Have you ever tried to find something in a pitch black room using a flashlight? You'll end up turning back and forth, constantly re-aiming the light to match your field of view. Flashlights are great for directed, focused illumination, such as aiming ahead while you walk down a path. However, in a dark room scenario, the narrow patch of light they produce makes things difficult.

Sure, you could use a temporary fix like the water bottle diffusion technique, but that requires additional gear. What you really need for these scenarios is a lantern, which scatters light in a 360-degree radius throughout the room. This allows you to think less about where you're aiming your hand, and more about finding what you're searching for.

Ingeniously, Streamlight has developed a flashlight that accomplishes the tasks of both directed and diffuse light. Even better, it's about the size of a pen, and fits easily into your pocket. It's called the Streamlight Stylus Pro 360, and it's a new variant in the company's popular Stylus series of lights.

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The key to the Stylus Pro 360 is its sliding bezel. In normal position, the flashlight works just as you'd expect, but if you slide the bezel forward, it reveals a secondary polycarbonate cylinder that provides 360 degrees of illumination. There's also a bell-shaped rubber sleeve on the flashlight's base, so it can stand upright on a flat surface like a desk, table, or car hood.

Here are the rest of the Streamlight Stylus Pro 360's specs:

• C4 LED produces 65 lumens; 430 candela; 41m beam; runs 6.5 hours
• Uses 2 AAA batteries (included)
• Durable, anodized aluminum construction; IPX4 water resistant
• Push button tail switch, momentary or “constant on” operation
• Includes removable pocket clip, lanyard and tear resistant nylon holster
• 5.9 in. (150 mm); 1.9 oz. (53.8 grams) with batteries
• Limited lifetime warranty
• $45 MSRP

For more information on the new Stylus Pro 360, visit Streamlight.com.

Written by Patrick McCarthy