![Anker [Rechargeable] Bolder LC40 Flashlight, LED Torch, Super Bright 400 Lumens CREE LED, IP65 Water Resistant, 5 Modes High/Medium/Low/Strobe/SOS, Indoor/Outdoor (Camping, Hiking and Emergency Use)](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41Nk%2Bp%2BYjYL.jpg)
I bought this without doing extensive research because Anker rocks. Their power banks are the bomb and pretty much everything I've gotten from them so this excited me. It does work exactly as advertised- I just didn't realize it had design shortcomings before buying it.
Pros
USB rechargeability at this price point is pretty awesome and the battery life seems awesome, assuming it's actually that 3... mah they advertise. Update... the battery life is awesome.
Being water proof, this bright, USB rechargeable, and having a mode memory is a good thing. That and the scalloped bezel is nice. The battery is replaceable, tho I haven't tried it. The light spread and pattern is great. Its comfortable to hold too. It performs very well.
I have dropped it several times on rocks and concrete.. not a scratch!
Cons.
FIX THE MODES!!! It sucks that you have to cycle through strobe and sos everytime, that needs to be locked out accessible through specific button command. The button also needs soft clicking / partial actuation usability. I don't like that the USB port is on the back as opposed to the side, making the button tiny. NO! it's too clicky and just sounds cheap. Still feels pretty good. The runner is soft. The Gnurling or "antislip" surface is a joke. It needs to be more aggresive, meaning cut deeper and with wider gaps and slightly sharper edges.. its uniquely shaped but not very functional for not slipping. Lastly... the pocket clip and material all around seems thin. It feels strong however. It just doesn't look very nice. Not that that matters at this price point. I'm holding this light to foursevens standards, which is a problem I suppose because it's a 20$ light. Oh yeah.. no lanyard hole and the pocket clip isn't removable... poo
All that garbage said, the only real problem I have is the modes, which is what I'm removing the star for.. and the weird button. but I already have a smaller EDC light, so this will be my dedicated spot light/ brighter defense light. This light is really good for the price still, so of you only want to use it for one mode most of the time, it's not even an issue other than having to hold the light to turn it off to forego cycling through all the other modes. I want them but not that bad... theyre not worth all the clicking... so either remove modes to keep it cheap and less annoying or program it right.
I have been collecting flashlights for a few years now. I use them daily for work as well as nightly when I walk my dog. The Anker Boulder is a tough light, it's super bright, it stays charged for a long time, and it's easy to charge. Some of my lights have removable lithium batteries that have to be charged in a separate charger, but the Boulder has a micro usb plug built in to the tail cap. I use it for at least 15 minutes every single night and I MIGHT charge it once every two months. I've dropped it in the rain, in the snow, and on concrete, and it has never once given me a problem. I am planning on buying a second one to keep in my vehicle, especially since I can charge it in my car with a cell phone charger. I've owned some expensive flashlights in the past, and this $16 light out performs them all with it's ease of use and durability.
I've become an advocate for Anker. Recommending it for power banks, solar panels, USB cables, wireless Qi chargers, etc.
This flashlight was available for Prime Day, so I jumped on it. "Anker item on sale? Buy now!". I don't believe in having too many lighting sources for emergency situations. And someone always manages to lose a flashlight I lend them when camping. Some people collect knives, other stamps, I collect practical tech/gear for emergency situations. Ex: When severe weather knocks out power for the neighborhood, my home is lit up and I'm watching Netflix via WiFi off my desktop with a Back-UPS.
The light is plenty bright. The functions are practical. And for the price, I couldn't pass it up. My one quip would be the button location. I prefer the traditional tac-light placement on the end opposite of the bulb.
I haven't tested it fully, but thus far it seems to hold a charge fairly well. I haven't touched it in 2 months, then let it sit on the high beam. It lasted an hour until I could visibly notice a decrease in the lmns it was putting out. Another hour and it dimmed more. Then the following 2 hours, it was bright enough to light the interior of a tent (or in my case, a dining room with white walls).
Pros: bright, solid construction, 18 month warranty, pocketable, three useful modes (BRIGHT, bright, and low), the modes are kind of annoying but you just have to learn to hold the off switch for half a sec to turn it off - then you don’t cycle through the modes.
It is SUPER bright for being so small. I have been carrying it in my front pocket with my wallet, Gerber Dime MT and Kershaw fatback, I hardly notice it.
Cons: battery does not seem to be replaceable, weather RESISTANT... NOT waterPROOF. Clip is too low on the body of the flashlight to be useful, the flashlight rides too high in the pocket when the clip is used. Might be useful for clipping into a bag or pouch but not for carry. It is a little thick for pocket carry but without using the clip you don’t notice it. Too bright to use for every day use - turn it on to find your way to the bathroom and you’ll blind yourself - the next setting after low is strobe so my experience was - woke up to pee, hit the low, blinded myself, tried to shut it off with a quick press and strobed myself. If you need an EDC light that you can use for things other than potentially blinding an attacker, look for one with a moonlight mode. The thorfire and stream light penlights are $15 and get good reviews.
