[EDITED] REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

Please see the IMPORTANT NOTE - at the bottom of this post.

Still on the theme of preparedness, readiness and low cost power outage lights -
I like the idea of useful brightness with L-O-N-G runtimes.

Enter


The Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH) ...

But let me back up a step or so -

I was recently taking stock of my floating lanterns -
you know those things with the big 6V lantern batteries
and my most recent one was about 4 years ago -

this is the only LED lantern I had Eveready 5109L - 3 Nichia LEDs -
25 lumens and 65 hours runtime on the supplied "Super Heavy Duty" carbon zinc 6V lantern battery (ANSI FL-1 rating)

So I looked for better brightness and longer runtimes -
and as expected, the 5109L was upgraded to 50 lumens and 65 hours using the same 6V lantern battery.

Then I thought about those 6V lantern batteries -
yes, there are alkaline that last twice as long -
but they are just not compatible with any other lights/things I have -
thoughts went to 4D to lantern adapters - yes! RayOVac made one -
but now discontinued and those and any others available seem to be very expensive...

My eyes wandered over other lights in the search listings for the Eveready Floating lantern -
and came across this ReadyFlex - it looked like a regular lantern - so why was it called "Flex"?

Looking at the details - revealed why....

it runs on 2 or 4 D-cells!
D to lantern adapters aren't needed.

and the whole light with 2 D batteries was $5 (actually $4.47 at my local Lowes).
So I had to have one!

Eveready doesn't even have it on its website -
I found the official pdf data sheet on Digi-Key,
relevant crop below -

50 lumens, 80 hours on 2 supplied "Super Heavy Duty" carbon zinc -
ie: same brightness but longer rated runtime than the version using a 6V lantern battery!

On 4D cz the runtime is rated at 160 hours -
so the D pairs are in parallel -
4x alkaline gets a 350 hours rating.

Size -

left - ReadyFlex, right - 5109L 3 LED lantern


left - Eveready 1D; right - ReadyFlex

Heads -

left - ReadyFlex, right - 5109L 3 LED lantern


left - ReadyFlex; right - Eveready 1D

The reflector of the ReadyFlex does not actually extend all the way to the retaining bezel -
there is only what I would term decorative (non-functional) silvered surround to the physical reflector.
So the head need not be so big - but perhaps the size is to make battery access easier?
(they never considered that for the 6V lantern battery versions -
especially those older incandescent models that required wire attachments!)

Side-by-side Comparison beamshots -

vs Eveready Floating Lantern 5109L (circa 2012) - both on supplied carbon zinc

The 3 Nichia LED 5190L lantern side-spill shows the effects of using 3 discrete LEDS -
the lens actually is lightly textured to diffuse to try to smooth out the beam - but it is still pretty obvious.

vs. Eveready 1D (link to review), both on supplied carbon zinc D cells


I am currently very taken with the very economical Eveready 1D (link to review) getting a rating of 25 lumens, 60 hours on a single supplied carbon zinc,
and the beam profile to me is much more suitable for indoors usage - especially for power outages.

But I like this ReadyFlex lantern for its "Flex"ibility.

>>>EDIT to ADD<<< -

IMPORTANT NOTE -

Things may not be quite as positive - even though this ReadyFlex has ANSI/NEMA FL-1 rating of 50 lumens with 80 hours run time.

This light is more than likely to be direct drive since it is cheap and using 2D in series (carbon zinc batteries will give ~3.2V) - any sag in voltage and the light will dim -
please see beamshots in Post #20 below.

Other lanterns using the venerable 6V lantern battery are unlikely to suffer quite as dramatically as this - since 6V is way above the Vf and even if the carbon zinc chemistry sags - it will remain significantly higher than the Vf.

Whereas this ReadyFlex is dependent on 2D cells in series and direct drive, any sag will significantly affect its output/brightness - even if it manages to cripple along at the noticeably lower brightness to the ANSI FL-1 rated 80hours.

So although the design is "clever", unfortunately it is also its biggest weakness.

