TacLight by Bell & Howell Reviews

About TacLight by Bell & Howell

It’s true that you can’t have too many flashlights around, since they come in handy in so many situations. The problem is that most flashlights aren’t built to withstand regular use, often leaving you with a broken product that’s a waste of money.

Not with TacLight by Bell & Howell, though. The company claims that this tactical flashlight is similar to those used by “elite military units,” featuring a compact and lightweight design, along with key features like a knurling surface and strike ring for good grip, tail tap switch, aircraft grade aluminum casing, precision optics, and five preset modes.

The TacLight is so strong that it promises to work when frozen in ice, and even when sitting in boiling water. Not only this, but TacLight vows to be 22X brighter than regular flashlights, capable of being seen from up to two nautical miles away, and its bulb will last up to 100,000 hours!

Reading all of this, is seems like Bell & Howell’s TacLight might come in handy in a lot of instances, including camping, hunting, emergency situations, and more. But is it necessarily a unique product? Will it provide a solid level of value? Let’s start answering your questions by addressing tactical flashlights in general.

What Is a Tactical Flashlight? What Makes a Good One?

As the name implies, a tactical flashlight is generally intended to be used in tactical situations; e.g. during an emergency where your life might be in danger. Due to their compact design and bright output, tactical flashlights are designed to be used alongside firearms, allowing you to quickly sweep an area and check for combatants, and to blind/stun one if encountered.

According to Popular Mechanics though, a tactical flashlight is just as much about light and hardware quality as it is about brightness:

“Compared to conventional flashlights, tactical lights deliver more light from a more compact, lighter package. A conventional flashlight with two D batteries and a standard bulb puts out about 15 to 20 lumens. A tactical light cranks out a minimum of 60 lumens of solid beam with no holes or dark spots.” Note: In some instances, tactical flashlights can put out 1,000+ lumens.

Tactical lights get their blinding ability from a high-pressure xenon-filled bulb with a tungsten filament. Power comes from a pair of 3-volt AA lithium batteries instead of conventional 1.5-volt cells. … The 6 volts of juice burns the filament hotter and whiter than that in a conventional flashlight.”

To this extent, we’re not told how many lumens TacLight puts out, what kind of bulb it features, or what kind of batteries it uses. Other important features we’re not told about are TacLight’s beam distance, impact resistance, water resistance level, and more.

We are told that TacLight’s bulb can last up to 100,000 hours, although this is generally the standard run time for most LED bulbs, and doesn’t appear to be unique to TacLight.

Taking all of this together, we can see that a tactical flashlight involves not just a special design, but also a very specific set of features, many of which we’re not informed about for TacLight. Do we know much more about the competition?

Bell & Howell’s TacLight vs. Other Tactical Flashlights

Comparatively, if you shop for tactical flashlights online, you’ll generally find that all of these specifications are clearly listed. After all, they’re the primary criteria when shopping for tactical flashlights.

You’ll also find overall dimensions, weight, whether or not they can be attached to a weapon, product certifications (if any), primary material, and country of origin.

Now, the one area where TacLight stacks up well against the competition is price. But does this mean it’s a good value?

How Much Does TacLight Cost?

One Bell & Howell TacLight is priced at $19.99 plus free S&H. During checkout, you can order a second flashlight for an additional $10 S&H.

Regardless of how many your order, Bell & Howell offers a 30-day refund policy and lifetime guarantee on all TacLights, less S&H charges. If you ordered the BOGO offer, this means you’ll end up losing more in S&H charges than you’ll get back as a refund.

Still want to request a refund? You’ll need to call customer service at 877-415-4824.

​TacLight by Bell & Howell Test

We thoroughly tested the Bell & Howell’s TacLight to see if it delivers on its claims. To find out everything we experienced, be sure to watch the video below:

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Is Bell & Howell’s TacLight Your Best Option?

Based on the pictures on their website, TacLight seems to look the part when it comes to tactical flashlight design. But as we outlined above, a true tactical flashlight is also defined by high quality and feature set, much of which we’re not told about TacLight.

Also, while it might look similar to flashlights used by “elite military units,” the company doesn’t provide any evidence that TacLight—specifically—is used by the military, law enforcement, or fire rescue. And other than “regular flashlights,” we’re not told exactly what TacLight is 22X brighter than.

Nick Bolton? He seems to be a fairly well-known fitness model, and doesn’t appear to have served in the military or have personally used TacLight.

Admittedly, it might seem like we’re coming down a little hard on TacLight, but our goal is to make sure you have a complete picture of any product before handing over your hard-earned money, including any potential concerns. Given this, we’re definitely not saying that TacLight isn’t a quality product or that you shouldn’t purchase one—only that, just because TacLight is priced lower than much of the competition, this doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll provide a better value.

On top of this, when you add TacLight’s steep, non-refundable S&H charges to the mix, it might make sense to weigh all your options before placing an order.

What did you think of TacLight’s performance? Would you consider it on par with tactical flashlights from other companies? Give us the details by writing your review below!

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