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The Brinkmann Go-LED is designed to be a one-time-use
LED beacon or area light. Incredibly simple in design,
it has a plastic pull-tab for a switch, one wide-angle
LED, a clear dome to protect the LED, and a silvered
sticker inside to act as a reflector. Disassembly reveals
three button cells, a resistor, the LED, and nothing
else except the plastic case. There is no wiring. Instead
the Go-LED uses the bent leads of the resistor and the
LED for carrying the current.
Body: The body of the Go-LED consists of little
more than what I mentioned above. The black plastic
back has an area designed for the attachment of a ring
or clip. The dome has a diffuser area around the edges,
but most of it is clear. The black plastic back is melt-welded
to the front dome at two points, and carefully scraping
the melted plastic blobs off the back allows it to be
opened. You would have to use tape or something to hold
it together from then on, but you can get it open and
change the cells if desired.
Bezel/Head: I've pretty much covered the bezel/head
area of the light. The reflector is little more than
a silvered sticker attached to the base plate under
the dome.
Output: The white light produced by the LED
is a high color temperature and produces good color
rendition weighted toward the blue end of the spectrum.
A slight purplish tint is detectable when compared against
a near sunlight-white source, but this tinting is not
noticeable during normal use.
Output is in the form of a wide diffuse beam with a
little bit of a concentrated spot in the center. It
works very well as a marker, and can be used for lighting
a small area during a power outage.
Beam with GoLED on platform at target center.
Runtime Plot: The runtime of the Go-LED is advertised
as 170 hours. It may be running after 170 hours, but
it sure wouldn't be too useful. My test finds about
4.5 hours to 50% starting output, and about 9 hours
to 25% starting output.
Runtime
completed with installed batteries. More information
on runtime plots is available HERE.
Switch: The "switch", if you can call
it that, consists of a plastic tab that you pull out
of a slot in the back. Inside, the tab presses between
two of the three button cell batteries to stop the flow
of current to the LED. If you save the tab, you can
re-insert it into the slot and thereby shut off the
LED, saving the batteries for later.
Seals / Water Resistance: It's really not designed
to get wet, but it can probably tolerate a good splashing
without too much trouble. The molded-in area for attachment
of a lanyard or clip has large holes on either side
where water can get into the case. You can just give
it a couple of good shakes to get out any water that
gets in.
Ergonomics: Since it is mostly empty space inside,
it is very lightweight.
Size compared to a common 2AA aluminum light
Batteries: Three 357 coin cells power the light,
but they are not designed to be user replaceable. You
can take the unit apart by removing the two plastic
welds on the back, but then tape or some other means
will be needed to hold it together.
Accessories: No accessories are included with
the light.
What I Liked: Small, lightweight,
very portable, good output relative to its intended
use.
What I Didn't Like: Not designed
to be disassembled, switch consists of an easy to lose
piece of plastic, batteries cannot be changed out without
"breaking" it, runtime stated on the package
is a bit deceptive.
Picky Little Things: none
Conclusions: The Brinkmann Go-LED
is a great little one-use emergency light for power
outages, camping, etc. You can use them as a replacement
for a tea light, or small candle as well. At only $3
for two of them in a pack, the price is very reasonable.
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