My thanks to xxo for highlighting this.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

I like that they included the option of using 2 or 4 batteries but in lantern size lights I would rather use the 6V battery. Since the 6V and 9V batteries use sub-cells(D or F for the 6V) the leaks seem to stay contained better IME.6V and 9V are the only alkalines I use regularly in flashlights.While this could be a decent light for the average consumer dead set on using common cells I don't like it nearly as well as the Eveready 1D in that role.Credit to Eveready for putting some thought into this light but I would rather see the Dolphin design and a 4D to 6V adapter if they want to make D cells usable.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

ZMZ67 said:

I like that they included the option of using 2 or 4 batteries but in lantern size lights I would rather use the 6V battery. Since the 6V and 9V batteries use sub-cells(D or F for the 6V) the leaks seem to stay contained better IME.6V and 9V are the only alkalines I use regularly in flashlights.While this could be a decent light for the average consumer dead set on using common cells I don't like it nearly as well as the Eveready 1D in that role.Credit to Eveready for putting some thought into this light but I would rather see the Dolphin design and a 4D to 6V adapter if they want to make D cells usable.

Click to expand...

Many thanks for the thoughts.

I went the other way - carbon zinc 6V lantern batteries are about $2.25, alkaline about $6.50 -
D cells are much cheaper to run.

But the D to 6V lantern adapters are no longer that common and have become quite expensive -
RayOVac used to have this:


There is even a MIL-Spec unknown brand:


BUT they are $12 and up -
that is more than the cost of 2 LED lanterns with batteries.

That's why I like this ReadyFlex so much -
but I agree with you I prefer those Eveready 1D for their cost, runtime on single D cell, and their beam profile.

Yes, of course I have several incandescent lanterns - which I could replace with LED PR2s - about $2.50 off eBay.

Combine that with the D to lantern adapter is about $14.50 - just to salvage the old incand lantern bodies
That's about the cost of 3x LED lanterns with batteries - doesn't work for me economically -
I'll just donate the incand lanterns to GoodWill - if they'll take them.

Thanks

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

Unfortunately incan lanterns generally require negative polarity so finding PR base leds isn't easy. Maybe I will take a look at those LED PR2s on eBay if the are negative polarity. Energizer had a version of the Eveready Dolphin that I like at Wal-Mart for a while and I bought plenty of those so I am in good shape in the LED lantern department anyway.

Hard to understand why the 4D to 6V adapters are selling for so much. They must be out of production but that seems odd since 6V lanterns are still pretty common.

As much as I like my higher end lights I still appreciate the low cost consumer lights when they are well designed like the 1D or the Readyflex.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

ZMZ67 said:

Unfortunately incan lanterns generally require negative polarity so finding PR base leds isn't easy.

Click to expand...

Ah! Thank you!! (and a big dOH!)
that's why the LED PR2 bulbs didn't work in some of my incand lanterns!!!
I thought it was just me being clumsy fingered and not being able to attach those wires!

Thanks ,

PS - I just found the Eveready Dolphin lantern (link)

listed on DolphinTorches.com, from that name I looked, and they say:

Heritage
Did you know? Over 45 years, more than 20 million Dolphin torches have been sold in Australia and New Zealand.

Click to expand...

and they are now on the Mk7 model of the Dolphin lantern - this page lists the lantern versions
200 Lumens (twice as bright as previous MK6 LED model)
65 hours run time
200m + beam distance

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

There was a recent post in the budget light section on that 4LED Dolphin but unfortunately it is not available in the U.S. AFAIK. The Dolphin clones I have use a single LED and are similar to the Mk 6. There are a couple threads on the Dolphin and being a fan I was aware of some of the history.I really wish that Eveready/Energizer would continue with the Dolphin design here in the U.S. but it seems to appear and disappear from time to time in the American market.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

I have one of these (red colored); I like the option to use 2 or 4 D cells but I am sorry to say that's about all. Construction is cheap (even for a "cheap" light) - I find that the little contacts are easily bent and sometimes need to be bent back into shape before the light will turn on. And the reflector is a real mess......why don't they make a full sized deep reflector that throws like the old incan lanterns? The beam on mine has all the rings of Saturn and is very blueberry colored. If they won't make a proper reflector, why make one so big? I have some doubt that mine is really 50 lumens, though that is what it said on the package, just doesn't look that bright to me. I think the blue $3 6 Volt Rayovac lantern that I have is rated at 75 lumens and seems a little better constructed and I would choose it over the readyflex. Just my 2 cents.

