Heads up -- 9V Pak-Lite now has a warm white option...

[snakebite]

the ones in my original are 5mm nichias.
they are tapered rather than cylindrical.
so you may have to open up the holes a tiny bit.
i will be looking into non destructively modding one but may leave my original unmolested since it was one of the first.

Yeah, I did a Yuji mod on one of my pak-lite chassis a while ago. Turned out fine, except for two things:

1) the Pak-lite LEDs are not 5mm size, but a bit smaller (4mm?), so the new LEDs don't fit the same way;
2) the plastic GITD shroud is glued on so carefully that I had to destroy it to get down to the circuit board to solder on the Yujis.
That meant losing all of the nice self-contained properties of the Pak-lite. Now it's just a board with a couple of emitters on it.

Anyone can take a 9-volt receptacle and a piece of circuit-board, solder on some resistors, a few emitters and a switch, and have something *like* the Pak-Lite. But it will be god-awful ugly (as was my Yuji mod) and probably won't get the same efficiencies.

The total package of the Pak-lite as sold is a very nice, compact, bombproof piece of kit. I always have one in my day bag. i don't even carry a 9-volt with it--they are heavy cells, and for the weight I'd rather have other lights. No, I carry the Pak-lite bare, because it is so ridiculously light and small that there is no reason *not* to toss it in there. Having it gives me an option to scavenge a kind of cell that is hard to fit into my other lights (in particular, my never-leave-home-without it ZL H53).

And of course I also have a few around the house, using old smoke-detector batteries to mark doorways. They stay on constantly, for months at a time.

(Funny you should mention giving your MIL some of them, Scout. I did the same for my mom years ago--four Pak-lites and as many 9-volt cells, in case of power outages).

I'm going to order one of the new 3500k versions. Sure, I wish they were cheaper. But it's an unbeatable form-factor, and an ingenious piece of kit.

 

[ZMZ67]

Quality adapters can be found on that really popular, online , auction site for less than 5 dollars shipped.Add additional 9V connectors, Velcro strapping, rubber bands, and neo magnets and the dark is your oyster.
The lights are vampires, and will work with multiple chemistries in that adapter. They will will also over discharge cells if left unattended. Late CPF member Sub_Umbra shared a lot of real world experiences with Pak-Lites, including their ability to excessively drain batteries. Read Post #48 in this CPF thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...Pak-Lite-9v-LED-light-what-do-you-think/page2

Nice to reread Sub_Umbra's post. He always offered great insight regarding emergency light use and illustrated how modest/low output is not only useful but often desirable in those situations.

 

[lampeDépêche]

i will be looking into non destructively modding one but may leave my original unmolested since it was one of the first.

Great! I hope you'll report back and tell us how it went.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

I have Half-a-Mind to contact 9voltlight.com and ask if they could send the unassembled parts without emitters in order to get a Yuji Pak-Lite. Probably won't; don't trust my soldering capabilities. And Probably should try the 4K (3500K) model first.

 

[reppans]

Anyone know the approximate output on each level?

I get 0.6 and 14lms from my 2015? sample. Add ~1/3 to that if using a Selfbuilt scale.

It's a simple mod to affix a Pak-Lite to a 6AA to 9V battery adapter. 6 AA will run a Pak for a insanely long time . I still buy these for family and friends in the tropics for hurricane prep.

I went the other way - break 9Vs down to run in my regular EDC lights. Won't be as efficient as a PakLite of course, but output is regulated, light is already with me, and I have the option to run ANY battery. I will say, based on an informal survey during Superstorm Sandy, that the 9V will be only viable cell you'll be able to find readily available in stores.

 

[lampeDépêche]

I went the other way - break 9Vs down to run in my regular EDC lights. Won't be as efficient as a PakLite of course, but output is regulated, light is already with me, and I have the option to run ANY battery.

Hey! I have done that, too! You pop open the metal can, and there are 6 AAAA cells in there. Sometimes you have to tear off some soldered-on metal tabs, but it's not a big deal. Then, with a bit of tin foil or other adapter, you can power your AA light or your AAA light. Works fine.

Except...that some 9vs are not bundles of 6 AAAA cells, but rather a stack of 6 rectangular plate-like cells. And you cannot put the flat stack cells into your AA or AAA lights.
I forget which brands are which (I think Duracell 9vs contain AAAA cells, whereas Everready 9vs contain the flat-stack cells?), but someone will show up and tell us.

In any case--when you can get AAAA cells out of a 9v, that's great. But when you cannot, you can still get light out of them, with a Pak-Lite!

 

[reppans]

Hey! I have done that, too! You pop open the metal can, and there are 6 AAAA cells in there. Sometimes you have to tear off some soldered-on metal tabs, but it's not a big deal. Then, with a bit of tin foil or other adapter, you can power your AA light or your AAA light. Works fine.

