Most people own at least one flashlight. Whether it’s for work, camping, or emergencies, flashlights are useful in a whole heap of different situations. But are there any companies that offer American-made flashlights? Well, that’s what I’ll be looking at in this article.
Do Any Brands Sell American Made Flashlights? (The Short Answer)
After an extensive search on flashlights made in the USA, I was able to find 7 companies that conduct flashlight manufacturing in the USA. They are Surefire, LRI, Maglite, Elzetta, Mechforce, First Light USA, and HDS Systems.
Flashlights Made in the USA (The 7 Brands I Found)
Now that we know which companies offer American-made flashlights let’s look at each one in a little more detail.
Surefire
Founded in 1979, Surefire is a proud American company based in Fountain Valley, California. The company manufactures headlamps, laser sights, weapon-mounted lights, and of course, flashlights.
Being an American manufacturer is something that Surefire takes very seriously. All of its light-based products are designed, perfected, and manufactured in the USA. It does however make use of materials and components from various global sources but that’s fairly common within the flashlight industry. This is because certain components are difficult to acquire within the US.
According to numerous reviews, Surefire offers some of the best American-made flashlights on the market. At the time of writing this article, Surefire offers two types of flashlights. They are as follows.
Surefire has received numerous awards and accolades over the years for its high-quality illumination products. This includes a Mens Gear Best Brand Award back in 2019.
LRI
LRI has been manufacturing flashlights in the USA since 1993. The company is most well-known for its Photon flashlights. These flashlights are small enough to fit on a keyring yet they emit enough power to light up an entire room.
The company manufactures its flashlights at a facility located in Blachly, Oregon. LRI is a proud American manufacturer and from what I was able to find, it looks like LRI has no intention of changing that any time soon.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing this article, due to a worldwide chip shortage, one of LRI’s flashlight lines was out of stock. That was its X-Micro line. Luckily, the company has plenty of other options to choose from. Check these out.
Maglite
Maglite was founded in 1955. Its headquarters is located in Ontario, California and it is a well-known flashlight manufacturer. Its products are manufactured by Mag Instrument Inc. and for more than 65 years the company has been manufacturing a variety of flashlights at its facility in Ontario, California.
Maglite has quite the claim to fame as it manufactured components that went to space on the USA’s first satellite.
The company has a pretty extensive range of flashlights. Here’s a link to its flashlight product page, and here are a few of its products for you to check out.
Elzetta
Elzetta does things a little differently. All of Elzetta’s flashlights are built to order. This helps to ensure nothing but the highest quality products as nothing is left sitting on a shelf for a long time before being purchased.
The company manufactures its flashlights at a facility located in Kentucky. According to its Instagram page, Elzetta manufactures the toughest flashlights on the planet. This is no easy feat when you consider just how many flashlight manufacturers there are!
As for its products, here’s a link to its product page. Something else that Elzetta offers is the ability to create your own flashlight. Here are a couple of its flashlights that you can customize.
Mechforce
Mechforce is an American company that offers a wide range of products. From firearm accessories and fidget toys to knives and flashlights, there’s certainly a lot to choose from. But for now, I’ll be focusing on its flashlights.
There wasn’t all that much information out there regarding the company’s manufacturing location, but it looks like the company makes its flashlights at a facility located in Cypress, Texas. Also, by checking out the product descriptions of its flashlights, it clearly states that its flashlights are designed and assembled within the USA.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing this article, it looks like Mechforce was out of stock on quite a lot of its flashlight products. So instead of listing a few options below, here’s a link to its flashlight product page. Hopefully, by the time you are reading this, the company would have replenished its stock.
First Light USA
First Light USA is a company that offers high-performance tactical lighting systems. The company is based in Seymore, Illinois. This is where it manufactures its products. The company assembles all of its flashlights at this facility and it even sources the majority of its materials and components domestically which is quite rare for a company of that size.
First Light USA supplies products to the military as well as the police force. This goes to show just how reliable its products are. Here’s a link to each of its flashlight lines for you to check out.
HDS Systems
Finishing off this section we have HDS Systems. This company was founded in 1983 but it wasn’t until 1987 that the company changed its name to HDS Systems. It is a fairly well-known company that manufactures flashlights at a facility in Tucson, Arizona.
The company is very clear regarding where it gets its materials and components from. While HDS Systems sources lots of its materials from within the US, some of its products require parts that come from overseas.
Unfortunately, the company can’t claim that its products are made in the USA. This is because the company sends its wafers to a foreign country to be packaged into LED emitters. Because of this, it isn’t allowed to claim that it is an American manufacturer despite the fact that the majority of its production is carried out within the US. Here’s a link to the company’s FAQ section which goes into great detail about this issue. Also, here’s a link to its flashlight product page for those wanting to take a look at what the company has to offer.
Honorable Mention
I encountered one company that does manufacture flashlights in the USA. However, its website wasn’t working at the time of writing this article so I wasn’t able to get any active links to its products. Here’s what I found.
Princeton Tec
Founded in 1975, Princeton Tec has been manufacturing flashlights in the USA since its inception. The company designs and manufactures all of its flashlights at a facility in Trenton, New Jersey.
Its headquarters is located in Irvine, California, and after doing some extensive research, I couldn’t find a single source stating that it conducts any of its production outside the USA. Unfortunately, since I couldn’t access its website, I am unable to provide links to its products. Hopefully, by the time this post is live, its website issues will be resolved.
