LED Technology

LEDs are "What’s New" in Flashlight Technology

LED stands for "Light Emitting Diode".
It is not a bulb, it does not use a filament. It is a plastic-sealed semi-conductor with phosphorous coating that produces light. The LED itself is a solid-state electronic device.
LEDs are highly efficient and made without glass.
Light beam is not created by heat, it is emitted directly from electrons (cold light).

Measures of Comparison

Millimeter: Indicates the size of the LED in diameter.
Watts: Measures the electrical power consumption by a light.
Lumens: Most dependable measure of a light’s true output. The “standard” in light output.
Lux (lx): Measure of the illuminance, shows how many lumens per square meter are reaching a certain surface. The Lux value is the most common known photometric unit and indicates very clearly the lighting condition at a special location.
Candela (cd): Unit of the luminous intensity. It’s the power emitted by a light source in a particular direction. A common candle emits light with a luminous intensity of roughly one candela
(=1 lx in distance of 1 metre).

High Performance LEDs

5mm / Standard LEDs

Incandescent Bulbs

Virtually shatter-proof and since they don’t heat up they are very safe, won’t crack and are vibration-resistant (highly shock-resistant)
Very strong, white light (high color temperature)
High Performance LED last up to 50,000 hours
Due to high performance suitable for long distances
Focusing possible
High efficiency because of power consumption vs. true light output

Virtually shatter-proof and since they don’t heat up they are very safe, won’t crack and are vibration-resistant (extremely resistant to shocks)
Light is much whiter, sometimes slightly blue (high color temperature)
LED essentially lasts for the lifetime (up to 100,000 hours)
For activities at a short distance (low performance approx. 150mW)
Providing longer battery runtime due to high energy efficiency at lower performance

Can break quite easily
Light tends to be slightly red/yellow (low color temperature)
Bulb life cycle only 20 - 30 hours (the filament is subject to wear; it vaporizes over the course of its life)
Shorter battery life due to extremely high power consumption