Urban Survival Secrets

Husky Flashlight and my Son

Well, this morning my son decided to take his husky LED flashlight apart so he could make an altoids flashlight. OK. I do not know what the facination about altoids boxes are and my boys, but it got me thinking – more about that later!

The Husky LED flashlight is a compact unit made of Aluminum and is thicker than a comparable Mag Light. Mags like to keep the tube a little larger than the batteries. This one is thick with the battery caddie holding the three AAA cells in parallel. Makes for easy holding, though you would be pressed if you needed to hold it in your mouth to keep your hands free. Overall the light is well made and is gasketed for moisture resistance. When I got the lights at Home Depot, it was for christmas stocking stuffers and the lights came in a 3 pack for like $10 or near there. Each of the kids have a mag light for their kits, these were for bedside use if the power went out.

I had to re-solder the little wires that connect the battery compartment to the light housing – cheap design. The mags have contacts where soldered wires are not needed. The wires are 18 gauge multi strand and get wound up as the bezel is spun onto the houseing. Each wire is approx 2 inches long – right on the ragged edge of breaking to being tensioned. I realize that adding another inch would have increased the cost per light about 1 cent, oh well. The LED lights are bright and have a slight bluish tint. Lastly, the batteries in all units are still original. Got to watch for leaking by checking monthly. They all are good Duracells!

Overall, the lights are worth the $. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 7 because of the soldered wires. It has nice mass and is comfortable, but to obsess on the wire issues, it bothers me.

Back to the Altoids boxes. My boys are looking on the instructbles website constantly for things to do – better than video games constantly. My Middle Boy, taught himself Sweet Home Alabama the other day on the guitar. Mind you, he has never taken lessens and is borrowing the guitar from his brother.

Anyhow, how this all works together is that he decided to disassemble the flashlight (above) and use it for an Altoids unit. After stopping this, I referred him to a Popular Mechanics article from last year on making an LED candle light with a 9 volt source. So, he is drawing up the plans and I will be helping him assemble (if asked) in the next couple of days.

I also will be puttting together an Altoids Box personal emergency kit as well in the next week or so as time allows. I figure that these little boxes are tight sealing, metal and durable. Not bad for a free leftover. I will post some pics on what I have in it when I have a chance, along with the LED light and other things my family comes up with. In the mean time, Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions on what you might have in a compact kit!

Carpe Diem