Looking for the world's most perfect Christmas gift for that hard-to-shop for guy or gal? The batteryless Light For Life flashlight from 5.11 Tactical just may be the answer. And if you order through February 31 and give 'em Promo Code LFLJP20 they'll knock $20 off the price!
In my job as Technical Editor of one of the world's biggest off-road magazines I get to test lots of cool gadgets. But not very often do I get as giddy as I did when I busted open the box of my new 5.11 Tactical Light For Life flashlight. Inside was a 12-volt charging dock, a belt ring, and the flashlight itself. An AC charger is also available if you want to use 110-volt household current to recharge the light.
Okay - first the bad news. It retails for $169.99 (again - use Promo Code LFLJP20 and they'll knock $20 off that price through February 31, 2010). But before you roll your eyes and say something like "I'd never pay that for a flashlight" you gotta hear me out. For starters, it's warrantied for as long as you own it. It's got a durable, textured polymer body and a very nice reflector and lense that allow the triple-LED lights to whomp out an impressive 270-lumens at peak mode (hold the button down) and 90-lumens at standard mode (click the button once). There's also a cool strobe mode to signal for help or attention (click the button twice). It's about the same size as a three-D-cell Maglite, but at only 16 ounces it's comparably light as a feather. That's cool if you're holding it up night hunting vermin or it's hanging off your utility belt.
There's also no batteries. Instead, it uses "ultracapacitors", whatever they are. I don't really understand the science, but all I care about is the Light For Life will go from completely flat to totally recharged in 90 seconds. That's right. Drop it in the charger docking station, wait a minute and a half, and it's ready to go. A little blue LED blinks faster and faster as it charges. Once it turns solid blue, the light is ready to run.
At the standard 90 lumens setting, the light will run for 60 minutes, after which it drops to 25 lumens for 30 minutes and then 15 lumens for 30 minutes. It drops to these lumen levels in the same manner as descending stairs. It doesn't gradually get dimmer like a regular chemical battery-powered flashlight. Another nice thing is that there's no worry of killing expensive LiPo or other exotic battery packs. There's no recharge memory to worry about. Just use the light and when you're done, plug it in. You don't have to worry about fully or partially discharging it and when not in use it's safe to just leave it in the charging station. And don't forget - recharges take only 90 seconds.
So all that's great, but how does it work? Let's put it this way - up until now the brightest flashlight I had was mounted to the forend of my 12-gauge tactical shotgun. It's great for spotting masked intruders, but I'm not about to carry it down to the curb with me to take the trash out. The Light For Life is every bit as bright as my tactical forend light and maybe even brighter. I put it to work tonight with a little air-rifle varmint work in my avocado grove. This photo shows just how strong the beam is with the button depressed to give 270 lumens. That illuminated tree is a full 25 yards away from where I was standing and it makes those varmint eyes light up like Christmas lights. There's a couple furry rodents out there with a big .17-caliber furrough where their foreheads used to be thanks to my new favorite light.