There are a few UV LEDs that are high quality and work very well for their purpose. The Nichia LEDs and LG LEDs are high quality and still affordable. Note that the Nichia NCSU276A U365, 5MM LEDs are not recommended. Since UV LED emitters are very sensitive to heat, you better buy a thoroughly tested flashlight from a trustworthy seller, and not from eBay. Unless, of course, you know the seller and the flashlight.

You’ll find that flashlights with black light and UV flashlights are used interchangeably. So all the UV flashlights we tested here are considered black light flashlights.

Here is a nice piece of content written by BLF member Djozz, that shows a technique how to measure the output of UV flashlights. He compares some of the ‘better’ UV LEDs used in flashlights. Namely a Nichia 276 A U365, LiteOn 3535 365nm, Luminus SST-10 365nm, and a Nichia 233B 365nm LED.

The first test I conducted was done at 2 meters distance. And I recorded the numbers 30 seconds after turn on. These numbers were directly from my UV Light Meter, so please only compare my measurements with my own numbers.

AgiltronUV Spot light

P60 type flashlights were extremely popular about 10 years+ ago. One of the most significant benefits is the straightforward replacement of the P60 Drop-in. Unscrew the head, take out the existing P60 drop-in and replace it, screw it back together. Done. Fortunately, there are still some (smaller) P60 makers who sell P60 UV drop-ins, but they are very limited.

Left to right: Septarian nodule, Anyolite (Ruby in Zoisite), Yooperlight (dragonhead). The Septarian doesn’t do too much but glows briefly after exposure to UV light.

Whenever you see some blue, yellow or green portions in the graph, that means there is visible light (besides the purple). The Jetbeam Jet UV is a great example of that. It has about 365nm, but also some visible light.

I tried several spectrophotometers for testing, but they are built for normal visible light, starting at around 380nm. This means that only the ones that have visible (380nm+) flashlights show some useful stats. All 365nm lights show only a very small percentage on the graphs, filling the edges.

Bestuv spot light

If you are sure you know how to mod flashlights, this might be one of the cheapest options. Simply, order a MCPCB board and add it to your favorite flashlights!

When painting your drywall with white paint or painting white wallpaper, it’s common to miss a few spots when using white on white. This may result in not noticing little problems, as they can blend in with the color. You can double-check this with UV light.

UV radiation exposure can damage the cornea, the outer protective coating of the eye. Photokeratitis is a painful inflammation of the eye caused by UV radiation-induced lesions on the cornea. Symptoms include a “sand-like” feeling in the eye that can last several days. Chronic exposure to short-term UV radiation can lead to the formation of cataracts.

Again, I used the following camera settings: ISO1600, F4, 0.5 sec, shutter speed. Unfortunately, this resulted in the high UV (read 380nm+) blowing up the pictures. That’s a pity because, in person, they don’t look that bright! It’s just the camera setting. But even though these performed pretty bad anyway.

Above average performers: Convoy S21A (beam is too narrow), Convoy S2+ (too much visible light), Convoy C8 (beam too narrow), uvBeast v3 (beam too narrow).

UVFloodLightBulb

In the following pictures, I placed both of these filters on top of a standard white LED flashlight to see if there were any visible differences. Although I can’t measure the difference, you can see there is a slight color shift between the 2.

UVcuringlightfor resin

Group 1: from left to right, 1 Alonefire SV43, 2 Alonefire SV64, 3 Alonefire SV80, 4 Alonefire SV83, 5 Alonefire SV84, 6 Alonefire SV87, 7 Convoy C8, 8 Convoy S2, 9 Convoy S2+, 10 Convoy S12, 11 Convoy S21A

Welch Allyn Spot Vision Screener VS100 used for help user to detect vision issues on patients from 6 months of age through adult quickly and easily

It’s no surprise to see the Alonefire SV84 at the top this time. The SV84 uses 4 batteries, and also has 4 LEDs, making it the most powerful UV flashlight from the bunch.

The performance of the cheap zwb2 is actually pretty good. Again, I don’t have the actual measuring tools to measure UV, so I try to show the difference with pictures so you can decide for yourself. For about $1 I’m very happy with these cheap alternatives.

Please Note: the following tests are designed for the average consumer and not for commercial or professional use. These flashlights have been evaluated based on typical usage scenarios, not for extensive, long-term use as part of a professional job. Commercial users who require flashlights for many hours per day for their job should seek professional tools to ensure the best warranty and liability coverage.

For eye care professionals, Spot is a versatile vision screening device. Its portability and speed from binocular testing help clinicians to collect accurate refractive data on patients who commonly present screening challenges.

In the following 2 pictures, I replaced the original Convoy S2 zwb2 filter with the cheap Aliexpress filter. On the left is the original one on the right is the cheap replacement.

