L.L. Bean recall
- Thread starter tvodrd
- Start date
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geepondy
Flashlight Enthusiast
That's a good catch Larry. Boy, I just can't see a use for those lights when something like a Trek Lithium or Infinity is so much better. I suppose maybe if for some circumstances you saw yourself being completely in the dark for days on end. I wonder if somebody with a pace maker or other medical device has been affected by the magnet in those lights.
Navck
Enlightened
Eeww. Didn't they read the warning "High powered magnet".
Topper
Flashaholic*
tvodrd said:
So i am really a yankee??
Topper
greenlight
Flashlight Enthusiast
Someone got lost?
greenLED
Flashaholic
IIRC, part of the reason they're recalling them is because they also believe the magnets may interfere with heart monitors, etc.? (which I personally find hard to digest)
drizzle
Enlightened
I recently attended a talk by an REI outfitter (or some similar marketing label) who really knew his stuff. The subject was disaster preparedness. He told us the otherwise worthless shaker lights had one very good use. They are excellent for giving panicky kids something to do so they will feel useful and stay occupied.geepondy said:
I think the shake lights get a bad rap.
Yes, they're pathetically weak even as compared to even some premium coin-cell keychain lights, and we've all made and heard the jokes about the "solitary male entertainment activity" that charging one up resembles just a bit too accurately.
However, if you look past some of the hyperbole in their marketing, the AIT Nightstar has some impressive features. (Of course, some knock offs are a complete fraud, running directly from hidden coin-cell batteries.)
The magnet is buffered on both ends by opposing magnets, with rubber padding for backup should the light be dropped, keeping mechanical wear and tear to a minimum.
Unlike crank or squeeze lights, it is COMPLETELY SEALED. It never needs to be opened, and there are no open seams or pathways into the lights interior at all. The switch is really just an externally mounted rotating magnet that activates a magnetic reed switch inside the body, right through the plastic wall with no breaks.
In complete or near darkness with dark-adapted eyes, the newer models with a Nichia LED and a reflector provide a useable amount of light. Threads on this board are common where people complain that the "Low setting" on light XYZ isn't "Low enough".
In a long term disaster or collapse scenario, say decades long, even the best equipped flashaholic or survivalist equipped with solar cells and rechargables will run out. I agree, (and hope,) it's a long shot, but I can't rule such a situation out completely. Rechargables only last so long, and for so many charge/discharge cycles.
The idea of a completely self-sufficient piece of 21st century technology that has an indefinite lifespan that never needs further outside support from our technical/industrial base is appealing, however limited it's capablites are.
If all your other basic needs are met in your collection, squirreling one or two away couldn't hurt. Perhaps even as loaners to friends, neighbors, or family that you want to have lights, but don't want to be obligated to give them logistic support in the form of batteries forever.
$20-30 bucks is cheap insurance that you'll always have a flashlight, as long as you've got one working arm.
Yes, they're pathetically weak even as compared to even some premium coin-cell keychain lights, and we've all made and heard the jokes about the "solitary male entertainment activity" that charging one up resembles just a bit too accurately.
However, if you look past some of the hyperbole in their marketing, the AIT Nightstar has some impressive features. (Of course, some knock offs are a complete fraud, running directly from hidden coin-cell batteries.)
The magnet is buffered on both ends by opposing magnets, with rubber padding for backup should the light be dropped, keeping mechanical wear and tear to a minimum.
Unlike crank or squeeze lights, it is COMPLETELY SEALED. It never needs to be opened, and there are no open seams or pathways into the lights interior at all. The switch is really just an externally mounted rotating magnet that activates a magnetic reed switch inside the body, right through the plastic wall with no breaks.
In complete or near darkness with dark-adapted eyes, the newer models with a Nichia LED and a reflector provide a useable amount of light. Threads on this board are common where people complain that the "Low setting" on light XYZ isn't "Low enough".
In a long term disaster or collapse scenario, say decades long, even the best equipped flashaholic or survivalist equipped with solar cells and rechargables will run out. I agree, (and hope,) it's a long shot, but I can't rule such a situation out completely. Rechargables only last so long, and for so many charge/discharge cycles.
The idea of a completely self-sufficient piece of 21st century technology that has an indefinite lifespan that never needs further outside support from our technical/industrial base is appealing, however limited it's capablites are.
If all your other basic needs are met in your collection, squirreling one or two away couldn't hurt. Perhaps even as loaners to friends, neighbors, or family that you want to have lights, but don't want to be obligated to give them logistic support in the form of batteries forever.
$20-30 bucks is cheap insurance that you'll always have a flashlight, as long as you've got one working arm.
Last edited:
rayearth
Newly Enlightened
Magnets will interfere with a pacemaker. To force a pacemaker constant on (as opposed to intermittent pacing), all you have to use is place a magnet on the pacemaker.
James S
Flashlight Enthusiast
true! and very strange. There is a reed switch in some (most all? I dont know) that is used to basically reset the sequence to the "factory default" as it were instead of sensing when your heart really wants to beat. This is how they check the battery inside you without slitting you open. By connecting an EKG and resetting this they can look at the output and see if the battery is low. It's not exactly constant on, it's just the restart without listening to your heart yet.
I imagine it would be an interesting feeling to have it go off just as you're walking around, but it wouldn't be as if someone switched it off or anything. One also hopes that this rather primitive system will be replaced in future versions with some other form of getting information in and out, radio, or even IR through the skin or something. A reed switch is not a reliable piece of gear for something like this as far as I'm concerned.
The shake lights are an engineering blunder. I got one of the things a few years ago, and when noticing the total disregard built into it regarding the strong magnetism, took it to my garage and left it there. It's not just the unrestrained magnetic field sorrounding it, it's the shaking motion of it that not only affects objects subject to damage by strong magnetic fields but also compromises any electronics components nearby. The shaking motion, being a means of creating a building and collapsing magnetic field will induce currents in any circuitry nearby. If the circuit is subject to compromise by unintended induced currents and voltages, then the circuitry is at risk.
