# Is solar flashight superior to normal flashlight ?



## chelsea258 (Jul 3, 2012)

My flashlight is broken and I want to buy a new one, some friends are using solar flashing without battery, maybe it is much lighter than the normal flashlight and maybe more convenient since it can be recharged by sunshine easily. Anyone who has the solar flashlight? Is solar flashight really superior to normal flashlight ?


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## tac803 (Nov 21, 2010)

Hey chelsea, welcome! It depends on what you want to use the flashlight for. If you are thinking of something to use in a pinch if the power goes out, a solar might be worthwhile since the batteries aren't at risk of being depleted....unless it's dark out. If you run out of power in the dark, there's not much you can do to make it work until it recharges. 

Most have more than one flashlight for different purposes. LED lights are bright, last a long time compared to the older lights, and the bulbs rarely need replacing. Squeeze charging lights are available, and these use a little generator inside to charge a capacitor to make the light work. Rechargable flashlights are another economical choice as far as batteries go. They are made in a variety of sizes and materials from plastic pocket size, to aluminum nightstick size and everything in between.

There are so many choices out there that you could spend days researching flashlights and still have days of research left. That being said, I wouldn't bet my life on a solar flashlight working when I needed it.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

We have lots of flashlights. Two are "solar" powered and we've had great results with them. "Best" or "better" are difficult to define though. Ours go with us camping, backpacking and bicycling. Their primary benefit is that we don't need to carry extra batteries. You do need to be sure that they remain in sunlight enough to stay charged. We have and have had other rechargeable lights and most of them suck. All of our flashlights are LED lights of one size or another. The LEDS use very little power so the batteries last much, much longer.

My recommendation is that _*if you want a rechargeable light *_get one that's solar powered and forget about squeeze lights, shake lights and any other type of rechargeable flashlight.

Steve


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

My suggestion is to go with *on demand* dyno-powered items:










you can also use them to charge other devices as long as you know the output/input values


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## Highwater (Mar 22, 2011)

*Nokero solar flashlight*

I just got some of these:

http://www.nokero.com/videos.php?id=63


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

This is my favorite solar powered flashlight. It was a gift from someone in Germany. Try the website if you're interested in one for yourself.










It has three LEDs for illumination. Not exactly a floodlight but not bad either. The solar panel on top is large enough to keep it charged with just a few hours of direct sun.










The battery is replaceable should the need arise. It also had the capability to charge by dynamo. The "D" ring at the right side attaches to a steel cable. Pull it to spin the charger.










Manufacturer's information if you want tp check further.


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## chelsea258 (Jul 3, 2012)

tac803 said:


> Hey chelsea, welcome! It depends on what you want to use the flashlight for. If you are thinking of something to use in a pinch if the power goes out, a solar might be worthwhile since the batteries aren't at risk of being depleted....unless it's dark out. If you run out of power in the dark, there's not much you can do to make it work until it recharges.
> 
> Most have more than one flashlight for different purposes. LED lights are bright, last a long time compared to the older lights, and the bulbs rarely need replacing. Squeeze charging lights are available, and these use a little generator inside to charge a capacitor to make the light work. Rechargable flashlights are another economical choice as far as batteries go. They are made in a variety of sizes and materials from plastic pocket size, to aluminum nightstick size and everything in between.
> 
> There are so many choices out there that you could spend days researching flashlights and still have days of research left. That being said, I wouldn't bet my life on a solar flashlight working when I needed it.


Thank you , tac, your sharing is really useful .


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## tac803 (Nov 21, 2010)

chelsea258 said:


> Thank you , tac, your sharing is really useful .


You're welcome!


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## Fn/Form (Nov 6, 2008)

The solar, squeeze, shake, etc. models are good as long as the battery, capacitor or mechanical parts last. A few years of continual use? Most mechanical recharge (squeeze or crank) will last less than that.

A lithium powered flashlight (uses CR123 batteries) can be powered with rechargeable or single use lithium batteries. Quality lithium batteries have high power density and 10yr shelf life. 

In reality I would probably lose, break or damage any flashlight in regular use (corrosion!) before I used up 10yrs batteries. But having more than one lithium light would solve that.

I'd say... get a few of both. Very affordable to have both. Redundant, versatile plan.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

I bought a couple of two per package solar charge/lithium flashlights, gave one package to my son and have been using the other two for about three years. They are about 8" long and 1 1/4" diameter with a large solar panel build in. They have performed quite well but the one I used the most had both batteries give up. Anyway I thought I'd see how much it would cost for just the solar charged batteries and the closest match were cell phone batteries and they cost about three times what the two flashlight cost so it would be a good idea to check out what kind of batteries are used and make sure they are readily available and cost effective.


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## tac803 (Nov 21, 2010)

Fn/Form said:


> The solar, squeeze, shake, etc. models are good as long as the battery, capacitor or mechanical parts last. A few years of continual use? Most mechanical recharge (squeeze or crank) will last less than that.
> 
> A lithium powered flashlight (uses CR123 batteries) can be powered with rechargeable or single use lithium batteries. Quality lithium batteries have high power density and 10yr shelf life.
> 
> ...


The 10 year shelf life refers to the ability to hold a charge over time without use. I have a streamlight scorpion led that I've had the same batteries in for the last 5 years, and have been using it on a pretty regular basis including a power outage that lasted for a few days. It's still bright.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

tac803 said:


> The 10 year shelf life refers to the ability to hold a charge over time without use. I have a streamlight scorpion led that I've had the same batteries in for the last 5 years, and have been using it on a pretty regular basis including a power outage that lasted for a few days. It's still bright.


Quality of batteries is a big issue. When my dad died in 1991 I got his Casio watch which has a lithium battery and it's still the same battery so I'm a big believer in spending a bit more for long life batteries. I'm pretty sure the solar charged batteries in my flashlights were NiCad's and from my experience often don't last very long. I haven't had the chance to use the newer lithium batteries on my DeWalt cordless drill motor, it's expensive enough for the NiCad replacements. So far those batteries last about three years with fairly heavy use but the plus side of lithium from what I've heard is they run longer on a charge and my guess is they would probably last longer.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

The one thing I'm taking into consideration about batteries, for whatever use, is if things hit the proverbial fan how available will batteries be. So my emergency supplies are always the best quality long life we can afford. The simple fact is that if things get really bad we may be down to candle or animal fat lamps so it's a good idea to think beyond battery powered devices.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

These solar lights are very cheap and quite bright. Certainly not high quality but I have a half dozen tucked in here and there and they work pretty good.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/130676925791?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

I have the lantern that hand cranks and a radio and many of the crank flashlights. 
I've only got one older crank light that doesn't keep lit long.. but for emergencies you can click it on and crank it and it makes light. may become tedious but for a quick trip to the can or a quick light to find something it still works.
I've been thinking about buying those little solar keychain lights. Sam's club sells them in boxes of 12 for $21 I think they are intended for businesses gumball prizes. as they are in with the balls and other gumball machine prizes. My kids think they are cool and if I have enuf spare cash I may just pick it up and have one for every family member. I'll check the pricing at Amazon too since I have an account there with a nice balance.


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