Re: eternaLight Rave\'n
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by George Orl:
Craig's site is an invaluable resource for any consumer or flashoholic. I consult it before buying. Stated you are making Chgs to your site. My thoughts: For first time visitors, main page could have just a few icons such as LEDs, Reviews, New products, For Sale, Contact Info etc. Then say under reviews page, there would be small icon photos of LED lights {such as glowbug icons site} has to chose from<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
My plate is so full now, even an 'Aluminum Thunderflush (jail toilet) couldn't dispose of it all without flooding.
I'm doing the best I can with the resources I have. I'm only ONE PERSON, responsible for all aspects of testing - stomping on the light, trying to bust the bulb, changing its batteries, and writing all of the web material about the flashlight being tested.
I realise that Glowbug is right on my tail - and that they already have some features which I either do not have or am not capable of producing.... so I need to "one-up" them in some other manner to help keep them at bay.
Don't get me wrong - Glowbug is an excellent source of info, and I would never knock them - but I want to do them one better.
The problem here is that Glowbug has instruments and software far more advanced (and expen$ive) than anything I have or could ever afford, so some of the data they present on their reviews is data that I could never reproduce.
I try to present things in more "real world" style - that is, I actually hurl flashlights against the wall or floor, and throw (not gently place) them into water and expose them to other hazards which I doubt the Glowbug does.
Sure, I break a flashlight now and again - but isn't that the whole point of these tests?
Let's say you're going on an overnight camping trip. Glowbug says the flashlight you brought is waterproof to a foot or two and is impact resistant.
That's fine.. but what happens when your little girl knocks it off the campground table and it hits the ground, rolls away and eventually falls down a steep, six foot rocky shoreline where it explodes into hundreds of little pieces when it hits the bottom?
I actually throw, step on, swing, and in some cases, run over flashlights to see if they break. Without ready access to a campground, mountainside, or cave; I just beat the flashlights against a steel rod and throw them around the room and ensure they hit something hard most of the time. Good enough for 98% anyway... if I need actual, physical rocks to test with, I take the flashlights up to Volunteer Park and throw them around there. That oughta take care of the other 2%.
The Punishment Zone isn't equipped with fancy hydraulic presses and impact hammers like Consumer Reports, but then again they don't take flashlights out in the REAL WORLD or abuse them like a REAL PERSON might!! They strap them into some evil torture anvil and throw a switch.
I turn the flashlight on and viciously lob it across the room, smash it against a metal table leg, get in my motorized chair and run over the sucker, stomp on it, bury it in a potted plant, and then try to drown it in the bathtub! If it still works, I'll strap that puppy on and go out 4-wheeling with it.
