Krill 180 (Not LED)

Krill 180 (Electroluminescent, not LED) Light, retail $24.95 (http://www.kriana.com/)
(Manufactured by Kriana Techlologies (http://www.kriana.com/)
Updated 06-01-00

Krill 180 EL light


A Krill is a kind of shrimp that lives in Earth's polar oceans. A Krill lamp is very un-shrimplike and definitely unlike any other flashlight you've seen. It is also not eaten by whales. Instead of a "beam" of light, the entire body of this light glows a soft green color, lighting up the area around it in the process. This light was designed to replace those chemical lightsticks, and has several distinct advantages over them. Physically, this light sort of resembles one of these sticks, both in shape and size. A plastic cap on top and a larger, knurled cap on the bottom make it easy to tell the difference. The light runs on a pair of commonly-available "AA" cells.


Since this sample was lent by a website visitor, I don't have the original packing materials and don't know if it came "loaded" or not.
Assuming not, get two "AA" cells, unscrew the bottom cap of the light and dump them in (see below).
Screwing the cap back on secures the batteries.
To turn the light on, screw the bottom cap on (clockwise, if holding the light upside-down) a little tighter; to turn it off just unscrew it a little. This light is designed to be used AFTER your eyes have already adapted to darkness, as it isn't terribly bright.

Once in this state however, you just hold it with the glowing portion facing forward, and it lights up the area in front of you with a soft glow. This light can also be set on its base and left there to light up a small room or a tent interior that way. A hole in the top cap allows you to fish a lanyard or a hanger through it, and hang it from any tree branch, doorknob, your neck, or other convenient place. The entire back surface of this light is Velcro, so it can also be fastened to a surface that way using the other piece - or any additional Velcro you might have in the junk drawer or sewing kit.

The Krill 180 supposedly burns for 50 hours on a single set of batteries; you will probably have longer life if you use the light only once in awhile.

The green glowing electroluminescent tube inside (a thin, curved panel, actually) is printed with "ON/OFF" and arrows in case you forget which way you're supposed to turn the cap to work the light.


This is another fairly economical light to operate. The batteries are ordinary "AA" sized, and can be changed in darkness without tools or tiny parts to lose.

To change the batteries, just unscrew the bottom cap until it comes off. Dump out the corpses, and drop in two fresh batteries. Put the batteries in flat-side (-) first, so the button part faces outward. Screw the end cap back on, and you're good to go.

Battery life testing is currently in progress. Since I just received this light, these results are not yet available.
The manufacturer states battery life at 50 hours continuously; probably longer with intermittent use.


The Krill appears built to take it. Waterproof to 150 feet, you need not worry about dropping this one in the pool or in a creek and having it fill up and fail, or get all rusty inside. This light should also easily survive everyday accidents like being dropped - and not so everyday bumps and bruises as well. Just don't leave it under your tires, since it might not survive THAT. :)

Not quite as bright as a burning candle, the soft glow won't screw up your night vision, and it is nice and even, which makes it a nice reading light or mood light for the tent on those camping trips and other outings.
Keep one in your glovebox for map reading and looking for dropped articles in the car. Another one in your first-aid kit might not be a bad idea either.

Krill 180 EL light
The Krill 180 giving off its soft green electroluminescent glow.

Since there is no heat, flames, odour, or staining chemicals inside, the Krill is ideal for the kids to use.
And forget those messy, expensive chemical lightsticks for good. You have to shake them up and then try to break them, and you can't turn them off. What if you only needed light for a minute or two? The other 8+ hours are totally wasted - all you can do is throw them away and watch the rats getting into your garbage can by their light!
No more, not with the Krill. You can turn it on and off at will, and you'll never have to throw it away. Just a single chemical lightstick represents one or even two fresh battery changes for your Krill. So think of the money you'll save.
The Krill is about as bright as a Cyalume (trademark of American Cyanamid) Lightstick that's been in use for about an hour.


TEST NOTES:
The Krill generates a small amount of radio frequency interference (RFI) so you may not want to set it on top of an AM radio you're using at that time or else you will hear some strange and scary sounds from the speaker. It will NOT do any harm, however.

Testing for durability is currently being done, but since this isn't my light and must be returned intact, I won't throw it, drop it, leave it in the tub, or otherwise inflict any serious punishment upon it.


PROS:
Replaces chemical lights 95%+ of the time. Easy and economical to operate, safe around children, extremely durable, compact & fits anywhere.


CONS:
Not as bright as expected; gives best results when you are already partially adapted to darkness. Generates RFI squealing on nearby (1 foot or less away) AM radios; however this is easily remedied by moving the Krill a few inches farther away.

          MANUFACTURER: Kriana
          PRODUCT TYPE: Electroluminescent marker light
          LAMP TYPE: EL panel
          No. OF LAMPS: 1
          BEAM TYPE: Toroidial, 180° and 360°
          SWITCH TYPE: Twist-on/off tailpiece
          CASE MATERIAL: Plastic
          BEZEL: Cylindrical plastic lens makes up the body of the unit.
          BATTERY: 2 AA cells
          CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
          WATER RESISTANT: Yes
          SUBMERSIBLE: Yes, depth rating unknown
          ACCESSORIES: Unknown
          WARRANTY: Unknown



                PRODUCT RATING:

                DURABILITY: 8
                BRIGHTNESS: 0
                USEABILITY: 4
                BATTERY LIFE: 9
                BATTERY AVAILABILITY: 10

                OVERALL SCORE: 31



Krill 180 Electroluminescent Light * WWW.KRIANA.COM



Back to Review Listings





Do you manufacture or sell an LED flashlight, task light, utility light, or module of some kind? Want to see it tested by a real person, under real working conditions? Do you then want to see how your light did? If you have a sample available for this type of real-world, real-time testing, please contact me at ledmuseum@gmail.com.

Please visit this web page for contact information.

Unsolicited flashlights appearing in the mail are welcome, and it will automatically be assumed that you sent it in order to have it tested and evaluated for this site.
Be sure to include contact info or your company website's URL so visitors here will know where to purchase your product.


WHITE 5500-6500K InGaN+phosphor 
ULTRAVIOLET 370-390nm GaN 
BLUE 430nm GaN+SiC
BLUE 450 and 473nm InGaN
BLUE Silicon Carbide
TURQUOISE 495-505nm InGaN
GREEN 525nm InGaN 
YELLOW-GREEN 555-575mn GaAsP & related
YELLOW 585-595nm
AMBER 595-605nm
ORANGE 605-620nm
ORANGISH-RED 620-635nm
RED 640-700nm
INFRARED 700-1300nm
True RGB Full Color LED
Spider (Pirrahna) LEDs
SMD LEDs
True violet (400-418nm) LEDs
Agilent Barracuda & Prometheus LEDs
Oddball & Miscellaneous LEDs
Programmable RGB LED modules / fixtures
Where to buy these LEDs 
Links to other LED-related websites
The World's First Virtual LED Museum
The Punishment Zone - Where Flashlights Go to Die
Legal horse puckey, etc.
RETURN TO OPENING/MAIN PAGE
LEDSaurus (on-site LED Mini Mart)



This page is a frame from a website.
If you arrived on this page through an outside link,you can get the "full meal deal" by clicking here.