Disposable flashlights

[Brent Swain]

I'v e heard they work better for singlehanders. Something to do with having the right arm muscles better developed.
Brent

Originally Posted by drew.ward

So those flashlights are crap afterall huh? I thought they would be, but had deard otherwise. I never bought one myself because I had that image in my head of constantly shaking the thing while using it.

[delmarrey]

SHAKERS- Weren't those the people that were not suppose to have sex. So, a Shaker Light would even have less.

[Unicorn Dreams]

I prefer to use LED flashlights. You can get an LED flashlight from WalMart for about $6. They are machined aluminum, use 3 aaa batteries and are about 4" long. They are small enough that you can hold one in your mouth and keep your hands free if need be.

[Reality Check]

I have had one of the shaker lights for several months and love the thing. Much lighter in weight than a similar standard light and the one I have seems to provide light for long periods of time with out ever shaking.

I just returned from Tortola and made several late afternoon walks to the local... 3/4 mile supperett type store.. West Indian local type. With the narrow roads in Tortola and the "I'll drive in ever which lane I feel like" attitude of most people... having the light's strap wrapped around your street side wrist when walking provides a nice if not bluish glow that last for the entire walk with out a shake... really have never had it go dark... ever... I just give it a few shakes when I start out and when ever I feel like it.

The difference may be standard bulbs vs LED. Mine has the LED and I'm picking up several more to hand out to crew when ever they go ashore walking in the evenings.

[Boracay]

I saw a wind up torch with LEDs in my local megahardware store.

Seemed to go for a long time on one wind. Very bright.

Any experience of these?

[Tom Spohn]

The inova line is the one we like. They are incredibly well made in the USA.

INOVA

[rsn48]

For wind up, here is an L.L. Bean link; I don't know if I believe their half hour claim but it sounds better than the shake and bake models:

Wind 'N Go Flashlight: Flashlights at L.L.Bean

[Reality Check]

Wind ups weigh more and cost more. The LED shake lights are under $8 and half the weight of a standard D cell light.

While I suspect a lot of difference exist between individual lights, the low cost would allow easy evaluation. Here in Florida, standard D cell lights don't like months unattended in hot cars. The heat and high humidity and salty air, corrode them rather quickly. Think the wind ups would have similar problems if not worst. The Shakers appear to have a far better seal than the wind ups I have seen and at least equal to or better than the standard lights... I would not consider a fully disposable light due to environmental issues. They are really nasty to dispose of.

[hellosailor]

The only shake light I've used is something like the "genuine" or "original" "Forever Light". I'm not near the box to check. The thing is the size of a 2-3D light, doesn't weigh much, but you can shake it forever and still not get enough light to last 5 good minutes. Totally unimpressive, compared to the CMG/Infini lite I bought that runs 40 hours on one AA cell, can be run over by a truck without damage, fits on my keychain and puts out more light. For less money.

If I needed to put one away for adverse storage, I'd use Everyready Lithium AA cells (10 year shelf life, cost about 4x alkaline AA's with twice the power available). One thing I'd avoid at all costs are Duracells. In the past ten years I've noticed that even the Genuine made in USA ones rot as soon as they hit the date code--if not sooner. Apparently the more energetic chemistry they are using, makes them leak very easily. Ray-O-Vac and Everready have been much better for me.

I also apply silicon grease to all contacts in my flashlights--so if there is gassing from the cells, or leakage, it can just be wiped off without any corrosion.

[Lancerbye]

We got several of the wind and go types as part of a survival kit. They have three LED lights which can be used in different modes. The brightest mode with all three lights on give a good working light and lasts a long time. We use them all the time. We also use a rechargable search light that will blind the average person if we really want to light up a dark place.