Life+Gear Glow 300 Flashlight, floats, blinks, bargain?

[IgNITEor]

I wouldn't normally give a flashlight parked next to the checkout stand, in amongst all the Halloween candy, a second glance. But this time was different. There it was for $14.99 and calling to me. My wife saw me leaning into it for a closer look and I could sense her eyes rolling.:shakehead


Too late! My curiosity got the best of me and into the basket it went.
As it slid over the scanner the cashier said " I think the manufacturer will send you a free set of batteries for this one".
This doesn't really happen, right?
I thought perhaps with the LED's, 9 in the front end, must immediately suck the life out of the mfr's included batteries and they are trying to cover up some major design flaw by distracting you with this bonus offer. Hmmmm......
No, this really does get better.


Life Gear evidently has a pretty good product line. I've been looking around here and at their website, along with reading the equipment lists packed with various survival kits. Seems to me this light might just make it as a good secondary unit to an existing kit.
This model is not yet on Life Gear's website, at least when I checked. It's supposed to be available at Walgreen's. If I found it at a grocery store on an island in the middle of Puget Sound, you can bet it's probably in with the candy, glow sticks, and other such goodies at a store near you .:thumbsup:


So I'm going to post some pics and details of this nifty little Eveready'ish 6-Volt style lightweight poser:

Rubberized clickie switch on top is a 4-way: spotlight, spot with glow, glow only, and flashing at 2-fps. Lanyard is detachable.

Comes with "Industrial" grade AA alkalines from Pairdeer (China) quite fresh @ 1.58- 1.60 Vdc from the start.
Bezel meets housing with a good gasket and the reflector can rotate freely for reasons I can't figure yet, possibly to assure easy tightening against seal for waterproofing?
Storage is HUGE! 3.5" deep x 2.5" x 2.5". Roughly the size of the 6-Volt lantern battery still desired by many.
This unit weighs in a at 15.5 oz. with the batteries.

Life Gear states on their wrap label that 300 hours runtime is for flashing mode only. !50 hours for spotlight mode. I tried an extended run test and it appears that battery protection shuts off spotlight mode after 1-hour's use.

Beamshots:

25 ft. to door, above.

This shot is very close to actual throw, spill, and brightness.

Some specs & features:

13 LED's (9 white, 4 red)
Waterproof & floats? Yes, dropped from 4 ft. Left floating for 1-hour.
Flasher is auto-on when dropped into water.
Battery voltage measured 1.53 Volts at 1-hour runtime.
Has pull strap for batteries.
Immersion contacts (4) just under handle.
Housing seems fairly shatter resistant and bezel has good tight threads.


So far, seems like a good deal. Just in time for Halloween!
I'll subject this puppy to further testing, harmful or otherwise, upon request.

 

[WHT_GE8]

Cant complain about anything since it was only 15 bucks. Looks like a decent light, almost disposable for that price. Really bulky though...

 

[Vesper]

Somebody about a month ago posted a positive review of Life+Gear's small led glowsticks. I bought a couple (~$5 each) and they are nice little multi-function lights - well made and thought out. They float around the house getting used and amusing the kids.

You're right, you can't beat the price. This one too looks like a useful thing to have around should you need it. I love how the whole thing glows. Thanks for the review and pics.

My wife saw me leaning into it for a closer look and I could sense her eyes rolling.

 

[IgNITEor]

Yes indeedy, it is bulky. First thing I noticed and didn't like. I suspect Life Gear selected the original mold's from the lantern era for this production run.
It should have been sliced close to the back of the battery compartment and a vertical or pistol grip handle attached.

Throw away? Well, I did think about attaching a "return to:" tag to the handle and tossing it into the sound, blinking nicely on it's way out with a falling tide.

Vesper, you're welcome! How long have the batteries held up in those glow sticks?

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

I'll check Walgreen's tomorrow and see if they have any in stock. Looks pretty decent for $15.

 

[applevision]

Hey this looks to be a cool light!

I like this company and posted on the glow sticks recently here:

I bought a whole case of them via Costco.com which is pretty sweet--we are giving them to the kids at Halloween.

So far I have been using the same stick each night for about 15 minutes x 1 month and it's going strong. A very nice little product that is very handy around the house!

Thanks for posting about this--I will pick one up for my dad as a durable backup light.

 

[swiftwing]

I'm thinking perhaps they need that air space to ensure that the light is able to float, hence the bulk?

 

[Sgt. LED]

I want one!

I am particularly interested in the glow body only mode. Neat

 

[IgNITEor]

I'm thinking perhaps they need that air space to ensure that the light is able to float, hence the bulk?

The guts alone weigh a little over 7 oz. When I did the wet test in the deep sink, the front end weight pitches the casing down a little to ensure the immersion contacts get wet. It rolled to one side, and set of contacts, every time.

I think if I fold it neatly, I can get a first class mailing envelope inside the "storage" compartment.

Applevision, backatcha' on the Glow Stick details. Life Gear must be using the same poly-mix for their casings as the glow factor spreads evenly and brightly.

 

[PJD]

...just a quick FYI: Academy Sports is also carrying this light, although I don't remember their price (I think it was in the $12-$15 range). I saw it there about 2 months ago when I picked up a Brinkmann 1AA. It IS a nice light, and the output wasn't bad at all...very useful!

PJD

 

[TomInOregon]

I saw this last week in the store and thought it was interesting. Unfortunately, I don't have a use for it at this time. I love the glow feature, though as it lights up enough to actually be useful.

FYI for those in the Pacific Northwest, I found them at Fred Meyer.

Tom