No Batteries or Bulbs To Replace with Techeffects Flashlight

I received the Illuminator LED Flashlight as a gift for Christmas in 2006. It was won at a party where the gift exchange was in the format of a "Chinese Auction" ... people could steal away your gift and force you to choose another from under the tree or steal someone else's gift from them. We already had a flashlight similar to this at home, and I love it. Luckily, nobody else at the party seemed particularly interested in my flashlight and I was the lucky recipient at the end of the night.

No Batteries, No Bulbs

My first thought about this flashlight was, what happens when the light bulb dies? Can it be replaced. Well, according to the information supplied with the flashlight, I will never have to replace either the batteries, OR the bulbs. Wow. How ingenious!

In order to get power from the flashlight, you will need to wind it up. Lift the handle (that fits flush into the back of the flashlight), wind for a minute, and you will have 1 hour of continuous "ultra bright light". The product website does suggest that for the best results, and to maintain the life of the battery, you should wind it up for 10 minutes before the first use. (Let me say, that's a LOT of winding!)

Product Description

This is a compact flashlight, measuring 5 1/4 inches long by 1 7/8 wide by 2 inches deep. I weighed it on my postage scale, and it is a mere 5.9 ounces in weight! That makes it pretty easy to carry around in a backpack!

The unit is silver with black accents, and black rubberized grips on each side that allow you to grasp the flashlight securely without worrying about it dropping out of your hands.

On the top is a black oval button, that works as the "on/off" control. There are three powerful LED blue lights on the flashlight.

This flashlight also comes in metallic silver, metallic blue, or camo colors. (The camo model is water and shock resistant).

The flashlight contains a rechargeable LIR2032 3.6 Volt lithium battery.

How It Works

As I said, once the unit is fully charged, simply by winding it up in a clockwise direction, you are ready to go. The handle winds very easily (a small child could do it in a snap), and it makes a whirring sound as you wind. There are two levels of brightness ... low beam and high beam. Press the control button one time and you will get the low beam of light (just the middle of the three lights is activated). Press the control button again and it turns the light off. A third press of the button activates all three of the LED blue lights, and pressing it a fourth time will again turn all three lights off.

Where To Use It

The company who manufactures this flashlight (Mark Feldstein & Associates, Inc.) suggests that this could fit perfectly in a drawer, glove box, emergency kit, or tool box.

It would be an ideal emergency flashlight for your home, vehicle, camping or fishing trips. The compact size and lightness of this flashlight makes it ideal for slipping inside a coat pocket or fishing vest.

Thoughts on Usage

This little flashlight packs a lot of light, and those blue LED lights are bright. I know because it was accidentally shined in my face (the manufacturer also warns not to point the light directly into the eyes!)

We have a similar type flashlight in our motorhome, one in our emergency supply kit, and this one we keep in our entry way cabinet.

Let's face it, we never know when we are going to be without power. It often happens when we least expect it and are ill prepared. We have been caught too many times with flashlights who's batteries were dead and we had no replacement batteries on hand. I really love the peace of mind I get with these flashlights, knowing that they will always work if and when I need them to.

One of my daycare kids saw this flashlight laying on my table this morning, and he mentioned that he has a flashlight in his backpack that he carries to the bus stop every morning. Unfortunately, his batteries were dead. Living in Alaska, we have very dark winters, and I believe a flashlight like this would be perfect for school age kids to have with them. It doesn't add much weight to their backpacks, and a minute of winding before they leave the house will give them plenty of light until the bus arrives. Not only could it help direct the children in the dark, but it's light would caution drivers on the road that there were kids near by.

I took this flashlight into a dark room and compared it to another conventional one bulb flashlight. The results were actually better with the Illuminator . I could see all the way across the room with the high beams on.

I highly recommend this flashlight, not only for emergencies, but we have replaced all of our battery operated flashlights with them. I called customer service and inquired as to how long the LED bulbs would work before burning out, and was told they will last for 100,000 hours! That's 4167 days, or nearly 12 years! Now that's a great product!