What flashlight for mom?

Once again I want to give my mom a flashlight. Something not too large, but it doesn't have to be tiny. It will mostly be used at home--she needs a light for looking at things closely, since her vision isn't what it used to be. It needs to be easy to turn on and off, and I guess LED is preferable. It needn't be super-bright since it will be used close up.

I first gave her an Arc LSL-P second with the 1x123 TSP, but she found the Kroll button too hard to press. I then gave her a PT Blast, and she liked that pretty well, but the bulb burned out and so there was some nuisance getting her a replacement bulb. Next I gave her a Dorcy 1AA 3LED and she liked that, but somehow it seems to have stopped working. That was otherwise a pretty nice light for her, in terms of size, and ease of operation. And I think it's best to not need lithium batteries, though I can keep her supplied with them if need be.

I'm now thinking of a Gerber Trio (tail twist switch). I thought of the UKE 4AA eLED but I think its pushbutton may also be a little bit difficult for her. That's probably about the largest light I'd want to consider.

Any other ideas?

get a new Dorcy 1AA 3LED, since she liked it. thats a big part of success. get several of them.

I have one, might get myself another.

I have given my Mom two lights, a SF G2 and a Streamlight Twintask. She loves them both and uses them alot especially in the winter. She lives on a large farm and so finds them useful for doing chores in the dark. I think she prefers the SL.

How about an E1e with the new KL1 led conversion head?

I think she'd like the Dorcy 1AAA 1LED better than the 3LED version. It's a smaller light with a wider, more usable beam. Less than $10 to experiment.

Paulr,

Practicalities seem to suggest that your idea of a LED is best.(No bulbs to burn out and therefore no fiddling about with having to put a new bulb back.) The switch should IMHO be some sort of button or switch as failing manual dexterity means it can be awkward for older folks to twist things tailcaps etc.
My experience working with older people suggests that a slightly larger sized light (say a 2x C or D size light) made from a lightweight plastic is more easily held than smaller lights. (As we get older and eyesight fails smaller equals more difficult to find)Whatever you buy her make sure it is simple....nothing puts older people off using things which are fiddly and complicated. Hope you find something just right for her as mums's need looking after!
Doug

hey, how about the Streamlight 4aa led?

the clicky is very easy to push, and the button is very large.
bright bugger too.

minimag with an opalec? (if she is able to twist the head ok.)

an inexpensive (but somewhat large) light that i have is a 4aa one led made by energizer. i think it was about $8 from walmart. it is about turtle-light size. the lens has a focusing optic built in, which i replaced with a regular lens. the reflector and single led make it fairly bright.
it has a nice orange slide switch, which is very easy to slide.

the trio sounds like a great idea, the twisty probably very easy to use.

good luck!

Bob

I'm 58 now and the Dorcy 1AAA 1LED is handy for me. My eyesight's not what it used to be and when I need to look at something in detail, I can quickly grab the Dorcy off the desktop and blast the item to see what needs to be seen. So far, I haven't lost the dexterity to handle a light of this size. YMMV.

Streamlight Twin Task series...they come in different battery configurations.

My grandmother like 3AA 3 led and put it beside pillow. The lenght is easy to find when dark and not too bright after wake up during night. Old woman don't like to change battery. So Led is better choice.

dito to kaseri ... my mom uses an E1e/KL1 (old style) combo and is very pleased. Won't give you nightmares because it won't fail.

My grandma has a Lucido C4 (Lightwave) ... 3xAA with 4x5mm and a long runtime and unbreakable. Not bad, too.

bernhard

Come to think of it, so does mine.. no KL1, just a plain vanilla E1e, but it works very well. Perhaps I might get her the KL1 sometime.

my mom stole my UK eLED when she used it once. she's only 40 tho, if that's any factor. and don't forget you can put the eLED on UK's 2AA body or 2L body or the rechargeable version. maybe that would be nice? the light the same size as the 4AA eLED in a rechargeable package? but i think it might be too big, and she'd be less likely to keep it near her. *shrug*

how about something simple, like one of Peak's 7-LED lights? simple twist on. i'd reccomend the Everest, but it runs on CR123's. that way she'd have two different color lights on each end. might come in handy?
but if you'd like to go the AA route, you might look @ their 5-LED Kilimanjaro.

