"Forever Flashlight" No batteries or bulbs

[Justin]

I was perusing the cool stuff over at http://www.thinkgeek.com, and came across a flashlight that seems like it'd be pretty nifty:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/front/foreverflashlight.jpg

From the description:
The Forever Flashlight uses no batteries or bulbs. Instead it uses Faraday's Principle of Induction and a bright LED to produce light without batteries. The light is shaken for about 30 seconds to recharge a capacitor and it will then provide about 5 minutes of light. As the light is shaken, a magnet passes through a metal coil generating electricity. During prolonged use it can be shaken for 10-15 seconds every 2 or 3 minutes.

The light requires no maintenance so it can be left in your home or car for a longtime but will still be ready to produce light. The bright LED will last for thousands of hours and does not burn-out like a typical lightbulb - it should never need replacement.

More info here: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/5a9f/


Anyway, does anyone have one of these? It seems like it might be a nice thing for when the lights go out. I doubt that the light is anywhere nearly as good as a Surefire, but it seems like it'd be just the ticket for when you have to go searching through the attic or the trunk of your car or something.

[VaughnT]

That is cool! I doubt the LED head offers any real illumination but it would be great for my 2yo nephew who just loves flashlights for some reason.

[larryw]

I keep a battery operated LED light in my glovebox. Very bright (much brighter than the MagLight it replaced), batteries last forever.

This gizmo looks like a good addition to the camp kit, thanks for the link!

[OkieGentleman]

I think I will get one of those to put with my windup radio. Great for when storms here in Oklahoma knock out the power. :)

[COHIBA]

seems like a gimic light to me. a 123A 3 volt battery has a life of 10 years if unused. coupled w/ a light like the inova multi LED you have a great emergency light and fo LE a fantastic vehicle search light. w/ 2 3volts it has a constant run time of over 20 hours w/ no shaking. comes w/ battteries and a carry case that fits on a belt.
i sell a load of them at the store to cops and civies alike and i keep 3 around the house in various places.
psequip@bellsouth.net

[Double Naught Spy]

While conceptually cool and maybe good for some limited application, the light may not be as great as claimed. Sure enough, no batteries or bulbs. Instead there is a long lasting LED which will last much longer than bulbs, but tends to produce a light that isn't as good for illuminating at a distance. LED lights tend to be good for short distance flood lighting and the light seems to be somewhat inferior to other types of lights. The effect on the eyes is that it is almost like illumination in red light, only the light isn't red. Note that they say the light is visible for over a mile, but don't tell you how far the light can be used for illumination. If it is like other LEDs, it is very bright and can be seen at a very long distance, but the distance of illumination is very short. LED lights can be very successfully used as signal lights.

I have no idea what the Faraday thing is, but if the light is to be shaken to develop power, then there is some sort of kinetic aspect to it and that means moving parts and the more moving parts you have, the greater the likelihood for them to not work.

I did a search to see if I could find it any cheaper and came across some interesting information. It is called the Forever Flashlight, but the warranty is for one year. Hmmm. One site said the light was "self powered" which isn't the case or you would not have to shake it.

No doubt this light would be really terrific as a long term storage sort of emergency light, such as you might keep in your car, storm shelter, etc. It is a neat gizmo, but keep in mind what the realistic limitations of the product actually are. It isn't forever, it isn't self powered, moving parts break, LEDs break, and capacitors don't last forever.

[Kevlarman]

Dan over at dansdata.com has a good review on a similar flashlight:

http://www.dansdata.com/ledlights11.htm

[Triad]

I have no idea what the Faraday thing is,
The magnet passing through the metal coil generates electricity. Shaking the flashlight moves the magnet. So where a coventional flashlight draws power from a device that stores energy(battery), this uses an energy generator. It's a neat idea that may not be very practical for everyday use, but I can see a niche for it.

Justin, that's an interesting site. thanks.

[Steve Smith]

Or you could use this:

http://secure.sovietski.com/isroot/sovietski/ImagesOnline/catalog/203627.jpg


It uses a little generator.

[Justin]

It's a neat idea that may not be very practical for everyday use, but I can see a niche for it. Agreed. Even though I've never seen a 'Forever Flashlight' in real life (tm), I'm willing to bet that it's nowhere near as bright or effective as my Surefire.
I think that the big question is whether or not the absence of a traditional bulb, and no need for batteries offset its (likely) weak output.
I like the idea of having a flashlight I could just throw in the glove box or trunk without having to worry about the batteries dying out.


Steve-
I once saw a small nightvision scope that had a similar setup. It had a little lever you squeezed and it used an internal flywheel to power the scope. Was a neat little contraption. I'd be curious to see how well that light would work.

[Serpico]

Nothing replaces a good xenon bulb for tactcial apps but LEDs are great everday lights...and since they take very little power, I'd go for somethin like the inova....20 hours is an awfully long time. My house light is a princeton tek attitidue....takes 4 AAA batteris and will run about 50 hours.....but it is no where near as cool as the Inova....and check out the stramlight task light....xenon bulb for when you need it, LEDs for when you don't...

[P95Carry]

I took a look at this a while ago and, was tempted. The principle is simple and tho there are moving parts - only really one in fact I'd say ... it is only moving thru a coil in one plane and so wear/reliability would not I think be a huge issue.

I am so far ambivalent however due to it's storage system .... tho a capacitor is in a way like a battery - up to a point - to achieve a sufficient storage capacity usually requires something of moderate size. I do not know the Faradic value of the capacitor ..... it is probably an electrolytic (or even a tantalum, as voltage low) ..... but hard to see the storage as adequate.

Having said that . i am still tempted because it requires no external or replacable energy source so ... ''back up'' comes to mind.

[gun-fucious]

i have a freeplay AM/FM/SHTWV radio

the freeplay flashlight is kinda cool:
http://www.freeplay.net/newsite/product/2020.html

[P95Carry]

Now that seems even more versatile .. thx for the link.