Yup, battery MacGyver is fun. Add a paperclip to run larger C/D cells (at least in lantern mode), and a well regulated 1-4.2v boost/buck light to incl. all the higher voltage options (CR123s - Li-ions). Use CR123s/Li-ions to run 2/3 AA devices. Add a $10 1oz combo USB charger/battery bank to charge smartphones from Eneloops/AA/C/D cells, etc. Just gotta watch out for those dead shorts or...

 

[mjgillen]

After reading this thread, and a couple others over the past few days, I realize how little I know about flashlights. This looks like a lotta fun! Most of the talk isn't way over my head, for now.

i stumbled upon sub_umbra's post on Emergency Water Epiphany and was sad to hear he has passed. What a resource!

anyway, I ramble.
not trying to hijack the thread

these Pak-Lites look amazing. I'm going to get a couple for my kit that I haven't even started yet.

Michael

 

[wacbzz]

I ordered two that arrived today, but I'm not at work to pick them up. Figures...one of the very rare instances where the USPS delivers an item before its expected arrival date.

 

[TIP AND RING]

break 9Vs down to run in my regular EDC lights.

No offense intended, in what situation do you envision this scenario. I've just retired and spent 3 decades restoring telecommunications in some really, really bad places after many nasty disasters. When society breaks down, usually sanitation, disease, and food, water become much more important than cannibalizing common batteries for moonlight operation of their favorite EDC flashlights. I've witnessed many life preserving improvisations, that's not usually very high on the must have list.

 

[Tachead]

No offense intended, in what situation do you envision this scenario. I've just retired and spent 3 decades restoring telecommunications in some really, really bad places after many nasty disasters. When society breaks down, usually sanitation, disease, and food, water become much more important than cannibalizing common batteries for moonlight operation of their favorite EDC flashlights. I've witnessed many life preserving improvisations, that's not usually very high on the must have list.

Lol, I was thinking the same thing but, was biting my tongue.

Not to mention if I need light, a single 18650 would run a light on moonlight mode for months and could be easily recharged for years, if not decades, with a portable solar panel. I think I will go with this option if the apocalypse happens as apposed to running around pillaging smoke detectors lol. To each their own I suppose though.

 

[lampeDépêche]

No offense intended, in what situation do you envision this scenario. I've just retired and spent 3 decades restoring telecommunications in some really, really bad places after many nasty disasters. When society breaks down, usually sanitation, disease, and food, water become much more important than cannibalizing common batteries for moonlight operation of their favorite EDC flashlights. I've witnessed many life preserving improvisations, that's not usually very high on the must have list.

I'm laughing, too!

The thing is, most prepper activity is fantasy, and done for fun rather than because the fantasies are in any way realistic.

That guy practicing to start a fire with a flint and steel? He spends his life in an office cubical. And when he does set foot in the woods, he has three lighters and 400 matches with him anyway.

So in what situation does he envision the scenario of having to start a fire with a flint and steel? Strictly in his own, sweet, escapist dreams.

But, hey, if he enjoys buying fire-starting gear, I say let him. He's not going to do much damage, aside from busting his knuckles on that flint.

And if I like disassembling old 9v carcasses and feeding my ZL53 with AAAA batteries, who does it hurt? I get a kick out of it, and it keeps me off the hard stuff.

(Whatever the hard stuff might be--I avoid all of it, thank you very much. Even flints--they are hard!)

I will say that my habit of carrying a few spare lights in my day bag has come in handy *many* times. That's not prepper daydreaming--that's fairly frequent use.

The Pak-Lite that rides in my bag has not seen any use yet, true. But again, it is so small and so light that it costs me nothing to keep it in there. And my Pak-Lites at home do solid duty as night-lights, lasting for months on what I have "pillaged from smoke detectors" (actually, what I change out every six months).

Yeah, it's comical on some level, but a lot of what we do is based in our own rich, unrealistic fantasy lives.

 

[Tachead]

Good point, fantasies are fun. And, lights that run for months on pillaged batteries are too.

 

[Archibald Tuttle]

The more you know, the less you need. So, when life gives you lemons, make light
http://www.instructables.com/id/Lemon-Batteries-Lighting-an-LED-with-Lemons/
Bad example, but I love doomers and preppers alike. You can often sell many of them on the most absurd ideas.

 

[reppans]

No offense intended, in what situation do you envision this scenario. I've just retired and spent 3 decades restoring telecommunications in some really, really bad places after many nasty disasters. When society breaks down, usually sanitation, disease, and food, water become much more important than cannibalizing common batteries for moonlight operation of their favorite EDC flashlights. I've witnessed many life preserving improvisations, that's not usually very high on the must have list.

Fair question - altough ironically raised in a thread about the ultimate long runtime sub-lumen light.

