ThorFire Solar Hand Crank Flashlight

Very satisfying piece of gear. This is my favorite "go to" flashlight. I like everything about it: the way it fits in one's hand, the fact that it works from either solar or hand crank power. It is said to be waterproof but I have not tested that out yet. This is brighter than my Eveready "PMZH21" model which takes two AA batteries and says it is 1,000 Lumens. The Eveready sometimes works and sometimes does not, depending on its mood. This Thor Fire ALWAYS works and is more powerful than the Eveready when used in the two-bulb mode. But one bulb is sufficient for most household uses. Outdoors, camping or for emergency use in the car this flashlight excels for what it was designed for. That would be normal use lighting up very brightly whatever you might be working on in your vehicle or tent and around the camp. BUT it is not a super high power mega lumens flashlight like my 1200 Lumens Bexel. But for a daily user without ever having to worry about running out of batteries and a very reliable glovebox flashlight that does have a third mode: Emergency flasher and it is very bright flashing all three bulbs.I love the thing and you will too. Now, after about a year, this thing still gets used all the time and works like a charm keeping the battery charged with hand cranking. I put it out in the sun once in a while but it's alway ready to use. It's quite the cool-looking item and people stop me on the street to inquire about it. Now all my relatives want one, too. So having bought this is starting to get expensive!

I purchased this for my bug out bag for a just in case I run out of batteries and power situation. It's a good quality plastic and bright enough to use for most needs. I was interested in checking out the charging capability as I have had other items with solar and crank charging that didn't work well. It performs as well or better than advertised. I assumed it was fully charged on receipt and says it lights for 4 hours w/3 LEDs. At 3.5 hours it was still lit but dim, but it still illuminated enough that I could go into a dark bathroom and read with it after 5 hours. I ran it completely dead. It documents that after 1 minute of cranking you get 1 hour w/3 LEDs. I got an hour but it was pretty dim after 30 min. Good news is if you crank it just a couple of times you get full illumination for another 5 min. Very little effort and much return. Lastly I tried solar. I let it go dead again and (I live in AZ) put it in the sun for 1 hour. Per the documentation at 1 hour of sun you get 90 minutes w/3 LEDs. I got about 2 hours of good illumination and there was still light after 5 hours. I would say this is a very successful and useful product. My only gripe is that there is no battery indicator showing the level of charge or even indicating fully charged. But if I was stuck in a cave, I would rather have this than a battery running down (bottom line!).

Nice flashlight without the worry of batteries going dead. The Solar charging seems to work well, although there's no indication that the unit is actually charging like some other similar products have. Having the hand crank provides a secondary method of charging the flashlight which I love. The unit is made of plastic, but actually has a high quality feel to it. This is one of the rare instances where an instruction sheet is actually included. You gotta love their description of the "Working Principle: This product adopts the principle of cranking for power by three phase alternator...". Wow! 3-phase is massive...although it's the "principle" that counts. Personally, I was kind of disappointed by the lack of brightness, but that's a trade-off with battery power and LED quality. The flashlight comes in a paperboard box making it easy to remove and is wrapped in a bubble wrap pouch. The instructions indicate it has an 80mAH/3.6V Ni-MH chargeable battery, so I assume it's a coin cell since many low-end solar AA rechargeable batteries are 900mAH @ 1.2V.. Although I haven't tried, it looks like the unit could be disassembled by removing a few screws...so replacing the battery may be doable. The switch goes between 4 modes: 1) Off, 2) 1 LED On, 3) 3 LEDs On, 4) Blinking LED. I've tried to include some pictures of the unit I received including the instruction sheet. And by the way...Disclaimer - I did NOT...I repeat...NOT...receive this item for my honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own based on personal experience. I really did pay US dollars for my unit at cost advertised on Amazon.

Love this flashlight. Whenever I go to use a flashlight it kills me when the batteries are dead. This solves that issue so I can keep a flashlight in the car, boat or RV and not worry about dead or corroded batteries. It has two charging methods, solar and hand crank. The hand crank is solid. At first it is a little tight to turn but over time it loosened up. It has 3 levels, 1 beam, 3 beams and blinking. I use the 1 beam and have used this in a small tent-type space. I left it on overnight. I woke up about 6 hours in and it was dim at that point, so I hand cranked it a minute and left it on. In the AM it was barely lit but still trying. Hand cranking is actually pretty easy. I am gentle with it so it will last. I rarely have to crank it since I tend to leave it out where it gets direct light (charging I presume by solar - think of it like a trickle charge). I do give it a crank when I think about it to help keep the battery topped up. But every time I grab it, it works. I think if you left it in a glove box where it could not get light, you would need to use the crank. But hey, love that you have that option. I leave it where it gets light. Pretty solidly built. Perfect size fits in your hand. I liked this so much I now have 3 of this type of flashlight. These would be good for older kids (the crank would break if smaller kids did not treat it gently). Never worry about batteries again!! Wish we had these when I was a kid camping. My Dad used to always tell us to turn off the light as we were wasting batteries. Ha ha

