View Full Version : Can't believe I'm singing praises of a simple flashlight.
Imagine 1 flashlight and 1 battery for the whole trip! (Hiker used only 1 on the PCT 2600 miles and 1000 miles of the AT)
I don't really "sing praises" of equipment unless I am super, super, super-duper impressed, but this is one of those items under $30.
Not sure if it is "bulletproof" but says it was tested by dropping 250ft out of an airplane at 100mph and it still worked. I have one than hangs/bangs around on the outside of my everyday Oakley backpack & work bag (man-purse, lol). It's been banged and tossed around for over 2 years and still works great. Used almost nightly (yes, with original battery).
testing..... http://www.9voltlight.com/testing
The pak-lite is awesome. I own 3 (vehicle, daily carry, and pack). 1.5oz including battery (3 grams without), light, durable, bright, hi/low beams, glow-in-the-dark, 80hrs on Hi, 1200hrs (1200 not a typo) on low beam, dual LED, weather proof, 3 second battery change, 10 year warranty. Simple effective design. Don't let the 2 LED design fool ya. These puppies are super bright! Low beam is great for reading, tent light, and a great nightlight for the kiddies during power outages. Produce almost no heat when on (I mention this because I melted a hole in a duffle bag with a surefire G2, once) They are super efficient.... Take your used smoke detector batteries and use for this light, I can almost promise you wont use it up before its time for the next yearly battery change.
I'm a flashlight junkie (mag, princeton, photon, Phoenix, surefire, dynamo powered, solar, etc) and this is my absolute favorite. I give these out as gifts and everyone loves em and most give up their other flashlights for these! Even sent one to a buddy in Afghanistan. And best of all........ it AIN'T $100!!!!!!!!
Also comes in red LEDs (Among other options)
Headband option
belt holster option - Not sure why, cause they fit in your pocket (I prefer duct taped para-cord loop with a lobster claw clasp or small carabiner for hanging)
Neck lanyard (I have to advise AGAINST this purchase, if u just gotta have a neck lanyard, use the above option and hang it on a para-cord lanyard)
http://www.9voltlight.com/inc/sdetail/31949
The only difference between the "Super" and "Ultimate" option is that the Super comes with an alkaline battery and the Ultimate comes with a 10yr shelf life lithium battery.
Specifications:
Bulbs
2 Super Bright White LED Bulbs (100,000 hrs rating.......11.5 years of continuous use)
Burn Time
80+ hrs. Bright, or 1,200+ hrs. Soft usable light (10 year shelf life) was tested for 8,760 hours of continuous on (low beam) and still produced visible light.
(see testing)
Battery Type
9v Ultralife Lithium Battery (9-Volt Battery )
Switch Modes
3-modes: Soft ~ Off ~ Bright
Switch Type
Toggle 100,000 Times on/off with Gold Plated Contacts
Cap
Orange (Glow-in-the-dark) ABS Plastic
Total Weight
1.5 oz with Battery
Warranty
10-years limited warranty (battery not covered)
Odd thing is, this thing was designed and patented by a 15yr old!... Wish I had his bank account right about now.
Once you go PAK you never go back!
Let the bashing begin...
tnx for the info gipsy. i had looked at these a year or so ago, and had forgotten all abt them. tnx for the review!.. i think i'll order the red and white LED.. tnx. jim
tnx for the info gipsy. i had looked at these a year or so ago, and had forgotten all abt them. tnx for the review!.. i think i'll order the red and white LED.. tnx. jim
anytime 12ax7!
Gipsy since you already have one can you tell me how bright it is for night hiking use?
Like about how many feet ahead does it illuminate.
Some LED's are wide angle(30 degree) and some more like 15 degree.
Anyhow i like the looks of this light!
Thanks for sharing.
Gipsy since you already have one can you tell me how bright it is for night hiking use?
Like about how many feet ahead does it illuminate.
Thanks for sharing.
Only for another hiker will I run outside in the cold and measure.......
back in a few minutes.
Ok Iceaxe, I ran upstairs and shined it out the back door at the shed. I would guess-timate "CONSERVATIVELY" 50-75 feet but would not be hesitant to say more. I just don't have anything further than that from the back door to shine the light on, and I ain't going out in the field for ya with it being 20 degrees outside.
Although the LEDs do have a bit of wide angle-ish light, the high quality design of the LEDs do have a very focused main beam.
Hope this helped.
I wont tell you how "Not" cold it is here in Cali.
Thanks for the instant test! I am astonished at the battery life and I really like the simplicity of this light.