Anyway, thanks much for the review.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

I don't understand that stupid design. Why have they done those huge heads when reflector itself takes 1/4 of the total area?!

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

xxo said:

I have one of these (red colored); I like the option to use 2 or 4 D cells but I am sorry to say that's about all. Construction is cheap (even for a "cheap" light) - I find that the little contacts are easily bent and sometimes need to be bent back into shape before the light will turn on. And the reflector is a real mess......why don't they make a full sized deep reflector that throws like the old incan lanterns? The beam on mine has all the rings of Saturn and is very blueberry colored. If they won't make a proper reflector, why make one so big? I have some doubt that mine is really 50 lumens, though that is what it said on the package, just doesn't look that bright to me. I think the blue $3 6 Volt Rayovac lantern that I have is rated at 75 lumens and seems a little better constructed and I would choose it over the readyflex. Just my 2 cents.

Anyway, thanks much for the review.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the input.

I agree with you regarding the faux size of the reflector.

However as regard the construction -
caveat I only have the common cheap (<$5) incand floating lanterns from Eveready and RayOVac -
my experience and take has been although both were serviceable, the Eveready floating lanterns were better constructed than the RayOVacs -
this ReadyFlex is about par with the Eveready floating lantern (LED version of 5109L shown in the opening post).

My 2 RayOVacs - seem to be made of expanded polythene, and flex/flimsy compared to Eveready - although as I said they were more than serviceable.


this shows the RayOVac material is thin and there is an in turned lip to the opening - whereas the ReadyFlex material is more rigid, harder and there are internal "struts".
I've enhanced the area near the switch on the RoV - this shows the handle is hollow -
the ReadyFlex internal has the dividers for the batteries but probably also serves as strengthening struts.


handles - RoV - is hollow an expansion/extension of the body - ReadyFlex has those struts.

head bezels - RoV is visibly thinner than the ReadyFlex

as for contacts - the RoV (incand) has those fiddly wires and the ReadyFlex head, once aligned, merely screws on.
(this may be unfair, as RoV LED floating lantern could be different)


switches - both RoV protrudes prominently - but I've never had any problems with accidental turn on - as the handle does protect the switch.
ReadFlex has partial recess/protection to its switch.

It's funny you should critique the construction - as I had just been thinking what would make the Dolphin lantern (apparently highly regarded) so much better than this ReadyFlex oo:?

Brightness - the claimed 50 lumens is ANSI/NEMA FL-1 rated - from my side-by-side beam shots this seems about right -
I think this ReadyFlex has been designed for throw, so it has a more concentrated intense hot spot (this might explain the faux/smaller reflector?)-
whereas in comparison the Eveready 1D spreads its light into the side-spill more - and for me makes a more useful indoors light.

Thanks,

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

I have wondered why the new high power flashlights are not produced in this design. More comfortable to hold a handle than at thick body. And such a battery holder could house 4 x 26650 cells. and the diameter of the bezel houses a large reflector! The heat dissipation had been better than the with present high output models available today.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

Swedpat said:

I have wondered why the new high power flashlights are not produced in this design. More comfortable to hold a handle than at thick body. And such a battery holder could house 4 x 26650 cells. and the diameter of the bezel houses a large reflector! The heat dissipation had been better than the with present high output models available today.

Click to expand...

This may be why some people want the Dolphin lantern -

I do realize its output isn't even in the same league as the lights you are talking about -
but to me, plastic floating lanterns in the incandescent days -
had always been the goto light that had good brightness and throw -
with reasonably long runtimes and good value for money.

But more in keeping with what you were talking about -
while CPF had the red screen false positive of deceptive site problem -
I found the CPF FB group where Tina Wu posted a throw beamshot from a 10,000 lumens handheld "search light" -




I thought the detachable handle incorporating switch was a great idea.
I'm pretty sure it's not $5(!) -
but with a low mode of 500 lumens! probably not that practical for general purpose light.....
It is waterproof to IPX-8 standard (2M underwater)
does it float ...
like an anchor?

