16 March 2008

Portable Tripod Flashlights: Small, Useful, Multipurposed

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16/03/08 - Portable Tripod Flashlights: Small, Useful, Multipurposed

I must have half-a-dozen flashlights I use for work. When I travel I often end up with two or three in my bags. One is a Maglite MiniMag with rear-button switch and LED bulb (rather than the normal twist-on type with standard bulb), another is the Maglite Solitaire keychain sized MagLite that is attached to the inside of my waist pack, usually attached to my ThinkTank PeeWee Pocket Rocket CF card wallet, and a third is the Stanley MiniTripod Flashlight.

The Stanley MiniTripod Flashlight looks like a toy. Out of the box this flashlight has a keychain at the end of the center post, I have sawed the end of this center post off, at the bottom of the first "leg holder" section. By removing the lower half of the center post I find I can spread the legs of the tripod further and make the flashlight more stable.

This is a truly compact flashlight. I use it when working in the dark and I need two hands to work. With a flashlight head that can be rotated 90-degrees I am able to aim the light at tripod I am setting up in the dark, working on setting up strobes in the dark, packing my gear into a Pelican Case or other dark bag in darkness. I also find this flashlight useful on a plane at night. My Apple MacBook is black, and the keys on the MacBook do not light up, so I prop up this little flashlight on the meal-tray and aim it at the keys to give me some light for typing.

I used to hold a flash light in my mouth, but that is not ideal, the Stanley MiniTripod Flashlight with it's bright LED bulbs, at US$5.00, is perfect for these situations.

Below is a photo of the Stanley MiniTripod Flashlight on, and with a Canon rear lens cap to show the very compact size of the light.

Happy Flying!

--Click Images To Enlarge Them--

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

For real versatility try the Petzl head-mounted lights. The E+Lite is extremely light and easy to pack.

Yeah, you'll look a bit nerdy but at least the light goes where you need it.