I stumbled onto BLF about 6 months ago while doing research for a flashlight project my company (Jenesis International) was considering. Now that project is nearly a reality, and I wanted to spread the word here.
We’ve developed what we hope will be the first of many flashlights that incorporates our patented Low Glow Technology. The Nite Finder (working title, no snickering please) incorporates a Low Glow panel that is lit continuously at a low level to make the flashlight easier the find in the dark. The light from this panel is actually bright enough to serve as an effective nightlight (I don’t have an exact lumens measurement, but it’s a touch lower than your standard moonlight mode) and if left on Low Glow, it can run for about 5 _YEARS _on a single set of batteries. As a result, the flashlight is always easy to find in the dark (during a power outage, camping, etc) and once found can be used as a standard flashlight, or the glow panel can be brightened to serve as a stand-up lantern.
We’ve got the technical work done, and we’ve got working prototypes, but as a small company we don’t have the capital to pay for the tool-up and first batch without some help. We’ve launched an Indiegogo campaign and the 7 or so of us employees are pestering our friends, family, distant acquaintances, and unsuspecting flashlight enthusiast forum members to help support our first step into this market
I won’t insult your intelligence by claiming that this flashlight is anything revolutionary in itself. At its core it is a simple home-use flashlight and is priced accordingly ($20 MSRP). The Low Glow feature is what we think has the chance to make an impact in the market. The circuit is pretty simple, adding the feature doesn’t raise the price much, but it’s such a logical solution to that classic problem of finding light in the dark. There’s no reason why this couldn’t be a near-ubiquitous feature in the market within a few years. We just need to get that first product out there and provide it can work. Our mechanical designer (my brother, Mark) already has CAD drawings and rapid-prototyped models all over his desk for the next iteration if we can just get a toe in the door with this first one.
So if you’re interested in being on the ground floor helping a little company push a new feature into the flashlight market, support our Indiegogo campaign and we’ll send you one of the first units to roll off the line!
And of course share our campaign with your friends, maybe spread the word onto some of those _other _flashlight forums as well, and I’ll be more than happy to field your questions (or more likely go grab on of the engineers to to get a more educated answer).
I like the tone of your site, and you have some very house friendly products.
I think that many of us are looking for led products, from the kind that you already have listed, to solar garden lights and shed lights, that we know are quality, that have a brand name and reputation behind them.
bikenber73: 4x AAA actually. I’ll see if I can wrangle the engineers into producing a more BLF-appropriate tech sheet.
CarpentryHero: Nice to see you gain. Yep, those are our Low Glow Key Fobs. Are yours still working well for you?
sixfink: Yes, those candles in the background of the video are example of products that use our flicker design. And, yes, really, the US Gov really does list lithium ion batteries as non-hazardous. A lot of people have raised concerns about it, and the EU has more stringent regulations.