Hi All,

Any opinions?

Thanks

Blitz

I just got one of these:

http://bogolight.com/

It's a little on the large side, but works well and seems well made. Plus a second light goes to a charity of your choice from a list when you place your order.

Ken

That's cool. I'm looking at something more like this.

http://www.freeplayenergy.com/indigo.html or this

http://www.ccrane.com/lights/light-accessories/dynamo-hand-crank-wind-up-led-lantern.aspx

Thanks for the info. Pretty cool with the bogo for charity though.

Blitz

I have two Indigo's. IMO, a great product.

For a plastic flashlight, it has a quality feel to it. The rechargeable batteries seem to hold a charge well too.

I especially like the dimmer feature, great for mood lighting.

Over the last 15 years, at different times, I've owned three solar and/or mechanical wind-to-charge radio/light combos. Don't remember who marketed (but none were from CCrane or Freeplay).

They were always stored with emergency supplies, taken out once or twice a year to crank, charge and test (in other words, they weren't in daily use). All three crashed and burned around the third or fourth crank 'n test. One, the crank handle broke (I was able to do a makeshift repair, but nevertheless, wasn't pleased). The other two, the charging mechanism broke on the inside of the unit. Cheap internals. They hit the trash pile.

Relative to what was available on the market at the time, these were mid- to high-end units. Haven't looked at them lately, so they may have evolved into something better-constructed these days. CCrane products seem to enjoy a good reputation.

Based on these experiences, and a reluctance anyway to rely on anything mechanical when reliability is paramount, I've kinda given up on these (maybe unfairly; I guess my experiences could be a string of bad luck). I'm more inclined to stick with battery-operated gizmos, and keep a good supply of lithium, alkaline and NiMH rechargeables (I'm in the process of replacing all my NiMHs with the superior Sanyo Eneloops).

On the other hand, nothing wrong with having wind-to-charge or solar units as third layer back-ups.

Dan

I've had good experiences with Freeplay-powered items. Unlike the cheap plastic junk that's around these days, the Freeplays use heavy nylon gears, fibreglass-filled cranks, etc. They really seem quite well built and able to take hard use. And they put in decent quality batteries too.

I lucked out last year and bought half a dozen brand-new, surplus Freeplay/Motorola cell phone chargers for $2 each. Attach two alligator clips and you have an AAA/AA battery charger, cell phone charger, or a renewable power supply for any LED light that takes three AAA or AA batteries. Not a bad thing to have around the house.

Meanwhile, I see MEC (local high-quality gear shop) is stocking Freeplay Sherpas. I don't really need one, but must have one anyway.

I purchased both the Freeplay INDGO (Latern) and KITO at the local Target store. The INDIGO sells for $35.- and the KITO for $20.-. Mine are yellow in color.

The INDIGO is chargable by a supplied AC plug in and it also can be powered by the wind up. It has a small push button on the side for a small LED that is also side mounted. This can be used as a directional flashlight. Then you have the adjustable brightness latern LED's.

It works great. My 3 year old really likes it and gave MOM a class on its capabilities when I was at work when the power went off early one morning.

The KITO does not have an AC plug or capability. Just a wind up charger. It works okay but is way low on the cool factor compaired to the INDIGO.

I have ended up buying 3 of each so far, just in case.....Probably will by 1-2 more of the INDIGO"S down the road.

They put out enough light to read a book 10 feet way with no problems.

I think they will be gifts for Christmas time....

I also have the Indigo which I consider the best in my collection of winders: solid handle, the faster you crank the more you charge, and amount of light produced is good. It's a more recent purchase, my first dynamo lantern was the Datexx Sentina Outback: 4 led and it has 2 built in sensors, it can be set to turn on automatically when it gets dark and a motion sensor so it anything wanders by at night the light comes on for awhile, a dc jack for charging phones( asst. adapters included) and a usb port. Also a siren although not an important detail for me. I wish the handle was sturdier.

Garrity (no afiliation) very recently came out with a dynamo lantern that my husband bought, quality appears reasonable. He also bought the Sherpa which seems as well built as the Indigo and gives good light. I also own dynamo radios, one with solar which I have had for years and take on vacations, it was advertised as military quality and is holding up well, the newer version has a detachable light of sorts with (i think) non led bulbs.

I would choose my Indigo first and Outback second, I charge both by hand (the have adapters) every now and again and am satisfied with both.

Regarding solar power, this strictly my very Humble Opinion: I have yet to see in stores or the net a lantern with solar panels attached that would adequately charge the lantern. I have never owned or had a chance to try them, but a look at charge times and some experience with small panels I bought to play with makes me believe there isn't enough panel to produce enough juice assuming that the panels are quality to begin with. Not all panels are equal. My choice was to buy a larger solar panel to charge lanterns, etc and I finally settled on a flexible roll up panel( for portability) and use either an inverter for 120 or 12v jack. It arrived in the mail about a month ago and here in TN we are getting temps in the triple digits so I'm waiting for a chance to test it without getting heatstroke. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info everyone. Very much appreciated.

Blitz