freeplay sherpa xray
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chesterqw
Flashlight Enthusiast
it seems good...
chester,could you go into a little more detail to what you think about it? this will be my first freeplay flashlight if i buy one and I want to see if their products are good .Any suggestions for other crank,shake, or solar lights?all posts would help a lot. 
Concept
Flashlight Enthusiast
Try The Led Museum I think he has a few Crank light reviews.
nelstomlinson
Newly Enlightened
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- Aug 16, 2005
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- 76
I have a Freeplay light, not sure whether it's the particular version you're talking about.
Mine has a two element bulb for high and low beam and two small (and low capacity) Ni[Cd|MH] batteries, in addition to the crank-up generator. It would be possible to use the generator to charge the batteries, but you would have to spend several days cranking and then letting the spring run the generator to fully charge the batteries. This matters, because the generator doesn't have enough guts to run the bulb on high. Fortunately, there is a plug in charger, but that sort of defeats the purpose, I think.
So, once you've run the batteries down, you get a crank light that runs for 3 minutes (that's how long the spring drives the generator) on low. Then you're in the dark for a couple of minutes until you get the spring rewound.
On the bright side, the machine seems to be fairly high quality, and looks as if it should last a long time. On the dim side, it's HUGE for the amount of light it puts out, even on high beam. It's heavy. It isn't practical to use as a crank light, as I explained above.
Over all, I'm very dissatisfied with my Freeplay light. I got it on sale for $10, without the option to return it. Once I got it home, I could see why they had to mark it down so far to move it, and I would have returned it if I could.
One of these days I'll check to see if one of the Minimag LED drop-ins will fit in place of the tri-pin bulb. The little Nite-ize drop-in might make the batteries last long enough to let it run a few minutes between cranking spells, but that's a huge body for such a dim little bulb.
Hopefully the one you're looking at is more practical than mine.
Nels
Mine has a two element bulb for high and low beam and two small (and low capacity) Ni[Cd|MH] batteries, in addition to the crank-up generator. It would be possible to use the generator to charge the batteries, but you would have to spend several days cranking and then letting the spring run the generator to fully charge the batteries. This matters, because the generator doesn't have enough guts to run the bulb on high. Fortunately, there is a plug in charger, but that sort of defeats the purpose, I think.
So, once you've run the batteries down, you get a crank light that runs for 3 minutes (that's how long the spring drives the generator) on low. Then you're in the dark for a couple of minutes until you get the spring rewound.
On the bright side, the machine seems to be fairly high quality, and looks as if it should last a long time. On the dim side, it's HUGE for the amount of light it puts out, even on high beam. It's heavy. It isn't practical to use as a crank light, as I explained above.
Over all, I'm very dissatisfied with my Freeplay light. I got it on sale for $10, without the option to return it. Once I got it home, I could see why they had to mark it down so far to move it, and I would have returned it if I could.
One of these days I'll check to see if one of the Minimag LED drop-ins will fit in place of the tri-pin bulb. The little Nite-ize drop-in might make the batteries last long enough to let it run a few minutes between cranking spells, but that's a huge body for such a dim little bulb.
Hopefully the one you're looking at is more practical than mine.
Nels
nelstomlinsom,Is the one you are taking about a coleman sentinal?
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/coleman_sentinel.htm
The one i want to get is this one.
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/freeplay_sherpaxray.htm
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/coleman_sentinel.htm
The one i want to get is this one.
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/freeplay_sherpaxray.htm
nelstomlinson
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2005
- Messages
- 76
Mine is neither of those, and they both look far more practical than mine, and a lot smaller. Here's a http://www.navstore.com/freeplay_flashlight.asp picture. It's big enough to hold several big 6V lantern batteries, and heavy enough, too. Thoroughly impractical.Pher said:
Yours sounds far more practical, but a favorable comparison to mine is faint praise indeed.
Nels
Target has Freeplay lights now. I started this thread about a week ago with links to the lights on Freeplay's site.
I have no experience with them, but they look well built and the one I played with was pretty bright for a crank-up.
I have no experience with them, but they look well built and the one I played with was pretty bright for a crank-up.
garence
Newly Enlightened
I just bought one of these. It's a very well made flashlight--you can really feel the solid workmanship. The crank has nice feedback and spins smoothly.
This light is bright! The dual brightness mode is very useful, as the dimmer mode is usable without disturbing anyone sleeping nearby.
It is kind of silly that they include a charger... isn't it supposed to be self-charging? Well, I believe the charging just gives it an extra boost. You can still get really bright light from cranking it.
The only two drawbacks I can see are:
1) The shape is odd and cumbersome for anyone with small hands.
2) The instructions recommend a full discharge and recharge "at least once per month". What?? That's ridiculous. I could see doing it 2 times per year, but 12 times per year is unrealistic. I think it's just a cop-out disclaimer so Freeplay can avoid any returns after the warranty is up for batteries failing to hold a charge. Still, I expect from the quality workmanship that this light will last a long time. And the casing can be unscrewed to replace the batteries if need be.
It's more expensive than the competition, but you get higher quality workmanship, which is important for an emergency light. I give a solid thumbs up on this one.:thumbsup:
This light is bright! The dual brightness mode is very useful, as the dimmer mode is usable without disturbing anyone sleeping nearby.
It is kind of silly that they include a charger... isn't it supposed to be self-charging? Well, I believe the charging just gives it an extra boost. You can still get really bright light from cranking it.
The only two drawbacks I can see are:
1) The shape is odd and cumbersome for anyone with small hands.
2) The instructions recommend a full discharge and recharge "at least once per month". What?? That's ridiculous. I could see doing it 2 times per year, but 12 times per year is unrealistic. I think it's just a cop-out disclaimer so Freeplay can avoid any returns after the warranty is up for batteries failing to hold a charge. Still, I expect from the quality workmanship that this light will last a long time. And the casing can be unscrewed to replace the batteries if need be.
It's more expensive than the competition, but you get higher quality workmanship, which is important for an emergency light. I give a solid thumbs up on this one.:thumbsup:
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