I always love products that are poorly thought out, like round flashlights that roll off tables when you lay them down. Despite mfgrs making many of them this way for years, it’s just never dawned on them to make the business end of it with an octagon end or something so it won’t roll. America needs MORE poorly thought out products!
I’m wondering what I can add to the flashlight so it won’t roll. If you just use a flashlight to walk around the block at night and put your flashlight back in its storage spot when done, then this is not a problem. But if you do anything with your flashlight, like work on the car or working on something inside the house where you need to set it down so you have 2 hands available and you don’t want it to roll away from you, then it’s a problem. I saw one rubber octagon piece you can add to the end but it’s by Streamlight and it’s probably too small for my Coast light. Does anyone have recommendations of a way to put some silicone caulking or other methods on the end to fix this problem?
Again, I’m so happy that we get to redesign products for the people who make them and sold them to us that don’t know any better.
I don’t like round flashlights since they roll around, but I got this Coast 8000 lumen one on clearance for just $20 which was good. It’s a long flashlight, probably 14 inches long, and pretty heavy. Coast XP40R Rechargeable 8,000 Lumen Flashlight | Academy
I still have a Might D Light by Cooper Lighting (no longer available), which would be the ultimate flashlight if it just had more power. You can actually use the flashlight hands free! But … it’s only 200 lumens. It has a plastic housing so lighter weight than carrying around a heavy metal one, pentagon or so in shape so it didn’t roll. It had a tilt head so you could point it at something hands free while you’re working on something, a side light for a broad work light, you could hang it from the handle that pulled out of the bottom, it had a wrist strap so you could easily carry it, a magnet so you could hang it, a belt clip so you could carry it and have your hands free, and a bottle opener on it. All for $18 back then. I still have the light and it still works but I wanted something with more power. LED150 Series Might-D-Light | Cooper Lighting Solutions
Well yes, but a flashlights main purpose is not to lay on a table, but to be in a pocket or hand, and for that, a round shape is not the worst decision. Also round stock is cheaper and easier to work with than angular material will ever be.
I totally get your problem, but it sounds like you focus on the problem itself too much instead of the solution: Don’t buy round flashlights.
I think there are enough flashlights that are not round, in the past months some rectangular lights came out like the Wuben X4 or X1pro or Yemao A200 or others from Wurkkos and Sofirn.
The Convoy S21E shouldn’t roll since they have that switch-plateau.
I kind of (rather strongly) agree that cylindrical flashlights need more anti-roll features. Like you mentioned, smaller lights do this with pocket clips, flat machining, lanyards, etc…I also agree that it’s strange that larger lights don’t have anti-roll features…Maybe you could use a smaller light or a rubber doorstop/fidget or keyfob as an anti-roll “wedge”?
I used to carry around a flat 3d printed phone stand that locks into position for different viewing angles. It’s about a credit card in size, and folds in half long ways and tall ways to 3 different angles, but I imagine that this could be adapted or changed to qccomdate heavier stuff like flashlights
Books stay in place pretty well when you lay them flat. But some people want to stand books up. That’s why people made bookends or sell bookends. So maybe you could make some flashlight ends. Or buy some bookends and repurpose them to make flashlight ends.
Or maybe you could level the legs of your table so that it’s not leaning and then the flashlight won’t roll.
I don’t view this as a major problem.
I figured I would offer some solutions anyway.
I still have a Might D Light by Cooper Lighting, which is fabulous though only 200 lumens. It has a plastic housing so lighter weight than carrying around a heavy metal one, pentagon or so in shape so it didn’t roll. It had a tilt head so you could point it at something hands free while you’re working on something, a side light for a broad work light, you could hang it from the handle that pulled out of the bottom, it had a wrist strap so you could easily carry it, a magnet so you could hang it, a belt clip so you could carry it and have your hands free, and a bottle opener on it. All for $18 back then. I still have the light and it still works but I wanted something with more power.
Cooper! there’s a name I haven’t heard in a little while, lol. Looking at that particular form factor, would something like a clip light be of any interest to you? Granted, many of them are kind of small so the battery life and max brightness may be a bit lackluster, but they’re pretty portable and versatile as mounting options go
All of my flashlights have a clip and a lanyard on them so they are not going to roll. You knew this was a round flashlight before you bought it. So I’m not the one who wasn’t thinking ahead.
You said there’s a place for a lanyard so put a piece of 550 cord on it as a little wheel chock so it won’t roll.
That’ll be $5 for supplying you with a solution to your problem.
Actually I provided a lot of solutions to your problem.
The lights you mentioned are pretty nice lights though probably a bit small point source (ie not as wide of a beam). The Wuben X4 was $120 or so which is pretty expensive. I got my Coast 8000 lumen one on clearance for just $20 which was good. I still have a Might D Light by Cooper Lighting, which is fabulous though only 200 lumens. It has a plastic housing so lighter weight than carrying around a heavy metal one, pentagon or so in shape so it didn’t roll. It had a tilt head so you could point it at something hands free while you’re working on something, a side light for a broad work light, you could hang it from the handle that pulled out of the bottom, it had a wrist strap so you could easily carry it, a magnet so you could hang it, a belt clip so you could carry it and have your hands free, and a bottle opener on it. All for $18 back then. I still have the light and it still works but I wanted something with more power. LED150 Series Might-D-Light | Cooper Lighting Solutions
The ideal flashlight, would be the Cooper Might D Light with POWER. That flashlight did everything. You could actually USE it, without having to HOLD it. the others you mentioned are too small; small point light source. LED150 Series Might-D-Light | Cooper Lighting Solutions
Perhaps quick and dirty solution is one of those wall-mount tool holders for brooms/rakes etc? I’d have thought there’s one for even fat flashlights?
Failing that, would one of these work? Plastic brackets with elastic strap designed for putting on bicycle handlebars when you flip it upside down for maintenance?
We am looking for investor in NEW flashlights attachments.
Fit with any type of flashlights.
Open bottles and juice cans and wine bottles. And most importantly it will prevents any flashlights from rollings. Convenient hanging. Easy on off. Comes with 66 inch electric tape. Non-conductive tape. Safe for use all around electric wires.
Yeah, not going to spend $20 for sugru on a $20 light. I have some silicone caulking around that I would use first. The problem is not STORING the light. Sure you can stick them in a drawer until you need it. The problem is when you USE them. You go to the neighbor’s house at night. Now you need to put your flashlight down. If you lay it somewhere NORMAL like a table or countertop it rolls away. Or if you’re working on your car or something you want to lay it down and it rolls.
I have headlamps. That doesn’t mean I want to wear them all the time at night. For times when I’m doing things at night like finishing raking the leaves after the sun goes down or working on a project that is taking longer than I thought, etc. If I could do things at night without having one attached to my head, so much the better. Even if working on my car the headlamp falls off while I’m looking down into the engine compartment or if I need a close up view of something the lamp (which sticks out) hits into something, etc. You’ve obviously never had the Cooper light I mentioned to where you understand the joys of getting light at night without having to hold something.
