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INOVA 24/7

Inova 24/7, retail $45 (www.inovalight.com)
Manufactured by Emissive Energy (www.inovalight.com)
Buy one HERE or HERE
Last updated 03-01-09

The Inova 24/7 is a small handheld LED flashlight, but it might surprise you. Really, it might.

The light features 4 brilliant white LEDs, plus two red LEDs and two yellow LEDs to add to its bag of tricks. The light can be set to operate in any of 8 modes (plus off), which you can select by just turning the black rubberized ring around the bezel. The switch emits an audible "click" when the various modes (or "off") are activated.

The 24/7 I'm testing comes in a dark yellow ("school bus yellow" or "pee yellow") plastic case, which has a metal belt clip on the back, and an included neck lanyard. You can also get a headband, a screw mount, and a magnetic mount as additional accessories that you buy seperately.

SIZE

The Inova 24/7 comes ready to use right out of the package, so you don't have to run out and buy a battery for it right away.

To get a dim white light, click the bezel ring 1/8 of a turn clockwise (as if you were tightening it).
For bright white light, turn the ring another 1/8 of a turn clockwise.
For a slow white flash (approximately 0.8 to 0.9Hz), turn the ring another 1/8 of a turn clockwise.
To get the 24/7 to flash the SOS signal with its white LEDs, turn the ring another 1/8 of a turn clockwise.
To get all of the LEDs to flash quickly (3 or 4 flashes red, then white, then amber, then white, then red; lather, rinse, repeat), turn the ring another 1/8 of a turn clockwise.
To get the red LEDs to slowly brighten, then dim again, and the yellow LEDs to brighten, then dim again (lather, rinse, repeat), turn the ring another 1/8 of a turn clockwise.
To get the red LEDs to burn steadily (for night vision use), turn the ring another 1/8 of a turn clockwise.
To turn the Inova 24/7 off, turn the bezel another 1/8 turn clockwise - so that the yellow line on it points straight down.
Finally, to set the Inova 24/7 to "find me" mode in which the two red LEDs blink really quickly once about every 6-7 seconds (estimated battery life in this mode is 15,000 hours), just set the dial in between any of its "clicking" or detent positions.

You can also turn the bezel counterclockwise (as if unscrewing it) to access these modes, but in reverse order of the modes as shown here.

I do not have the headband, the magnetic mount, or the screw-on wall mount (all three optional accessories) so I can't test the 24/7 with them.

The included neck strap goes on the Inova by putting the loop through the Inova's metal clip. Then you can put the loop over your head, and use the slide buckle on the strap to adjust it to the length that feels right for you. The buckle does not have a locking mechanism, so the 24/7 can go farther down your front if you get it snagged in something. If you *really* get snagged, you can turn the flashlight upside-down (so the battery holder faces you) and it'll pop right out of the cord.

To change the battery, put the 24/7 sideways so the LED part is pointing to the left and is facing you. Unscrew & remove the rubber covered lid on the battery compartment, and set it aside. Dump the dead battery in the wastepaperbasket. Insert a new CR123A cell in the barrel, so the button (+) end faces outward. Screw the rubber covered lid back on all the way, and be done with it.

The instruction sheet says that only adults should change the battery.

Current was measured at 200mA with all four white LEDs on "high". I'd expect to see lower currents in other modes.

The Inova 24/7 appears to be made of a tough polymer material. The LEDs are inset into cells in the flashlight's front, so you shouldn't be able to break those either. The rubber cover on the bottom of the battery holder can be removed fairly easily with a fingernail, but you can pop it back on by looking inside the rubber cover for a rib and aligning that with the notch on the 24/7's battery compartment, and pressing the rubber cover back on.

The only major fault I can see is that sand could get in between the body of the light and the bezel ring that turns. So if you've taken your 24/7 to a beach and now it has a "grindy" feel to it when you change modes, check that little gap for sand, and remove the sand grains from the gap with a butterknife or similar instrument.

I threw it in a sink (not a toilet, I swear) full of water for a few minutes to simulate dropping the 24/7 into a creek, and then dried it off with bathroom tissue. Then I took it back over here to the computer, took the battery out, examined the battery and battery chamber, then reassembled it and tested it. No water was found in it, and all of its functions appeared to work properly. So I have no doubts that the Inova 24/7 will work fine if its user gets caught in a rainstorm, or if he or she drops the flashlight...oh oh, the 24/7 just came on (both red lights at around 90% intensity, and both yellow lights at <1% intensity). The light did not change modes even when set to "off", so I guess you'd better not throw yours in the sink. :o
I don't know where the water got in, but I suspect it either came around 1 or more of the LEDs, or got in through the rotary switch assembly. I've now taken the battery out and placed it on the top of my computer monitor to dry for a day. We'll see what happens tomorrow around this time (around 7pm)...

(It's now tomorrow around this time)
I took my Inova off the top of my monitor, dropped in the battery, and screwed the battery lid back on. The light worked properly - for about 1 minute. Then it refused to turn on regardless of the mode I set it to. So, I'll give it a second day and try it again tomorrow around 7:00pm.

