Hard on the heels of our SureFire Aviator review – the ultimate “illumination tool” for pilots, we now present the Pak-Lite 9V LED flashlight.

It’s completely at the other end of the spectrum in size and price and that’s a great thing.

This is an incredible handy light but before you order a dozen, let’s shed some more light on the little critter.

Flashlights need to be everywhere. You can’t have just one.

I’ve got them everywhere around the house, in the car, in my flight bag, on my key rings.

I’ve got one-milers, keyhole finders and everything in between.

And I use them all.

The Pak-Lite has been developed for hikers who wanted a very lightweight, reliable and loooong-lasting flashlight. When daylight has run out on you there’s probably still a lot that you need to do before someone shouts: “Lights Out!”

But it’s not just hikers who would be interested in the qualities of the Pak-Lite which simply clicks on any 9V battery to give hundreds and hundreds of hours of burn time.

How much time exactly?

Let’s first look at the design of the Pak-Lite which incorporates 2 LEDs with a switch that has a Low-Off-High setting, going from left to right.

The switch is not easy to engage accidentally. That’s a good point, of course, but with run times of a minimum of 2 to 50 days (depending on battery type and setting) it’s almost a moot point.

Standard 9V batteries will give you 400 hours on the low setting or 50 hours on high.

An alkaline battery – as supplied with this Pak-Lite –stretches this to 600 and 75 hours respectively.

A 9V lithium is king of the hill here with not only a much longer shelf life but a magnificent 1200 hours reading in bed or 200 hours trekking in the dark!

Ah, don’t worry about packing a spare bulb either as you would with normal flashlights. These LEDs have a life of some 100,000 hours and it seems that this little switch has also been tested up to that magic number.

I’m sure you’ll forgive me for not testing out the Pak-Lite on these endurance feats…

High Setting

Low Setting

Any downsides to this very practical light?

Perhaps price. At USD24 it’s not cheap but what price for reliability?

It’s probably not as comfortable to hold in your hand for long times, being squarish and a bit slippery but at the same time it’s easy to fix somewhere. There’s even a headband light holder available for 9 bucks for handsfree operation.

Frankly, there is a real downside to falling in love with this little gem.

There are so many uses for it that you’ll end up buying at least half a dozen.

Even if you are not adventurous enough to trek for days along nature trails you’ll still needs some emergency lights around the place. I was going to chuck this one in my flight bag as part of my survival kit but my wife would really appreciate one in her hand bag.

Oh well, I just might have to ask Vic at Pak-Lite to send me the whole range for testing next time… J

That’s right, folks: Pak-Lites come in different colours for different applications.

We tested the standard white ones but backpackers might also benefit from a yellow light which doesn’t attract any mozzies and other bugs

Then there is the red light – great for cockpit illumination on night flights where you don’t want to ruin you night vision.

If you’re in the military you might want to have an infrared unit which will work with your night vision equipment and if you’re in forensics and want to spot counterfeit dough, the ultra-violet unit is your partner.

Completing the colours of the rainbow are the blue, orange and green units, all with matching caps.

Check out their website: www.9voltlight.com where you can place your order.

I think there still may be some opportunities for distributors in several parts of the world.

Contact Vic Henry at vic@pak-lite.net if you would be interested.