Customer Reviews

Life Gear LGTF38 LED Flashlight with LED Reading Lamp, NOAA Emergency AM/FM Radio with Alert and Weatherband

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I bought this for my mother initially after a storm knocked out the power and we had tornados in the area. She had neither a battery-powered radio nor a functional weather radio (her house has a large hill blocking all the National Weather Service signals from reaching her).

It is rather nice in that it includes a lot of features that are handy.

1. It has a plug for a cellphone charger. At least at this time, you can order a charger plug for many different cellphones directly from the website and just pay shipping (around $5) so that you can charge your cellphone off of the hand crank. Very good idea.
2. There is an LED flashlight on the front and an LED area light that flips up from the side. These are not going to blind anyone, but they will adequately light up a room or help you navigate through a dark house.
3. The FM/AM/Weather radio is functional and adequate for the intended purpose.
4. It has a build-in clock and alarm. Unfortunately, the alarm on/off button is located on the top of the unit and will easily get bumped such that you are turning on/off the alarm accidentally any time you reach for the device.
5. It includes the rechargeable battery in the package, and it will also run off of regular batteries. The hand crank can be used to charge the rechargeable battery or you can charge from a wall plug, also included.
6. It is not a heavy device and would be very easy to carry around. It does have an included carry handle that flips up from the side opposite the lamp. Unfortunately, it's not that robustly built, either, and wouldn't survive a lot of abuse.
7. There is a built-in hazard alarm/light, but it's of dubious usefulness. As mentioned above, the flashlight is not very strong (though adequate for a flashlight), but it is flashed on-and-off with the alarm and likely wouldn't be spotted all that far away unless in pitch black darkness. It also plays an alarm noise over the built-in radio speaker, but again, the speaker isn't very loud. You could easily talk over this and carry on a conversation without yelling with this alarm going off. You'd be better off just yelling.

Overall, this a great emergency utility that should be in anyone's kit at home or in the car trunk. The hand crank can help make up for not having fresh batteries in or having forgotten to charge it with the wall plug. I'm so impressed with this unit overall that I'm investigating Life Gear's other devices. This is great for Tornado Alley residents, coastal folks who are subject to hurricanes, earthquakes, or even blizzards. I can't think of any natural disaster this wouldn't be at least somewhat helpful in.

The big problem with this radio is 'two-fold'. First, you can easily be fooled by turning 'off' the Volume knob (and hearing the 'click'), thinking that you shut-off the radio. WRONG! You must THEN remember to slide the power switch to OFF as well. If you don't, despite not hearing any sound, the radio will still be 'ON'. And if you had the power switch in the Rechargeable Battery position previously when you shut off the Volume knob, that would severely 'wear down' the internal Nicad battery (after about an hour of having left the power switch in the ON position). And if you discharge a Nicad battry (unlike a NimH) too much, it will never again hold a decent charge...if any at all. The same holds true if you just leave the radio 'playing' with the rechargeable batteries, and leave your home for an hour without shuttting it off. If the Nicads are drained beyond the time that they hold a charge, you will never again be able to recharge then fully or possibly even partially (especially via the crank.)

The first time this item was received it was a piece of junk...didn't work at all. I returned the item and it was reshipped. The second one works okay...so far. I ordered an AC charger from the manufacturer, but as of yet it has not been received. I keep getting put off and told that it takes a very long time for the USPS to ship this item. I find it hard to believe that it takes almost a month for the postal service to deliver this item. I probably will not order any other items from this manufacturer.

