I recently bought a 7-pack of fauxtons from priceangels. 3 were good, 2 were nearly dead, and 2 were in between. At least I only paid around $3.50 for the lot.
I've purchased a couple of sets of the fauxtons from DX to use as cheap stocking-stuffer lights at Christmas. I took a couple for myself and had issues with the two I used; both started doing the blinky-thing shortly after I started using them. Per reading, it seems that it's caused by a weak bond-wire internally since they are being seriously over-driven?
40 bought from some deal here. All ok up to date, all gifted have had juice.
I think I would skip those wind-up lights since I have had some of them and they tend to break up before regular E01 could even drain its battery.
I think AA is a good option, AA-nimh even better.
Most probable emergency is not total armageddon. Usually you can charge your NiMhs even from your cars battery if you have the gear.
I would do it so, that I could use a purpose-made hand grank charger to power small appliances and charge some batteries.
Looks simple to do :D
http://www.zetatalk.com/energy/tengy05n.htm
Ready-made product:
http://www.k-tor.com/hand-crank-generator/
Whoa, there´s tons of stuff like this available :D
http://pedalpowergenerator.com/buy-bicycle-generator-assembled-pm-motor-pedal-power.htm
edit: lot´s of bikers and electricians here so: http://www.youtube.com/embed/kVAZIDFMRXY
Only thing I'll need for when the sky falls in is a big bottle of barbiturates... very frankly, I don't want to live in a world like that. No Mad Max-Bartertown for me, and I see that coming here, economically.
After I saw my dad die from Alzheimer's, my motto: "Always have an exit plan."
Rich
Dorp, I understand that, but what if it is not a "whole new world" (as in the Hunger Games) but rather just a 60-day interruption of the power grid, or water and food supply? With just a little planning it would be easy to keep a family of 4 in food and water for 60 days.
Don't think I'd make it mental health-wise, and I think it's gonna be a total collapse, no middle ground anyway.
Rich
I work with folks in end-stage Alzheimers. Remember to mix the barbiturates with a lot of alcohol. And preferably a bunch of heroin and speed. Chemical poisoning is harder than you think.
Your choice. Me. I'd remember that I'd forget about the barbs. And the alcohol. And the speed.
But when you are in the end stage you won't know what you have lost. And most are v. v. happy.
Don't go there till you have to.
I've seen far too many hundred people die. There is no such thing as a "good death".
But some are worse than others. Bombs. Cancer. Pneumonia, syphillis, AIDS, OD, cancer of the pancreas, seen them all.
None of them were good.
If you want to die fast - take a good look at the handbooks. Speedballs don't always work. Nor do most other methods.
And you don't want to know how bad it is for those who survive.
As much as I cherish good zombie films and like to ponder about survival scenarios, the ubiquitously depicted zombie outbreak is nothing more than a metaphor for profound changes within the society as we know it. I recall two quotes which fit the theme quite well:
"The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary - men alone are quite capable of every wickedness." - Joseph Conrad
"A city's only ever three hot meals away from anarchy" - Alastair Reynolds
@ Ledsmoke:
I believe a "prepper" would be a colloquial term for a person placing the emphasis on "being prepared" - i.e. stockpiling condensed food, water, means of water purification, pharmaceutical products, even weapons and munitions.
When it comes to torches, I reckon we all are preppers on that aspect. Most of us have a light on our person (Orwellian newspeak: EDC!), and most of us stock enough spare torches, spare parts and batteries to support a whole family for well over a year.
As far as lighting is concerned, my money would be straight on memorial candles. IMHO, they represent the most advanced candle technology - one burns for days, unaffected by wind and rain, and emits enough lighting for the bare necessities. Plus - they are cheap!
LOL, you are on a flashlight forum and the light you want when the power goes out is a candle?
I like solar-powered garden lights instead of candles for interior lighting.
Gerber Infinity Ultra - Fenix E01 - Cheap Maglites
I live in the perfect spot for a calamity. I have an Active Airbase on one side a Submarine refueling base next that and a Nuke plant right down the street. So hopefully when it goes down I will be the charcoaled imprint in the pavement.
I live in southern California; if you did nothing but cut the water supply for 3 or 4 days it would be chaos here. 25 million people in a desert that has no natural source of water.
Yes, I do - as a currency, to barter. Cheaper to acquire than parrafin lanterns and liquid fuel, easier to stock and take care of - no parts to break, no fuel to spill or evaporate, can be stored in any position, unaffected by moisture. Also, they are fairly EMP-proof. The risk of trading off a candle which would probably fail soon is highly unlikely, as well - contrary to electronic devices and batteries.
Hands down, you never know if or when your constant current driver will bug out on you, or if there aren't any duds among all those newly-bought Panasonic CR123A cells.
Be sure to buy namebrand candles though - I had my entire stock destroyed by EMP once.
Just kidding ;)
Actually, this is something that crossed my mint too. Shouldn't flashlights be EMP-proof when they are almost completely made from aluminium? There have been discussions over on the other forum. HDS systems claim their EDC-lights are EMP-proof, so why shouldn't my el cheapo China lights?
Hmm, maybe I need to start working on an EMP-proof box. Or maybe a holster made from copper mesh.
For the Zombie scenario I imagine a ultra low output P60 style drop in would be cool. Always wanted to build one, but finding a driver that only puts out 5-20 mA and has a decent low voltage cut of so you don't kill your rechargeables is rather hard.
My friend has a plan for when the Zombies come. He is going to put thread mills in front of all the doors and windows. Figures it will give him time to dispose of them at leisure. Another alternative would be hooking up a generator to the thead mills and powering the house.
Zombie Power the new future in green technology!
Zombie power! Now THAT is a cool idea :)
At about $2 each, (a box of 8 for $15) I like solar-powered garden lights better than candles, and no chance of burning down the house with them.
that reminds me of something... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNnAvTTaJjM
*note to self: stock up on solar-powered garden lights*
ok, i've been watching the walking dead series, and this just occurred to me
not exactly an flashaholic item - but if you want something to bargain with, go buy a case of tampons 
But think of it this way, what are the odds they would hit you in complete darkness after that crappy cheap light flickered a few times and died. :bigsmile: