Pak-Lite 9 volt LED Flashlight

DaleW

DaleW

Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
2,194
Here's a little flashlight that is about as minimal as you can get.

paklite.jpg


Made by an outfit in Oregon and comes in a bunch of colors, infrared, basic, deluxe, etc. See http://9voltlight.com/home

I'm a cheapskate so I bought the basic model with the little Cordura belt case. It works great and makes an excellent tent light. The lamp base glows in the dark, making it easier to find at 3 AM. They claim 60+ hour life with a lithium 9v battery and over 30 hours with a quality alkaline. The light pattern is very usable. The manufacturer does not publish a lumen rating, but I found it more than bright enough for reading and camp tasks.

Two things I like-- it is easy to change the battery by feel in pitch darkness and it weighs just 1.5 ounces with the battery.

I don't know how it would perform when wet and I'm not going to dunk mine to find out. I'm sure it isn't waterproof. The switch design is open to water and the circuit board shows no sign of sealing.

The manufacturer covers this in their FAQ: "What if my Pak-Lite gets wet?
In some cases, the Pak-Lite's LEDs will glow dimly in the off position for a few hours. This does not indicate a malfunction with your Pak-Lite, nor does it drain your Battery significantly. However, you can unsnap it from the Battery and let it air dry, or use a hair dryer to remove the moisture quicker."

Sounds like it would survive a dunking. My guess is salt water would kill it.

Other than that it makes a very compact and inexpensive flashlight. It should make an excellent glove box flashlight too.
 
Most, if not all the individual components (basically resistors) are waterproof.

I made my own version that lasted 5 days, 24 hours a day with enough light to read a book on the last day.

Finally shut it down when the wife complained the light bothered her.
 
I got one a few years back, its a good little light.
The thing most people are having a problem understanding is that, while its not watertight its still waterproof. this is not something that would normally apply to something electric.

I had mine turned on for 20 or so hours while in a glass of water. (No reason, just for fun).

If you drop it in saltwater just rinse it out in clean water when you get home.

It's really is hard to break when not using a hammer.
 
Hawkings said:
I got one a few years back, its a good little light.
The thing most people are having a problem understanding is that, while its not watertight its still waterproof. this is not something that would normally apply to something electric.

I had mine turned on for 20 or so hours while in a glass of water. (No reason, just for fun).

If you drop it in saltwater just rinse it out in clean water when you get home.

It's really is hard to break when not using a hammer.
Click to expand...


Excellent! If I were product testing, I would have dunked it first thing, but I didn't want to do mine in.

As to cost, this is the factory web site-- prices may be better at a store. A quick Web search found the basic model at $10.95 and the Super in the $20-$23 range. BestGlide has 'em, among others.
 
DaleW if you dont mind that i add another light into your thread. last year i went camping for 9 days in the desert. I had a friend give me a brookstone head light. It is listed at 12.95 and uses 3 3AAA. I got my self a bunch of batteries for it. Thinking im goign to use them up. Just to find out that the light lasted me the all camping trip cooking at night and reading for hours each night by the camp fire. Im talking about going to sleep around midnight each night. I did use the low power most of the time as i didnt need more then that for basic use. On high it was just as good as 1w princtontech head light. The batteries are still good as i used the light for a few hour night hike. I know i used it for way more then 30 hours already..
 
That's a pretty nifty design! I can see how it would be very handy around camp.
 
sasha said:
DaleW if you dont mind that i add another light into your thread. last year i went camping for 9 days in the desert. I had a friend give me a brookstone head light. It is listed at 12.95 and uses 3 3AAA. ...
Click to expand...

Yes, LED lamps are getting cheaper by the day and giving better performance. headlamps from Black Diamond, Princenton Tech and Petzl are the leaders in hiking headlamps. They tend be of better quality and have more weatherproof designs, as well as being loaded with features.

Having the high/low option is a very good feature. When using a lamp up close you just don't need a lot of power. For reading and other close-up tasks, the beam quality is more important than high output. And you won't blind others (as bad) with it turned down. I have a Black Diamond NightRay with 5 led's-- 4 small ones and a mini landing light in the center. It can be turned down to just 2 led's and low power for reading or cranked all the way up for night hiking.
 
Thanks for the review, Dale. That is a pretty cool light.

The only other 9v light option I can think of is the PALight. One advantage the Pak-Lite has over the PALight is the LEDs are exposed, allowing for better area lighting. the PALight has an enclosed bulb with a magnifier - better for distance work, not better for close work.

I have had a PALight for a few years. It gets used occasionally, but only for short periods. It does go caming with me a few times each year, where it sees most of it's use. I have changed the battery only once. It has been a solid performer for me.

PALight details are here:
http://www.theledlight.com/palights.html
 
Man, you can get a lot of lights, with cheaper, more common batteries, that are waterproof, and brighter, and a lot tougher too.

But you may be able to put some wires on the lead of that 9v and get a spark. So there is at least one plus.
 
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