Best Medical Penlights for Doctors, Nurses and EMT’s
Any medical professional requires a solid, reliable penlight. The medical penlight should be bright enough to allow for improved sight, but not so bright that it blinds the patient. Your penlight should be durable, portable, and, of course, it should be affordable.Medical penlights differ from regular penlights because of the brightness of the bulb. Medical penlights have a softer light that won’t make the patient feel as if you are blinding them. As well, many will have a pupil gauge or a small ruler imprinted on the side to help. Finally, medical penlights come in handy if you work the night shift and need to enter a room without turning on all the lights. There you have it, let’s get going and start your research here with these best medical penlights.
Welch Allyn Professional Penlight — Top Pick
This Welch Allyn penlight is one of the best on the market and is from a major medical instrument manufacturer. It emits a bright, white halogen light for true tissue color rendition and is made of durable solid brass. It is effective, uses AAA batteries and is built to last years, which means no more replacing penlights every few weeks or dealing with the hassle of a poorly constructed, cheaper product.
Nitecore MT06MD
The Nitecore MT06MD is the upgraded version of the MT06 with an emphasis on the medical profession. An excellent feature of the MT06MD is the replacement of the LED to a warmer beam with lower peak intensity. This change to the LED provides the user with a high CRI rating and makes this penlight the best choice for up close work that uses colors and details as an important factor. Many medical professionals find this penlight the ideal choice for injury diagnosis and pupil examination because the Nitecore MT06MD is photobiologically safe and eliminates the blue-light hazard.
Powered by two AAA batteries, the Nitecore MT06MD can emit a maximum of 180 lumens of light and will always start up in “low” mode so it will not blind anybody. The penlight very light and super easy to use with one-hand. The reverse click tail switch controls the entire light. Finally, a stainless steel pocket clip allows the light to be easily stored in your lab coat pocket.
Nitecore also makes another of our favorite flashlights. So they come highly recommended.
- Anodized aluminum body is lightweight and durable
- High CRI, photobiologically safe light ideal for pupil inspections
- Smooth metal reflector provides optimal beam dispersal
- Operated using single pushbutton switch on tailcap
- Stainless steel pocket clip for easier carry
- Capable of being submerged in alcohol for sterilization
Klarus P20
EMTs often require a tactical light and a penlight. The Klarus P20 can function as both. The streamlined design of the light offers an easy to carry light that is comfortable to grip. With the Klarus P20 users will notice a soft and even spot beam with no dark spots. The body of the Klarus P20 is made from aerospace aluminum alloy with a Mil-Spec hard anodized finish. The P20 is impact resistance up to 1.5 meters and offers an IPX-8 rating.
Using commonly found AAA batteries, the P20 features reverse polarity protection in case the batteries are ever inserted incorrectly. Using a NICHIA 219C LED that Klarus P20 offers 92% light transmission with its PMMA optical lens. The P20 can emit a maximum of 230 lumens and a minimum of 4 lumens with three brightness levels to choose from. Users will be happy to discover that the P20 offers a mode memory to ensure the light starts up in the last mode used. The single tail switch design allows users to switch between brightness modes as well as power the light.
- Nichia 219C High CRI LED
- PMMA optical lens with 92% light transmission
- Professional lens design with evenly distributed spot light
- Zero blue ray damage (RG0) – easy on eyes for pupil examination
- Streamlined pen design that is lightweight and stylish
- Stainless steel pocket clip
- Mode memory saves the last used mode
- Reverse polarity protection prevents circuit damaged from reversed batteries
- Aerospace grade aluminum alloy body with mil-spec hard anodization
- Stainless steel bezel and hardened lens protect LED and reflector
Opoway Penlight
This high-quality penlight is quite versatile in terms of use and price. One of the greatest things about the Opoway Medical Penlight is you get two penlights in the package at an affordable price. You can even choose from a variety of colors for a medical penlight that suits your personal tastes or coordinates with your daily scrubs. The high-quality light offers an aluminum alloy body with an LED bulb that emits gentle 9 lumens of light.
The easy to use light offers one-handed use as the light is controlled through a button on the top. A built-in metal pocket clip allows you to securely attach the light to easily carry it around all day. One side of the light’s body offers a pupil gauge chart, while the other side offers a ruler chart. The small, yet versatile penlight is powered by two AAA batteries that come with your purchase. The light produces a white light that is bright enough for up-close work, but not so bright as it hurts the eyes.
Primacare Disposable Diagnostic Penlight
Now, I have added these in the best medical penlight section because they come in bulk (six in a package) and if you are like me and have a tendency to misplace or drop them in something you don’t really want to clean. Then this set of disposable penlights is the perfect one for you.
With the Primacare Disposable Penlight, you will be receiving 6 high-quality penlights that are long-lasting. The penlights come in a variety of different colors, so you can choose the one that best suits you our your outfit of the day. With a lightweight molded plastic body these penlights are activated by pressing the pocket clip. On the body of each light, you will find an imprinted pupil gauge chart to help you get accurate readings. The chart goes from 3 mm up to 9 mm.
One of the greatest things about the Primacare lights is how affordable they are. The disposable lights are also long lasting and sometimes years after they were first purchased. The penlight uses an energy efficient bulb to provide a nice warm light that is almost white. The non-standard LED bulb offers a sealed concentric beam with a pre-focused pinpoint lens that doesn’t burn retinas or, more importantly, cause patient complaints of being blinded.
- Disposable penlight with sealed concentric beam and pinpoint lens to illuminate the eyes, ears, and throat
- Dual-function pocket clip for portability and for activating the light
- Pupil gauge printed on the body of the penlight for determining pupil size
- Pack of six with a penlight in each of the following colors: red, blue, orange, green, black, and white
- The pre-focused pinpoint lens directly illuminates eyes, ears and throat
- Lightweight molded plastic body can be cleaned with an alcohol swab
- Imprinted Pupil gauge helps determine pupil size at a glance
- Sealed concentric beam
Best Medical Penlights Conclusion
The best medical penlight is a category that definitely needs a discussion because there are many unique scenarios and some people would prefer something that they don’t mind losing or throwing away if it gets contaminated. We have provided what we think is the best for doctors, physician assistants, nurses, and EMT’s. Do you have a favorite that we didn’t cove? If so, drop us an email and let us know your favorite.