Actually since you posted it earlier I did a bunch of surfing on the webs and could not find anything comparable.
The website says they sell them at Batteries Plus which we have a bunch of here in the peoples republic of Ca. I better go get me one before the legislature outlaws them here!(Harmful to the big battery conglomerates) :sun
Thanks gipsy!
I am really glad you are enjoying the paklite and that their design tradeoffs are right for you. It's amazingly long runtime are because the output is low to start with, and drops over time. You can see a graph of the fall off using alkaline batteries from a write up of an 2005 paklite (http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/pak-lite.htm). Lithium batteries do have more power hence longer run times. Lithium batteries, and don't fall as quickly.
LED Efficiency: They are using fairly standard LEDs from an efficiency standpoint. In fact, there are LED which are more energy efficient (amount of light / watt of power). BUT, these more efficient LEDs are typical run brighter, so they don't typically have runtimes as long as the paklite. If the paklite is generating enough light for your use, then paklite is making the right trade off for you. For my eyes, there are many situations the paklite isn't enough so the tradeoff isn't the best for me.
Circuitry Efficiency / Power Fall Off: One nice thing about running at V9 (or really more like 7-8V after the first little bit is that this is plenty of voltage to drive an LED. If you try to power a light with AA batteries, you need to use multiple batteries or have a voltage boast circuit which isn't 100% efficient which means you lose a small amount of runtime, but in exchange for a modest drop in efficiency, you get a brighter light for most of the runtime. The paklite with a lithium battery tends to keep it's light output for longer than using an alkaline battery which is good, but it will still fall off.
Battery Energy/Oz: The standard lithium v9 battery is 1200maH or 10.8wattH at 36.8grams. http://www.batterymart.com/pdf_files/BAT-U9VL-X.pdf
The standard lithium AA is 4.5 wattH at 14.5 grams
http://www.batterymart.com/pdfs/l91.pdf
so the v9 has a slight advantage (less than 10%) when it comes to power / weight.
Packaging Efficiency : The paklite gains most of it weight efficiency from packaging (or lack there of). the "flashlight" part of the paklite is something like 10 grams because the packaging doesn't have to cover the battery, where the typical good quality single AA battery flashlight is more like 50grams.
If you want modest lighting with a really long runtime, the paklite makes good sense. Personally, I like having a flashlight with long runtime for basic in camp tasks, but I also want a flashlight which can through serious light if I am trying to navigate a difficult path in the dark without a lot of moonlight. I find the paklite useless for this, so I carry a different flashlight.
--Mark
yea, I got one of those for Christmas. I really like it a lot.
My plan is to use the old 9 volt batteries that I remove from my smoke detectors every year. There is still enough power left in them to run the pak-light just fine since the old batteries test at 80% on my pulse load tester.
I will still carry and use my head lamp most of the time but I plan to use the pak-Light inside my tent at night thus saving the head light.
Panzer
Thanks for all that tech, Verber.
I do agree with most of your comments. Mainly, for the same weight the lithium is superior over the alkaline battery. The lithium also excels in colder temperatures. I do carry more than one light also (a headlamp to be hands free). I'm not trying to say all lights are equal. Most have their own place or use, but I don't consider pak-lites useless on the trail actually the opposite. In certain situations I would chose a different light. The pak-lite would not be my first choice for search and rescue, but also my halogen spotlight would not be my first choice for light backpacking. I just think that pak-lites abilities in the hiking situation works great for me. The benefits far outweigh its lacking features. The amount of light and length of battery life enable me to have sufficient light and not have to worry about the added weight of extra batteries and housing, needing additional room for both of those items, or having to dish out more money for a more expensive light, all make for outstanding features to me. I suppose to different people there are different aspects of everything. As for myself, I am a point A to B kinda guy. Some only go from A to B in a Mercedes, others in a Chevy. The way I see it is, as long as you are happy with how you got there then it doesn't matter your brand of vehicle (or flashlight). I have friends that snub my little light and only use surefire or similar brands. I hold no grudges. I'm sure if given unlimited funds I'd probably do the same.
It may not be bulletproof, have fancy titanium tubes, bulbs that contain scientific gases, 20 light level settings, or the ability to send an S.O.S on its own..... But it IS a solid little light!
Somehow I double posted, so I went back and deleted one. Actually, I just replaced it with this edit since we can't delete on here.
Where do you buy 9 volt lithium batteries - I don't recall ever seeing them.
I usually pick up my AAA/AA lithiums at Sam's or Walmart.
