New Solar powered l.e.d. flashlight at Costco

[Hooked on Fenix]

I went to the Carmel Mountain Costco in Poway, California and found a two pack of solar powered 1 watt l.e.d. flashlights for $22.99. They had a whole crate of them. I actually had to ask a worker what the price was because it wasn't listed yet. These are branded Hybrid Light SolarLite with battery backup. They claim that the solar batteries will hold a charge for over 3 years, and that you get 10 hours of light on a full solar charge. They also claim to be 40 lumens each light and be waterproof to 80 feet. They also claim that it floats. I had to buy them and see if they were any good.

Lumen output was overstated by quite a bit. Output compares to that of a stock 2AA Minimag, around 10 lumens. It has a wider, more usable beam pattern than a minimag though.. The l.e.d. isn't a Luxeon. I don't know what it is. It looks similar to the 10mm l.e.d.s put in the Nite Ize drop in for large maglites but seems about 5 or 6mm. User interface isn't my favorite. One push turns the light on using solar battery power. The second push is still at 100% but using the backup power of 2 lithium 2032 cells. The third push turns the light off. I don't like that you have to cycle through the lithium backup batteries to turn the light off. I may take out the backups if I use the light a lot. The disposable lithium batteries are at least replaceable and offer more runtime when needed as well as better shelf life for storage. The lithium battery compartment is O-ring sealed so I'm pretty sure the light is at least dunkable. The solar batteries were precharged and ready to use out of the package, though the light was brighter using the lithium batteries. The head is sealed and the solar batteries can't be seen without destroying the light which I'm not willing to do. The sealed head would make modding difficult. I don't know what it uses for solar batteries, but I am hoping it's some kind of LSD batteries since it claims they hold a charge for 3 years. For about $11.50 per light, I think it's worth the cost. It's much brighter than a Nightstar Shake light. It's not as bright as a Freeplay Sherpa, but it's more waterproof. It's one of the lightest alternative energy flashlights I've seen. It doesn't have a fisheye lens that is too common with shake lights and other solar lights. They're also cheaper than most of the alternatives and you don't have to shake or crank it. Even if the solar batteries go dead, you still have backup power. The light's website is at http://www.hybridlite.com/Default.asp?Redirected=Y.
Sorry I didn't post this in the reviews section, but for some unknown reason, I wasn't allowed too. I tried.

 

[oregon]

Sweet.

Thank you for taking the bullet for the rest of us.

I am interested and will check the isles on my next visit.

All the best,

oregon

 

[pteam]

I dont see whats interesting 10 lumens is a joke.

 

[300winmag]

10 lumens is good enough for a night light.
I was at costco today and I didn't see a damn light at all,
I was hoping they would have the upgrade to my thor magnum I bought there but nope.:thumbsdow

 

[Sgt. LED]

The end of the world has come and gone. Nobody makes batteries anymore and the leftovers are discharged, even lithiums. Some few people remain surviving, you are among them. After dark light is precious and you can quickly and easily turn on and off light instead of the flaming torch lighting routine. Any ambient light at night is just moonlight and that's not always present, 10 lumens is nice and bright. You keep on surviving thanks to your solar light.

Ridiculous yes but there are plenty of times when 10Lu is just fine, like reading in bed. Or lightweight hiking without the weight penalty of carrying spare batteries(As a flashaholic I'd not be caught dead with 1 light and no spare cells).

You never have to buy batteries or use a charger again!

EVERY LIGHT HAS A PURPOSE FOR SOMEONE.

 

[LED_Thrift]

Hooked:
Thanks for the review of this interesting light. I'll bet we'll see more lights like this in the future. Really FREE lumens. Sounds like it might be good for my shed.

Note: You can't start a thread in the Reviews section anymore - a moderator has to move a posted review [like this one] to that section. That is to keep too many reviews of a single light out of that section.

You never have to buy batteries or use a charger again!

EVERY LIGHT HAS A PURPOSE FOR SOMEONE.

+1

 

[Kestrel]

EVERY LIGHT HAS A PURPOSE FOR SOMEONE.

+2. I have found ~10 lumens to be very useful IMO.

 

[jzmtl]

Yep, I go around the house with a fauxton on one cr2032, 1 lumen tops and it's enough.

 

[kramer5150]

I dont see whats interesting 10 lumens is a joke.

hardly... in complete darkness with night-dilated vision 10 Lumens is VERY useful, especially if it is low-lux floody variety.

Nice find, is it really 10 hours off a single charge? That seems do-able, depending on the current draw and cell capacity of the design.

