CRATE&BARREL LIGHT

Crate&Barrel Slim Light, retail $39.95 (www.crateandbarrel.com...)
Manufactured by Lexon for Crate&Barrel
Last updated 06-25-04




The Crate&Barrel Slim Light is a slim, rechargeable flashlight that uses 4 wide-angle 3mm (T1) white LEDs, and is powered by four 1.2 volt NiMH cells inside. The LED head is on a pair of telescoping metal arms, so you can direct the light pretty much anywhere you need it.

The flashlight comes in a brushed aluminum finished case, and is considerably thinner than a pack of playing cards. I don't know what the exterior finish is made of, but the underlying substrate is made of metal, which I believe is aluminum.a

The front of the instructional material reads "Lexon"; this was confirmed as the designer/manufacturer of this light. An oval "Made In China" sticker is on the back.


SIZE



The Slim Light comes basically ready to use, but you'll want to charge it for 10-12 hours before its first use. So charge it (see below), and then it'll be ready to go.

Assuming it's charged, press the rubberized elongated oval button on the back of the light and then release it to turn it on, and press & release it the same way again to turn it off. A 3mm (T1) round LED next to the on/off switch will glow a yellow-green color to indicate the flashlight is turned on.

There is no momentary or "signalling" mode built into this flashlight, so please don't waste your time looking for one.

The light head is affixed to the body with two telescoping steel rods; pull it straight out of the light body. Twist approximately 45 degrees to either side if necessary. To retract it back into the light body, straighten the light head if necessary so it's at the same orientation as the light body, and press the head straight toward the light body until it fits all the way down.

The light head itself can also be pivoted on its arms approximately 90 degrees in either direction; be sure to straighten it when retracting the telescopic arms unless you need the light head aimed somewhere other than straight ahead with the arms retracted all the way.

Please note that the two telescoping arms are "hot" at about 2.4 volts DC when the arms are extended enough to expose them and the light is switched on. So you'll want to avoid shorting out these arms by laying the light against aluminum foil, steel wool, tools, or other metal articles when in use.



The Slim Light is rechargeable, using a 110-120 volts AC "wall wart" transformer (outputs 6 volts DC at 100mA), and a generous cord (5 or 6 feet) that has a plug on the end that fits in a receptacle on the back of the flashlight.

Plug this plug into the receptacle on the flashlight, and plug the wall wart transformer into a standard 2- or 3-prong US household outlet. The LED near the switch on the flashlight will glow a reddish orange color when charging is in progress.

According to the instructional material, do not leave this flashlight on the charger for more than 24 hours; the usual charge time is 6-8 hours, depending on how far you've discharged the batteries inside the flashlight. If you leave the flashlight charging for more than 24 hours, the batteries could become damaged. This tells me the flashlight does not have a "smart charger" built in; and overcharging NiMH cells isn't very good for them.

So, 10-12 hours for its very first charging, and 6-8 hours thereafter.




Photograph of the Slim Light extended all the way, showing the light head mounted to a pair of telescoping steel rods.

I have the Slim Light on the charger right now (5:36pm PDT 05-25-04) so I haven't had a chance to abuse it yet.

I don't believe it is very water-resistant; perhaps slightly splash- or sprinkle-resistant at best. So although a little rain or snow shouldn't hurt it, please try not to drop it in creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, oceansides, docksides, puddles of rhino pee, slush piles, mud puddles, tubs, toilets, sinks, fishtanks, dog water dishes, or other places where water or water-like liquids might be found. The Slim Light does not appear to be very easy to disassemble, so if you really douche or dredge it, I'm not sure how you would proceed.

For now, let's just FTP the page up until charging is complete.



Beam photo at ~12".
Measures 3,940mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.

This low reading is because the LEDs are wide viewing angle types, not the usual narrow viewing angle ones found in most other kinds of LED flashlights. This does not in any way indicate a problem with the flashlight. Remember, wider viewing angles always equal fewer mcds.



TEST NOTES:
Unit was purchased from Crate&Barrel's website on 06-18-04 for $12.95, and was received on 06-25-04.
Unit has been on the charger since 11:00am PDT today; it's now 1:17pm PDT, so I think I can at least get some photographs of it done up.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: Lexon
    PRODUCT TYPE: Flashlight/reading light
    LAMP TYPE: 3 mm white LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 4
    BEAM TYPE: Narrow flood with wide corona
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off on back of light
    BEZEL: LEDs and reflector protected by plastic window
    BATTERY: 4xAAA NiMH (?) rechargeable cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Very light splash- or sprinkle-resistance only
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: AC charger
    WARRANTY: 1 year

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Crate&Barrel Slim Light * www.crateandbarrel.com...






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