Short Description:

The Swiss Light solar pocket light is made by an unknown manufacturer. It is available for sale from various online retailers. The Swiss Light is a single white LED light powered by a Panasonic Vanadium Lithiium ACCU (whatever that means) which is recharged by a solar cell on the back of the light assembly.

The body of the light is a black hard rubber which is quite impact resistant. On one side you will find the solar charging panel which is glass. The instructions caution against bending the light for fear of breaking the panel. On the other side you will find the momentary-on switch which rests in a recess so that the light may be set down without activating the swtich. The switch itself is a blue rubbery plastic. The LED on the end of the light protrudes from the body. The light is advertised as being "water resistant".

The beam produced by the light is pretty much the same as what you should expect from any single white LED light that runs off of coin cells. The LED has a 30 deg. angle of light dispersion and is listed as a Nichia R-rank LED.

As mentioned earlier, the batteries are lithium rechargable and are recharged with the solar cell built into the light. The battery is advertised as being rechargable 10,000 times and produces 2 hours of light on a full charge. The battery recharges in one day of exposure to light and should not develop a "memory" as older rechargable batteries did. In the light there is a DC to DC converter that is used for both charging and for lighting the LED in order to both protect the battery from overcharge and to power the LED as long as possible on a single charge.

The instructions warn against leaving the light in direct sunlight for long periods of time. Temperatures over 40 C (104 F) can shorten the service light of the batteries.

There is a very short lanyard attached to the light.

Reviewer's Impressions:

The Swiss Light is really in a class all its own. It's actually a bit of a paradox. It's a pocket light that you need to keep outside of your pocket (to recharge) . Hmmmmm.....

Well at any rate, as a keychain/pocket light it works quite well. Of course its big advantage is that it never needs batteries! If you were to leave it on your desk attached to your keys it would probably get enough light to keep itself topped off. A good place for it would be on a keyring that you keep clipped to your belt outside your pocket. That way it would be exposed to enough light to keep itself charged up.

The fact that is uses a regulator circuit for both charging and for powering the LED is a very nice touch. This protects the battery from overcharging and sucks the battery dry when powering the LED.

Fit and finish are good. The hard rubber body is molded around the components making what appears to be one solid unit. Not much more to say! It looks and feels very solid in the hand.

Quality / Durability / Construction all seem good. Some care must be taken not to break the glass solar panel, but I don't think you need to be paranoid about it. The panel is slightly recessed in the hard rubber case. The fact that the LED is exposed does mean that it could take some damage if dropped so some care should be taken in that area as well, but again don't be paranoid about it.

Output and beam quality are good and is what should be expected from a single LED keychain light. It produces a directional flood of light good for close range tasks.

Water resistance is OK, being advertised as "water resistant". I did not see any signs of leakage from dunking it in a sink of water.

Improvements: It would be really nice if it had a "constant on" switch in addition to the momentary-only switch.

I like it and am granting it 3 Stars for good construction, innovative design, regulation, and batteryless operation, but a lack of a constant on switch, somewhat fragile components, and the need to keep it somewhat cool to protect the battery from damage despite the fact that it charges best in the direct (and therefore hot) sunlight.

+ + + Pluses: Water resistant, Impact resistant, Regulated, Moderately Bright, Never needs batteries, Lightweight.

- - - Minuses: Bending could damage solar panel, Cannot stand on end, Must be exposed to light to charge but should be kept from getting too hot, Exposed LED, no constant-on switch.

Quick Facts Table: