ronniepudding
Enlightened
https://www.flickr.com/photos/128481197@N04/15547792027/
I received this "finger light" in error from an online vendor, and I will be sending it back to them shortly... however, I like the concept and am curious if anyone knows of another -- hopefully more reasonably priced and higher quality -- light along these lines. The few buyer reviews I was able to find are strangely glowing, in light of the IMHO very poor build quality and $50+ price tag. Seems like it's a specialty item for aviators, available with red or blue LEDs to preserve night vision, etc. I got the "white" LED, which looks to be a cheap, blue-tinted 5mm emitter behind a plastic optic. The tint and beam is a more focused version of the freebie keychain/coincell lights I regularly receive along with every order I place. It runs on 3xLR44 batteries, has three modes (low, lower, and slow-flashing beacon). The I'm not bashing the low output, since the use-case is reading maps, finding controls, etc. in an enclosed cockpit where you don't want to dazzle yourself... but for a light this dim, why include a beacon mode? :shrug: To top it off, PWM for the lowest mode is the slowest I've ever seen. :thumbsdow The body of the light is a plastic tube with a rubber boot enclosing the whole thing, and a plastic tailcap with a spring loosely pushed into place. All of which would be fine if it cost $5... but at $50 I just don't get it. Perhaps there's a military pilot on the forum who can enlighten me.
On the plus side, the rubber body and velcro, adjustable 'ring' are effective and comfortable. I think this TYPE of light would be useful to keep in the glove box for a passenger to read maps while driving at night, finding stuff that's fallen under the seat, and in a pinch, changing a tire. It might also have utility for repair people who want to be able to keep both hands free, but still need to peer into computer cases, electrical enclosures, etc. and who for some reason are opposed to wearing a headlamp. The only other light I've seen like this one is a see-thru plastic child's toy that's even lower quality, but costs almost nothing and so is disposable.
I received this "finger light" in error from an online vendor, and I will be sending it back to them shortly... however, I like the concept and am curious if anyone knows of another -- hopefully more reasonably priced and higher quality -- light along these lines. The few buyer reviews I was able to find are strangely glowing, in light of the IMHO very poor build quality and $50+ price tag. Seems like it's a specialty item for aviators, available with red or blue LEDs to preserve night vision, etc. I got the "white" LED, which looks to be a cheap, blue-tinted 5mm emitter behind a plastic optic. The tint and beam is a more focused version of the freebie keychain/coincell lights I regularly receive along with every order I place. It runs on 3xLR44 batteries, has three modes (low, lower, and slow-flashing beacon). The I'm not bashing the low output, since the use-case is reading maps, finding controls, etc. in an enclosed cockpit where you don't want to dazzle yourself... but for a light this dim, why include a beacon mode? :shrug: To top it off, PWM for the lowest mode is the slowest I've ever seen. :thumbsdow The body of the light is a plastic tube with a rubber boot enclosing the whole thing, and a plastic tailcap with a spring loosely pushed into place. All of which would be fine if it cost $5... but at $50 I just don't get it. Perhaps there's a military pilot on the forum who can enlighten me.
On the plus side, the rubber body and velcro, adjustable 'ring' are effective and comfortable. I think this TYPE of light would be useful to keep in the glove box for a passenger to read maps while driving at night, finding stuff that's fallen under the seat, and in a pinch, changing a tire. It might also have utility for repair people who want to be able to keep both hands free, but still need to peer into computer cases, electrical enclosures, etc. and who for some reason are opposed to wearing a headlamp. The only other light I've seen like this one is a see-thru plastic child's toy that's even lower quality, but costs almost nothing and so is disposable.
