HID stands for High Intensity Discharge. These are flashlights that are, for all intent and purpose, stupidly bright. These work much differently than conventional lighting technologies. Halogen bulbs work by heating up a tungsten filament. HID lamps don't actually have a filament. Instead these types of light bulbs have two electrodes and the light is created by arcing electricity between them. The light bulbs are filled with Xenon gas. The electrical arc activates the xenon which in turn ignites the metal halide inside the light bulb. These bulbs produce significantly more light than their predecessors and on top of that they use much less power. The light produced by these light bulbs is also white as opposed to the yellowish light of older light bulbs. This allows the lights to have much greater visibility and the light appears much more like day light. Many car manufactures are now using this technology in their vehicles. I have to be honest, I have seen some of these cars coming at me at night and the light just hurts my eyes. I'm sure it looks great from their perspective though.
One of the most notable HID xenon flashlight on the market is the X1. This flashlight is supposedly the brightest flashlight in the world(that may have changed by the time you read this just because of the way technology works). This flashlight is as bright as a stadium light-it gives off nearly 3500 lumens. You should be able to illuminate objects at over 2000 feet away with this flashlight. This flashlight obviously has incredible applications. Law enforcement, border patrol, military, woodland fire fighters, and coast guards all all people who would greatly benefit from this flashlight. I'm sure there are millions of people in other professions around the world who could use a flashlight like this as well.
The X1 is also waterproof and has a very sturdy construction. It is made out of aircraft grade aluminum. You won't be able to hurt this flashlight unless you are trying to. The brightness of this flashlight is also adjustable. It has 3 options- full brightness, 2/3 brightness, and off. This also a xenon rechargeable flashlight. It includes lithium ion batteries. At full brightness it can last around 100 minutes before needing to be recharged again. Recharging is easy, you can either use an AC adapter and plug it into your wall or use an adapter for a cigarette lighter for charging on the go.
