(8/7/08 UPDATE: Sad to say, we've had to retire our Illuminators. They worked great at first and for awhile,but we put them aside for many, many months and when we recently tried to use a few of them, we found that they--and the DuraPros--didn't hold a charge. Right now they lose a charge in less than a minute.
However, it's possible that it was our fault--a sticker on one recommended winding the flashlight at least once every few months and it's possible that if we had done that, then the flashlight would still work okay. It's also possible that I didn't wind it up right at the very beginning (the instructions recommending winding for 10 minutes to charge before first use).
Since it's possible that it was our fault that the flashlight stopped working, I'm going to leave the rest of the review as is.)
The Illuminator is a flashlight that NEVER needs batteries. According to the label it also never needs new bulbs and "one minute of winding provides up to 1 hour of ultra bright light."
I like rechargeable tools. We had a large Freeplay flashlight, but it was bulky and had broken. After seeing my friend with a small windup, I searched on the Internet and found the Illuminator.
I have small hands, but the Illuminator is easy for me to hold. It's about 5-1/4 inches long by 2 inches wide by 1-3/4 inches thick. There are 3 LED light bulbs at the front set into reflectors. (LEDs are getting popular in flashlights because they consume less energy than incandescents.) You grasp the unit like a phaser (okay, so I'm a Trekker). There is a button on top that you press to turn it off/on. If you press it once, one light comes on. Press it again and the unit shuts off. Press it again and all three lights come on. Press it again and it turns off....
There is a handle that tucks snugly against the underside of the unit when not in use. It's easy to pull up and crank it to charge the flashlight. At times I leave it sticking out and use it to prop the flashlight up to a different angle. The directions say that "for best results and to maintain battery life, wind up for 10 minutes before first use."
(I don't think I did that--I usually just wind it for few seconds. It's possible that my flashlight may not last as long as a result.)
The unit is an attractive silver and black with a nice industrial design (smooth seams, rounded edges, rubber grips on the side). It feels solid and sturdy, but we're pretty gentle with it, so I don't know how it would respond to being knocked about. The directions say not to submerge it in liquid.
It contains a rechargeable LIR2032 3.6V lithium battery, 35mA.
(FYI: The type of metals used in rechargeable batteries are toxic, they shouldn't just be thrown in the trash. Fortunately, we found that we can take them to RadioShack for disposal.)
As other reviewers have mentioned, it would be good if the unit had a wrist strap, but the unit is small enough that I can stick it in the pocket of my jacket. I wish that it were easy to stand it up so that it could project light onto the ceiling.
How Does It Perform?
The Illuminator is good to have in a blackout. You can use it as much as you want without worrying about running out of batteries. You just have to be willing to crank it often. I think the "one minute of winding yielding an hour of ultra bright light" is an exaggeration. The light probably lasts an hour on the single-bulb setting (we haven't timed it), but it doesn't stay at that initial brightness for that whole hour. The light starts off very bright and stays that way for a little while then slowly fades to an aqua tint before it completely runs out of power. I assume that the three-bulb setting uses power up 3x as fast as the single-bulb setting.
During our 4-day blackout in 2006, I found that I could use the Illuminator for reading--especially when I supplemented the light with a few candles (but after I got used to reading in dim light I preferred to use LOTS of tall candles instead of the flashlight--so I didn't have to keep winding it). My husband needed a much brighter light to read.
How Does Its Brightness Compare to Other Flashlights?
In comparison to the Photon Micro Light I have on my keychain (which also has an LED lightbulb), the Illuminator is brighter when it is first cranked up--even on just one bulb--because the reflectors around the bulb help it to project more light. After several minutes, the MicroLight is brighter because the long-lasting battery it uses allows it to maintain a constant brightness.
We have a rechargeable Makita ML902 flashlight with a NiMH battery. It's not fair to compare a little windup LED flashlight to an incandescent with a powerful battery that is charged from a wall outlet, but that aside... The Makita (of course) has a much, MUCH brighter light with a longer range, but the light is less even. The beam from the Makita has a circular, mottled hotspot in the center that is intensely bright. There is also a much softer light that spreads out around the hotspot.
The Illuminator's light doesn't have a noticeable hotspot in the center. The light tends to spread out as an even, soft glow. This makes it less effective when you want more of a spotlight effect (such as when you are working on wiring or plumbing), but is good when you want a softer light.
I would guess that the Illuminator is not as bright as the maglites that we have, but I can't do a comparison. Three of our expensive maglites had batteries that got old, leaked and destroyed the flashlight.
(That's why I REALLY like RECHARGEABLE flashlights that don't need alkaline batteries). The maglites that still work don't have batteries in them (and I don't want to buy and load a fresh pack of batteries just to do this review).
How Does It Compare to the DuraPro windup?
We bought several Illuminators a year ago and paid around $20 each. Shortly after that we saw a windup flashlight being sold at Costco for $20 a pair. The Costco flashlights were made by DuraPro and looked similar to the Illuminator.
It's possible that the DuraPro is a hair brighter (probably has something to do with the way the bulbs are set in the reflectors), but the difference is not significant. The Durapro flashlights are slightly flatter and slightly wider, so I find them less comfortable to hold. They are gold and black and not quite as pretty as the Illuminator. The button on top is easier to push. In addition to the 3 white LED lights at the tip, they also have a red flasher light on each side. They have two settings: one has all 3 LED lights on, the other causes the 3 lights and the red sidelights to blink on and off. I wish there was a setting to turn the red lights on without causing the white lights to blink. There's also no setting to conserve energy by turning only one of the bulbs on.
The red flasher on the DuraPro makes it good for walking along the street at night or leaving in the car for roadside emergencies, but
the Illuminator is a much better flashlight to have during a blackout. It might be that the DuraPro worked better when we first got it, but during our recent blackout I found that although the DuraPro is VERY bright while it's being cranked, when I stop cranking it immediately gets much dimmer and loses its charge much, much quicker than the Illuminator does. Also, if I charge it up then turn it off, it doesn't have any power left when I try to turn it back on later.
Despite this limitation, I was still grateful to have both flashlights during our 4-day blackout. I could have put batteries in our regular flashlights, but didn't feel the need. (However, I did use a lot of candles.)
FYI: The type of metals used in rechargeable batteries are toxic, they shouldn't just be thrown in the trash. Fortunately, we found that we could take them to RadioShack for disposal.
For More Information on the Illuminator
Visit the manufacturer's website at:
http://www.markfeldstein.com/prod_det.cfm?id=142
or call Customer Service at 1-800-755-6504
(you can also find it for a good price at www.illuminatorflashlights.com)
Other Gift Ideas
A phone for the hard of hearing
http://www.epinions.com/content_103980895876
A cordless impact driver
http://www.epinions.com/content_115430231684
A keychain flashlight
http://www.epinions.com/content_103568805508
The Makita ML902 flashlight
http://www.epinions.com/content_286583262852
A flatwhisk
http://www.epinions.com/content_102959255172
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