Pack Light

[Black Wolf]

Found a Solar Powered key chain and will be testing it out..I pulled the key ring attachment off and replaced it with 48'' of 550 para-cord, added two (2) cord locks...might just use one, and tied some figure eight stop knots on the single cord.

I don't like that it doesn't have a continuous "ON" switch..it's only "ON" when the button is depressed...if it had this..and a red light.. it be a great pack light...I'll test it for waterproofness and durability ..we'll see how it holds up

Wal-Mart...$2.88...weighs 26g..0.9oz

[PuckerFactor]

Pretty cool. I once had a "shake-powered" flashlight that turned out to be a gimmick. I was semi-clear, and had all the parts showing, pretty nifty looking. Well, it eventually died, so we took it apart, and the shake part wasn't even in the circuit! Hopefully yours isn't like that.
I wonder how many of those you'd have to hook together to charge a cell phone?

PF

[Can't Wait]

Got the same one Radio Shack is supposed to have ones with the off/on switch haven't looked yet Mine is for quick peaks at map inside bag etc got headlamp for when I need all hands on deck.

[hikelite]

Pretty cool. I once had a "shake-powered" flashlight that turned out to be a gimmick. I was semi-clear, and had all the parts showing, pretty nifty looking. Well, it eventually died, so we took it apart, and the shake part wasn't even in the circuit! Hopefully yours isn't like that.
I wonder how many of those you'd have to hook together to charge a cell phone?

PF

The "shake part"? You could get one of these.

[Black Wolf]

Pretty cool. I once had a "shake-powered" flashlight that turned out to be a gimmick. I was semi-clear, and had all the parts showing, pretty nifty looking. Well, it eventually died, so we took it apart, and the shake part wasn't even in the circuit! Hopefully yours isn't like that.
I wonder how many of those you'd have to hook together to charge a cell phone?

PF

I've seen those ..figured they were a bit heavy..this thing weighs nothing ..well..26g's..I just wonder about it's waterproofness....I have it tied onto my back pack...the extra cord lock helps it stay "up" so the solar panel can get light..I'll use it until as an extra until it proves it self trust worthy...I like no batteries though...

[smalls]

The 'shake part' is a neodymium magnet. It passes through a coil of wire and generates electricity. The actual moving armature is not involved directly in the circuit in any way.

I've been kicking around trying to hack a few cheaper lights to work in unique ways. First off will be a super-capacitor battery pack for my headlamp that I can charge with my crank flashlight/weather radio. Won't last as long as batteries, but it can be recharged ad nauseum.

I'm curious to see how this turns out. My only concern is, once it dies in the middle of the night, it's dead till morning.

-Smalls

[trinni]

I have hiked in Corsica in 2009 with a similarly small solar-led-flashlight, also trying to pack as light as possible. Though there's been perfect sunshine up in the mountains the internal battery never seemed to get fully loaded as the running-time wasn't as long as I wished it would have been. Leaving the flashlight at home, just right next to my window, the internal battery seemed to have died by now -- no light emitting from the led. All in all I wouldn't buy that thing again. Of course, I am talking about a different lamp and you might get better results from the one initially talked about.

I have turned to an even smaller solution powered by two built-in small cell-button batteries. I don't have it with me to tell exact numbers but it weighs almost nothing. A pack of 10 can be ordered from china and costs no more than 5 USD (free shipping). I have combined it with a piece of thin dyneema-cord and a cordlock, using both I can also wear the keychain-flashlight as an ultralight headlight! As said, this is an ultralight solution, of course you cannot expect a very long runtime from this small piece of gear but if you can live with a maximum of about 3 hours of maximum light, you have a very small headlight weighing no more than 10 grams in case of emergency (wear it around your neck). You can also change batteries by unscrewing the thing but as the price for a complete light is less than the cost of the batteries in a regular store... well, it's a question of how environmentally you want to deal with this issue. (Btw. my solar-keychain-flashlight is a candidate for the trashcan)

If anyone is interested I can post a photo of this little keychain-led-flashlight and maybe there's also some time for one in "headlight-mode".

Oh, not to forget, it has a switch that lets the light stay on.

[Black Wolf]

I have hiked in Corsica in 2009 with a similarly small solar-led-flashlight, also trying to pack as light as possible. Though there's been perfect sunshine up in the mountains the internal battery never seemed to get fully loaded as the running-time wasn't as long as I wished it would have been. Leaving the flashlight at home, just right next to my window, the internal battery seemed to have died by now -- no light emitting from the led. All in all I wouldn't buy that thing again. Of course, I am talking about a different lamp and you might get better results from the one initially talked about.

I have turned to an even smaller solution powered by two built-in small cell-button batteries. I don't have it with me to tell exact numbers but it weighs almost nothing. A pack of 10 can be ordered from china and costs no more than 5 USD (free shipping). I have combined it with a piece of thin dyneema-cord and a cordlock, using both I can also wear the keychain-flashlight as an ultralight headlight! As said, this is an ultralight solution, of course you cannot expect a very long runtime from this small piece of gear but if you can live with a maximum of about 3 hours of maximum light, you have a very small headlight weighing no more than 10 grams in case of emergency (wear it around your neck). You can also change batteries by unscrewing the thing but as the price for a complete light is less than the cost of the batteries in a regular store... well, it's a question of how environmentally you want to deal with this issue. (Btw. my solar-keychain-flashlight is a candidate for the trashcan)

If anyone is interested I can post a photo of this little keychain-led-flashlight and maybe there's also some time for one in "headlight-mode".

Oh, not to forget, it has a switch that lets the light stay on.

yeah shoot us a pic.....that's why I put it on the 550...so I can wear it around my neck....and I have put on as a head lamp...but with-out the continuous "ON" switch it's pointless...like I said before...it would never be something I would use as a main source light....as a back-up...or a pack light...it'll fit the bill...

[trinni]

yeah shoot us a pic.....that's why I put it on the 550...so I can wear it around my neck....and I have put on as a head lamp...but with-out the continuous "ON" switch it's pointless...like I said before...it would never be something I would use as a main source light....as a back-up...or a pack light...it'll fit the bill...

For a rather short hike without a planned night-hike this small keychain would be absolutely sufficient for me -- only carrying it along for the case of emergency. For a longer hike I'd stick to a AAA-driven headlight with a separate solar-charger.

Now, here are some pics of the small thing.

flashlight 5.2g (SKU 1253 from dealextreme)
dyneema 1.1g
cordlock 3.5g

Could be more lightweight if I used a smaller cordlock/tanka. Extremtextil sells a small one with only 0.6g weight -- that would make a 7g headlight out of the small keychain flashlight.

[Black Wolf]

For a rather short hike without a planned night-hike this small keychain would be absolutely sufficient for me -- only carrying it along for the case of emergency. For a longer hike I'd stick to a AAA-driven headlight with a separate solar-charger.

Now, here are some pics of the small thing.

flashlight 5.2g (SKU 1253 from dealextreme)
dyneema 1.1g
cordlock 3.5g

Could be more lightweight if I used a smaller cordlock/tanka. Extremtextil sells a small one with only 0.6g weight -- that would make a 7g headlight out of the small keychain flashlight.

nice set-up...thanks for posting the pics...