The Duracell Daylite LED is the King of Flashlights

No matter what the reason, if you need a flashlight, get the Daylite LED from Duracell. Keep reading to see why.

I have to admit to a certain attraction to and fascination with flashlights, and have in our house about five--four more than my wife considers sane and normal.  She especially considers it abnormal when I pack a flashlight for traveling.  I have this deep-seated and seldom articulated concern about hotel fires and the challenge of finding your way out of a strange building in the dark. 

The fairly recent application of LED technology in flashlights is clearly the new standard and I am a full convert.  Duracell, the battery maker, offers a new and powerful LED flashlight, simply called the Daylite.  It's compact (7 inches, 5.6 ounces), stylishly designed, and efficiently uses only two AA batteries. 

The Daylite's claim to fame is a new lens/mirror combination (nicknamed TrueBeam) that generates more light in a purer beam, without the dark spots and uneven pattern you've probably experienced with all previous flashlights (but never thought much about).  We did a test at home comparing the Daylite with a large incandescent flashlight and a large LED flashlight with multiple bulbs.  The Daylite was the winner by a mile, with an even and powerful beam.

It's small and light enough carry with you travelling, either for that possible hotel emergency or for camping, when a flashlight is a basic necessity.  It's shock- and water-resistant and five times as energy efficient as old-fashioned flashlights as well.  On one set of batteries, you can expect about nine hours of light.  It's a very impressive little flashlight!

The Daylite offers two models with different levels of light output (lumens), and we found the lower output model to be completely adequate. Rechargeable batteries are clearly the environmentally correct way to go with any battery-powered device. Duracell sells two portable battery chargers, one for four batteries, and a smaller one for two, either AA or AAA.  Both will operate on either U.S. or European current (with plug adaptors, not included), and the larger 4-battery unit can be powered by a car adaptor (also not included).  It has a bonus -- an USB port for charging phones, cameras and other devices with a mini-USB connector.  Both come with two rechargeable NiMH batteries.

This Duracell chargers and rechargeable NiMH (nickel metal hydride) batteries have overcome several annoying attributes of previous generations -- batteries hold their charge for up to year, and the chargers prevent over-charging and over-heating.  I say buy the flashlight, buy the charger and buy the batteries.