This thing has many interesting features not found elsewhere. In the end, however, one fails to see its advantage over a standard flashlight Rayovac Industrial 2D Cell Flashlight, which I compared it against.
THE GOOD. It is waterproof, not just weather resistant. It floats. It is rated by the manufacturer to survive a 15 foot drop onto a hard floor. I also note that the bulb it comes with, a KPR102, appears to be brighter than the other KPR102′s rattling around in my drawer.
THE BAD. It has the same weight and size as a standard 2D plastic flashlight. The aureole is brighter, but smaller than the Rayovac. It does not feel comfortable in my hand.
THE UGLY. Although it uses 4AA batteries, two of them are in parallel, so it uses the same KPR102 bulb as a standard 2D flashlight. The use of AA’s does not seem to have decreased the weight over the Rayovac 2D (but it seems to partly compensate for the heavier casing of the Hard Case). The polarity to the bulb seems to be reversed, as an LED replacement did not work.
POSTSCRIPT. I have come to think of this flashlight, despite the unusual 4AA format, as a normal 2D flashlight. I also have to commend the efficiency of the reflector. When I swap the bulb with a 2D flashlight, the same bulb produces much more light when you put it into this flashlight.
Rating: 4 / 5
