On the road, let your light shine
Lighten up your mobile life with these new products.
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Armed for duty:
Squid Flexible LED Light: At first glance, the Squid Light looks like a plastic flower or a colorful sea creature, but press the on button, and you’ll find it’s a flashlight with light-emitting diodes (LED) mounted on each of its three flexible arms. Stand the Squid on end for a table lantern, suspend it from its hang-cord for a tent or area light, click the light heads in the forward position for a traditional flashlight, or point the three arms in different directions for more versatile illumination. The 5-inch-long light has two brightness settings and watertight seals, and it floats. It will provide about 20 hours of continuous light when set on high.
Squid Flexible LED Light is $29.95 from Montane, (877) 666-8263, www.squidlight.com.
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LED-ing the way:
Itty Bitty Booklight LED Edition: In the world of book lights, Zelco always seems to be one beam ahead, as it is with its new LED version of the Itty Bitty Booklight. The dual heat-free LED bulbs cast a shadow-free white light that’s easy on the eyes. With the bulbs guaranteed to last 100,000 hours, you’re more likely to lose the light than replace the bulbs. Powered by four AAA batteries, the light will last 12 to 14 continuous hours. The light, which turns on when the lamp arm is extended, measures 4.5 inches long (7 inches when extended) by 1 inch and weighs 2.5 ounces with batteries. It comes with a pouch and book clip and has a jack for an AC adapter (not included).
Itty Bitty Booklight LED Edition (10056) is $30 from Zelco, (800) 431-2486, www.zelco.com.
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Sun in a box:
Sun Touch Plus: For people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder, light boxes, which reflect high-powered beams free of harmful ultraviolet rays, can ease their suffering when used 30 minutes to an hour a day. The Sun Touch Plus provides an effective 10,000 lux of light intensity in a compact portable light measuring 13.5 inches high by 9.5 inches wide by 6 inches deep. The light has a timer and an ionizer to neutralize positive ions in the air. I found the light cheerful on sunless days and mood enhancing.
Sun Touch Plus is $249 from Apollo Health, (800) 545-9667, www.apollohealth.com.
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Wind and shine:
Freeplay Flashlight: Dead batteries are not a problem with the Freeplay windup flashlight. Crank the arm for 30 seconds for five to eight minutes of light from its internal rechargeable batteries. More cranking gets more illumination time. Or, if you have electricity, use the included AC adapter to get 30 minutes of ultra-bright light or five hours of regular light. The Freeplay measures 6.5 inches by 2.5 inches by 2 inches deep and weighs 12 ounces.
Freeplay Flashlight (Model No. 5322-721) is $35 from Coleman, (800) 835-3278, www.coleman.com.
Gear & Gadgets appears once a month.