Zelco light looks like a lampey :)

Has anyone seen this apparently new light from Zelco?

It is a transluscent orange plastic with a soft, rubbery feel, and has a DIFFUSED type white LED. It is a keychain light, with an oddly hinged, metal and composite keychain attachment that also functions as a switch.
Giving the keyring 1/4 turn in any direction turns it on & off - a cam inside the heel cap prevents accidental or unwanted activation and also allows for a steady-on mode that really does stay on.




As you can see, this very funny looking light reminds me of a lampey, an eel-like freshwater fish with a round sucker mouth ringed with tiny razor-like teeth.

While out on New Year's Eve (prior to my little brush with the SPD), somebody just handed it to me and slinked away, back into the darkness and never to be seen again.

This light isn't particularly bright (when compared to a Photon II) but the color is very even and consistent and the beam quite wide - making it a suitable "walking around the house at night" light or a "digging through the bait box at night" light.

The only thing I didn't care for was that the entire flashlight glows when in use - a lot of perfectly good white LED light is being directed back into the flashlight body and is essentially wasted.

http://ledmuseum.home.att.net

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Quotation from above post (how DO you make it know you're quoting something, anyway?):

The only thing I didn't care for was that the entire flashlight glows when in use - a lot of perfectly good white LED light is being directed back into the flashlight body and is essentially wasted.

My guess is that this is an intentional use (not waste) of the light from the LED, so that the "lamprey light" is visible from any direction, when lit. Imagine trying to find a CMG Infinity Task Light dropped into a dark-colored container. From experience, I can say that a light-ring around the rim might be a help here.

That's a neat little LED. Except for the little "bend" in it. How much is it? Where do we get it?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by djharryg:
That's a neat little LED. Except for the little "bend" in it. How much is it? Where do we get it?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Actually, I like the little bend in it.
Somehow it feels more "natural" to walk around with this light, and it might be a boon to those with arthritis or other joint diseases as you don't have to screw your hand & wrist in some funny position to get light on the floor in front of you.

It will also shine on the floor in front of you if you just hold the keyring portion and allow the rest to dangle.

Another advantage is that you can lay the light down and have it shine upwards towards the ceiling - try doing THAT with an Infinity.

As for pricing and availability, I have no idea whatsoever. That's why I posted my message in the first place.
Somebody just handed the thing to me at a New Year's Eve party and disappeared before I could figure out who it was! (dark location, costumed). But I have an idea of who it was, and will ask the next time I see him.

I tried looking up Zelco on ebay to see if anyone was selling any products with that name, and all I found was a pair of swimming trunks where someone used the word "zelco" instead of "velcro".
I don't even know what else Zelco makes.

http://ledmuseum.home.att.net

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Cyclops942:

My guess is that this is an intentional use (not waste) of the light from the LED, so that the "lamprey light" is visible from any direction, when lit. From experience, I can say that a light-ring around the rim might be a help here.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is more than just a "light ring" around the head - the entire body of the flashlight glows, and the front 25% or so rather brightly.
Holding ones thumb over the LED and turning the light on produces enough of a "body glow" in the flashlight to navigate a dark room by.

Overall though, the flashlight seems unexpectedly well-made, not some disposable thing like you might see in the battery aisle of your local Fred Meyer. I'd expect to find this maybe in the camping goods aisle.

Next time I'm out trashing or (god forbid) shopping, I'll scout out the sporting goods, camping, etc. aisles and see if this thing turns up anywhere.

http://ledmuseum.home.att.net

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>(how DO you make it know you're quoting something, anyway?)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You can quote an entire post by clicking on the for that particular post. Or you can use the &#91QUOTE&#93 &#91/QUOTE&#93 tags.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubb/ubbcode.html

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubb/faq.html

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"A knifeless man is a lifeless man"
-Nordic proverb

After a lengthy and exhaustive internet search I found an obscure site, oddly named http://www.zelco.com which contained the folowing info:

J-Light™; A super-bright LED Keylight with a new twist! With a Super-Bright LED light, the J-light can be seen over a mile away. The energy efficient shadowless white light is lifetime and never needs replacement. Because it has no filament, it is entirely shock proof. It comes with an innovative double action switch. For an instant light, simply press and release keyring stem. Twisting the keyring will lock the light on and another twist turns it off. Its rubberized sure-grip case is water-resistant and scratch proof. The J-Light comes with 4 LR44 Alkaline button cell batteries that have a burn time of 12 hours. The batteries may be replaced with 2 lithium batteries for a longer shelf-life.Made of delrin plastic, the keyring is extremely flexible, but not breakable, making attaching and removing keys a cinch.

Item# 4500X Suggested retail price: $20.00

Very interesting, are 4 l-44 cheaper than two lithiums? I tried to link to the site but got the page cannot be displayed. Just when I thought we were on top of it all here comes something out of the blue.

Try this link, even though the main url listed above didn't respond, this link did! http://zelco.com/j_light.htm

Regards,
Ed

I know I'm nit picking here, but just wanted to let you know that the eel like fish is a lamprey, not a lampey. They are found in both fresh and salt water. And I do agree that this light does look like one.

Additional lamprey trivia: The US Navy was finding round cuts in the synthetic nose cones of some subs. After some investigation they determined it was from lampreys trying catch a meal. [sometimes it scares me that I remember this type of useless trivia, but forget to put out the garbage]

LOL! Oh man... I know the feeling... I know the feeling!

Doug


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RonM:
I know I'm nit picking here, but just wanted to let you know that the eel like fish is a lamprey, not a lampey. They are found in both fresh and salt water. And I do agree that this light does look like one.

Additional lamprey trivia: The US Navy was finding round cuts in the synthetic nose cones of some subs. After some investigation they determined it was from lampreys trying catch a meal. [sometimes it scares me that I remember this type of useless trivia, but forget to put out the garbage]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Zelco sells the itty Bitty Book Light. Talk about a light that's ripe for LED. If they put an LED in these things there would be no need for the AC adapter. I have another manufacturer's book light that uses a florescent bulb. Never measured it, but I get many hours on 4 NIMH AAs.

Also did you check out their Micro Fluorescent Lantern. Looks like a neat concept. Too bad they don't provide any details like what batteries and how long it runs.