UPDATE: Adding a star for 5 star total, due to durability and having found uses for the low light setting. I have one of these on my desk, as I mentioned, and I found that when I need to see smaller print things, the low light button is actually more than adequate and since it's just a 1 press of the button, it's quicker to use, too. Just all sorts of little things, like searching a drawer or seeing serial #s on bills or other products I keep a record of for insurance/warranties. Just a seriously handy, versatile light. The one on my desk has been used nearly daily and has kept up well to the demand. I find that whenever I watch a video like on a friend's page, I just pick it up and crank and that couple of minutes charging keeps the light bright. -------------------------------------- Original review: These things are pretty good. We have 2 now and plan on getting more. The best thing is, for us, that they require no batteries. Hand crank or solar charge are the only truly reliable things, for an object that may sit on a shelf for years before needed. I find the crank to be easy to use, I like that it tucks away when not needed. The charge will last as long as you cranked, of course, but I find I really don't have to crank often. (Haven't yet used the solar option) I gave it 4 stars for a combined reason: 1. The 'low' setting is fairly useless. I suppose one might use it if they're trying to save power, but with a solar/crank source, why? 2. I'm not a fan of having to cycle thru all the functions from one button. (However! If that's part of what kept the price down, I'll deal with it) 3. There's no real flange on the crank to pull it out of the storage position. It's easy enough if you have nails, but I don't always. Edit: We now have 4 - these were originally for emergency use, but I'm finding I use them a LOT. I had once wanted to add lights to all my closets, cuz they're all deep or wide or both, and very hard to see into, but til then I started using these flashlights and now I put closet lights way down the to-do list and may drop them altogether. Also use one on my desk to see small print (1 thing is series dates on bills - I use WheresGeorge.com and enjoy it a lot ;) We live in the mountains so power goes off fairly often, and we also use them at nite in the side yard when the dogs go out (cuz we have bears/coyotes/elk/etc. Side yard is smaller than the 1/4 acre upper yard, where they really wouldn't do well, if that gives you an idea of power). Put 1 on the coffee table during a nite power outage and you can see your way to every wall (and it's a great room-style, and few windows all with awnings so no ambient light) And these are sturdy! Already dropped them on laminate floor several times and no problems. Nice slot at the top for a lanyard, too. Let me mention again how really comfy and easy the crank is to use, and tucks away perfectly. Gonna getting even more of these, cuz they're going to be seriously useful in a real emergency. The more powerful a light, the heavier it is. These things are, imo, a great amount of light for the size/weight. Fits perfect in hand (I don't care for head lamps, for several reasons), is plenty bright enough for normal stuff, and is light enough you don't wear yourself out just lighting your way. Oh, and the crank itself is fairly quiet, which is somt that might be needed. Ya never know.

It's OK, but it's just OK. Nothing fantastic. It seems sturdy enough, but I don't like the overall design, especially on the side edge. To me, It feels like a half-finished industrial product, or some parts missing even though it's not. The maker should come up with a more attractive design. But, the flashlight works decently enough. It's not super bright or anything. If you were expecting super brightness, you will be disappointed. It's bright enough for emergency use in confined spaces. Just don't expect to use it like a search light in a field. The selling point would be that you don't have to depend on having to charge the battery because you can always crank it for emergency.

I have several of these lights and I have given them as gifts to family/friends. I own a zillion flashlights but I use these as backups and short-term use lights. I keep one in each vehicle, one in my bedside table, one in the kitchen and one in the barn. Yesterday, June 19, 2017, the Memphis/Bartlett area had a power outage that lasted over 12 hours. This light worked great. One minute of cranking and I had more than enough light for most activities (going to the kitchen, the bathroom, etc.) without the need to use battery operated lights. The solar charging on all my lights recharges the batteries well (one doesn't charge as well as the others). Solar charging is best. It gives a stronger light for a fairly long period of time. I regularly solar charge all my lights once every couple of months. I recharge the one in my bedroom at least once a week because I use it frequently. Solar charging really cuts down on the need for cranking. Does one minute of cranking give an hour of light? On LOW, that one minute of cranking produced about five minutes of consistent quality light. By fifteen minutes, the LEDs were still active but the amount of light had severely deteriorated. However, there was sufficient light for me to read and maneuver around the house in total darkness. This weak, lingering light was maintained for hours. So, on LOW, expect about ten minutes of decent light from one minute of cranking. What I like best about this light? It always works, no matter what.

I bought one of these and I love the light because it’s very very similar to my yellow colored hand crank flashlight made by SECUR. They seem to be identical and I mean identical, down to the screw pattern, the solar cell, the crank handle shape, everything except for the color. But I did notice two differences: 1) either the Thor has a more powerful LED or my SECUR (which is about seven years old) has a weak battery; 2) the problem I had with the Thor was that after about 100 or so cranks it would “freewheel”, meaning the gears weren’t catching inside the unit. Seconds later, when I stopped cranking and then started again, the gears seemed to alternately free-wheel and then re-engage. So I returned the Thor to Amazon and I just ordered two more Thor flashlights. I’ve since received them and both work great so my bad one must have been a one-off. Both the Thor and the SECUR are built like tanks and appear to be very high-quality. I give it a 5-star.