best no-battery (dynamo/shake) LED flashlight?

assembling an emergency kit. i see www.foreverflashlights.com but wondering if there are other alternatives i should consider.

I have tried several, including the ForeverFlashlight. IMHO, the Nightstar http://www.appliedinnotech.com/ is the best for this category of light, but also the most expensive.
The only other one which I have tried and found to actually be usable is the Diamond Gen. IV. http://www.quality-items-flashlights.com/index.php/cat/c1271_Gen--IV---1-2-Hr-Shake.html which is smaller, cheaper and lasts longer but must be shaken for 90 sec instead of the 30 sec. of the Nightstar. Also the quality is slightly less. For example, the switch activates and the magnet bumps the ends of the tube when shaken. Also, I prefer the Nightstar beam pattern which has less sidespill which makes the light more usable as it dims. Personally, I think the Nightstar is worth the extra $15.

I have not seen any shakers that were very bright. If in an emergency kit, why not got get a lithium battery light and some spare batteries in it? The batteries last for 10 years on the shelf!!!!

I also asked the question when checking for a solar powered LED but decided to go with lithium instead, get a bunch of of batteries with a long running light in a pelican case and you should be OK unless you get to be at an end of the world as we know it event.

Just my .02
AlexGT

hivoltage said:

I have not seen any shakers that were very bright. If in an emergency kit, why not got get a lithium battery light and some spare batteries in it? The batteries last for 10 years on the shelf!!!!

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But you're not guaranteed not to have multi-day outages, in which case the ability to replenish without buying batteries is important

AlexGT said:

I also asked the question when checking for a solar powered LED but decided to go with lithium instead, get a bunch of of batteries with a long running light in a pelican case and you should be OK unless you get to be at an end of the world as we know it event.

Just my .02
AlexGT

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I agree with that. Primaries last so long its definitely a good option. It is also wise to remember that in recent disasters, it was AA's and D's that went first. Lithiums were still sometimes available because there was little disaster demand for the first few days. I thought about shake lights for a long time as many disaster agencies were recommending them. I do alot of teaching on emergency kits in my local community. I found the following things:

1. They are too dim and need shaking too often
2. Anything with fast moving parts is a future broken item (then what?)
3. In an emergency you may need a light immediately. I would not like to be shaking for a time while I need a light NOW.

Shakelights are, at most, a gimmicky fad that has somehow been marketed to appeal through a gee-whiz appeal. They're surrounded by a magnetic field that is detrimental to magnetic data, including the magnetic strip on credit cards, monitor and tv screens, and small electronics circuits. Their capacitor / tank-circuit storage means of producing the power is so momentary is so short-lived, particularly under load, that very low power leds are essentially engineered into the circuit, resulting in less light than other LED lights.

Dynamo hand-cranked models generally charge a rechargeable cell, hold the power longer, have brighter leds, and doesn't affect every magnetic sensitive thing around.

I think it may depend on where you will need it. If you stow a crank-light in the salt air of your blue water sailboat it may have already been dead for two years when you need it. On the other hand if the power goes out on your block in Cleveland you can probably just run down into your basement and get it and likely it will be fine.

The environment is an extremely important factor in choosing an emergency light that may be ignored for years until it's needed.

fieldops said:

I agree with that. Primaries last so long its definitely a good option. It is also wise to remember that in recent disasters, it was AA's and D's that went first. Lithiums were still sometimes available because there was little disaster demand for the first few days. I thought about shake lights for a long time as many disaster agencies were recommending them. I do alot of teaching on emergency kits in my local community. I found the following things:

1. They are too dim and need shaking too often
2. Anything with fast moving parts is a future broken item (then what?)
3. In an emergency you may need a light immediately. I would not like to be shaking for a time while I need a light NOW.

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yes, but considering that i'm on a flashlight forum, i own several. however, in an emergency kit, i want a light that can be used no matter what the situation - thus a dynamo/shaker would be perfect for my little kit.

Empath said:

Dynamo hand-cranked models generally charge a rechargeable cell, hold the power longer, have brighter leds, and doesn't affect every magnetic sensitive thing around.

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any recommendations on a good dynamo light? i see cheapies at costco all the time but want to get one where someone knows that it lasts a long time.

Pay a little more elsewhere to get the same thing so that you'll think you're getting something better. From the looks of it, most of those crank lights seem to be coming from the same factory in China (though some other factory will no doubt start putting out a cheaper, more poorly made copy eventually if you wait long enough.)

What do you mean lasts a long time? If you want a longer run time, you'd probably be better off with a battery driven flashlight (store with the batteries outside of the flashlight, but together.)

I've been using a couple of those Durapower cranks around the house for about a year now (that's using, not storing) and they seem to be fine. They shouldn't be an issue in an emergency kit, unless you're like many people that think that emergency kits can be just stashed for 5-10 years without any inspection or maintenance. The cranks from Costco (and many others) have a couple of rechargeable LIon batteries in them that stores the charge from the cranking. You will need to break out the lights and crank them every so often to keep the batteries from self-discharging to a point where they are no longer usable.

EDIT: Most of these 'emergency' lights are gimmicky low-quality products intended to capitalize on the fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) that has been generated to the mainstream consumer market following recent natural disasters. It also tends to provide a financial lift for the market that caters to survivalists as well (much as the Y2K campaign did a few years ago.) Realistically, if you want to create a real emergency kit, do so with products that you would use on an every day basis (including your flashlights.) One option that you might want to consider are Mini Mags with the Nite-Ize LED module, that will work better than the crank lights and have a fairly long run time. The cost would be about the same as one of the crank lights, but at least you can be assured of some degree of quality. You can store a lot of AA batteries is a small space, and as mentioned earlier, you do need to maintain any emergency kit if it is a real emergency kit and not just a novelty. As alkaline batteries will last for quite a few years (rated by manufacturers at about 7), cycling out a pack (into every day use) every few years should have a nominal cost impact; especially if they're the 48 packs from Costco.

a4toronto said:

any recommendations on a good dynamo light? i see cheapies at costco all the time but want to get one where someone knows that it lasts a long time.

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