NEWS – If you’ve ever wanted a flashlight that is powered by a standard 9V battery, then the Blocklite will make your dreams a reality. The Blocklite is a small module that is designed to snap on the top of a 9V battery. It has 6 LEDs that put out a max of 60 lumens or in flash mode, it will use 2 LEDs for a max of 20 lumens. The Blocklite is priced at $8.49 each (it even comes with a 9V battery) or $16.49 for a pack of 2 from Amazon.
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This is a really cool idea. It would be nice if there was a lanyard or clip on it for the pocket, but at least it should also work with rechargeable batteries. 9v batteries last a long time, so it would be a great standby in an emergency.
Eric, a pocket clip is a great idea.
The original (well, earliest I know of) design for this style of 9V snap-on light head is the Pak-Lite: https://9voltlight.com/home
They have a patent on this design, from 2003! They’re more expensive than the many other 9V snap-on lights from Amazon, but I think of them as the original creators, and they are made in the US, if that matters to you.
I had a few of those back when; at least a couple are still in my house. Excellent for power outages (they will brighten a room nicely) and last a while.
Julie did a review of this type of gadget YEARS ago. At the time I ordered some (I think they only came in packs of two from whatever maker it was). They were perfect to use with 9v batteries taken out of smoke detectors. I still have both and use one of them every night when getting up and using the loo in the dark. It provides just enough light so it doesn’t wake me up fully like turning on the bedside light will.
The only warning about them is to not drop it in the dark! The battery will separate and you’ll end up on the floor searching around for both pieces.
LeoB, I reviewed this? Ha! It appears that you have a better memory than I do.
https://the-gadgeteer.com/2004/05/14/
For some reason I can’t get the full review to come up, only the heading.
Ok, that wasn’t a review. That was from the beginning of the site when I would just put little thumbnail images of cool gadgets on the front page with a one sentence title 🙂
LeoB
If you’ve been a patron of this website for 18 years i will be a new kind of impressed
My dad gave us a version of these by some other manufacturer years ago for Christmas. It is a fantastic little light that really does exactly what you want it to do, and the battery lasts forever. One of the best things is that the battery is square, so it is easy to set the light to shine up or in a specific direction, and it doesn’t roll around like other small round flashlights. On low power it is a decent nightlite for scared toddlers.
9V batteries are expensive for the energy they contain. 5 watt hours.
2 AA batteries would have 7.5 watt hours at lower price and be more useful for other things.
The more light you want, the more important this becomes.
Higher voltage is far more efficient.
What is your reasoning?
Watt Hours are the measure of the energy that a battery contains. One watt hour is one watt hour regardless of the voltage.
Too high of a voltage could be a detriment if it then requires a dropping resistor to limit the current running the LEDs.
Actually started when Julie was in middle school and doing The Gadgeteer on a mimeograph machine.
LeoB hahahah! FYI, The Gadgeteer will turn 25yrs old in August!
I bought something like this ages ago. It came in a rubber case bounded by a metal snap band. One 9v battery and it has a button that controls the lite output. There is no OFF. A very dim nite lite, a medium bright and a full bright with the touch of the button. It’s a single LED behind a lens. I use the night light feature to lite a bedside LED clock. This runs for years on low power. I think it was made and sold locally at the time.
They’re considerably cheaper on aliexpress over Amazon.
C$ 8.12 22%OFF | 9 Volt LED Flashlight Outdoor Light Torch Blocklite Camping Light Compact Size Ultra Bright Outdoor Camping Light
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOG8GBU