9 years ago I used to keep my phone in a glad Ziploc sandwich size bag when working. This was just because of dirty hands and dirty gloves. I could still swipe and tap and fairly easily use the phone for most phone things. In 2014 I got my first Kyocera phone with a Sapphire screen and the phone was fully waterproof. I could wash it under running water without an issue so I wasn’t so worried about keeping it so clean. That first Kyocera phone actually went through a full front loading washing machine cycle without problems. That was the cleanest it had ever been. I still use Kyocera phones and they are still waterproof. They also have a provision to attach a lanyard. As for flashlights, yes a lanyard on almost every one. Even if you don’t actually put it on your wrist I often pinch the leash with my pinky and ring finger while holding a light. Of the flashlights I have, I think the armytek wizard would be the easiest to deep clean on a regular basis. It’s waterproof to 10 meters so you could take a pressure washer to it as a first step if you wanted to. Magnetic charging on the tail that’s very easy to clean with a toothbrush. The tail cap is the only part that comes off other than the clip. There is no knurling and no sharp corners or creases for things to hide in. The switch boot could hide a little bit of bacteria but it’s still not that hard to clean out. Switching/replacing the homemade lanyard would be a bit of a pain because of the way I have it tied on there with 2 mm paracord and then 550 cord as the main leash. It’s been in some dirty things but not a septic soup.
+1 to Armytek, they go full out on water proofing and drop proofing.
Works great for polishing up my reloading brass too. Wet tumble to clean, dry tumble with NU Finish to keep em shiny.
And yeah, septic is the issue as to why something should be filth-free, easily washable without any places to retain any nasties.
Autoclavable might not be doable, but soaking in bleach might be. Still, even sanitised filth isn’t too appealing.
that is a really good idea…car wax.
fill up the crevices with wax or Vaseline or whatever.
then, when the inevitable happens, just rinse off.
crevices are covered. rinse, repeat like shampoo.
without the poo.
Agreed that car wax/polish would help with cleaning, but the slippery surface may also be the cause for dropping the flashlight in the first place.
I’ve been doing this with older blue steel pistols and revolvers. A little dab rubbed in seals the metal but doesn’t leave it slippery. It does leave it feeling smooth, texturing keeps them in the hand. Lanyards are nice but crap magnets be prepared just to cut off and toss.
Put the light in a test tube or a clear plastic bottle? Hopefully one where the cap is a bit flexible to force it to click a switch? I used some moldable plastic that melted in hot water to fix a disintegrated rubber switch cover on a energizer headlamp. Stretched it thin enough to actuate the switch. It’s an added step but better than cleaning all the nooks and crannies of a sewage light. Might have issues with thermals though.
Dive light in a clear bottle with water? /s
Seeing a video recently (maybe on r/flashlight) of someone using a magnetic tailcap in one flashlight to turn on another light (a dive light, IIRC) reminded me of this and an old bad idea from the gun community.
There used a to be a gun safety device that was a ring you wore on your finger, and the gun wouldn’t fire without that ring in close proximity to a sensor in the gun.
So, what we need is a sealed plastic light with charging contacts that turns on by grabbing it with your magic ring of power. It also needs to float, and have some sort of aux lights so you can find it if you drop it in the filth.
If you put the leash over your wrist before you get over the septic tank then you cannot drop it. I will say that some of my very short homemade leashes do make it slightly difficult to operate a tail switch. Depending on the length of the light, keeping the wrist strap just straight back in the grip of your last one, two or three fingers works. Or on fairly tight wrist straps just putting it down over four fingers deep into the palm of your hand before you grip the light works pretty good also. On my secondary EDC I have two wrist straps on it. One is attached to the clip and is slightly larger so that it will go over a gloved hand. The other is slightly shorter and tied on to the body to go over a bare hand. That one is yellow paracord to make it slightly more visible if it’s lost (while not turned on) in leaves or grass or other vegetation. The second strap has only been on about a year after an incident where I lost my primary EDC in a 30 foot area in many freshly fallen leaves. It was nearing dusk and with the secondary EDC I was able to find the primary. I was just about to give up and go back to the work site a few days later with a leaf blower to clear the area out. On some jobs now I just automatically go to one of a few backup lights from the truck. Wowtac A1S in neutral white is my favorite dirty job light.
Yeah, use a leash.
And if it gets filthy, wash with engine/motorcycle cleaner and hot water.
You may then tag it with red spray paint, once dry, as non-virgin no more.
PS: Put it in a pickle jar and close the lid. A glass for pickled olives or for wiener suasages might do, they are long and slim and the bottom is quite flat in the center.
Mmm, some pretty good ideas, will have to mull ’em over.
The baggie/condom seems to be the easiest if a “sealed” light isn’t commercially available.
I don’t think more’n 300lm-500lm would be required, so heat would be manageable.
texas shooter is giving me ideas.