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

My comments on the construction was not so much the plastic body but the easily bent contact (3 of them) and the cheap feeling screw on bezel ring (feels cheaper and flimsier than a jar of peanut butter). after playing around with the readyflex, it does seem to be close to 50 lumens on band new cells. Mine only runs very dim (maybe 10 lumens?) on freshly charged Eneloops in adapters, which tells me it does not like even a slight drop in Voltage......I'm thinking the carbon zinc batteries it comes with won't last long at anything near full brightness, though I am sure it would run near forever before it hit 5 lumens for the ANSI run time.


BTW this is the Rayovac floating lantern that I have:

http://www.rayovac.com/lights/general-purpose-lights/6v-economy-floating-lantern.aspx


....nothing to write home about to be sure, but considering you can get one for around $3 with a 6 Volt carbon zinc battery, it's not too bad of a deal for the price.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

xxo said:

My comments on the construction was not so much the plastic body but the easily bent contact (3 of them) and the cheap feeling screw on bezel ring (feels cheaper and flimsier than a jar of peanut butter).

Click to expand...

Thanks

I'm pretty sure the head bezel is a bit more substantial than a peanut butter jar lid, which I have not thought as flimsy.


it looks more than 3.5mm (1/8") thick - when I first saw it, I wondered why it had to be that thick as my other cheapo lantern head bezels weren't -
then I put it down to perhaps it was because of the larger size/diameter.

xxo said:

BTW this is the Rayovac floating lantern that I have:
http://www.rayovac.com/lights/general-purpose-lights/6v-economy-floating-lantern.aspx
....nothing to write home about to be sure, but considering you can get one for around $3 with a 6 Volt carbon zinc battery, it's not too bad of a deal for the price.

Click to expand...

Thanks, yes, I've seen that,

Unfortunately on the second user review on the link you provided -

Ninerock1 . a month ago
Don't drop it
I had mine for over a year. Did not use it much. It mostly hang in the kitchen. My 10 year old son dropped it and it never worked again after that. I changed the bulb and batteries. That did not fix it.
✘ No, I do not recommend this product.

Click to expand...

RoV does have an LED version that has pretty good specs of 85 lumens, 45 hours, 125m throw -
it uses 10 LEDs with individual reflectors -

might check it out -
but it is still using the 6V lantern battery -
I prefer the ability to run on D or other more common cells.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

UnknownVT said:

Thanks

I'm pretty sure the head bezel is a bit more substantial than a peanut butter jar lid, which I have not thought as flimsy.

it looks more than 3.5mm (1/8") thick - when I first saw it, I wondered why it had to be that thick as my other cheapo lantern head bezels weren't -
then I put it down to perhaps it was because of the larger size/diameter.


Thanks, yes, I've seen that,

been waiting for RoV to make a 1 LED version (RoV has a 10 LED version not sure if it's a flood light or thrower).
Unfortunately on the second user review on the link you provided -

Click to expand...

The bezel on mine feels very cheap/loose fitting.....seems like it might pop off if it was dropped.


The ROV is one of those cheap lights you basically get for free for the price of a battery, if it outlives the battery it has basically served it's purpose. I'm thinking the one the kid dropped probably bent something inside that caused it to lose contact....pretty sure the same thing would happen with the eveready as mine did without even dropping it just changing the batteries (would not come on until I bent the contacts slightly). I have seen many complaints of much more expensive lights killed off by drops/ use by kids, so no big surprise that it can happen to a $3 plastic light with a big 6 Volt battery inside. It is interesting that most of the bad reviews seem to be related to the lack of instructions telling people that they need to take the plastic protector off of the battery before you can use it in the light!


Still I was hoping that ROV brought out a single LED version of this light - with 6 Volts, it could drive a small LED to full brightness and the deep/full size reflector should give it decent throw.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

xxo said:

Still I was hoping that ROV brought out a single LED version of this light - with 6 Volts, it could drive a small LED to full brightness and the deep/full size reflector should give it decent throw.

