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Reviewer's
Impressions:
The Splash-Lite is a classic piece of gear. For years
divers and outdoorsmen have relied on this simple, reliable,
durable little light as a backup or emergency light.
The lithium battery is very resistant to cold and has
a 10 year shelf life. Add to this its very light weight
and its small size and you have an excellent survival
kit companion.
The body is made from molded high impact black plastic.
It has ridges that run the length of the body to facilitate
grip. At the end is a tab with lanyard hole which can
be used as a bite tab for hands-free work. Inside is
a simple spring and flat contact strip that provides
the electrical connections.
The bezel and lens is clear plastic. An O-ring around
the bezel provide as waterproof seal and gives the light
a dive rating of 100 feet. Inside the bezel is a silvered
plastic reflector with an elongated tube in which the
bulb fits. There is a metal contact plate held onto
the reflector by 3 plastic tabs. This plate serves as
the negative contact for the bulb. The bulb itself is
a tiny 222 style bulb that is rated for 2.2V at 250
mA. Overall, the reflector design and finish are about
what you would expect from a relatively inexpensive
light. The reflector does have a couple of blemishes
but this doesn't really impact the amount of light projected
by the unit, which is modest.
To turn the unit on and off, simply twist the bezel.
Tighten for on, loosen for off. This can be accomplished
with one hand by holding the unit in the hand and twisting
the bezel with the thumb and forefinger. It would be
very difficult for this light to come on accidentally.
Overall quality is actually pretty good. The body and
bezel plastic is molded very well with clean lines.
A single 123A battery powers the unit. As mentioned,
these batteries work well in cold temperatures that
would cause alkaline batteries to fail and have a 10
year shelf life.
Now if the modest output of the bulb is a bit less
than you would like, you can go to Radio Shack and pick
up part number 272-1175 - a krypton 222 bulb rated for
2.33V at 600mA. This results in significantly more light
at a reduced runtime.
Before you go out and pick one up, let me warn you:
The construction of these bulbs is "spotty"
at best. When you go to pick one up, look STRAIGHT through
the lens on the end of the bulb. If you don't see the
filament (see below), don't get the bulb. Try another
one. What tends to happen is that when they are made
the filament is placed in the bulb off-center. An off-center
filament behind a focusing lens will result in a very
lopsided beam (see beamshot of stock bulb, above). Out
of 6 bulbs that I looked at, only 1 was actually made
correctly.
The result? A much brighter and more focused
beam which comes in at about 100 Lux on my meter - almost
3 times the brightness of the stock bulb due to the
more precisely placed filament and higher mA rating.
Important things to note:
This little light is NOT a powerhouse, and the beam
is certainly NOT perfectly focused. It is designed to
be a simple, durable product that reliably produces
light when it is desperately needed. It excels at fulfilling
this purpose.
I read a testimonial from at least one person that
dug out their old Splash-Lite that was buried in a drawer
and they said that when they turned it on it was just
as bright as when it was new!
This is the same light that was chosen by Doug Ritter
of Equipped.org
for attachment to the outside of his survival kit and
also placed inside his "comprehensive medical kit"
due to its features and properties. (Story here: http://www.equipped.org/devices27.htm)
Please take a look at his excellent website for information
on survival and disaster preparedness.
What I Liked: Waterproof (Dive
Rated!), Impact resistant, Easy battery change, Lightweight,
Battery 10 year shelf life and resistant to cold
What I Didn't Like: Beam very lopsided.
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