Inova Seems To Be FULL Of Bright Ideas
Written: Mar 18 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Multiple modes for all occasions.
Cons: Not cheap. CR123 batteries aren't cheap, either. LED holes gather dust.
The Bottom Line: Need lights? Inova has one for you.
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| caradoc's Full Review: Inova 24/7 SmartBright |
Several of my friends have become aware of my penchant for LED-based flashlights, and so I got a few interesting gifts over the holidays...
The Inova 24/7 SmartBright is another nice LED flashlight to accompany my X5 and her X1.
An oddly-shaped piece of high-impact plastic, the SmartBright consists of an octagonal bezel surrounding eight LEDs: four white, two amber, and two red. Below the bezel is a battery compartment that holds one CR123 3-volt lithium cell.
On the back of the light is a steel clip, just perfect for fastening the light to a lapel or epaulet.
As you rotate the bezel surrounding the LEDs, you can choose one of nine modes for the light:
1) Low white, but enough light to read with
2) Bright white. BRIGHT. Stunningly bright.
3) Strobe, blinks white about once a second or so.
4) SOS, blinks bright white Morse Code for "SOS".
5) "Distress" mode flashes white, amber, and red LEDs - my friends call this "rave mode" or "disco mode" depending on their ages...
6) "Warning" mode does a cross-fade from red to amber and back.
7) Plain red light, retains night vision for astronomers and other people who need to keep their "dark" vision acclimated.
8) Setting the bezel between any two modes flashes the red LEDs about once every five seconds. This makes the light easy to find in a dark tent, or at the bottom of a gear bag.
9) Off
The SmartBright itself seems to be very well constructed, with rubber caps over both sides of the battery compartment. I've dropped it, tossed it in a gear bag, and generally abused it, and I've not noticed any damage at all.
One thing I have noticed, though, is that the recessed holes for the LEDs are dust magnets. After leaving the flashlight in my pocket for a while, I noticed that it seemed to be a bit dimmer. On closer inspection, the LED holes were simply filled with dust and pocket lint. Filling the holes with clear plastic, or allowing the LEDs to protrude slightly would prevent them from becoming covered like that.
The SmartBright comes with a neck lanyard. Unfortunately, the way that the clip fastens to it puts the flashlight's center of gravity in the wrong place, and when I wore it around my neck, the light pointed slightly above the horizon - not on the level, or at the ground where I might want to watch where I'm walking. Fastening the clip to my shirt pocket pointed the light at the clipboard I was holding (right where I needed it) as the pocket sagged just a bit.
The light will also stand up by itself, or lie flat. An accessory kit is available that includes a magnetic mount with swivel to let you aim the light (like sticking it to the body of the car right over the wheel well, and aiming down so you can keep track of the lug nuts while changing the tire at night), several permanently mountable brackets to clip the light to, and a headband to fasten the light to your head. The permanent brackets are more for storing the light in convenient locations than to make it usable - the brackets can't be aimed at all.
At $40 retail, it's not a cheap light. Nor is it a toy - this is a serious piece of hardware, designed to be a "failsafe" light for people who do things like spelunking, crawling through cable trunks, or sneaking through the night and blowing things up. (I've heard rumors to the effect that certain models of the SmartBright are being used as "targeting beacons" by replacing some LED colors with infrared, but these are just rumors.)
The bright yellow case is hard to miss. I own the "other" version, in olive drab, but all of the functions are identical for both colors I've seen for sale.
If you travel a lot, or work in close quarters, it couldn't hurt to carry one of these with you. It's a good light source, and it could be just the thing you need if you find yourself somewhere in the dark.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
caradoc
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Member: John Groseclose
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Reviews written: 182
Trusted by: 133 members
About Me:
System admin, technology addict, knife thrower, and dog "caregiver."
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