Customer Reviews

Forever Flashlight Dynamo

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been looking for a battery-less LED flashlight for my emergency kits for a while and the best I found at the time was the Excaliber Forever flashlights, but I didn't like the idea of having to shake it like a cocktail to power it (it hurts my wrist after a while). I was about to break down and buy the standard Forever flashlight when I found out that they put out a Dynamo version.

I've only had this for about a week, but here are my inital impressions.

I was a little iffy at first because A L L of the other dynamo (read: crank) flashlights I've tried put out poor light, uncomfortable to hold, crappy construction and/or put out poor light (either a little light or spotty patterns). The Excalibur on the otherhand appears to be reaonably well made and well thoughtout.

The unit uses three superbright LED's in two modes: 1) low power one LED on and 2) high power all three LED's on.

I have one of the original Photon LED key fobs that came out about 3-5 years ago when the first superbright LED's came out; the Forever Dynamo in low power mode puts out roughly as much light as my Photon with a new battery...you can light up your bedroom at night enough to get around without crashing into anything.

In high power mode, it puts out enough to light up your living room/ garage to get around at night.

The light quality is the same as other LED's, (bluish tint) not white like a lightbulb or standard flashlight; it was hard to tell the color difference between the blue car vs. dark gray in my garage.

The construction appears to be of decent quality plastics though I wouldn't try hammering nails with it like I did with my Maglite. Everything fits fairly well, there appears to be a rubber-like grommet sandwiched between the two halves of the outer shell which should provide good water resistance. The grip and switch contains the same rubber-like material which makes for a secure hold.

The crank is forward of the grip and is made of plastic as is the rest of the unit; again, I wouldn't recommend abusing this but it appears rugged enough to withstand several years of cranking duty.

Powering the unit is a piece of cake, just flip out the handle and wind it. The knob you grasp onto uses the same rubber-like material which works well. The dynamo does have some resistance to it but nothing that will make you work up a sweat.

Overall, I would give it 4-4.5 stars, while not bullet-proof, they've put in the time and came out with a well thought out flashlight, decent quality construction, reasonable price and good preformance. That's why I bought two (thinking about a third).

Now if they could make it out of Titanium for the same price....

I have been purchasing a few of these self charging flashlights lately to find the best one.

This one puts out a good amount of light and is easy to charge. It also retains its charge well.

I would say it is one of the better ones I purchased.

I got one of these for Christmas and I think it is fantastic. I would have used up 3 packs of batteries in a normal flashlight as much as I've used this but all I have to do is crank it up for about 1 minute It works great and the light is very bright. I am waiting for the next power failure this time I'll have a great reading light and won't be burning up batteries which aren't cheap. This flashlight would make a great gift especialy for outdoor enthusiasts, campers and boaters.

No, I am not the vendor trying to hype the product. Really like this flashlight for camping/disaster kit. Very rugged and puts out good light.

I bought this for my daughter when she moved to St Kitts...they lose power alot...GREAT product...great quality...easy crank...last a long time...BUY TWO !!!

Just got two of these, one for the car, and one for the house. They work well and have plenty of light. The nice design keeps it snug in your hand. It seems pretty tough to, considering I launched it into the ground when opening up the package.

I recently purchased this flashlight as an emergency back up. My first impression was how light it is - just ounces. As to output, it offers two levels of intensity: low (one diode) or high (three diodes). The low is weak and high just okay, but functional. As others have stated it holds its charge just so-so. Nor is the construction comparable to expensive models like MagLite. Thus, this flashlight is obviously not for high performance tasks. If you don't need it for serious work, it's not bad. Seems it would be great for camping as it is so light and the output is sufficient for most needs. One drawback is the on/off button which is difficult to press down on. Those with weak hands will have difficulty - my mother was unable to operate it.

It would be nice if the company were to offer a more robust model. A heavier magnet would diminish the need for so much cranking and a larger battery would hold a more powerful and longer lasting charge to power up to five (!) diodes. All in all, it's a nice flashlight, but just don't expect too much from it.

"No problems" - received product in a timely manner; and, product received was as advertised. I agree with previous reviewer's comments: These are great things to have in case of an emergency; and, too bad they don't make these things in totally guaranteed waterproof, titanium or hard lexican like material {like the "Nightstar Magnetic Force Flashlight Hi-Tech Clear}.

This flashlights color and shape make it look super sleek and super flashy, the hand grips are nice, but that;s about it.

Once you crank it even to full brightness the brightness only lasts less than 5 minutes and you have to crank it up again for it to immediatly die again right away. My regular little flashlight I've had since I was 10 performed far far better than this expensive flashlight. I would be better off spending 40 bucks in batteries than this flashlight.