When I was young I had a little penlight that ran on two AA cells. I think it was made by Eveready. It had one of those little lensed incandescent bulbs, had a screw-off red cap around the bulb, a chrome plated brass body, a pocket clip, and a pushbutton on the end that had a groove around it which caught on the edge of the hole it was pushed into to turn the light on. I liked that little flashlight and used it a lot until it finally disappeared one day, lost or set down somewhere, never to be seen by me again. Since then, I've always had a soft spot for penlights and I've been wondering why someone didn't make an LED version of that classic type of penlight which has been favored by machinery repairmen everywhere. The technology has been available for several years to do it, but the closest I have seen is the Streamlight Stylus which runs on three expensive and hard to find AAAA cells.

Energizer, one of the large consumer battery/flashlight companies has finally taken the lead and come out with an inexpensive LED penlight that runs on two common AAA cells. Say "hello" to the Energizer 2 AAA LED penlight.

Body: The body of the Energizer LED pen light is rather strange in that it seems to be metal, but exactly what kind it is, I'm not sure. There is a shirt-pocket clip on the side near the top, a rubber pushbutton switch on one end, and a textured gripping area at the other end. At the tip is the protruding LED which projects a typical LED-like bluish white beam. The end with the pushbutton switch unscrews to access the battery compartment.

The title of this review is the "Energizer 2 AAA LED Penlight (and guest!)". Since I do not have a review of a normal incandescent 2 AAA penlight, and I lost my old favorite AA penlight many years ago, I had to go out and get one for comparison to show you what this new little LED light can do - hence the "guest" part of the title. For comparison I purchased a twist on-off Eveready 2 AAA incandescent penlight which uses a miniature lensed bulb. I found this little critter at Walmart for about 3 bucks.

Energizer LED penlight top, Eveready incandescent penlight bottom

The Eveready incandescent penlight uses 2 AAA cells, has a plastic clip, an entirely plastic body, and actually does provide a fair amount of light. Construction is very cheap and to open it you literally pull it apart in the center, inserting one battery into either half and then pressing it back together until it snaps in place.

Bezel/Head: The front of the Energizer LED has the LED bulb and presumably a step-up circuit to power the LED from the 3 volts produced by the two alkaline cells. The LED does protrude from the tip and therefore could be subject from damage due to impacts, but LEDs are very tough and it would take a lot to damage it.

The Eveready incandescent penlight also has its bulb protruding from the tip of the light and since the bulb is glass and contains a fragile filament, it is a bit more likely to be damaged by a drop or impact. Also, the bulb will eventually blow, whereas the LED in the Energizer light will never blow, but will very, very slowly lose brightness over years of use.

Output: The white light produced by the Energizer LED is a high color temperature and produces good color rendition weighted toward the blue end of the spectrum. A slight bluish tint is detectable when compared against a near sunlight-white source, but this tinting is not terribly noticeable during normal use. The LED produces a fairly concentrated spot relative to the Eveready incandescent penlight.

The incandescent penlight produces a very wide, diffuse beam of swirly yellowish-orange light. The swirls are created by the lens at the end of the bulb which projects an image of the spiral glowing filament inside.

Comparing the output and throw numbers, below, you can see that the LED penlight can light a more distant object much better than the incandescent penlight, and it produces over twice the light overall. Generally you would think that this result would mean shorter runtime, since they are using the same type of batteries. However, the runtime graphs show otherwise!

   
Beam at one meter at target center: LED, left; incandescent, right.

Runtime Plot: Here we can see that the LED penlight is actually much more efficient at using the power in the batteries than is the incandescent competition. The Energizer LED penlight hits 50% starting output in 3½ hours, while the Eveready incandescent light hits 50% starting output in just 30 minutes. Ouch! Not only that but after 3½ hours, at 50% output, the LED penlight is still producing MORE light than the incandescent penlight was producing when it was FIRST TURNED ON with new batteries! Nice!

Runtime completed with Energizer brand batteries. More information on runtime plots is available HERE.

Runtime completed with Eveready Gold brand batteries. More information on runtime plots is available HERE.

Switch: The switch on the Energizer LED is a simple pushbutton switch, similar to a ball-point pen except that it's larger in diameter and has a rubber cover. The switch is depressed until it is flush with the rest of the endcap, at which point it clicks on. After it is turned on, depressing partially allows it to blink. Press until it clicks again to turn it off.

Seals / Water Resistance: It's really not water resistant. The switch cap is rubber and creates a rudimentary seal when the switch is not being pressed, but there is no seal between the endcap and the body tube, or around the LED and the front of the light. Keep it dry. If it does get wet inside, open it up and let it dry before using it again.

Ergonomics: Since it is metal it is not intended for holding in the teeth. It does fit very nicely in the breast pocket of a shirt and is very easy to activate and use.

Size compared to a common 2AA aluminum light

Batteries: Two AAA alkaline cells power the light. To change out the batteries: unscrew the top cap, drop out the old cells, place in new cells observing proper polarity. Reattach the cap and you're ready to go.

Accessories: No accessories were included with the light.

What I Liked: Impact resistant, Long battery life, Good output, Easy battery change, Lightweight

What I Didn't Like: Not water resistant, Construction is not the greatest.

Picky Little Things: None

Conclusions: The Energizer LED Pen Light is the next logical step in LED lighting. LEDs are now taking over the role of incandescent bulbs in nearly all types of flashlights. Incandescent penlights have been around for a long time and now those old die-hard penlights that have been around since before I was a kid are next in line to be eventually replaced by this new LED version. Change can be difficult, but it is frequently good. The transition of the traditional penlight into a product of the 21st century is definitely one of those good changes. Forget about those single LED lights that require special batteries such as button cells or AAAA cells; get this one instead. Over time it'll be less expensive to run and will last much longer on a set of batteries. I'd recommend this little beauty for any repairman, any computer tech, or just about anyone else who likes to use a penlight for up-close work.

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