 

[PhantomPhoton]

I think the important question is... can it be modded? Better LED etc.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

The l.e.d. is a half watt l.e.d. just like the one in the Streamlight Enduro headlight or the 2AAA Riverrock flashlight. Brightness is on par with these two lights. Tint is white, not blue or purple. The head is sealed so modding would be difficult.

 

[NickelPlate]

But who keeps their flashlights out in the sun or underneath a lamp to stay charged? Doesn't seem very practical. Very entertaining video though. I loved the dramatic musical fanfare background music .

NP

 

[Sgt. LED]

But who keeps their flashlights out in the sun or underneath a lamp to stay charged?

Those that are camping or currently out of power for 1 reason or another.

Imagine being outdoors for a few weeks doing plenty of hiking and trailside camping. I would hate to have to drag around a load of extra batteries. Just lash this type of light to the outside of your pack as you hike and it will charge enough for using it to make camp that night. Sure you'd have another brighter light just in case but I could see this type of light being the primary user for the majority of the trip.

I don't see people charging this under a house lamp! What a waste.

 

[Bradlee]

I took up Burnie's challenge in the promo video: "I challenge you to go to the flashlight you have in your home or emergency kit at home...you'll find a dead or dimmed flashlight". My lights were all fine .

Nonetheless, this looks quite interesting. I wonder if the Costco's in Canada sell them? Now if only someone could find out what type of batteries the solar panels are charging

 

[NickelPlate]

Those that are camping or currently out of power for 1 reason or another.

Imagine being outdoors for a few weeks doing plenty of hiking and trailside camping. I would hate to have to drag around a load of extra batteries. Just lash this type of light to the outside of your pack as you hike and it will charge enough for using it to make camp that night. Sure you'd have another brighter light just in case but I could see this type of light being the primary user for the majority of the trip.

I don't see people charging this under a house lamp! What a waste.

In that situation, I suppose it would be useful but how many people really find themselves being away from power or civilization for weeks at a time? I'd still take a Nightstar or comparable shakelight over that. I wouldn't turn on a houselamp just to charge it up, but no harm keeping it under one at night around the house.

The pricepoint of this hybrid light makes it a very reasonable alternative. But having to worry about keeping it under a light source during the day if I were using it regularly just wouldn't be for me. Most of my lights are carried/kept in my pocket or other dark storage area.

Does anybody have one?

NP

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

In that situation, I suppose it would be useful but how many people really find themselves being away from power or civilization for weeks at a time? I'd still take a Nightstar or comparable shakelight over that. I wouldn't turn on a houselamp just to charge it up, but no harm keeping it under one at night around the house.

The pricepoint of this hybrid light makes it a very reasonable alternative. But having to worry about keeping it under a light source during the day if I were using it regularly just wouldn't be for me. Most of my lights are carried/kept in my pocket or other dark storage area.

Does anybody have one?

NP

You don't have to worry about keeping it under the sun. If the solar battery goes dead, it has a 2 CR2032 lithium battery backup to keep it running. If that goes dead, just change out the lithium batteries like any other light. Other than this light, I have seen few, if any alternative energy lights that have a disposable battery backup. This is the only alternative energy light I have owned that is waterproof, bright enough to be useful, and has a battery backup. Freeplay lights are bright but not waterproof. Nightstar lights are waterproof but not bright enough to be useful. So far this light seems well worth the cost since you can get two for the cost of a Nightstar light or a Freeplay Sherpa.

 

[kramer5150]

???

Just put it on a windowsill when not in use. I do that periodically with my Citizen and Casio watches.

 

[e-ville]

I wonder if you could charge one solar light with the other!

 

[Sgt. LED]

Well if you lined up 4 of them just right and put them into a box to run so no outside energy could help..........:laughing:

No solar cells are efficient enough yet to keep the energy going in a loop like that forever. Besides that's against the law!

 

[s.c.]

Solar powered flashlight? I'll let it charge near the screen door on my submarine.

Just went to costco and couldn't resist buying these at the price. Didn't know there already was a review here, but I'm happy with the impulse purchase. Though, like many of you here, I have many other lights, I always have a hand winding light in the house, just in case. But they're cumbersome and annoying to charge, and the ones I have don't have a backup battery. I think these lights will be great to have around the house. I already have them sitting on the sill, next to my eco-drives, as someone mentioned earlier. The amount of light is very usuable, about the same as the low setting on my PD20...definitly not 40 lumens. I agree with the Hooked that a huge flaw is how it cycles through the backup battery to turn if off; so I put a piece of paper on the battery so it wouldn't complete the circuit.