Opinions on a Eternalight

I was interested in these lights but was looking for input from you guys. I would probably use the light for general use and camping needs. I like the size and long battery life. Thanks

I've got one the little Derringers. Really like the variable levels and the red LED. Negatives would be max brightness, weather sealing (none), and it's tough to hold in your mouth when you need two hands. I don't really care about the blinky modes, but in a pinch they could be useful. The larger Eternalights are brighter, water-resistant, and run longer (AA batts).

Geoff

eternalight was world's first IC controlled production light. it's trademark was ability to run next to forever.

original shape was not very user friendly. newer one's are somewhat better. latest generation LED's have given eternalights a new lease on life.

I own a few Ergo 3, a few Elite's - all stock. They are waterproof to at least 4 feet, and float with lithium aa. The run-time is incredible,the output is excellent for general purpose uses that you described. The Ergo and the Marine is available at times on EBay for 18.00 and 34.00 respectively, at times. IMO, excellent storm lights, and the ones that I used most Post-K.

With the available "blaster pack" leds from Techass, my EliteMax easily is producing 35-40 lumens of beautiful white floodlight. Not only is it a new lease on life, it's a whole new life unto itself. It really is impressive output for 4 leds, and easily rivals and beats many luxeon lights I've seen.

I own an Ergo that I bought new thru Ebay for less than $20.00! The light seems to run forever. I have not done a runtime test on it but when I bought it, I put lithium batteries in it (it comes with good quality alkalines) to have batteries that I can count on to work in extreme cold and that have the longest shelf life. I have had the light for almost a year and the light is as bright as the day I installed the lithiums. It is easy to carry because of its shape and will light up a very respectable area. It is not intended to be a long throw light. Its great for camping. If you set it on a single led, it makes a great night light that will run all night long for weeks! It does a great job for its intended purpose and I have no regrets about buying this unique light.

I have 3.
I highly recomend having one, I chose the Elitemax and it is probally my most used light when I'm not working. It has a few features that I don't need, but the ones I do use I would have a hard time being without.
This weekend I used it to light my ice fishing tent, then it came in and my kids used it as a night light. It was used as a headlight on a nightime sledding trip too..

I have two Eternalights. One Ergo 3 and one Ergo X-Ray. I think they are among the most useful lights I own. The X-Ray comes with me when I travel. I find the internal blue LED makes it easy to find in the dark. It's bright enough for any indoor task, and most outdoor ones too, as long as you don't need throw. The ability to dim the light makes it very handy too.
I say get one.

I have two of them and there are a few reviews of the EL's in the review section as well as flashlightreviews.com

As for my opinion, the stock light is not very bright and a mod to 35k mcd LEDs helps although I would recommend going with the EliteMax CPF edition. Just click the link in my sigline for info.

The blaster pack is the only way I have found that the Eternalight does not end up competing with ambient light polution like full moon, streetlights or city clights reflected off low clouds etc. Although camping in the woods requires a lot less light.

The battery life is really excellent and the 3 regulated levels are awesome. I usually end up using level 4 for 150 hours of unregulated light and then use the regulation and lower levels as needed.

I have a yellow ErgoMarine equipped with lithium AA cells. I'm still on the original set. I found a useful application for the blink mode. During the summer when I return home on a bicycle from work at night (usually 1 AM) I dangle the light from my backpack. I find that drivers see me from afar and give me lots of breathing space when they pass. It's also fantastic as a power failure light on the lower modes; the lowest mode is great too as a nightlight if you find yourself in a hotel or motel room with no low-level lighting. Saves energy by not having to run the incan light(s) in the bathroom with the door partly closed.

My ErgoMarine with Lithiums is my favorite light that never gets used.

It will be the first thing I go for if the electricity ever conks out for an extended period. But otherwise it never gets used.


best regards

Phaserburn said:

With the available "blaster pack" leds from Techass, my EliteMax easily is producing 35-40 lumens of beautiful white floodlight. Not only is it a new lease on life, it's a whole new life unto itself. It really is impressive output for 4 leds, and easily rivals and beats many luxeon lights I've seen.

Click to expand...

WHich LED's are you using? I recently purchased an Elitemax and I was thinking about getting the Blaster pack. Is there a real difference between the two?

The ultimate disaster light!!

my 2 are also my most favorite lights i never use. BUT, if there is a long power outage, you can bet the bank they are the ones i will go to.

there are no better long term use lights out there.

one cpf'er did a test and got 28 days of light out of one set of liths!!!

that's 24hr a day for 28 days! obviously one is in my BOB.

how can a CPF'er not have an eternalight?...

Yes, there is. I'm using the 35 degree, 35k leds. They are multi-die, and the four of them pull 440ma from the lithium AAs when on regulated high. That's ALOT of current for 4 5mm leds! Very floodlike beam (which I like). The blaster pack also comes with equally bright and tighter beam leds as well (20 degrees, IIRC) that make it throw better. I happen to like the color and beam of the wider leds myself.

Overall, mine are significantly brighter to me, and the CPF leds were no slouch to begin with. Flood light is harder to determine brightess differences, but maybe you should try them out. My Elitemax really lights up a room.

Thanks for all the info. Now I have to decide which one I need.

Good plan!

I like the Derringer cuz it's small, but the lack of waterproofness and AAs makes it less useful. I've been meaning to send in my EliteMax for the upgrade, but I have been very happy with it and the Xray. The Marine is a nice bright color and works great, but the feature set on the nicer ones wins out.

daloosh

I think I'm going with the Ergo. Pretty basic and if I like it i'll upgrade.

I like the Ergo, basic and fits nicely in the hand

You won't go wrong whichever one you choose, but consider, if you will, that the Elite Max is fully regulated on the three higher levels. That means you can run alkalines in it with flat output if you want. Plus it has some nice programmable features, perhaps the most useful one being the ability to set it to come on at the last level you used before you turned it off, and the stronger Lexan case with screw inserts.

Worst things I could say about the Eternalights is that they are slighly bulky for the battery and circuit size, but then they have to be if they are to float with the lithiums in there. Plus battery change requires a screwdriver...but then, you almost never have to change them. The first sophisticated LED light I ever had was an Ergo Marine my mother sent me from a Hammacher-Schlemmerer catalog about 6 years ago. I have lots of flashlights competing for my attention, but it still resides by the bedside and gets frequent if brief use, and I never have changed out the batteries it came with. Quite something.

- Bill

Ditto to what has been said above!

Get one of the Elite Series Lights (Marine, X-Ray, or Max). They have brass sockets for the screws, stand up better, have a built in magnet, come with a lanyard.

As said before - great lights, I own 6 currently. Great for emergencies and lots of features!