Product Review: Frankensled Backcountry 8.4 Flashlight Kit

We’ll start this product review with a little riddle- when does a flashlight cost a hundred and fifty beans, come from a company that got it’s start (and name) from making snowmobiling accessories and require the careful study of its owner’s manual before firing it up? The answer of course is when you’re referring to the Frankensled Backcountry 8.4 which, despite how it may sound, proved to be quite a solid investment for the ATV enthusiast serious about getting his night-ride on.

We’ll cut right to the chase here, riders who shun the dark are missing out on a major chunk of exciting riding and while all ATV and UTVs leave the factory with lighting of some capacity, lumens are a lot like money in that you simply can’t have too much.

Enter the Backcountry 8.4 from Frankensled. While we gasped at the price initially, all it takes is unclipping the included hard-case’s fasteners and revealing the cone-foam-lined interior protecting the multitude of electronics within to realize this isn’t your average dollar-store flashlight. In fact everything about the unit hints of quality even before you turn the thing on for the first time.

Speaking of turning it on, there are really two ways to use this bad boy- first, it can function as a waterproof and rechargeable 5.8-ounce handheld flashlight worthy of your UTV’s storage area or your camping backpack. The other, and perhaps more pertinent for us, use is getting to know the included helmet clip that connects directly to any GoPro-style camera mount for a hands-free lighting solution that is always illuminating your field of vision, even when you turn your head.

The Backcountry includes a rechargeable 18650 lithium battery good for 840 luminance (which we presume the 8.4 means) which translates to roughly 2.5 hours on high, 1.5 days on low, and about 300-feet of usable visibility. It also carries the highest waterproof rating of IPX8, which means that the flashlight can withstand 6’ of submersion for 30-minutes in water. What happens at 31-minutes of submersion or 6′ 1″ of water? We can’t say for sure but we do know that we dropped the unit into about a foot of freezing cold swamp water in late March and the experience did not affect the light in the least.

The 6061 aluminum casing is anodized black, and the internals are designed to resist harsh vibration and survive drop impacts of up to 5-feet. The $149 kit includes breaks down as follows:


• 1 – Backcountry 8.4 Flashlight System (Previously called the Trailfinder Flashlight)
• 1 – Flashlight mounting adapter
• 1 – GoPro compatible base and arm
• 1 – rechargeable 18650 battery
• 1 – 110 v charging system
• 1 – 12 volt charging system
• 1 – lanyard
• 1 – holster
• 1 – spare O-ring
• 1 – spare switch cap
• 1 – spare Cap

In action, it’s hard not to fall for the Backcountry’s charms almost immediately. It’s especially comforting in situations where you may want to exit your vehicle to explore, make a rest stop, etc. 300-feet of visibility is no marketing hyperbole either; we’re talking some pretty intense illumination that scares shadows off and easily bathes the tops of trees with clarity. It’s also particularly useful for night trips by the lead rider as, unlike the lighting on your ATV or UTV, the Backcountry turns with the head, making illuminating the edges of trails a naturally occurring affair.

We began this review by stating this is one of few flashlights we’ve encountered where reading the included instruction manual is probably a very good idea. The reason for this is that unlike grandpa’s old C-battery sucking tube-light, the Backcountry offers a variety of signaling and rescue operations that the unit remembers until you change the setting. The sequence of button presses determine the light’s mode of operation.

In conclusion $150 is no chump change for a flashlight but this is definitely one of those pieces of equipment that begins to justify its worth the moment you begin using it. We found it to be absolutely invaluable for nighttime trail-side repairs as well. On its highest setting we were even able to find a dropped bolt within the overgrowth at the edge of a particularly desolate trail. If you’re looking for a bright, rugged, rechargeable light with dozens of mounting options and can handle the cost of admission, Frankensled has your hook-up.