Dynamo Pump Light

Provided for review
by the kind folks at:

 
 
1 Stars
Poor
         

Light Type: 5mm LED
Light Class: Emergency / General use

Short Description:

The Dynamo Pump-Light is an interesting twist on the crank-type dynamo lights. This one has a squeeze handle that you "pump" to charge an internal electricity storage cell (type unknown). Unlike the squeeze lights of old that you had to keep squeezing constantly to produce light, a few squeezes produce adequate light for navigating in pitch darkness.

The body of the light is plastic and is available in black, purple, or yellow. Its shape is designed for comfort when using the squeeze handle. The handle has ridges to match the fingers of the user.

The bezel is rubberized plastic surrounding a magnifying lens and reflector that captures the light from the single 5mm LED and projects it forward. The switch is silvered plastic and sits on top of the light.

Package
Size vs. common aluminum 2-AA light (top)
Bezel picture
Beam Profile

Detailed Information:

The Pump-Light is really a fun little light which could work well in a real emergency in pitch darkness. Unfortunately its output is pretty weak so it may not be adequate for general use around the house. Don't discount it completely, though! A little light is better than none and I can see this light being stored in a small emergency preparedness kit so that you never have to worry about leaking batteries or finding batteries when the need arises.

The body itself is a very unusual shape in order to be as comfortable as possible when using the charging handle. The handle is grooved with finger grips to make it easier to use. When working the handle it sounds a little "crunchy/grindy" and the mechanism inside which is doing the charging stops spinning abruptly at the end of each inward stroke. The handle then ratchets back out to the ready position again. As you can see in the photo below, I can only fit my last 3 fingers on the handle to charge the light. Any other grip is uncomfortable and awkward.

The bezel is surrounded by a rubberized plastic ring. Inside is a reflector and a lens to catch the light from the single 5mm LED housed inside. That's about it.

Output is a bit weak. Despite several minutes of pumping the best I could get was a dim light. It would be sufficient for navigating in the darkness during a power outage, but I don't think I would be effective in anything but complete or near-complete darkness. Beam output is in the form of a wide spot.

The switch is a simple click switch. Click once for on, once for off. It is silvered plastic and rests on the top of the unit.

Water Resistance is nonexistent. There are numerous places for water to leak in and do damage. I would only use this light indoors or under favorable weather conditions.

Ergonomics: It is fairly comfortable in the hand, but your fingers will get tired quickly from squeeze-charging the light.

The internal power storage cell type is unknown. I'm not sure if it is a battery or a capacitor. Either way, if it doesn't light when you press the switch just give it a few squeezes and away you go.

What I Liked: No batteries.

What I Didn't Like: Mechanism coarse, Dims very rapidly.

Conclusions: Cute little light, probably good for the kids so they don't burn up all your batteries. OK for an emergency preparedness kit, but not designed to handle the elements at all. Squeeze mechanism gets your hand tired pretty quickly. Output is dim but adequate for power outages.


Quick Facts Table:

Review Date ............................. October 2004
Case Material ........................... Plastic
Case Features .......................... N/A
Case Access Type .................... N/A
Switch Type ............................. Simple click on-off
Reflector Type ......................... Silvered Plastic
Lens Type ................................

Plastic Convex

Bulb Type ................................. 1 x 5mm white LED
Beam Type ............................... Spot
Beam Characteristics ............... Wide spillbeam, Brighter center, Minor artifacts
Throw (Lux) at 1m (click for description) ~ 6 at beam center. (2.45 Comparison Chart equivalent)
Overall Output (click for description) ~ 38 (0.38 Comparison Chart equivalent)
Battery / Power Type................ Squeeze handle to charge internal capacitor
Battery Life (advertised) ........... Unknown
Environmental Protection ......... Unknown
Weight (oz.) with batteries ....... 5.2 oz.
Special Items of Note ...............  
Warranty .................................. Unknown
Retail Cost ................................ Unknown - Received from Flash-Lights.com
 

 

 
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