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Feature: February 2007 Pak-Lite Pilot LED Flashlight by Pak-Lite Company |
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| When Barclay Henry decided
to hike the Pacific Crest Trail a few years ago, he asked his little
brother to make an ultralight flashlight. Fifteen-year-old Ben Henry,
a whiz with a soldering iron, hooked up a couple of LEDs to a 9-volt
battery. The result survived Barclay’s 2,600-mile hike and created
a new family business. Ben’s
compact lights have since found a place in the pockets of military
pilots, rescue workers and outdoors -enthusiasts. The Pak-Lites come in many colors and also infrared and ultraviolet. (Baja paddlers take note: UV makes scorpions glow green.) The Pak-Lite Pilot that we tested has a white and red light. The white light throws enough light to illuminate about 10 yards of trail with a soft light, more than enough to pick out the footing. The red light is roughly the same intensity as the white light and pretty bright for looking at charts. I held it at arm’s length to get a comfortable level of lighting. |
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 The
Pak-Lite’s circuitry isn’t enclosed to keep it dry,
but it will survive a dunking in fresh water or salt
water, although both lights will glow dimly even
though the switch is in the off position. You can
shake the water out, put the light in a warm pants pocket for a
couple of minutes, and it’s
back to normal. I turned on the light on a Friday
night and it didn’t
appear to grow dim until midmorning Sunday, about
right for the 30-hour burn time for an alkaline battery as listed
by the manufacturer. Pak-Lite has lithium 9-V batteries available
with a burn time listed at 80 hours. The Pak-Lite with battery
weighs an ounce and a half and takes up no more room than a pack
of gum.Pak-Lite Pilot LED Flashlight,
$29.99 (with alkaline battery; add $5 for lithium)Pak-Lite Company 877-715-4448 or 541-660-0349 www.9voltlight.com |
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