Pak-Lite Flashlights
April 3, 2006 by admin
Filed under Green Living
I came across these very cool little flashlights in the current issue of Mother Earth News. They’re put out by an off-the-grid family in southern Oregon and there’s an interesting story to how they came about.
One of the sons, Barclay Henry, was preparing to trek the entire Pacific Coast Trail (all 2,650 miles of it). He wanted to keep all of his gear as light as possible, going so far as to make his own lightweight backpack, sleeping bag, tent and stove. Younger brother, Benjamin, decided to help out and came up with this innovative flashlight design.
It worked so well, Benjamin ended up patenting his invention – at the age of 15. The design is beautifully simple: A small plastic cap that contains two bright LED bulbs snaps onto a 9-volt battery. LED’s being the low-energy users that they are mean that one 9-volt battery can power one of these flashlights for up to three years.
The Pak-Lite Basic model has bulbs rated for 10,000 hours of use and goes for $12.99 USD. The Pak-Lite Original features dual high and low beams, steady or flashing option and super bright bulbs rated for 100,000 hours and is $24.99 USD.
The Pak-Lites can be used with alkaline or lithium batteries as well. They also come in a variety of colours, including a glow-in-the-dark unit. Lot’s of rave reviews can be seen in the testimonials on the web site at www.9voltlight.com.
It is great – I feel the best ever!!!!!!!!
Will the Pak-Lite drain the battery if it remains on the battery for an extended period of time?