I like the UK eLED suggestion.

If the switch is an issue would you consider buying UK's Incandescent diving version which is turned on by rotating the head? Swap the lamp module for the LED module.

The head on both of these lights are interchangeble and at about 1.25 inches in dia' and rubber covered it should be easy to manipulate.

If you already have the Incandescent version the LED module is sold separately but is nearly as expensive as the whole light.

GregR

i think any of the inova's would work. the x5 is a good flood light and ease to turn on and off. and the new T series with the clickie would be a great spotlight. either of these wont set you back too much either.

How about a 2C M*glite with a new High Dome Everled?

Even Grandmothers know what a M*g is and how to use one!

The everled never needs changing, and batteries will last long enough to make Scrooge happy.

<wracks brain thinking of lights he owns>

If she liked and used the Dorcy 1AA 3LED, by all means, get another! Also might consider 2AA 4LED.

I tried picking up several lights and thinking of weaker and arthritic hands working them. UK4AA is moderately easy to momentary, but difficult to feel/make it click. Lightwave 2100 3AA 4LED has a fairly small button that is moderately difficult to push. Pelican 2AA MityLite Plus has a nice! tali clickie, and they have a LED version now...

But the 2AA 4LED Dorcy falls so readily to hand and works so easily that it is my top recommedation!

Gerber Trio
Opalec
5-led module from Nerdnik.com

I have had several UK twist bezel lights and they're nice, but take quite a bit of force to operate. I don't think that would be suitable. The pushbutton 4AA eLED isn't so great either, as already mentioned.

I think the Dorcy 1AA is a good size. There's no advantage to a smaller light like a 1AAA. She's not going to EDC the light. It's for around the house. She doesn't go out that much any more.

Main trouble with Dorcy lights is I don't know where to get them. I don't frequently go to Walmart or Target. The one I had, I got on BST. I suppose I could get more of them there through WTB's. The 2AA 4LED does sound like a reasonable suggestion.

I think a 2C Mag is too large, plus I'm not crazy about the Everled concept, plus I don't like M@g for "political" reasons (lawsuits etc), so I'd rather not buy a Mag product. If I wanted that class of light, I'd probably get one of the smaller EL Blaster series instead. Similarly, I like the Gerber Trio better than the Minimag/Opalec.

I'm also thinking of the PT Attitude, since she liked the Blast, and I have several Attitudes in my stash. However, she might not notice it getting dimmer and dimmer, which means it would become less useful to her. Better to have a regulated light so she definitely knows when to change the cells. I'm also a little bit unkeen on 4AAA lights (they're sort of technically unsatisfying), but that's not a big deal.

I believe the uk4AA with the pushbutton will also work with a head twist if you turn it on and loosen the head to turn off.
I gave my aunt a dorcy 1AAA and she is 70 and uses it with no problem. It is good to slip into a purse and some of the heavier lights older women find more uncomfortable to use for longer periods of time, she can also put a spare battery or two in her purse since they are small.

The arcwhite/trailfinder type lights are useful also for walking in the dark as the CCFL tube can flood the room instead of putting a smaller beam out and having to wave the light around all over the place to see where you are walking and have a slide switch that is easy to use. The advantage of the flood is good for looking at things through a magnifying glass as a beam light you have to point it more precisely to see things while you can lay the CCFL down on its side and flood a whole sheet of paper etc at once.

The uke2AAA krypton puts out a powerful beam also for its size, run time is 2 hours but it is more pocketable than some lights. Their eled version is good but lacking in brightness for use in normal light conditions, run time is great at 12-20 hours. I am edc'ing one right now.

You may even consider a headlamp. You can use it on the head or lay it down also for using both hands when dexterity fails you with a flashlight the headlamp will be useful. Some headlamps may have easier switches than a lot of small flashlights too.

Did you see the dorcy magnifying/LED light they just came out with on their webpage? That could be a nice light but I think it uses 2016 cells. maybe take a 2AA/AAA cell magnifying light and put in a boost circuit and LED.

I gave my mom a Q3J HD BB400 mini-mag loaded with a McFlood and a Ram switch.