Click to expand...

I've been editing my post you just replied to - I've added the 10 LED RoV lantern

There is a Lowes listing for a 35 lumens single LED RoV lantern - Model # EFL6V-BLW
their pic -

using their 360 rotation


Searching on the Model # EFL6V-BLW seems to show mostly non-US - the only obvious US listing was the Lowes listing -
perhaps it is either discontinued, or only sold abroad?

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

UnknownVT said:

I've been editing my post you just replied to - I've added the 10 LED RoV lantern

There is a Lowes listing for a 35 lumens single LED RoV lantern - Model # EFL6V-BLW
their pic -

using their 360 rotation

Searching on the Model # EFL6V-BLW seems to show mostly non-US - the only obvious US listing was the Lowes listing -
perhaps it is either discontinued, or only sold abroad?

Click to expand...

That looks real good, pretty much exactly what I was thinking of except it's only listed at 35 lumens and 150 Meters of throw (I was hoping for around 100 or more lumens and 300 + meters of throw) - will have to pick one up the next time I am at Lowes.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

xxo said:

That looks real good, pretty much exactly what I was thinking of except it's only listed at 35 lumens and 150 Meters of throw (I was hoping for around 100 or more lumens and 300 + meters of throw) - will have to pick one up the next time I am at Lowes.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately using the link Lowes listing none of my local Lowes appear to have it available for pick up -
hopefully your local Lowe may actually have it - so you can see before you buy.

I'm being pedantic/cautious because doing a search on the Model # EFL6V-BLW -
(1) doesn't seem to turn up other US listings
(2) other US listings show the 75 lumen incandescent model
(3) the right item listing all seem to be non-US.

Good luck.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

The lowes by me supposedly have them in stock according to the lowes site, weather or not they really have them in the store, we shall see. If not it may be possible to order one site to store?

Hopefully they do exist and are just new......should be the case considering there are some reviews on the lowes site.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

xxo said:

The lowes by me supposedly have them in stock according to the lowes site, weather or not they really have them in the store, we shall see. If not it may be possible to order one site to store?

Hopefully they do exist and are just new......should be the case considering there are some reviews on the lowes site.

Click to expand...

Cool!:thumbsup: Please do let us know about it.

Re: REVIEW - Eveready ReadyFlex Floating Lantern (EVFL45SH)

xxo said:

... after playing around with the readyflex, it does seem to be close to 50 lumens on band new cells. Mine only runs very dim (maybe 10 lumens?) on freshly charged Eneloops in adapters, which tells me it does not like even a slight drop in Voltage......I'm thinking the carbon zinc batteries it comes with won't last long at anything near full brightness, though I am sure it would run near forever before it hit 5 lumens for the ANSI run time. ...

Click to expand...

I wanted to check the lower voltage brightness.

Using AA to D adapter and compared to Eveready 5109L 3led floating lantern using 6V carbon zinc lantern battery (ANSI FL-1 rated at 25lumens)

Duracell Ion-Core AA (re-badged Eneloop Pro/XX) fully charged a few months ago -
open circuit resting voltage = 1.35V

this is pretty obviously not very bright.

DuraLoop AA (re-badged eneloop) freshly charged
open circuit resting voltage = 1.47V

this is reasonably "respectable" brightness -

The 1.47V Duraloop shots look about in the same ballpark as using the supplied "Super Heavy Duty" carbon zinc D cells
open circuit resting voltage = 1.62V
to be scrupulous - I have just re-taken these at the same time as the NiMH AA shots (I included the D battery in the shot to distinguish from the ones in the opening post) -


BUT bear in mind those were freshly charged DuraLoop/eneloops reputed to maintain a higher voltage under load ...
using 1 AA to D adapters this level of brightness is unlikely to be maintained for long.

However there are 3AA to D adapters (in parallel) -

perhaps those would maintain reasonable brightness for longer?

but we're now straying a bit from the whole point (for me) of this lantern -
it is inexpensive and seems to be bright and has pretty long runtime on just about the cheapest carbon zinc D cells -

3 for $1 at a local $ store -