I was going to say that I'm looking for advice on the best flashlight and battery for infrequent use. I'm really looking for something that is not very expensive but that is reliable, especially when it's not used that often. I'm amending this query to include anything that can be a portable light source but that is very ease to use and store, but that when the lights go out, or when stuck in the car, it's going to work, even if it hasn't in a long time.

Recommendations?

_________________
[url=http:happyfic.blogspot.com]Orry's Orations[/url]

What's your price range, and light output requirements?

CR-123 batteries are rated for YEARS in storage (same as in a flashlight). Look for a flashlight that's built on these (Surefire makes great ones, but look to spend over $100) for long term storage.

I just recently purchased a Surefire 6PL- it cost about $100, but as coyotehunter already said, the batteries that it runs on are optimized for a long shelf life. Plus, 12 hours of use is what it's rated for, at around 85 lumens (brighter than a D-cell maglite). All of this in a flashlight that is less than 4 inches long.

_________________
http://gaian.com/leadership_presence.htm
http://gaian.com/using_a_coach.htm
http://gaian.com/transformational_leadership.htm

While I have two Surefire lights, I'm going to guess that those are not within the price range of the original poster. That said, I would suggest one of those hand crank flashlight/radio/cell phone all-in-one chargers. But don't get the cheap ones. Spend the $25 (or $49 for a two pack) of the duracell brand ones from Amazon. You will never have to worry about batteries regardless of how infrequent you use the light and a quick 60 seconds of cranking will power the light for over twenty minutes. Plus the light uses LED illumination so it's quite bright. It's also got a USB port to charge cell phones (with several different adapters included).

All crank LED lights I previously used (including the Dynamo Illuminator and Garrity Power Lite) have an inherent problem: they contain very wimpy internal rechargeable cells. As a result, you can easily over-charge those cells, causing permanent damage and shorten their life span.

Why? From the user's point of view, you want to charge up the battery very quickly (such that one minute of winding can give 30 minutes of light). But from the battery's point of view, charging at such a high rate (30X) can be murderous - especially since the user has no way to know when the battery is fully charged.

The Duracell Crank Light solved this problem by giving it a much larger capacity rechargeable battery. It contains three 300mAh NiMH cells. In comparison, the Illuminator only contains a single 36mAh Lithium-ion cell, and the Garrity contains 3x 80mAh NiMH cells. Once fully recharged, this 300mAh battery pack can power the LED flash for more than three hours!

Of course, it takes a lot more cranking to charge up a 300mAh battery, because now you are charging it at 'only' 6-8X instead of 30X. Fortunately, you don't have to fully recharge the internal battery before using it. Just crank it for one minute and you'll get 30 minutes of light from it, as advertised. The slower charging rate also makes it less likely for you to damage the cells by over-charging.

If you want to fully recharge the internal battery, the best way is to use the provided cable to connect the 'DC in' port (see my 'Customer Image') to the USB port of your computer. It takes about 10 hours because the charging is very gentle at 0.1X (30mA).

Conversely, you can also use the 'USB out' port on the crank light to recharge your cell phone (provided it has the correct DC input port) or to power a USB battery charger. But beware: the 'USB out' power is only available when you are cranking the handle, and you may need to crank for 10 minutes just for 1-2 minute of talk time.

Finally, this Duracell crank light also has a built-in AM/FM/WB (weather band) radio. But even as just a LED flash light, it is already worth the price.

http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-Crank-Light-Flashlight-Charger/dp/B000SE6LF6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1232161808&sr=1-1

_________________
If it's in your pack, but you don't know how to use it...it's useless. So, always test your skills as a form of preparation...Don't wait until your life depends on it. That's a lesson you don't want to learn the hard way.

What's the light output on that guy? Most of the ones I've got my mittens on were horrible.

It's no Surefire but it's pretty good...it has 3 LED lights...it's bright enough for emergency use....

_________________
If it's in your pack, but you don't know how to use it...it's useless. So, always test your skills as a form of preparation...Don't wait until your life depends on it. That's a lesson you don't want to learn the hard way.

That's cool that it has a USB charger port- first one I've seen that does USB. Just think- you can charge your iPod and your cell phone at the same time. Just might have to grab me one of those next birthday!

I have a cheap wind up model that I got for like $5- it works just fine for me. It's nice to find keys, etc in the dark. Plus, I use it for camping so that I can find my other stuff (like my larger flashlights).

_________________
http://www.envisiongloballeadership.com ... ining.html

The Duracell ones work nice. A buddy of mine has one and I really think the work better than the cheaper wind up lights.