Comments on: ShakeLight NightStar LED Flashlight Review http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/05/13/shakelight_nightstar_led_flashlight_review/ Gadget reviews and news by Julie Strietelmeier and friends since 1997 Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:27:48 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Simon Pierce http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/05/13/shakelight_nightstar_led_flashlight_review/comment-page-1/#comment-29415 Simon Pierce Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:06:44 +0000 #comment-29415 It's not all that costly when you think that batteries cost so much, and that you would have to replace them every couple of years with a normal flashlight (and also risk a corrosive leakage, which is potentially a problem even with dynamo torches). Even fresh batteries cannot be stored for more than a couple of years because the metal parts inside corrode slowly and it reduces the power output. I bought a cheap copy of one of these, and I was so impressed with it that I bought the real thing, and I have to say that the NightStar is far more impressive, both in terms of construction and the amount of light it gives for the effort you put in. One thing that nobody mentions in these reviews is that even rechargeable batteries can only be re-charged a maximum of about 1000 times (only 500 for the most common NiMH batteries) - this flashlight uses a capacitor that can be recharged tens of thousands of times - in other words, it could seriously last for decades of regular use. I'm sure that it doesn't cost just 1 dollar to make - it's not regular plastic but virgin polycarbonate (very tough) and the electrodes in the capacitor are apparently made from gold (which won't corrode or react with other materials in the flashlight). If you want a flashlight that can illuminate an aeroplane flying over the city then this is probably not the one for you, but if you want something that will sit and wait until that fateful day when there's a blackout, and be certain that there absolutely will be light (rather than a pale, flickering yellow dot that fades and cannot be resurrected), then this is the flashlight to get. Criminal it is certainly not - it's makers have made a serious attempt to make something that will last, and for that I am really very happy about the price I paid. It’s not all that costly when you think that batteries cost so much, and that you would have to replace them every couple of years with a normal flashlight (and also risk a corrosive leakage, which is potentially a problem even with dynamo torches). Even fresh batteries cannot be stored for more than a couple of years because the metal parts inside corrode slowly and it reduces the power output.

I bought a cheap copy of one of these, and I was so impressed with it that I bought the real thing, and I have to say that the NightStar is far more impressive, both in terms of construction and the amount of light it gives for the effort you put in.

One thing that nobody mentions in these reviews is that even rechargeable batteries can only be re-charged a maximum of about 1000 times (only 500 for the most common NiMH batteries) – this flashlight uses a capacitor that can be recharged tens of thousands of times – in other words, it could seriously last for decades of regular use. I’m sure that it doesn’t cost just 1 dollar to make – it’s not regular plastic but virgin polycarbonate (very tough) and the electrodes in the capacitor are apparently made from gold (which won’t corrode or react with other materials in the flashlight).

If you want a flashlight that can illuminate an aeroplane flying over the city then this is probably not the one for you, but if you want something that will sit and wait until that fateful day when there’s a blackout, and be certain that there absolutely will be light (rather than a pale, flickering yellow dot that fades and cannot be resurrected), then this is the flashlight to get.

Criminal it is certainly not – it’s makers have made a serious attempt to make something that will last, and for that I am really very happy about the price I paid.

]]> By: Gary Cook http://the-gadgeteer.com/2005/05/13/shakelight_nightstar_led_flashlight_review/comment-page-1/#comment-27778 Gary Cook Wed, 17 Dec 2008 02:59:55 +0000 #comment-27778 I like what I read of the flashlight, except for the cost. To charge forty times what it costs to make is criminal. I like what I read of the flashlight, except for the cost.
To charge forty times what it costs to make is criminal.

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