very efficient, which not only conserves battery but reduces heat generated. And they are thin compared to most other lights in the same class.
Zebralight offers high CRI versions of its models, which I recommend. The technical details are kind of complex, but basically the light they produce makes it easier to see and differentiate colors.
I work in the aerospace industry. So not as dusty as your environment. However I do use this flashlight around our engines after they have been running. It comes with a rotatable collar that acts as a dust cover. But it’s not USB C, it uses micro USB.
Rotating collars are death to tools in an environment like mine. You’re just asking for abrasive dust to chew in there.
It looks like the AAA Solitaire goes up to 47 lumens, which is pretty easy to find in a similar size. I have used the acebeam pokelit AA (not 2xAA) which has been reviewed quite a bit and can be found on amazon in the US for under $20. It is sold with an included 14500 cell which also has a built-in usb-c charger. So you would need to unscrew the head (which has a glass lens I think not plastic) to charge the battery, preventing water or other ingress.
I’m not sure if it makes sense to invest in a very durable but more expensive light in the event it does end up broken, but if you want to, zebralight is well regarded for durability and you can get a single-AA model and use rechargeable Nimh cells if you would like: https://www.zebralight.com/SC53c-N-Neutral-White-High-CRI-AA-Flashlight_p_249.html. They also offer other models supporting lithium-ion.
Maybe the Fenix PD25R would be a good choice. It’s the size you wanted, has usb-c charging but protected behind a aluminium cover, IP68 rated, 1.5m drop rated.
