A flashlight is probably one of the most important tools I use on the road in my concert photography work. Maybe not so much at those local shows that are just down the road and don’t require much gear, but the longer trips and festival weekends require a little extra. A trusty flashlight is one of those extra things that I keep in my bag which now, surprisingly, gets a lot of use.

Up until now I would always carry this tiny finger size flashlight that put out a minimal amount of light at a crappy distance. It was useful though; just not something that I would really care about bringing along. When I got my hands on the LED Lenser P5R I was pleasantly surprised at what was possible in such a small package. Sporting a rock solid 200 lumen LED, the P5R powers through many other torches in its class and can really turn heads. In addition to the 200 lumen output capability, this light also features a 20 lumen mode as well as a ‘defensive’ flashing mode that is equally nauseous as it is blinding.

This thing is bright, and I mean bright. It’s amazing how far electronics have to to where we can pack that much punch into a light with the thickness of a cigar and a length smaller than my hand. Crafted out of lightweight, but exceptionally sturdy aluminum, the P5R one of the many extras that I throw in my bag where ever I go now. It is extremely useful on the road and backstage as many of the photographic situations that I find myself in are not very ideal in terms of lighting and safety. The LED Lenser P5R is also a great tool for my night photography in the sense that it’s great for light writing. On camera it gives a nice clean beam of light, and in addition to that beam of light I get the nice intermittent on and off if I depress the on-button halfway.

Included with the P5R are a bunch of other goodies that you wouldn’t expect from a flashlight company. The P5R ships in this nice hard plastic case that screams quality. Also included is LED Lenser’s amazing battery charging system. I thought this charging system was extremely innovative in comparison to other flashlight companies’ designs. First off, LED Lenser includes a Lithium Ion rechargeable battery in which they claim can be juiced up about 1000 times over before it goes kaput. On full power, this torch sucks about 3 hours out of the rechargeable battery, but on 20 lumen power it gets a more efficient 9 hours which sounds pretty good seeing as how it’s powered by one AA size battery. It’s not all bad, though, when you run out of juice. Simply plug in the flashlight with the included adapter, which by the way is magnetic, to your nearest outlet or computer. Yes, this torch charges off your computer’s USB port. Simply amazing.

Overall I thought this torch was awesome with its insane output and cool charging system. It met all my needs and expectations though it would have been cool if it was fully waterproof and submersible. Though not completely waterproof, it is water resistant to where you can splash it and still be confident that it will survive. Pretty negligent and I don’t see myself running into a problem because of it. This light now lives in my Think Tank Urban Disguise shoulder bag.

This torch earns an A.

You can buy the P5R from LED Lenser for about $75, which in my opinion is well worth the cost. Or, Amazon…