Streamlight 73001 Nano Light Miniature Keychain LED Flashlight, Black
by Streamlight
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List Price: Our Price: $3.54 You Save: $6.46 (65%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Streamlight 73001 Nano Light Miniature Keychain LED Flashlight, Black
Customer Review: Super bright flashlight at a very low cost -- replace with alkaline batteries ONLY!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've needed a small flashlight for quite a while, as our backdoor is not well lit. I thought I would get a small single AAA flashlight, and found a very bright one for just under $50 (Fenix-made). However, after reading the reviews on this one, I decided I couldn't go wrong with trying the Nanolight.
This light may only be a 10+ lumen, single-LED light, but it is brighter than a 9 LED light we bought at a hardware store that requires 3 AA batteries. Amazingly, this is so small that it is barely half the length of my thumb and more thin than any point on my pinky finger. It has a nice clip that fastens it to your keychain in a snap.
I bought one for myself and my wife, and we use it in place of any light in our car.
With new LED technologies just around the corner, why pay more for other, expensive LED lights when you can get this for so little and choose to upgrade later if needed?
We will be buying a lot of Nanolights for Christmas later this year. It is water-resistant, powerful, and always there when you need it without taking up room in your pocket.
There are two drawbacks. One is replacing the four tiny alkaline batteries (using the same size hearing aids use). Fortunately, the cells are pretty cheap and the light is supposed to last up to 8 hours on a set. The second drawback is that the light has a real tendency to fall apart the more it is used. However, there is a fix for this. Simply put Teflon tape on the threads.. This will keep it waterproof while assuring the bezel can't easily work itself loose.
Once you get it, you will wonder how you got along without it.
UPDATE: I've found out that the hearing aid batteries that work in this light are zinc-air batteries. They work, but they require access to air, which means when the batteries exhaust the air in the waterproof casing, they stop working. You need to unscrew the top and let it set for a minute or two to get the full charge back.
Please search Amazon for bulk LR41 batteries--you will find them so inexpensive that any concerns about availability or pricing for replacements will fade away. These are alkaline batteries, so you won't have the problem I mention above.
Customer Review: HOPE YOU READ THIS REVIEW 5 Stars
Can't say anymore about how great this little keychain light is than has already been said, but HERE'S the answer for making this light stay together for you, and NOT come undone on you. Cut yourself about a 4 inch long by about 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide strip of teflon tape. That's the non adhesive type of tape usually in a small plastic round container that plumbers wrap around pipe threads to prevent leaks(white in color). The tape once you cut it should wrap completely around the flashlights threads twice around. This will CURE the flashlight from coming undone on you. :-) Another trick I came up with is for all of you that have trouble loading this flashlight up with batteries. Next time, try this. When you are ready to change the batteries, carefully open the flashlight with the keychain clip facing down. Unscrew the cap (with the led in it), and set to the side. Now take the half with the keychain clip on it, with the old batteries still inside, and place it upside down on a counter top or desk top surface. Next, very carefully lift that half of the flashlight STRAIGHT UP, so that all the batteries are stacked on top of each other. This will now show you the direction in which you will now make a similar stack of batteries with 4 NEW BATTERIES. NOW, place that same half of the flashlight over the stack of new batteries and go STRAIGHT DOWN with it until it is completely over ALL the batteries (now inside the flashlight half). Carefully slide the flashlight half with the batteries inside over to the edge of the counter top or desk top, keeping the flashlight half straight up. Only allow that flashlight part to get just to the edge not past it, and now place your finger by that edge so that you can slide the flashlight half over the edge and onto your your finger. You should now have the flashlight half with the batteries inside and the batteries held in there with your fingertip. Now screw on the other half of the flashlight to it and THERE YA GO!! :-) Hope it all made sense to ya's :-) GREAT little flashlght!!!Customer Review: Not perfect, but dominates in its niche
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought one of these about eight months ago and am back to buy two or three more after a valet broke the first one. My family and friends have come to rely on me having a small, powerful light source in my pocket, and I can't let them down now... winter solstice is almost here.
