Customer Reviews

Cyclops Book Owl Clip Book Light w/LED lifetime bulb & extra lithium batteries

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I recently bought two of these, one for me, one for my partner. Both of us are late night paperback readers, and most little lights that contain batteries are too heavy for one-handed reading, so I had great hopes for this with its lithium battery. After 10 nights of use we came to similar conclusions: the LED isn't focused by any kind of reflector so the light goes both up and down or to both sides -- not a problem in itself, but the short neck doesn't allow the reader to arch the light sufficiently to get coverage all the way down the page. Thus, the upper half of each page has good coverage, but the lower half is dim. I guess we'll have to keep looking.

This light is small and compact, lights the page fine. I love how small and light weight it is. Easy to toss in a purse and use on car rides (when you are the passenger, of course!) All my other book lights are huge and bulky and gobble up batteries.

I looked at several different models of the portable book light and came home with this mini clip-on Cyclop. It's small but the LED bulb gives off quite a bright light considering the size. Plus, it's a clean 'white' light (as opposed to the yellow light you get from fluorescent bulbs). This is great for the eyes. What's more, this is so lightweight, it works with small paperbacks! My only complaint, and the reason I didn't give it '5' stars, is that I'm worried the batteries won't last as long (these lithium batteries can be costly to replace). I had hoped to get something which uses rechargeable batteries.

so small it fits in the palm of your hand, light enough to clip on to paperback books but strong enough to clip to my laptop. lots of light which really impressed me because I bought a more expensive bulky one two weeks earlier but returned it because it hardly lit up the pages. only reason not giving it 5 stars is because i'm not sure how long before it needs a battery change and because neck might be too short for some peoples' needs.

I took my book light hiking and camping to read with, and ended up never using the flashlight I brought! Clips to your hat (good idea Dad!) for hands free tent setup, cooking, getting water from the spring, and yes, even READING. =)

Warning: I'm a flashlight MINIMALIST, and prefer just enough light to get the job done. This light is great for that purpose. However it has no "focus" like a maglite, so no spotlight capability.

Best of all, it's tiny and weighs something like .75 oz, for all you ultralight hikers out there.

My workweek ends on Saturday afternoon, and I enjoy unwinding at a nice little cigar bar in Portland. It's quiet enough so I can read while nursing a stogie, drinking a tawny port, and eating dinner. However, the lighting is a bit dim for comfortable reading. So I decided to buy a small book light. I spotted the Book Owl clip light on display at the check stand of a local bookstore. I asked the clerk for her opinion, and she gave me a thumbs-up. Based on her recommendation, I added it to my purchase. That was a mistake.

First, when I opened the box at home and tried it out, it didn't work. The on/off button appeared to be stuck, and there weren't any operating or troubleshooting instructions included. I figured (hoped) that there might be a piece of tape inside that prevented the battery from contacting and draining before the first use. With that in mind, I used a jeweler's screwdriver to remove the tiny screw that holds the cover on. But then I had a hard time getting the two small flimsy caps off, and when I finally did...no tape.

However, that was not the end of my troubles. I couldn't get the caps to go back on right. After awhile, I got frustrated and had to take a break. I work on computers, and I'm used to dealing with tiny screws and fitting small things together. But the Book Owl was so chintzy that for a time it defeated me. After a couple of sessions, I finally got it back together. Even so, it's still non-functional, and I hope I'll be able to get a refund.

Bottom line, I'd recommend skipping the Book Owl and spending a bit more money for a quality book light. Even if it had worked, the hassle of getting the case off and on to change the batteries isn't worth the effort. The Book Owl clip light is certainly not worth buying at half the price.

This is a GREAT idea. Light weight and the LED is nice and bright. However the lens is so poorly designed that it leaves shadows on your page, and also disperses the light EVERYWHERE! It is more of a bother than a help, and makes me want to go back to my Mighty Bright Light that weighs a TON and takes 4 AA batteries! Good thing Borders accepts returns, cause I think they'll get another from me.

I will start by saying that this book light serves its purpose. It illuminates the pages in low-light conditions to the point that it's readable. However, there are a number of annoying things about this light.

First of all, the worst is definitely changing the battery. You nearly disassemble the entire casing to get at the batteries (there are 2 in mine), and putting it back together again is very difficult. I dread the next time I have to change the batteries.

Second, the short neck does not let you use the light in the most efficient way, which is pointing the LED directly at the page. This causes problems because the light diffusion is terrible. I'm considering taking some steel wool or fine grit sandpaper to the clear plastic cover, in the hopes that it will improve the light diffusion, but the angles at which the plastic is molded creates a lensing effect that bends the light away from certain angles, so you'll have long, skinny triangles of darkness on the page. Even frosting over the clear plastic may not correct this problem.

Also, if you know anything about LED lighting, you know that the "white" LEDs are really just brightened blue LEDs, so this is not the kind of light you'd get from a more traditional book light that uses a flashlight bulb. If that bothers you, stay away from it, although this is not a problem for me. The light does have a slight bluish tint to it.

It has served me well enough that the batteries that came with it died on me eventually, and it's light enough that I can attach it to a paperback and not even feel the added weight, nor does it bend the pages, but it does have its weaknesses.

I wanted to buy a smaller booklight that didn't have to have 4 AA batteries. I have used the Mighty Bright for so many years, but the batteries make it very heavy, especially at late night reading sessions. I thought this would work out great due to the advertisements. I paid the 9.99 which I figured was okay - but realized after I got it home that the clip is not secure enough, the neck not long enough to fit over the book pages and the light does not light up the whole page. The clip kept falling off of the book and eventually I gave up. I'll just have to stick with the Mighty Bright. Hopefully someone will come up with a lighter weight book light - this Book Owl is just not worth the money spent or the time to take it back.

Found it wouldn't light the whole page of large paperback ($15 paperbacks - not the short fat ones).
No shield over top of light - you fixate on the light bulb in your eyes instead of the words.
Just not an easy book light to use.