First off, let me say I am NO "survivalist". I am not the outdoorsy type. I live in New Jersey. I live 20 minutes from New York City. I don't go camping. I originally wanted a flashlight that doesn't need batteries, because every time the power goes out my flashlights NEED batteries and I can't see to get them. and when I saw this thing,I decided "why not". And now my question is "WHY DIDN'T I SOONER?". This thing is fantastic! First off, the light is bright. It's not going to turn night to day, but it works just as well as any non-specialty flashlight I have ever used. If it goes dim, just crank it back up!
Speaking of the crank, I was worried that it would be flimsy and snap off under my violent style of doing things. Well I have no worries about it. It doesn't feel like it budges any direction it shouldn't. It moves in a circular motion, no up or down stuff.
The radio is a fun feature. Get's pretty good signal wherever you go. I gave the sound quality a 4 simply because it's not your car speakers, this thing is meant as an emergency tool, not a sound system. But it still sounds pretty good. I was using it the other day as a radio when I was outside doing yardwork. OH RIGHT, outside!
The solar panel thing on it REALLY DOES WORK AWESOME! I originally had the radio on my porch playing music, and it turned off (mind you after several hours of playing at full volume). I decided to put it in the light to see how it works, and as soon as it hit direct sunlight (read: it has to be in direct sunlight) BAM instant full volume! AWESOME!
It has a USB charge port. I haven't gone to measure voltage or anything on it yet, but if you are even thinking about it, this will NOT charge an ipod. Nope. It will charge a regular phone though. It actually DOES charge an iphone, but not an ipod touch or shuffle.
The casing seems to be mostly a plastic-rubber except the rubber nobs. Feels very sturdy, could definitely survive a good drop. I mean, it's an emergency tool, I hope it can survive falling off a shelf at least. The thing is also water resistant and somewhat water proof according to the packaging, but I don't wanna test that too much.
Overall I like the style of it, if that matters to anyone. I think it looks great. I leave it in my window to charge via sunlight, in case the power ever goes out I know right where it is and that it will be ready (that it matters) for me to use. The color doesn't seem to be fading from sunlight at all.
Overall features:
1) Sturdy, mostly rubber body
2) tri-LED flashlight
3) Full AM/FM/Emergency radio
4) Cell phone charger VIA USB
5) No batteries, charges via solar power and stow-able hand crank
6) telescoping radio antennae
7) wrist strap
it's my new toy :) My kids want one now. In the future, if I become more "emergency use" oriented, I might get one of the bigger, more feature packed models, but for my uses (walking the dog late at night, 3am strolls with my wife, outdoor radio, emergency cell phone charging, power-outage flashlight, camping trip tool [I actually do go camping a couple times a year]), this is perfect!
