subject: Etón American Red Cross CLIPRAY ARCCR100R_SNG USB Cell Phone Charger with Hand Crank LED Flashlight best price [print this page] Etn American Red Cross CLIPRAY ARCCR100R_SNG USB Cell Phone Charger with Hand Crank LED Flashlight best price
Etn American Red Cross CLIPRAY ARCCR100R_SNG USB Cell Phone Charger with Hand Crank LED Flashlight
First, let me say I'm really glad I bought the Eton Clipray, and I will probably be buying at least one more as backup to keep in my truck.
The pros of this include
1) Its affordable.
2) The light is plenty bright enough to be usable. Its very nearly as bright as my larger, much heavier battery-powered flashlights.
3) It does not take much cranking to be able to use the flashlight for 10-15 minutes.
4) The cranking mechanism/motion is not hard to use, and the unit has a nice grippable plastic exterior that helps.
5) The color is great. Petty, but I like it anyway.
6) The light stays on. Some led camping flashlights only let you have the light on while you're holding the button down.
7) The carabiner clip means you could attach the light above while you were working if you needed two hands (like if you were relighting your boiler).
8) It seems sturdy and well made. You could drop it and it would still work -- there are rubber "bumpers" that would absorb much of the impact.
9) It actually does charge my palm pilot and my boyfriend's blackberry.
10) Its reasonably light: 4.8 ounces, which makes it a viable option for camping, backpacking and travel.
The con? You would wear your wrist out trying to charge a cell phone with this. In an emergency situation, that's the least of your problems, but I spent 10 minutes cranking and saw no increased charge on my palm treo 650, though I was able to make two calls at a battery level that normally would have shut the phone down. The charging light on the phone only came on when I was cranking -- when I stopped turning the handle, the phone stopped charging, unlike the other reviewer here. Maybe I need a different usb charger, but this happened with both the treo and the blackberry. Still, it is a HECK of a lot better than having no way at all to charge either phone.
Again, I'm glad I got it, and I'll probably get another one. In an extended power-down situation, having basic items that do not require batteries or sunlight is a major plus. I wish there were more hand-crank gadgets, and I'll be playing around with whether or not I can use the usb charger on this to charge a battery... with some creativity you might (MIGHT) get a couple of these to actually power a thermoelectric cooler or some other very low-wattage devices.
This would be a great stocking stuffer/ small Xmas gift for someone who's into gadgets or emergency prep.
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