Batteries not included -- or needed

If you own a flashlight, you’ve probably had the experience of sitting in the dark after the batteries die. The new NightStar flashlight attempts to solve the problem by eliminating the batteries. But is this new product a shining star or just a $39.95 flash in the pan?

The NightStar design is based on the concept of magnetic force. When the flashlight is shaken, a magnet passes back and forth through a wire coil. The electrical energy generated is then stored in a capacitor. Shake it for 30 seconds and you get 20 minutes of light.

The manufacturer -- Applied Innovative Technologies -- claims NightStar requires no replaceable parts, is nearly indestructible and can operate in extreme cold and under water.

The NightStar is fitted with a super-bright diode with a rated lifetime of more than 50,000 hours.

When we put it through a series of tests, the NightStar produced a desirable medium beam of white light. Under a moonless sky, it illuminated objects 50 feet away.

After 20 minutes of illumination, a vigorous 10-second shake provided an additional 20 minutes of light. The shaking required little exertion because the flashlight weighs only 11 ounces. A comparably sized flashlight with D-cell batteries weighed twice as much.

Independent testing by Aero Nav Laboratories determined that NightStar’s polycarbonate exterior can survive explosive blasts, and Hauser Laboratories found that the flashlight will function normally at 200 feet below sea level and at minus 40 degrees.

Our testing was less scientific. We drove over the flashlight 10 times with a reporter’s economy car and rapped it against a eucalyptus tree a dozen times. Nothing. A drop in a Jacuzzi also proved that it floats.

The NightStar was invented in a garage by Steve Vetorino, an optical and laser engineer, and his friend Jim Platt, an electrical engineer. “I wanted to make a flashlight that you could always count on,” Vetorino says.

So, what’s not to like about the NightStar?

Don Keller, a director at rival Maglite flashlights, says: “Our feeling is that it’s strictly a survival-type light. It’s not something that the average professional is going to use because it doesn’t stay on long enough.”

Although it may not be best for inspecting crawl spaces all day, if you’re spelunking or suddenly lost in the dark, the NightStar could be your best light.

-- Scott Doggett