LoneRidgeRunner
02-09-2011, 08:14
Thanks for sharing Gypsy...This sounds like a possible replacement for my Black Diamond head light...the BD (has led bulb and bright bulb also) is a great light with great battery life but not as light and compact as this dude..
mweinstone
02-09-2011, 09:43
Pak lites are inapropriate for most uses. They fail by seperating and getting lost. Even if you spread the contacts for a tighter fit of the two parts, it cannot be counted on to stay together. Its shape and weight preclude any anitomicality at all. It is both slippery, heavy and hard to hold or use. Sitting atop the fridge for 6 years, it searves as the ultimate night light. Thats its single use. As far as walking a trail with one, forget about it. As far as putting it in any kind of hoster or band, silly waste of time. Its beam type and strength are its undoing in a nighthiking situation. Putting it in a pocket it comes undone eventualy.Each time lessening its tenuos grip on the battery. The switch can be impossible to find in the dark with cold hands.
Heres a battery most hikers dont know about. Its a littium d cell. Its output is not the same as a regular so it works only in things requireing it. Like my chouinarde 40 below headlamp assembled by blind folks for easter seals.
ekeverette
02-09-2011, 09:54
hey gipsy, how would, or rather, how can i convert this to a headband style use?
mweinstone
02-09-2011, 12:00
It not only cant find a blaze easily, it will blind you strapped to your head. It dosnt have that functionality. it has a high fun factor at home. thats where it belongs.
hey gipsy, how would, or rather, how can i convert this to a headband style use?
You can buy the headbands on the website. They actually can either hold one or two pak-lites. Make sure you look at the design to decide if you like it, first. The headbands position the light(s) on the side (not the front) of the head.
Pak lites are inapropriate for most uses. They fail by seperating and getting lost. Even if you spread the contacts for a tighter fit of the two parts, it cannot be counted on to stay together. Its shape and weight preclude any anitomicality at all. It is both slippery, heavy and hard to hold or use. Sitting atop the fridge for 6 years, it searves as the ultimate night light. Thats its single use. As far as walking a trail with one, forget about it. As far as putting it in any kind of hoster or band, silly waste of time. Its beam type and strength are its undoing in a nighthiking situation. Putting it in a pocket it comes undone eventualy.Each time lessening its tenuos grip on the battery. The switch can be impossible to find in the dark with cold hands.
Not sure if there are design differences between the black-basic cap and the orange-ultimate caps. Had all 3 of mine for almost 3 years. The only time a cap has EVER came of is when I dropped it down about 20 stairs. I snapped it back on and it has been there ever since. It also bangs around daily on the outside of my daily carry bag which gets tossed around on the floor and dragged in/out of my back seat. Ergonomically speaking, no it is not "designed" ergonomical, such is the simple light weight design (but then again, neither is a spoons or tube flashlights). smooth metal IS slippery, but like I mentioned, I duct tape a simple para-cord loop on mine for hanging which really helps with the grip. I don't remember one single time that I couldn't hold on to it, or work the switch for that matter. The switch may be slightly harder to use with cold hands, but ALL switches are harder to use with cold hands. Never had any problems using it with gloved hands either.
I have not twisted anyones arm to buy one of these. But I do believe in them 100% and I wanted others on the site to be aware of a "solid", light weight, long lasting, relatively inexpensive alternative to $100+ flashlights. No it wont throw a flood-light type beam, but it also wont eat up a $10 pair of 3V batteries in 2 hours either. If a S.E.R.E. instructor likes em enough to give them out to his graduating students, and the US Air Force believes in em, then they are good enough for me.
Thanks for sharing Gypsy...This sounds like a possible replacement for my Black Diamond head light...the BD (has led bulb and bright bulb also) is a great light with great battery life but not as light and compact as this dude..
Keep the headlamp. Its a hands free hiking tool!
Where do you buy 9 volt lithium batteries - I don't recall ever seeing them.
I usually pick up my AAA/AA lithiums at Sam's or Walmart.
I have seen them at wal-world in the camera section, at a bunch of online battery websites, and a place in the southeast simply called "The battery store" (its a chain store but I'm not sure how big the chain actually is.)
Sierra Echo
02-09-2011, 20:24
I personally LOVE my coleman max. It has 137 lumens and totally lights up caves!
mweinstone
02-09-2011, 20:27
i love my paclite. just wouldnt let it find my way hiking. the black one is the same. its just that its from 2006.
I have one as well - like the little guy. I believe Radio Shack carries lithium 9V batteries and I've seen "batteries 'r' us" types of stores popping up lately. I wouldn't use it for midnight hiking, but for trips to the facilities it does the trick.