Atactical A1 - King of Budget Flashlights

A quality flashlight is priceless - it's a bright, rugged tool to help guide you through the night. A good light will survive a drop, exposure to water and the elements and cuts through the darkness like hot knife through butter. It will serve you for years of general utility use, camping, exploring and numerous other activities. While it is a valuable tool for conquering the night, good lights aren't always cheap. If you want something well built, reliable and bright, there are many great choices out there. Unfortunately most will set you back $60-$100 and even more sometimes.

So when I first heard of the Atactical A1 flashlight being sold for $20, I was intrigued.


The light is apparently designed by Thrunite and even includes a rechargeable battery, so it is ready to go right out of the box. There are plenty of budget lights out there, however none that I have seen come with a battery. Previously you would have to order a charger and a battery or two (if you didn't have one already) which would cost you an additional $10-$20+, making it less of a budget option when you factor in that aspect of the purchase.


Atactical solves this by including an innovative battery with the A1. It is an 18650 battery but it has an integrated USB port so you can simply remove the battery from the light and charge it via USB. No additional charger is necessary.

In terms of value the A1 is impressive for $20 as it features:

• Max 550 lumens
• 4 regular brightness modes and SOS and strobe modes. 
• USB rechargeable 18650 cell
• Spare O rings
• Dual tail/side switch
• Pocket clip
• Momentary on feature
• Lanyard hole
• Low battery warning

Of course, I didn't need another light but for the price I broke down and ordered one anyway.

After spending several nights with it I am very impressed with the A1. Lots of things to like about it and maybe a couple minor things I didn't like about it. Let's get started.

The light weighs in at 4.5 oz according to my digital scale, which includes the battery. It has a bit more heft than your average smaller sized pocket light but not by much. Length is about 5.3 inches, an being that it is an 18650 cell it's width will reflect that. I didn't expect it to be slim and small, but be aware this will be a tad bigger than your average single AA pocket light. I wouldn't consider it to be large, but as far as my personal preference goes, this is approaching the maximum size for a light that I would carry in my pocket for an extended time.

The finish is an all black, type II hard anodized and features a waterproof rating of IPX 7 (up to 1 meter submerged in water) and a drop rating of 1.5 meters. Both of these have been demonstrated on YouTube and it's seriously one tough light. The included pocket clip can be removed, if you so wish and the tail end features a hole in you want to add a lanyard.

The modes are as follows:

Strobe(550 lumens/4 hrs)
Turbo(550 lumens/3.3 hrs)
High(200 lumens/5.5 hrs)
Medium(63 lumens/19 hrs)
Low(10 lumens/5.5 days)

Operating the light is very straightforward: lightly press and hold tail switch for momentary on. Releasing it will turn the light off. Full press and release tail switch for constant on use. While the light is on the side switch will allow you to cycle modes - Low, medium, high, turbo and SOS. Strobe is a "hidden" mode and it accessed by pressing and holding the side switch for about a second while the light is on. Press the button again and it reverts back to the previous mode. It features mode memory as well so it will return to whatever mode you left it on when you turn it on.

My impressions are all very positive. The A1 feels great in your hand, the tail switch seems very firm and positive and works as it should. The side switch feels a lot softer but still works accordingly. The light puts out a very symmetrical and useful beam. It's fairly wide with a decently sized hot spot for both close range use and lighting up areas from afar. Atactical rates the throw at 672 feet and its definitely suited for both up close and far away illumination.

Lots of overwhelming positive points but a few gripes, too. First and most importantly, I have no idea why SOS is included as a standard mode. To me, strobe seems like it would be a more used mode so I don't know why strobe is hidden while SOS is a mode you have to cycle through each time. Preferably, I would have liked both modes hidden and having it simply cycle through low, medium, high and turbo. At 10 lumens, I would have liked to see the low mode a bit lower, or even an additional 1 lumen mode. Having an option for a less cool white tint would have been nice as well.

Overall, the positives vastly outweigh any minor complaints I have and considering all you get for the price, it's an amazing deal and a really well made light. The Atactical A1 is available on Amazon and really worth every penny. Without a doubt it is the current king of budget flashlights.