DuraPRO flashlights now at Costco

While in a San Jose, CA Costco tonight I noticed some new flashlights they didn't have last week. They are the DuraPRO hand-crank LED models. Unlike the other DuraPRO's mentioned here on CPF, these ones seem a little bit different. It has three LEDs to the front and two red LEDs that face the side. The top mounted button will activate the 3 LEDs on the first press, and a second press will make all 5 LEDs blink. Press again for off.

The advertised run time is 45 minutes from 1 minute of hand cranking. The two pack of these lights sell for $20.

I found a small picture. These things sort of look like "Star Trek: The Next Generation" hand phasers with a touch of "Flash Gordon".

I bought one but returned it. One minute of cranking only provided 1-2 min of operation(peak brightness), then light diminshed.

redduck said:

I bought one but returned it. One minute of cranking only provided 1-2 min of operation (peak brightness), then light diminished.

Click to expand...

I got a set, gave one away, and tested the one I kept. After running it down I cranked it for 1 minute, which produced 6 minutes of peak brightness. Then I cranked it for 2 minutes (about the time your arm gets tired), and it resulted in 9 minutes of peak brightness.

My conclusion:

This is give-away flashlight; such as to young fidgety kids that tend to carelessly drain whatever light they get a hold of. Give them one of these whenever they join you for a walk, and keep your unscratched premium flashlight that uses expensive batteries to yourself.

As far as an emergency light, I'd hate to have to keep cranking this thing if I was busy with other stuff. Long term storage lithium batteries or a brick of alkalines seem better suited for emergencies.

Hiking the trail at night with this flashlight sort of works. It provides the right amount of light for seeing the trail, if you don't mind cranking every 10 minutes or so. Do to the shape of this light I found it more comfortable to hold it sideways.

I was pretty happy with the runtime after cranking it for just a minute. Ran longer than the other posts above, BUT take a look at the Amondotech website selling a crank light that looks nearly identical(different color).

http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=935

The specs say it has a rechargeable lithium ion battery ???
Don't li-ion only have a life of 1-2 years even if not used ?

Hello Paul,

The current batch of Li-Ion cells are supposed to be good for 3-5 years. It seems there have been some improvements on the seal design.

Tom

Thanks Tom. I had emailed the manufacturer also. They responded:

"There is a 10 year Lithium battery included inside the flashlight that is
rechargeable."

Remind me to check them on 8/29/2015.

"Remind me to check them on 8/29/2015."


no worries.

Haz