I like this radio for it is both more solid, and a little bigger than most portable weather radios. Some of the other reviewers here that have complained of this unit being cheap and flimsy can't possibly have held in their hands as many weather radios as I have. For trust me, some feel so cheap its like they are are a toy compared this unit. And that goes for ones that can be even more expensive than this one. I don't know how many of you out there agree with me, but personally I am not all that fond of the all the downsizing that is going on with a vengeance in just about everything electronic. For those of us with big hands, and who also can remember back to a time when weather radios weighed in at 20 pounds, its a little gratifying to get something that actually has a little beef cake to it. This radio is made of a tough black vinyl material that I feel would take a good drop or bang and keep on ticking. And though the antenna is rather short in comparison to other weather radios I have seen, it still seems to receive excellent reception. However I do have to agree with the other reviewers here that mentioned the poor FM reception. Mine also gets very poor reception in the FM range. Even though I live in an area where there are some very strong local stations. Since I did not buy this radio for its FM, I consider that a minor drawback. Each individual will have to decide how much weight to put on that observation. However one thing I should clear up is the AC adapter that is NOT included with the unit. At least mine didn't come with one. And it came in a bubble wrapped, all in one package. Some other reviewers have mentioned one included in theirs, but if I were you, I would not bet on getting one. Unless you take advantage of the "free", (the shipping and handling charge they charge you is just about all the adapters are worth), you will have to use the hand crank to charge the internal battery. Actually, I have found this unit to be the very easiest on batteries of all the weather radios I own. Mine has been operating on the same 3 alkaline batteries since I purchased this unit last spring and is still going strong. I don't make use of the flash or reading lights everyday, but the radio is on for at least an hour to an hour and a half daily and its as loud and clear as when I put them in. So I would not put all that much stock in the AC adapter being anything you need to purchase in any event. I recommend this radio for those that want a solid little radio that gets excellent weather reception, and enjoys the installed flashlight and reading light. If you are interested in buying a radio that gets excellent FM along with the weather, may I suggest the Midland AM FM weather portable unit, which I also own. The life gear unit is strictly for the weather enthusiast in my opinion..

This Life Gear Emergency Radio has poor reception on all bands and is not water resistant. It failed on the first camping trip because it got wet. It has lots of features, but is not durable.

This Product Rocks ! This is a great product for everyday use. I actually bought this to have for emergency basis but really like it for my everyday use. The radio works very well and has 7 weatherband stations. I didn't realize it had a clock and alarm. This was a nice bonus. I also went online and ordered the cell phone adapter from the Life Gear website. It was free. Very cool. The unit really impressed me and with the duration of the charge. I like the fact that it can be powered by DC,Battery, and Crank. The radio lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes without batteries. This was really impressive. The last feature that I really loved was the LED reading light. This is really cool and bright. It hides nicely inset into the body and turns off when closed. This product is winner and I recommend it.

The reviews I found online were not exaggerated. This little gem (and it is small) is packed with features. For the price of a small portable radio you get that and much much more.

Power options;
This radio will run on standard batteries (3 X AA) or rechargeable (supplied) the rechargeable battery can be charged with an AC adapter (Not included but available free + postage from the Life Gear website)or the hand crank. This is not a noisy spring run generator. The hand crank charges the battery, so it can be ready whenever you are. About a minute of cranking gives you 20 minutes of play (your cranking may vary). The radio will also supply charging for your cell phone via a supplied (Nokia) adapter, more adapters available from the website for free as well.
Radio options;
AM/FM but the big feature is the weather radio. It will pull in the computer generated forecast as well as alarm if there is a weather alert. This proved valuable on a recent camping trip as we knew to expect thunderstorms our last morning. After a quick breakfast we packed up camp. Literally 5 minutes before we were done the rain came. Not having to pack up wet tents and camping gear "paid" for the radio!

But wait there's more! The reading light is great! Very bright but not harsh. The flash light will not replace a real one but is a nice option.
I'm not sure what the "siren" would be used for but.. There it is.
It also has an alarm clock, a back light for the digital display and a headphone jack. A small carry handle (not in the picture, that is the light) allowed me to hang it from the tent peak it is that light in weight. Power, charge and battery status lights let you know what up with power.

Truly this item should be in your camping gear, the back of your truck, in your boating gear or nearby anytime. It is attractive, with a sturdy feel and small enough to fit in my glove box. I can't think of something this radio needs that it doesn't have. It's not often you can say that.

I couldn't believe all the bells & whistles on this radio. Everything seems to be well made, too. The flashlight doubles as an alarm that flashes and whistles in case of emergency. The front opens up to produce a great reading lamp. I bought one for myself and one for a gift! It comes with a Nokia cell phone adapter but I haven't gone on the manufacturer's website yet to get the free AC adapter and customized cell phone adapter.

I live in the south where we have bad weather in almost every season, so I was looking for a device that would provide weather, news, ease of operation, battery/crank charge and found these in the Lifegear radio. I even bought two others for gifts. Super unit!

I ordered this for blackouts & emergencies..It's definately a must have..It has everything you can possibly need in an emergency radio..The LED flashlight, reading lamp, NOAA national alert system, AM/FM weather band radio, cell phone charger & siren/alarm clock..Whats really cool is the wind up charger..No need for batteries!!..But you do have the option of using 3 AA batteries if you like..You do have to go online though to order your cell phone adapter & AC power adapter for free..You just have to pay for shipping & handing cost..Thinking of ordering a couple more for the rest of my family..