Anker stands by their warranties. Fill out a form and they send you a new one, often times no questions asked. They’re the best company from China I have ever dealt with and I own MANY of their products - cables, blue tooth speakers, and now this flashlight. I never hesitate to recommend or gift their products due to the warranty and overall quality.
The light is rechargeable but I don’t see a way to do a battery swap, most of these cheaper lights seem to last about 2 years and his one is covered for the first 18 months - the rubber USB cover seems to be adequate for splashes and rain but will not be good enough to dunk underwater which does match with the description but which is also disappointing. I plan to use as an edc light. Unlike many other sellers in this space this seems to really be 400 lumens.
I’ve purchased this light on 6/10/18 -
Incredibly bright, durable, easy to use flashlight. Wish it was possible to disable the strobe and SOS modes that I will never use.
Useful Product Features:
-Waterproof. It actually works underwater, just make sure the rubber cover on the back is tightly closed.
-Rechargeable. Anyone with a smartphone charging brick can charge this, as it comes with the cable you need.
-Very Bright. See the picture I posted. The photo is of the light on the brightest setting shining up a road at 2 am, pitch black sky with very little light pollution. Enough said. It easily lights up the entire road just as well as a car headlight beam.
The one feature I wish was more advertised is that if you are on any mode with the light on, and you press and hold the power button, the light will turn off and you will not have to shuffle through all the modes. This is incredibly useful when all I want is a 1 mode flashlight.
Feature Product
- SUPER-BRIGHT: 400-lumen Cree LED (50000-hour lifespan). A compact, yet radiant flashlight to illuminate any dark spot, space, or place. Features High / Medium / Low / Strobe / SOS modes.
- LONG-LASTING: Up to 20 hours (Medium-beam mode) of powerful, non-diminishing brightness from the included premium rechargeable 3350mAh battery. LEDs boast an extended 50000-hour lifespan. Recharge in 6 hours with a 5V 1A adapter (not included) and the included Micro USB cable.
- TOUGH AND RELIABLE: IP65-rated. Designed for almost any conditions, from heavy rain to dry and dusty environments. Its durable aluminum body and shock-resistance endure rough handling.
- EASY TO GRIP: Lightweight and easy to carry around, the anti-slip finish holds fast in your hand during extreme conditions.
- WHAT YOU GET: Anker Bolder LC40 Rechargeable Flashlight (with built-in 3350mAh rechargeable battery), welcome guide, Micro USB cable, and our worry-free 18-month warranty and friendly customer service.
Description
Anker Bolder LC40 Rechargeable Flashlight
The Rechargeable Tactical Flashlight
From ANKER, the Choice of 20 Million+ Happy Users
Industry-Leading Technology
Worry-Free Warranty
99% Positive Feedback
Convenient Size and Comfortable Use
Compact but also comfortable to hold, with a straight, anti-slip design that fits well in your hand or pocket.
Home or Away
Perfect as a backup at home or a necessity outdoors. Great for your drawer, glovebox, or tent. Stands on-end for use as an emergency room or tent light.
Cree LED
Utilizes a genuine high-performance, high-efficiency Cree LED XP-G2 (50000-hour lifespan) for high brightness and excellent battery life.
Worry-Free Warranty
At Anker, we believe in our products. That's why we back them all with an 18-month warranty and provide friendly, easy-to-reach support.
Note
Warning: Flashing lights may induce seizures in individuals with photosensitive epilepsy. Be cautious when activating the flashlight or when changing to strobe mode. Never point the flashlight in anyone's eyes and read the manual carefully before use.
Does not feature adjustable focus.
I love it. I especially love it for the price. I would never carry this light because it's diameter increases near the emitter, the button is too small, and it has too many modes. It was however perfect for my dad who has needed a good flashlight for some time now. I was worried he would probably lose them on me so I never wanted to give him one of my $150+ snobby flashlights. I recently got one of the smaller anker lights and was impressed with it and gave him that but it's a pain for him to have an 18650 charger in his rv or try to find cr123a batteries in strores so as soon as I saw this as a lightning deal for $16 I knew I had to get it for him because of the micro usb charging. Like my smaller anker light it has a tight "hotspot" and a dimmer spill than I would like but it's still very bright and has excellent throw. Also it's worth noting that I think Anker is underrating the lumens as it is rated at 400 lumens but seems to be on par with 800 lumen flashlights from olight and surefire. My one 1050 lumen flashlight is definitely brighter and it's medium 400 lumen setting appears dimmer than the Anker. The button is very small due to the charging port being next to it but for what he will use it for that's actually a good thing because it will have less of a chance of getting turned on bouncing around in a box or bag in his rv or truck. The thing I like least about the light are the numerous modes. High, Med, Low, Strobe, SOS, off by button presses and a long press of the button will turn the flashlight off. That's kind of a lot to toggle through and I never use anything but high and medium on my other flashlights. If you turn it off with a long press it will remember the mode it was in when you turn it on again. I can't complain though. The price is SO good especially considering it has an internal battery and charger. My "snob" lights were all $150+ and batteries and chargers were sold separately and they are only a little bit better than this light (subjectively). It's just a great, solid, simple light without any hassle to get all the lumens at a great price.
