Now that we know why we are prepping, let's start looking at some products and information that will be helpful to the cause. Since I prep for situations involving power failure let's have a look at one of the flashlights I have in service with my everyday pack.
The light we will be looking at is the Rothco Army-style C-cell Flashlight. My light is the olive drab (OD) version. This is an angle head flashlight. Rothco product number 488.
This is a great little flashlight to have in a pack. Made from high density plastic, it can withstand a pretty good beating. All the threaded caps have sturdy rubber gaskets for a reliable water resistance. It also has a steel belt clip attached to the back of the body with screws instead of being set directly into the plastic (making it easy for replacing/removing).
Coming stock with the flashlight are four coloured filters (red, green, yellow, blue) and a spare bulb, which all fit very conveniently in to the base cap. The base cap also hides a steel hanging hoop.
The bulbs included leave something to be desired. Being Krypton 2.4v 0.7A bulbs, they're only producing about 16 lumens. This bulb running off two C-cell batteries, however, means you get about 15 hours of burn time. To improve the low lumen problem I will be looking at replacing the Krypton bulbs with LED bulbs (this should also greatly lengthen the burn time for the batteries).
A great feature of this flashlight is the signaling switch. The power switch on the side of the body has three positions. Down is off, up is on, and the center position allows you to push a small round button above the switch to provide light until the button is released.
The plastic construction paired with double C-cell batteries make a very comfortable weight in hand or on a loaded pack. The angled head makes it easy to work with both hands while having the light either attached to you or standing on its own.
The MSRP from Rothco for this flashlight is only $5.99, which is still a very low price even for the materials used. At this price, even with the small amount of money that will go towards a new set of LED bulbs, the flashlight is a great bargain.
My rating for this product is a 4 out of 5. Based on the solid construction, convenience of design, affordability, and useful features. The downside to this flashlight is the low lumen bulbs and the need to pack large cell batteries for spares. All things being considered, I would highly recommend this product for anyone starting out with prepping, people looking to enhance a kit they already have, or even just to have as a cheap light to keep in a drawer.
I hope this product review has been helpful. If anyone has any experience with this product, or with any other flashlight they really like, please feel free to drop a comment below. Until next time.
Be Prepared. Be Safe. Have Fun.
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