Product Description : The colorful eGear JOLT mini flashlight recharges in any USB power source and goes where you go! Small yet rugged, take the JOLT along in your laptop case, purse or backpack for a light any time, anywhere. Keep in your car dashboard's USB port, for anytime use in the car (or plug into our 12 Volt USB Charger, fits in your car's lighter/power port -- sold separately). The JOLT even has a clip to attach to keychains, backpacks or zippers. You'll wonder how you ever got along with out it! I have owned two of these attractive little flashlights and in both cases the unit has broken in a relatively short time under what I would consider "normal" handling stress. The first one was a black light that I found at a local sporting goods store. It gave up the ghost after being on my key chain for about a month. The switch ceased to work. The second light was ordered from Amazon and was attached to my briefcase so it would be less subject to abuse. The switch on this one broke within two weeks. While the concept is a good one and I like the aesthetics and initial performance of these little lights. they appear to be far more fragile than simpler battery powered "key chain" LED lights in the same price range. I received this flashlight as a present, and thought "Perfect! Now I'll always have a flashlight with me." I clipped it to my keychain, stuck my keys in my pocket, and went on with my day. At work the next morning, I pulled out the light and found to my chagrin that it was now turning on via the rear cap, rather than the front. "Easy fix," I thought.I brought the flashlight back to my desk, popped off the rear cap to reveal the USB connector, and found that it was loose. The guts of the light are attached via a simple threaded plastic disc--the USB connector slides through a hole in the disc. The plastic disc had only two threads on it--hardly enough to screw in properly. I popped off the front cap to see if I could fix the thing that way. It relies on a small plastic catch that attaches to an ordinary mini 3-way slider switch. The cap rotates, but the slider slides, so there's a force on the catch at an angle to the slider motion. This force was enough to deform the plastic catch enough that it slipped off the switch.This light is still sitting in pieces on my desk. It's a wonderful concept--having a USB-rechargeable LED flashlight that's not only small enough to fit onto a keychain, but gives a charge indicator as well--but the plastic bits are simply poorly designed. Far better to spend twice as much for a more durable flashlight. This was a replacement for another USB light that died after less than a year's use. This one is solidly made and the tension on the twist off/on switch seems just right -- that is, it doesn't come on by itself while on the keychain in my pocket, yet is still easy enough to turn off and on when needed. The old one I had to charge frequently because it would use-up the battery when it would turn itself on, but this one is lasting many weeks between charges because it just doesn't have that problem.
No comments:
Post a Comment