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This neat little solar powered LED flashlight is from an unknown manufacturer and is packaged under the name "TV Products". It is available at some Big Lots! stores for about $8.00 US. It has eight 5mm LEDs in a silvered reflector and two NiCad battery packs inside (4 AA cells total). Power for charging the cells is generated by the polycrystalline solar cell on one side of the unit.
The body is, well, cheap. It is a clamshell design which is held together with 4 Phillips screws. Fit is fair and there are no seals to prevent the entry of the environment. The profile is rectangular and it can be stood on its head, side, or back as needed to best orient the solar cells toward the sun. There is a tiny lanyard loop molded on the end of the light. The best thing you can do with the fragile little loop is grab it between your finger and thumb and carefully snap it off and throw it away. Now the light can stand on its tail end, too!
The bezel consists of 6 LEDs, a silvered plastic reflector,
and a plastic lens. I have noticed that when working
with 5mm white LEDs, there seems to be two main types
- the high quality Nichia type, and a lower output type
that tends to produce a very smooth but dimmer, almost
purplish glow. The LEDs in the solar torch are of the
latter type.
Output is in the form of a smooth purplish/bluish glow. The reflector does create some unusual artifacts in the spillbeam (not visible in beam picture below) surrounding the main spot, but that should not be a surprise considering the use of a smooth reflector and 6 individual different sources of light. Output is pretty good and should be more than enough for most common tasks.
A single charge is advertised to produce 72 hours worth
of light. As you can see the Runtime Plot doesn't quite
agree with that figure unless you plan on using the
light to read a newspaper at a distance of 1 inch in
pitch darkness. Exaggeration is the name of the game
when it comes to manufacturer's claims about LED flashlight
runtimes.
Runtime
completed with included rechargeable batteries. More
information on runtime plots is available HERE.
The switch appears to be a normal slider switch until you really take a close look. It has 3 positions. Fully forward is "on" which activates the LEDs. Fully rearward is "charge" which connects the solar panel to the batteries. The center position is "off". Now I do not know if there is a blocking diode in use in the solar panel to prevent the batteries from draining when the switch is left in the "charge" position and it is dark outside. As a result, I would recommend leaving it in the "off" position when your are not charging the light, rather than leaving it in the "charge" position.
There are no seals in the light at all. Don't get it wet. Indoor use and dry environment use only recommended.
Ergonomics: Because of the light's rectangular profile you may think that it is uncomfortable to use, however this is not true. It actually fits in the hand well and is, in my opinion, a good size in general.
If you were to open up the light you would find two
pairs of NiCad AA cells soldered to a wiring harness
which goes to the switch. These cells are not designed
to be user-replaceable. The packaging claims that the
cells will be fully charged in 4 hours. The solar cell
is a pretty good size and in full sunlight it can probably
pack the energy away fairly well.
What I Liked: Never needs batteries, Solar charged, Good output
What I Didn't Like: Not water resistant, Questionable durability.
Other Things I Noticed:
Conclusions: An OK light for around the house. Great for the kids - no batteries to buy ever!
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