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emergency Flash lights

John A.

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Recently, upon the recommendation of MikeD, I bought one of the RayoVac indestructible AA flash lights. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rayovac-Inde ... mQSEJ3D91s

In short, I like it for what it is. A small, lightweight personal light. It could probably serve double duty as a weapon light as well. It's water resistant, 100 lumens, and battery life is good and the AA battery availability is a lot better than CR123's. service life is even better when the light is on low lumens of about 35 hours. The low setting is more than enough light for most of my needs.

My wife also recently purchased a Solar rechargeable light that I like a lot so far, though I haven't subjected it to much abuse.

I have kept it in the window sill of my den for the last few months and it's been ready every time I have grabbed it. It also has a reserve battery backup in it. The brand of it is "hybrid light" and has some pretty good specs, but I have my reservations of how durable it would be long term because of the plastic construction. http://www.hybridlight.com/

I also bought a few little cheap LED lights from amazon that use a single AA battery. While both look identical, one only has a single brightness setting, while the other has two brightness settings plus a strobe. But for $5 each, they were worth having around, if for nothing else to let the kids have a flash light so they'll leave my good ones alone because it is proven fact that children kill batteries at will :lol:

I have also been steadily buying a few extra sets of rechargeable AA batteries and means to charge them, both on or off grid.

And since rechargeable C and D batteries are so expensive, I am going to use an alternative of using AA shell adapters to fit into C and D devices. (like these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008TL ... UTF8&psc=1 )

True that the battery life will be reduced over actually using C and D batteries, but at least I have the option if I need a DC device that doesn't exactly use AA batteries if it isn't a really high drain device.

I also have one of the older Energizer brand emergency lights that accommodate AAA, AA, or C batteries all depending on what you have available. It's a good concept, and good design. It has held up to a lot of use and wear over the last few years we've had it. I can highly recommend that light. http://www.energizer.com/flashlights-li ... light.aspx

And of course I still have my trusty C cell Maglite out in the pickup. They're nearly indestructible, even if the bulb is a power hungry filament instead of a more conservative LED.

I am moving more towards AA rechargeable batteries for my lights and accy's for my emergency gear whenever possible. Even my old Cobra handheld FRS radio's, which is probably a subject for another topic.
 
^^ Look like good lights at a reasonable price. Just a note on your Maglight: You can buy led replacements for your filament bulb for a few dollars pretty much anywhere. I got one at the AFB PX for my 3 cell D battery Maglight and the range and focus is much better than the standard bulb.
 
Thanks gunny. I only have a 2C Maglite because it fits in the console. And truthfully, I only have it in case I have a flat or have to walk at night, or change a fuse or something.

Can you tell if battery life is extended by using the LED bulb?
 
John A. said:
Thanks gunny. I only have a 2C Maglite because it fits in the console. And truthfully, I only have it in case I have a flat or have to walk at night, or change a fuse or something.

Can you tell if battery life is extended by using the LED bulb?

Absolutely. By about a factor of 10 (for my 3 D cell). :) IIRC the one I bought was this brand: http://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/flashlight-bulbs/ You need to get the one that matches your battery voltage. Most will handle a wide range.
 
As a good standby remember the solar garden lights, they run on a rechargeable AA battery and can either be used to provide light in their own right or as a source of recharge for your other needs. Sometimes cheaper way to get batteries, the charging is free and when not needed for emergency use are not bad for their original use.
 
A local hardware chain advertised inexpensive headlamps for four dollars. A dollar off normal price. I bought two. One for everyday use and one for the "Bag".

I bought a two pack of three watt cheapo lights with hi/lo/strobe for five bucks at Home Depot last winter. I'm still on the batteries that came with them. Don't overlook the cheap stuff.
 
I've been wanting to pick up a wheat light and charger but haven't had the extra few dollars.
 
daytime dave said:
A local hardware chain advertised inexpensive headlamps for four dollars. A dollar off normal price. I bought two. One for everyday use and one for the "Bag".

I bought a two pack of three watt cheapo lights with hi/lo/strobe for five bucks at Home Depot last winter. I'm still on the batteries that came with them. Don't overlook the cheap stuff.


Make sure the cheap chit works. Bought a package of the flexible lites from Dicks to use later. Every one was dead...
 
OhioArcher said:
Make sure the cheap chit works. Bought a package of the flexible lites from Dicks to use later. Every one was dead...

Very good advice. I did just that last night. I put the batteries in both head lamps, turned off all the lights and went around the house. They checked out ok. The other lights were tested out after they came home similarly. Cheap can be ok or a disaster.

I also check out some of the higher end lights I have too. I like Fenix lights. If they don't pass muster, I'd send them back because they cost so much. All have performed very well.
 
I have a few. Most have or have been modified to LED bulbs. Doesn't include the lantern style lights that I have. I mainly use Eneloop rechargeables and have a solar charger that will work for AAs, C and D cells.

 
I'd be interested in seeing your solar charger for them. I made one using a small 6v panel. I made a topic on the forum somewhere that showed everything. Post 13 here: http://mossbergowners.com/forum/ind...e-batteries-in-their-optics.5005/#post-175708

I noticed a few posts above that I mentioned a Wheat light.

Those are commonly referred to as "miner lights".

I was able to find a miner light (which obviously included the battery), hard hat, and charger for about $30. These have been increasingly harder to find. Many of the newer versions have small rechargeable batteries and use LED lights.
 
I usually buy insanely expensive lights, because they are for work and therefore tax-deductible. My most expensive is four inches long and cost over $220. Several others were way north of $150 each. My wife hates that flashlights were ever invented.

But I recently bought a Maglight ML300L 3xD-cell LED with three power settings that illuminate for between 17-177 hours.

Thirty five bucks and one of the best flashlights ever for under a hundred dollars.
 
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