Flashlights - Lumens, LED Upgrades

We all know how important good flashlights are to a trucker. If you're a gadget person like me you probably own several flashlights - some older models with incandescent bulbs and some newer models with LEDs. I've been recently looking at upgrading four of my favorite incandescent bulb flashlights to LED (two Surefire G2s and two Mini Maglites). In looking at drop-in replacement LED assemblies for these flashlights (plus when looking at new LED flashlights) I've seen a lot of hype in advertised brightness expressed in Lumens. Actual brightness may vary widely among replacement LED assemblies and LED flashlights.

What prompted me to post this thread was the disappointment expressed by an individual on YouTube after he purchased a "360 Lumens" LED flashlight at a membership warehouse store and found it was less bright than his current LED flashlight. I began doing some research into Lumens and found a good source of flashlight information at http://www.candlepowerforums.com

One candlepowerforums.com member tested and/or researched the actual brightness of several flashlights and LED assemblies and posted the information online. His thread is at http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=211402 and is also available in a table format at https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pIhrzNLNezKYVu9XmK3dpYg#gid=2 (note: the table has two "sheets" or pages to view).

I caution fellow truckers to not trust advertised Lumens for LED flashlights and LED assemblies. Before you throw down some hard-earned cash on an LED unit, do some research and make a smart buying decision.