Anker builds a quality flashlight but completely fails when designing its operation. With the exception of the poorly implemented rubber USB port plug, the LC40 maintains the Anker “good design, poor operation” reputation. The Anker description is incorrect where they refer to the button operation as “full press off/on, half-press modes” the flashlight only has a “full press” operation and does not have a partial press, I.e., the button is a “full click” only, not a button that can either be partially pressed to turn momentarily turn on the light or fully pressed to latch it on. With each press of the button the light goes into the next mode when the button is RELEASED. So if the light was off, push and release for bright, push and release for medium, push and release for dim, again for strobe, again for SOS, again for off. I have various models of Anker flashlights and each works differently but the LC40 is by far the most annoying. With a normal push of the button there is no way to avoid the migraine inducing strobe function. THE SECRET IS THE “PRESS AND HOLD” WHICH TURNS THE FLASHLIGHT OFF WITHOUT ADVANCING TO THE NEXT MODE—- do a quick press to turn it on, but to avoid going into the next mode, press and hold for a second until the flashlight turns off. Never lend the flashlight to somebody that doesn’t know that a normal press of the button will cycle the flashlight from dim into full power strobe mode.
Anker has an excellent mechanical design and build team but seems to have a pathetic operational design team. Each model of their flashlight and possibly even different versions of the same model have different methods of operation. So far, of all the Anker models I own the LC90 is the only one with an acceptable mode select operation.
The ideal mode select would be a partial-depress / full-depress button for on/off and a rotatable mode select collar much like the sliding USB port cover on the P2 model. If they have to use a “one button” design then settle on the LC90 operational design.
Despite their high build quality and reasonable price, I had to give only two stars because of how easily it can enter the migraine/seizure inducing strobe mode and I can’t use this around flash sensitive family members.
Anker has replaced this flashlight with a different model that does not have the poor mode select design. I have therefore increased my rating entirely because of Anker’s commitment to customer support.
This is a quality light with some features that you can't know until you own it, that are better to know before you add it to your flashlight collection.
1.) The pocket clip is not removable, so it cannot be mounted unless the clip is cut off. Yet, even then, you're not going to have "just the tube"; there is a moulded "bump".
2.) The light has 5 modes. To turn the light on, press the switch on the tail of the light. Every time you turn on the light, you will have to "cycle" through however many modes to get to the mode you want... (Brightest, Brighter, Least-Bright, Strobe, S.O.S.) when you reach the mode you wish, you long-press to turn off. When the light is next switched on, the last mode before the long-press-to-turn-off, returns immediately.
3.) The battery is not removable/replaceable as far as I could see. (happy to be corrected if someone has found the method for doing so).
Am I unhappy that I bought the light, not knowing the details I mentioned? Not at all. The brightest setting is as bright as shown. This light has a specific list of "can-do's", and would make a great gift for someone that doesn't have a decent light. Would make a great-ish all-around light.
In my opinion, it's best to know the above points before purchasing.
I use flashlights in the fire service. This is one tough little light that has held up well. 3 brightness levels, strobe (which is blinding) and the SOS modes are perfect. the switch is well protected and its rubber cover is not likely to get rubbed off ( like my last flashlight) . I have a handfull of ANKER products and I love their durability and quality. I will be getting another one of these soon. I can say ANKER has gained my trust in their products.
Con: that little rubber switch i mentioned, its too small to operate with my gloves on. with those gloves about the only thing they can handle well are hoses and axes.
So PROS:99%
CONS: 1%
I dont care much for the 1% anyway
Big fan of Anker, and this device does not disappoint. Super bright, holds a charge for a long time, great to sling in my travel bag and know that I can find my way out of a hotel with a power cut! Not that I've had to use it for that yet, thankfully. Only downside is that, unlike the other Anker rechargeable flashlight I also bought, this does not have a way to tighten or broaden the beam with a moveable lens piece, but this is certainly not a deal breaker. I left the other one with my Mother after a weekend visit, as this is a great safety device every home should have at least one of, an always available flashlight that only requires it to be plugged in somewhere. Great product, and, if anyone is interested, minimal packaging which shows at least some intention to look after the resources of this world we live in.
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