Solar flashlight - what am I missing here?

[disneysteve]

I was just reading the latest promo from Harrah's casinos. In honor of Earth Day, they are doing a "Go Green" promo where you can earn various green gifts. One of the items you can get is a solar-powered flashlight. Apparently, the flashlight has a solar panel on it and you can charge it by having it in the sun.

Uh-oh. The power went out and it is dark. Grab the solar-powered flashlight. Oh wait. It's dark. That's why I need the flashlight. If the sun was shining, it wouldn't be dark, but I can't charge the flashlight without the sun.

Somehow, this product doesn't sound all that useful. You can't keep it in your car trunk. You can't keep it in your tool box or emergency kit. You can't even keep it in your kitchen or bedside drawer. You would need to keep it on a windowsill where it would stay charged.

[boosami]

What idiot made that oxymoron a reality? I have a dynamo-powered flashlight, and another that charges up when you shake it. They are both good alternatives to disposable batteries.

[disneysteve]

Amazon.com: Good Hope Bags 5252 Solar Flashlight - Silver: Sports & Outdoors

Here it is on Amazon if you'd like to order one.

[Broken Arrow]

I had a relatively expensive rechargeable flashlight with an AC adapter, cigarette adapter, and car mount once. I gave it to a friend of mine when he turned cop... figure he will get more use out of it than I can. But anyways, that's the kind of flashlight I would recommend; one that can be charged through either regular outlet and/or car cigarette adapters.

[simpletron]

depending on how long the charge last, it could be useful camping/hiking or during very long emergency(katrina) where it could charge during the day and be used at night. if it needs to be recharge every 30 minutes or less, then it would only be useful going from a lighted place to a dark place and back. this is like doing work in the crawl space under my parent's house during the day or an attic with a broken bulb or the campfire to tent.

I still think the flashlights that recharge by moving magnets are much better than this.

note: you don't need the sun, just a light source. fire, another flashflight, and the over head lights, all would charge this.

[disneysteve]

note: you don't need the sun, just a light source. fire, another flashflight, and the over head lights, all would charge this.

I wonder about this. I've had solar calculators over the years. Some would work in a bright room. Others would not.

Do you think a fire puts off enough light to power a solar device? I'm not so sure about that one.

[kork13]

Do you think a fire puts off enough light to power a solar device? I'm not so sure about that one.

Clearly you were never a boyscout.... The only proper fire is a towering bonfire, in which case you have plenty of light to charge a solar cell.

[lemarquis]

Haha....beautiful!

[swanson719]

Bad memories of boyscouts - got food poisoning every summer camp. But a solar powered flashlight seems like it would be of little use. Then again, we have a solar powered lift tower at work. It's a 5x5 box on a hydraulic lift with lights on it and all, and we've used it at midnight and had it run for hours. So maybe...

[mom-from-missouri]

I have a solar flashlight. After it is charged, it holds the charge for a very very long time. I just turned it on, and it works--it has not been recharged in 2-3 months at least.
I also have a solar recharger for my cell phone as well.
The solar ones I have recharge a regular rechargeable battery. Same battery can go in a battery charger. It is the way it is recharged that is different, not the acutal battery.
Mine came from sharper image several years ago. We use them a lot when camping.

[victor06]

I already seen a solar flashlight however i never got one.I seen that many people now a days that switching their self to a clean and green energy,in Finland country there are several people who are always buying some echo friendly product such as using solar panels in http://www.mokille.fi/ they are quite expensive however many people are really interested to use a solar panels.

[bjl584]

How Do Solar Powered Lights Work? | eHow.com

The power is stored in an onboard rechargeable battery, but you do need to leave the flashlight in a sunny area when not in use to recharge it which makes its versatility rather limited.

[jpg7n16]

Looking at the flashlight, I like that it has a compass. So you can know which direction you're pointing the light. Except that you need the light to see the compass... hmmm

[Tree0164]

We got a couple of solar flashlights from my father in law (the gadget kind) -we keep them in a few of our windows for them to get the sun. They do hold the charge and work

[GrimJack]

Sounds like a variation of the solar driveway lights - friends say that they are pretty and keep their night visitors (ewww, that sounds creepy) on the driveway and out of the flowers.

I would not depend on any one kind of flashlight. I bought my sister a windup radio that is also solar, a light and has connections to charge other devices. They developed these radios for really poor areas that do not have dependable power and can't afford batteries.