It's incredibly small, and that's the root cause of all of the imperfections about this tiny torch. It has no switch; the circuit is closed by screwing the barrel tight so that contact is made with the battery. But the forward end (Lens and LED assembly) is not captured, allowing curious valets and children to completely unscrew the barrel and sayonara Nano. If you leave the Nano unscrewed just a fraction of a turn so that it can be operated one-handed, then jostling in the pocket can cause the battery to drain. As an engineer, I suspect that there is still room for clever design that could solve both of these problems without driving the price up too much. Perhaps we'll see an improved version in the future.
In the meantime, I accept these imperfections happily in exchange for the amazing convenience, performance and unobtrusiventess of the Nano. Tininess is the chief feature of the Nano and it clearly drives all of tradeoffs that have been made. And brightness wasn't one of the tradeoffs - it's amazing how bright this little LED is for its size. It has many obvious uses, and a few not so obvious ones. I found myself flashing the Nano instead of flicking my lighter at the end of a concert, and I saw it reflecting from the stage... and I was in the mezzanine. There are other flashlights for other purposes, but this one fits its niche very well, even if it isn't perfect. And at the price, you can afford two or three. I'm going to order a half dozen right now.
And another tip: You can get replacement batteries for less than $0.25 each; just search Amazon for "LR41" -- you'll find scads.
Customer Review: Truly an amazing thing. So bright, so small!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm amazed that there are negative reviews of this item. They all seem to complain that this device requires two hands to turn it on by screwing it tight. This is true. But these reviewers then complain that this means that if you either keep it too tight it will turn on by itself when it is in your pocket and you will lose battery power or if you keep it too lose it will come apart in your pocket and you will lose the batteries. This is an exgeration. Play around with it and you'll find the right setting where neither of these things happen. It's turned on once accidently in my pocket in the few months that I have had it. It's never come apart. Moreover, it can be switched on with one hand. How many times have you punched in a telephone number on a cell phone with with your thumb on the same hand that you're holding the phone? But the point really is, what do you expect from a tiny light but very powerful and bright light. You can not have it both ways. If you don't like this Nano Flashlight, buy the Streamlight 72101 KeyMate which screws and unscrews tigter but is almost four times the weight and size. Or better yet, buy a flashlight of, say, five or six inches long, weights about a half a pound but has that secure on or off switch that you can engage with one hand and which you long for. That would work fine for you and you can then have it bulging from your pocket and play the nerd you always wanted to be in high school. In the other pocket, carry your slide rule. And make sure you have your clip on tie and a half dozen multi-colored pens in your pocket protector in your short sleeve shirt. Yes, the Streamlight Nano Light is just too 21st Century.Customer Review: Very High Quality Light
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been carrying this little light on a key chain in my pocket for over a year now. It hangs with my truck key/remote, my house key, and half a dozen other keys along with a Swiss Tech Utili-key. The finish is showing only a very slight amount of edge wear, I'm still on the original set of batteries, it produces more and better quality white light than those cheap little plastic press together key lights, and the machine work and quality of construction is excellent.
Other important points to note:
- It has never fallen apart in my pocket.
- It has never turned itself on in my pocket.
- It has never corroded (It is made of aluminum, so I'm not really sure how that could happen unless a battery leaked).
- It has been 100% reliable for over a year.
- It has proven itself to be water resistant.
- AND, if you bother to spend a minute and understand how it works, then you can learn how to turn it on with one hand. The clip doesn't swivel so all you have to do is hold your keys in the palm of your hand with the light between your thumb and pointer finger, then rotate the light. You don't need to use both hands to do it, although it does take a bit of hand dexterity. This might get difficult if you have arthritis.
All in all I would buy another one if I lost this one. It is the best tiny light that I have seen. Five Stars.