Dorcy 41-4237 Camping Backpack LED Flashlight with Hanging Hook Review

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Apparently this product has changed since it was first listed, despite the site description. It no longer has a magnet to hang the light up. The only way to attach this is with the hanging hook. This makes it much more difficult to actually attach to a tent. I've uploaded a picture of the new packaging so that you can get a good idea of what you will actually be getting. The light itself is perfect in size and brightness, but with only a hook to attach it with, it is too limited to be useful.

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I bought this light but not for its intended purpose. I bought this light as a nightstand light; regular lights were too bright if you needed to wake up in the middle of the night and go pee, but didn't want to bust your toe on the bed or something. Flipping the room light on wasn't an option because it would wake my wife up; the regular nightstand light was still too bright; so my working theory was that I wanted something compact, small, gave a radial light, and something I was able to turn on by tactile feel, instead of fumbling around in the dark for a switch. This light fit that requirement to a T. Was it super bright? Nope, but I didn't want super bright. The semi-spherical dome provided exactly what I wanted, a good radial light that was bright enough to help me navigate from my bed to the bathroom and back, without blinding me.

So I thought I had found the perfect use for the perfect little light..

UNTIL... I had a newborn baby.

When you have a newborn, this is when this little light really shined. In the middle of the night, when the baby is crying, you reach over, grab this light, click it on, and use it as a flashlight to see why the baby is crying. If the diaper is wet, then you set the light down next to their butt, and change their diaper; this light provided just enough light to change diapers by. Previously, we had used a regular flashlight with my older daughter, and it was either too bright, or else you couldn't get it to point where you wanted/needed the light. This light with its omni-directional lighting and compact size allowed you to move it next to the diaper for a diaper change, move it next to their head if you needed to suck out snot, without being so bright that it blinded the baby to the point they started crying like most of my flashlights did. It doesn't "roll" around like a flashlight either; so if you put the baby on the bed to change them, the light stays put.

I had bought and tried one of those tap-lights, and it was big, cumbersome, and my daughter broke it the first day we got it. This light is tough, well made, and very portable. I've not used it for its intended purpose as a tent light, I suspect it's way too dim; but as a nightstand light, it is unmatched. As a portable baby light, it's unmatched. I ordered a second one.

I'd give it 6 stars if I could. My wife and I absolutely love this thing. As the batteries get weaker, the light gets dimmer and dimmer, but still usable. I recommend looking on amazon to find rechargeable batteries, I got a deal that was a 4 pack of AAA, but included 2 free, which was perfect. This thing uses 3 AAA's, so I charge all 6, put three in, and rotate them 3 at a time.

The construction is solid, it comes with a built-in hook, and a steel plate that attaches to the magnetic bottom of the unit. My daughter has dropped it hundreds of times from the nightstand, it takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.

As a tent light, I'd probably give it like 3 stars, as a nightstand light, 5 stars. As a newborn baby light, 6 stars.

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The light is well made and thoughtful in design. You can hang it on a tent through a flip top arc or you can attach it to a metal that sticks to magnet. The size is small and takes 3 AAA batteries. The color is dark green and black so you know what you are getting. Overall a nice light but you will likely need extra lights besides this if you want clarity of view within the tent.

Honest reviews on Dorcy 41-4237 Camping Backpack LED Flashlight with Hanging Hook

This handy little tent light is nice and bright despite being almost as small as an apple or orange. It was extremely valuable while camping with a 5and 10-year old who wanted a significant amount of light hanging in the tent while they fell asleep/read. Being so small, it barely took up any room and was easy to hang from the top of the tent. The lanterns I've camped with previously are too big or too much of a fire hazard to bring into the tent, so again this light was invaluable while camping with kids.

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Instead of lighting a tent, I purchased this light for miscellaneous uses around the house. I am a big fan of LED lights for their energy efficiency (long run time on batteries) and because they stay cool to the touch.

Although I have several other LED lights already, I thought this would be a useful portable light for moving around the garage for the task at hand. The listing says it "Includes strong magnet and metal plate", but the one I received does not have one. So instead, I currently have it hanging under the desk to navigate the electronic cables and AC adapters. Of course this multi-purpose light can be useful for all sorts of applications. But the hanging hook makes it a lot more adaptable.

As a bonus, it comes with three AAA batteries which installed easily.

The instructions say that you should not look directly at the light, otherwise eye damage may occur. I think an improvement to prevent this issue would be to use a translucent dome instead of a clear one.

This is a handy portable light that I'd recommend for small spaces or "lite" lighting needs.

PROS:

Includes a handy folding hanging hook.

Comes with three AAA batteries that are easy to install.

Good for lighting small spaces or when you don't need lots of light.

CONS:

A transluscent dome would be better than the clear one.

The light is missing the magnet that is noted in the listing details.