I got into battery MacGyvering from a few things, actually before becoming a flashaholic. First was when a backpacking partner's only CR123 light failed - I was AA based and had a back-up light, but we where now about worried about power for the next few days despite several full CR123s. Second, I was trapped in NYC for the Northeast Blackout of 2003 - an inventory of lights/batts/radios, both office and relative's apartment, produced some lights and radios, and lots of batts.... but again, mostly the wrong type of batts for the devices, and so again, worried about running out of juice beyond one night. Third was my personal gadget evolution from all proprietary device/batts/chargers (that was ridiculous), to AA Eneloop consolidation, to a mix of USB/Eneloop/specialized flashlight batts. Loved the Eneloop consolidation phase, I could readily shift power around to any device - just trying to get that versatility back through battery MacGyvering.

Scenario: assume repeat of 2003 Northeast Blackout, and I'm trapped in NYC again with only my EDC bag. I could take most of those mismatched lights/radios/batts and get them working for my co-workers/relatives for a quite a few nights. I might lend my back-up lights/batts to certain important/needy folks. I might reserve the Li-ion from my primary light (might be a 16650) and Eneloops from my radio, to powerbank to my smartphone (#1 priority, outage may last a few days), and then pop down to the convenience store for 9Vs (only batt likely to be available) to power my primary light and AA radio. I use 0.3/3lms 90% of the time anyways - that's ~400/50 hrs runtime from a 9V for me.

I don't believe in zombie apocalypses/societal collapse scenarios, but am prepared for localized disasters and 72hr bug out/get home stuff. I do live near the biggest terrorist target in the world and have watched the Twin Towers fall live from 2mls up B'Way, nearly had my office windows blown out from an IRA bombing ('96 Docklands), had three 4+ day storm outages at home (Irene, Halloween, Sandy), and even heard the detailed account of a friend's real BO/INCH from the Fukushima Daiichi disaster back to the US.

I prefer multi-tasking my normal daily use gear, and limit EDCing just-in-case stuff like giant battery banks, solar panels, and PakLites, but YMMV. I'm sure all of us flashaholics are more than covered for lighting at home...no worries there.

 

[lampeDépêche]

I don't believe in zombie apocalypses/societal collapse scenarios, but am prepared for localized disasters and 72hr bug out/get home stuff. I do live near the biggest terrorist target in the world and have watched the Twin Towers fall live from 2mls up B'Way, nearly had my office windows blown out from an IRA bombing ('96 Docklands), had three 4+ day storm outages at home (Irene, Halloween, Sandy), and even heard the detailed account of a friend's real BO/INCH from the Fukushima Daiichi disaster back to the US.

Interesting--I was jolted awake by the '93 Bishopsgate IRA bomb, but was traveling away from London for the '96 Docklands bomb. I got back into town a week or two after it, right after another IRA bomb went off prematurely in a bus in front of my office on Aldwych Circle. I walked around the circle there looking at the pattern of glass-shards embedded in the tree-trunks, and was able to triangulate the location of the blast pretty clearly that way. I pray we don't go back to those days.

Perhaps these things do leave an effect on our sense of wanting to have a few essentials handy if things get bad. For me, light is one of the most essential of the essentials.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Very interesting information. Thinking also the post about portable light not being a high priority reflects more on most people's lack of preparedness regarding the importance of it, after those basic needs like shelter, water and food.

The Pak-Lite is used in our house, and can be used in emergencies requiring creative adaptation.

 

[LeanBurn]

Are there any specs on this light?

 

[moshow9]

Are there any specs on this light?

Specifications: ​
Product ID	Part Number: 629 UPC Barcode: 83354000629
Bulbs	Qty: 2 Type: Super Bright LED (Light Emitting Diode) Color: 3.5K Warm White Life: 100,000 hours
Burn Time	Duracell Alkaline: (5 Year Shelf Life) High: 30+ hours. Low: 600+ hours. Made in USA Pak-Lite Lithium: (10 Year Shelf Life) High: 80+ hours. Low: 1,200+ hours. Imported
Battery Type	9V Battery
Switch	3-modes: Low - Off - High Toggle style Life: 100,000 Times on/off Features: Gold Plated Contacts
Cap	Color: White (12+ hour Glow-In-The-Dark) Material: ABS Plastic
Total Weight	1.5 oz with Battery
Warranty	5-year limited warranty See battery manufacture for battery warranty. Engraved lights are non-refundable nor exchangeable.

 

[wacbzz]

Had mine for a couple of days now. The output is certainly warmer than the original version, but I'm not sure about 3500 warm. It is, however, easier on the eyes! I used sandpaper to make the output of the light much more even (and better visually IMO). As it comes, there was a small bit of purple in the beam, but the sandpaper seemed to take care of this. To my night adapted eyes, it is much better now. They make a perfect nightstand light.

I am happy with my purchase. They will be used as an every night light as opposed to being thrown in some zombie bugout bag.