What do you really think of these "shake Lights"?

What do people really think of these shake lights? are they really a value (assuming you get one that's not fake), or are they just a fad with little to offer?

My thinking goes along these lines:

The Shake lights are advertised as special because they need no batteries, especially in an emergency. What's wrong with batteries? People say it free's them up from having to find batteries in a pinch. Why not just have batteries on hand before an emergency? You go to all the trouble of buying a shake light, why not get a long lasting light and a bunch of batteries. Am I missing something here?

I also would be concerned with an emergency light that has fast moving parts. Its got to be a ticking time bomb to fail. why not get a cheap single LED light with batteries. If you had an Infinity Ultra with a handfull of lithiums, you're good for weeks. Even with alkalines you are good for a long time. I know there have been several threads on these. Some about the fake ones too. I see more people all the time asking about these lights. I guess I just don't see it.

Is something great about these lights that I don't know?

fieldops said:

What do people really think of these shake lights?

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Most of them are junk.

If you have to go batteryless, I would recommend a crank light.

fieldops said:

What's wrong with batteries? People say it free's them up from having to find batteries in a pinch. Why not just have batteries on hand before an emergency? You go to all the trouble of buying a shake light, why not get a long lasting light and a bunch of batteries. Am I missing something here?

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They are not responsible enough to keep the batteries and flashlights in the same place, or are not responsible enough to regularly make sure the spare batteries that they might have are in good condition.
It's just too complicated for them. :sleepy:

I think you pretty much hit the point, other than wanting a well balanced light collection, i don't see a point to them. I think that the crank lights are a little bit better than the shake lights, but I would still take a infinity ultra any day.

Dont the crank one's contain a nimh cell? I have a few shakies and really like them for "emergency" lighting, last resort. Great for kids also.

I don't own one, and don't plan to, but I can see the use they'd have for some people. The TV commercials are exactly right when they show people finding their flashlights (2C energizers, Mags, etc) with dead batteries. Shake lights are good emergency tools for regular folks who wouldn't bother with the expense of expensive lithium cells in quality flashlights.

Well, here's how I see it... I guess they serve a VERY specific purpose, but considering there's the Tektite Trek Lithium with a 10 year shelf life and a 200 hour runtime and even the Princeton Tec Impact with about a 200 hour runtime on 4 AA cell batteries, to me the crank and shake lights are next to useless. I mean, I have 5 Impacts ready to go. If I really need over 1,000 hours of intermittant runtime, I think I'm pretty doomed anyway and I'll probably find very little comfort in a crank-it-myself flashlight.

Planterz said:

I don't own one, and don't plan to, but I can see the use they'd have for some people. The TV commercials are exactly right when they show people finding their flashlights (2C energizers, Mags, etc) with dead batteries. Shake lights are good emergency tools for regular folks who wouldn't bother with the expense of expensive lithium cells in quality flashlights.

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I second that. Sometimes some light is better than none.

I saw the Faraday shake light commercial yesterday for the same $20 I would rather get a Mini Mag 2AA, a Nite-eyez drop in, and a 4 pack of Energizer L91's at the local wal-mart.

There was a 'LEO' on the show that approx. said he uses a $200 flashlight on duty and it has to be charged everyday and went on to explain the goodness of the Faraday. It seemed like he was holding a Streamlight Strion? But I wished he would say why he wouldn't use the Faraday on duty. I think his (assume) answer would be "the light output is crap." The bad guy would see me coming a mile away due to low front output and greater side illumination.

/End rant.

I wouldn't have one. I have enough lights and batteries to last me 6 months, possibly a year.

Jason

IIRC the AIT NightStar is the original it's also the only one I have so I can't compare but I think that it's a good emergency light. Very nearly guaranteed (insert your own favorite disclaimer) to work when needed, anywhere needed. YMMV.

-LT

JasonC8301 said:

I think his (assume) answer would be "the light output is crap.) The bad guy would see me coming a mole away due to low front output and greater side illumination.

/End rant.

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Not to mention the constant spanking off movements and racket required to keep the shake light going.

cratz2 said:

but considering there's the Tektite Trek Lithium with a 10 year shelf life and a 200 hour runtime and even the Princeton Tec Impact with about a 200 hour runtime on 4 AA cell batteries, to me the crank and shake lights are next to useless.

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But do the the Trek or Tec cost less than $10?

I have a Nightstar CS that I keep in my BOB. It works just fine as it is designed to work(for me it's another backup). Consider if you were in a situation like the Gulf coast after hurricane Katrina, some of those folks went for weeks and even months in some cases without electricity. Having something that'll work after you're out of batteries is worth it. I sent an aunt in Lousiana(Hammond) a crank radio (found this same radio at Sharper Image Auction-NIB for $18) and shake light(Target carries these) for Christmas. She said she sure could've used it after the hurricane because they were without power for 2 weeks and batteries for flashlights and radios were hard to find. There are quite a few 'junk' ones out there, but some do work well. Here's a few reviews.