(It's now the next day around 7pm)
The Inova worked fine for about 1 minute, then started acting funny and then went out.

(It's now yet the next day around the same time)
Alright, now we're getting somewhere. I've had the Inova in "Find Me" mode for the last 15 minutes, and it seems to be OK at last. I tried all the modes several times within the last 15 minutes, and everything seems to be working fine now. I beat the urine out of it just in case there was a loose drop of water in the head, but the light did not malfunction at all.
So it's needed three days to dry out inside after being in the bathroom sink for maybe three minutes. The moral here is do not drop your 24/7 in sinks, toilets, tubs, creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, shorelines, or other places where water might be found. It ought to be fine in a LIGHT rain, but much more than that and you'll probably want to swap the 24/7 for a different light before the 24/7 really gets douched.

If your 24/7 does get wet inside and starts to malfunction, take the battery out, leave the battery door off, and set it LEDs-up in a warm (not hot) dry place for a few days, and it ought to be right as rain (pun intended).

Beam photograph (white) at ~12".
Measures 43,000mcd on high, 2,000mcd on low.

Beam photograph (red) at ~12".
Measures 10,200mcd.

Beam photograph (amber) at ~12".
No measurement for these because the LEDs don't stay on long enough.
The LEDs aren't as "orangey" as this photograph makes them look.

Spectrographic plot

Spectrographic analysis of the white LEDs in this flashlight.

Spectrographic plot

Spectrographic analysis of the yellow LEDs in this flashlight.

Spectrographic plot

Spectrographic analysis of the red LEDs in this flashlight.

Spectrographic plot

Spectrographic analysis of the white LEDs in this flashlight; newer spectrometer software & settings used.

Spectrographic plot

Spectrographic analysis of the yellow LEDs in this flashlight; newer spectrometer software & settings used.

Spectrographic plot

Spectrographic analysis of the red LEDs in this flashlight; newer spectrometer software & settings used.

USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.

TEST NOTES:
Test unit was received on 07-29-03 and is in the initial stages of testing.

UPDATE: 08-01-03
Light malfunctioned after being douched in the sink for about three minutes, and (so far) it's taken three days to dry out inside. During this time, I kept it on top of my computer monitor (about 100°F for 12 hours a day) for three days, and it appears to be fine now.

UPDATE: 08-14-03
I'm expecting to receive an Olive Drab Green (OD Green) 24/7 anytime now. It's from another vendor, so that will be added to the "Buy one HERE or HERE" section near the top of this page, and additional pictures will be taken and added elsewhere on this page.

UPDATE: 08-16-03
Here is a picture of the OD Green 24/7 that I received yesterday. In this picture, the 24/7 was set to "Find Me" mode, with the bezel switch turned halfway between Off and Low White.

It is functionally identical to the yellow one described on this page; only the body color differs.
I have no way to test either model for leaks except by throwing them in the cistern or sink, and we already know the yellow model springs a leak and malfunctions. I'll test this one the same way (to simulate a user dropping it in a shallow creek) and see what happens.

UPDATE: 02-03-04
I dropped the OD green model in a bathroom sink full of water at about 80°F for about three minutes, drained the sink, and dried off the outside of the light with some toilet paper. As before, I opened the battery door, dumped out the battery, and examined the inside of the battery compartment - looks dry in there. Checked all the functions, that looks fine too. But I didn't start having problems with the yellow unit for several minutes - it performed as it should and then I started typing web material before it began to malfunction.
About fifteen more minutes have gone by now (I pulled it out of the sink at 9:56am and it's now 10:17am) and still no malfunctions.
(Edit) After about two more hours, still no problems to report.
(Edit) After about seven more hours, still no problems with my 24/7. So the OD green model does indeed appear to be water-resistant.

This is a good flashlight, don't get me wrong here. But the variability in water-resistance and the possibility of sand or other materials getting under the switch assembly and possibly causing a malfunction are mainly what prevented the Inova 24/7 from being a 5-star flashlight.

PROS:
Small size
Decent brightness when used in "high" mode
Grippable body
Multitude of functions
Seems rather durable

CONS:
Sand could possiby get into the rotary switch gap
Switch *could* possibly turn on in your bag
Not waterproof - so don't drop it in a creek or a toilet (see 02-03-04 update above)

MANUFACTURER: Inova
PRODUCT TYPE: Multifunction LED Flashlight
LAMP TYPE: 5mm LED
No. OF LAMPS: 8 (4 white, 2 red, 2 amber)
BEAM TYPE: Varies with LED type used
SWITCH TYPE: Twist bezel to select modes
BEZEL: Rubber edged, plastic w/LEDs inset in their own cells
BATTERY: 1x CR123A lithium
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 200mA with 4 white LEDs on "high"
WATER RESISTANT: Yes
SUBMERSIBLE: No
ACCESSORIES: Duracell Ultra CR123A cell, neck lanyard
WARRANTY: Limited lifetime

PRODUCT RATING:

Inova 24/7 * THELEDLIGHT.COM

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