Does anyone own a hand crank flashlight or flashlight you shake to generate power? Do these work well?

Question

Would like to buy a flashlight that doesn't use any batteries. I had problems of leaky batteries after I left my flashlight in the trunk of my car for a couple of years. I've seen these types of products all over the internet for camping and emergencies. Do these work well?

Answer 1

Keep one in the car. Used it twice.

So far, so good.

Answer 2

Get a hand crank one with a capacitor.  I have had both types, and the ones with capacitors continue to give off light after cranking stops.

I suggest getting a good one.  The cheapie I had didn't last long.

My new one has three LEDs, and you can run it with just one on, or all three.  More ight then, but shorter time between windups.

Answer 3

I have the shaker flashlight, and it works remarkably well. It only has a few blue LEDs though, so it's bright, but not overpoweringly bright. It is annoying-sounding to shake though (WHACKA WHACKA WHACKA WHACKA) so I imagine that after awhile, the plastic may dry out, and when you go to shake, it'll crack and break the flashlight, but until then, they work just fine.

Answer 4

Hand crank ones could be more efficient as the cranking motion could generate more energy.  Search Amazon and they run about $10 + s/h. Some even have cell phone charging, albeit for mostly Nokia phones.