A zwb2 filter looks like a black piece of glass, but it blocks out any visible light a UV LED may produce. Cheaper UV LEDs tend to produce quite a bit of unwanted, unnecessary visible light. These zwb2 filters were very expensive a couple of years ago, but nowadays, you can get them for a few dollars.

Uv spot lightamazon

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The above numbers may or may not be close to reality. But they do however give one of the best comparisons currently available with this many flashlights.

Next I tested the overall power of the flashlight inside an homemade integrating sphere. I used the same Lutron UV-340 Uv Light Meter for this test. This can be compared to total lumen output on normal flashlights. The former test only shows how far a beam can reach, while this shows the total output, in all directions.

365 nmUVfloodlight

Generally speaking, measuring the output of UV LEDs can be very difficult. Lux meters don’t do a proper job because they can’t measure UV light correctly. UV lights are in the wavelength between 310-400nm, which normal lux meters can’t measure. The lower the wavelength the less visible light.

Group 2 from left to right: 1. Darkbeam v5 DB, 2. Darkbem B61, 3. Escolite, 4. Jetbeam Jet UV, 5. Lumintop Tool AA, 6. NEXTORCH C2, 7. NEXTORCH Dr K3, 8. Sofirn SF16, 9. Tank007 K9 A5

High powerUVCuring Lamp

I put the camera, and flashlights at 2 meters distance. The camera was set to ISO1600, F4, 1/2 sec, and 100mm lens, and I used a black background.

Unlike most of the “Top 10 flashlight” lists you find on Google, we actually owned and reviewed hundreds of flashlights on our team. Many of those lists you found on Google were written by people who know nothing about flashlights!

The use of a ZWB2 UV filter makes the biggest difference between the winners and losers. So that would be the first recommendation: Get a UV flashlight with UV filter.

Uv spot lightled

UV light should be invisible to our eyes, because of the wavelength. UV flashlights are often referred to as 365nm or 395nm. The 365 nm is deeper into the UV spectrum and has less visible light.

Welch Allyn Spot Vision Screener VS100 used for help user to detect vision issues on patients from 6 months of age through adult quickly and easily Spot Vision Screener VS100 is easy configuration allows for one-touch activation for both vision screening and autorefraction applications

For this test, I used the Lutron UV-340 UV Light Meter. This light meter only works for UVA and UVB, within the following ranges: 290nm – 390nm.

For this experiment, I tested some drywall boards. In regular lighting, these boards appear quite white. However, under UV light, you can easily spot unpainted areas, and dirty spots.

Weltool is one of the few companies that have a lineup of high-quality UV flashlights for different purposes. Danny, the owner of Weltool told me personally that he studied UV light for a long time. So if you are looking for a seller that really understands UV light and the benefits etc. definitely take a look at Weltool’s products! Tank007 also has some good UV flashlights.

I chose 2 sizes: 19.5 x 2mm thickness and 20.5 x 2mm thickness. And yes, they work just fine! They will fit the Convoy S series well.

The worst performers were Darkbeam V5 DB, Escolite e1000, Jetbeam Jet UV, NEXTORCH C2, uvBeast v2, uvBeast v3 385nm-395 nm, Vansky D61uv, and Waklyte D16auv. Keep in mind that these were blown out because of the camera settings. I checked them afterward without a camera, and they still performed pretty badly, but not as badly as in the pictures.

Secondly, decide what battery configuration you want. If you really want to use AAA batteries, you might be out of luck, except if you don’t mind the Jetbeam Jet UV, or a 2AAA flashlight.

The camera is set to about 50cm distance from the money. If a flashlight has multiple modes, I only used the highest output mode for this particular test.

Now, I will check which flashlight shows the ink used in these bills. These ‘hidden’ characteristics only appear under the proper wavelength of UV light. Because it’s illegal to own any counterfeit bills or money, I can only show authentic money. I set the camera to ISO1600, F4, but with automatic shutter speed. Some flashlights are much weaker than others, but in person they don’t look as dim as if I would set the shutter speed manually. The camera lens is 100mm.

UV flashlights without a UV filter have more visible light, resulting in the Anyolite being a bit less clear. You can see this difference clearly, when seeing the Alonefire SV87 and the Convoy C8 side by side. The C8 uses a UV filter, and shows the colors better on the Anyolite than the SV87. The Darkbeam B61 also has no UV filter, and therefore resulting in the ruby being less visible.

We test and share all our measurements including images of the actual products.. Unlike most of the best XYZ lists you find on the internet!

Group 3 from left to right: 1. uvBeast v2, 2. uvBeast v3, 3. uvBeast v3 385-395nm, 4. uvBeast v3 Mini, 5. Vansky, 6. Waklyte, 7. Weltool M1UV, 8. Weltool M2 BF