May 102013
Etón American Red Cross CLIPRAY ARCCR100R_SNG USB Cell Phone Charger with Hand Crank LED Flashlight (Red)
- Powerful LED Flashlight, Crank Powered, USB Cell Phone Charger, Hands Free Carabiner Clip
- Dimensions: 6_Inch x 2.25_Inch x 1.25_Inch(W x H x D), 152.4 x 57.15 x 31.75 mm (W x H x D)
- Weight: 4.9 oz. (138 g)
Compact and Power Packed for Extreme Outdoor Condition
List Price: $ 14.99
Price: $ 14.99
Excellent emergency flashlight/charger – but not perfect,
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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|Will charge some things,
I purchased this to charge an iPhone4 via USB and unfortunately it does not stay in “charging” mode even if you keep a constant rhythm while cranking. I guess the iPhone requires more juice.
The device does charge a small USB MP3 player though. The rest of the item is pretty good in terms of the LED flashlight and exterior feel of the light.
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|Sturdy, Functional, Durable and easy to carry,
This is a great little flashlight and USB charger. Some of the descriptions listed it as having an aluminum body; you should know the entire unit is definitely plastic. It has a nice rubberized finish and overall, the quality seems really good. I was surprised at how bright the flashlight is…more than bright enough to light the inside of a tent or get you to the fuse box. The USB charger is a nice feature too, I simply connected my phone via a USB cable (my phone uses a USB charger, if you have a different type, than I don’t know) and turned the crank for about a minute. Done. Also, tested it on charging my ipod and that worked well also. Based on the reviews I have read about the Solio solar charger, the Clipray seems more usable and more durable. For the price, you can’t afford NOT to have one of these lying around. I like that, unlike eton’s other products, this one is not a radio, its small, simple and functional without being loaded with features I won’t use.
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