I agree that they can be useful if you buy a worthwhile model. I recently purchased one that is sold in the Boating Accessories area of Walmart for $11.88. It's not in their flashlight section and I've never seen it mentioned on this forum. I stumbled upon it by accident. You can test them through the packaging and I picked the brightest one with few beam artifacts.
It's marketed by Attwood and touted to be waterproof. Light output is ok and run time seems to be very good. I easily ran it for the 100 advertised minutes and it didn't dim appreciably. Construction seems lightweight and somewhat fragile, but at least this one has a nice microswitch under a rubber boot.
One thing you have to consider is the magnetic danger. Don't stuff any of these lights, including some of the fake ones, into your back pocket with your wallet! So it's a mixed bag, another tool with advantages and disadvantages.

Are they an EDC hahah no.

Do they serve a purpose? Of course.

These lights are great to have in places where you rarely use a light and where constant temperature fluctuation happens. For instance your car, your camper, your cabin etc. Since there is no batteries you don't have to worry about it leaking.

The smart thing to do is to have these in places they only get used in emergencies, and to make sure they don't move from there (always put them back when done). This way you KNOW its going to be where you leave it and you can grab it first to help you find your Mag85 .

Have one of these shake lights next to the wind up radio and you are all set

Good invention/ Good enviromental thought i have to say.

People will see its value only when.....there is no more battery on earth...

lets hope that day won't come.

wuyeah said:

Good invention/ Good enviromental thought i have to say.

People will see its value only when.....there is no more battery on earth...

lets hope that day won't come.

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I have to agree, but they are hardly a long term solution. When you have to reshake a light every few minutes that can be annoying. Then again, when the first flashlights were made in the 1800's, they were only flashed a few seconds to help people see their way on dark roads. This was to save the batteries - hence "flash light" was born.

I say they are good enough to get you to the spot where you have the REAL flashlight. :naughty: I bought my 10 million CP for $20 few weeks ago! Was on clearance or something at BJ's wholesale.

I had one and gave it away. I have plenty of flashlights around. Don't forget the tried and true method for producing light: Candles! I have a supply of the 2" x 8" church style candles in glass tubes. Enough to last for weeks if need be. If I go with a human powered flashlight again it will be a crank type dynamo light. No more shaking for me!

If you want a light for an emergency kit that you can walk away from, and not worry about batteries, it's a good choice. That covers many more people than those who are flashlight enthusiasts. I was given one (Nightstar) many years ago. I tried it out and it did put out it's advertised usable light for around 20 continuous minutes. Would it be a good primary light? No, not at all. But it is a good light to keep somewhere for an emergency that you can leave and forget about it.

At best, they're marginally useful junk for the unenlightened (the demographic who thinks that a Mag 2-D-cell is the paragon of portable illumination).

I could see the better ones having some value in a post-apocalypse, End Of The World As We Know It scenario where flashlight/battery production and distribution is terminated -- along with all industrial output. But then, I suspect most folks' arms would soon be falling off trying to shake these torches enough to generate meaningful levels of light -- thus begetting extraordinary demand for cheap pain-killers like Ibuprofen, etc., which would soon be sold-out.

One's money would be better spent for extra batteries for a decent, long runtime LED flashlight. I vote for a couple of $15 Princeton Tec Attitudes or Gerber Infinity Ultras (with a sack of batteries) for practical, cost-effective emergency lighting.

OTOH, if I were president of the orthopedic surgeons' union -- and a specialist in reconstructive elbow and rotator cuff-surgery -- I'd be pushing these shakelights real hard!

This is all quite interesting. I have never done a poll before, but it is fascinating that the poll has almost been even in all questions as of this writing. I think the points so far are these:

1. Some like them provided you don't get a fake one.

2. Some find them completely useless

3. Some like them as last resort lights for emergencies

It kind of begs the question of a comparison of these lights. Is there a thread on comparison's of the various lights? It would be a good service to the non flashaholic if there was a list(just a list) of reviewed shake lights that are real and work (not fake ones). We could only list the tested known good ones ( we may not want to list the bad ones by name in order to keep some from being upset ..maybe ask Empath or another admin on that question?). Clearly some have already been tested by FR etc. As my initial post stated, I'm not a fan of these so I don't own one.
Just a thought.
Thanks for everyone's responses. I only started this as so many regular folks are asking about these.

fieldops

I have one of the "Hummer" models from Sharper Image. It is, IMNSHO, a piece of useless junk. If I haven't used it for a while, I have to shake it for nearly a minute to get a usably-bright beam; then it dims with use.

The worst part is the fake shakelights that are infiltrating. My boss told me about his new shake light: "I shake it twice and it burns for several minutes." Uh...something wrong there! I told him it probably was a fake and had button cells. This morning, he tells me he looked at it and "sure enough, it has button cells on the circuit board."

It almost seems that there are more fakes circulating than real ones!