“The mPower Reserve Battery offers an unprecedented minimum shelf life of 20 years and has an immediate activation to full power. Through an intricate battery design, mPhase developed a way to eliminate power dissipation before initial activation.”

The torch uses an intense, high-performance LED, and has an accessory USB connection to charge your mobile devices. It’s slated to arrive in March, but we hope to get a better look at it at CES in January. [CNETand Yahoo News]

For $30 each, you get a torch shaped like either Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader’s lightsaber, complete with either blue or red LEDs. Both play the Lightsaber sound effects when you turn it on or off, and require three AAA batteries to work…

You know what? For $30, I don’t care if it’s not the best torch. I’m buying one anyway. Quick, where’s my wallet gone?

[Latestbuy]

I understand that it’s tough to talk about a phallic-shaped gadget and avoid any sensual talk, but the creators of the LX2 do it in such a classy way:

SureFire engineers redesigned the L2 from the ground up to create the new LX2. They first shaved three quarters of an inch from the L2’s overall length to give the LX2 a more compact 5.4-inch body. Next, the L2’s rough-knurled body was replaced by a smooth body with flutes CNC-machined into it for a smooth yet functional grip that won’t wear down clothing. Like the L2, the body is coated in Mil-Spec Type III hard anodizing, and an optically coated Borofloat® window maximizes light transmission while protecting the LED. Finally, SureFire’s proprietary reversible pocket clip was added for convenient carry-bezel up or down or even clipped to the bill of a cap.

OK, so maybe I’m the only one finding that to sound on the level of pillow talk. All things aside, it’s a solid gadget: Far more powerful than previous LED flashlights (even those that turn night into day), and it’s great to see that so much care is put into the design of a high-powered light. [SureFire]

The Price

$50

The Verdict

It’s handy, even if we’d like to see the price drop by $10.

Taking the Gorillatorch out of the box, my immediate reaction was that it was a bit smaller than I’d expected. Especially compared to their dSLR tripod, pictured here, it’s a little guy.
But the small size isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Coupled with bright light output (that will blind you head-on) and feet that will stick firmly to metal surfaces (seriously, if you twist the light, the legs flex while the feet stayed glued), it’s incredibly multifunctional. You can wrap or stick the torch almost anywhere you need some extra light.
I also loved the six-shooter style AA battery compartment.

Of course, this is an LED light. And that means it’s more of a spotlight than a warmly diffused bulb. Reading requires creative positioning to avoid the overexposed centre. Luckily, the LED is on a dimmer, so you can tweak the output pretty aggressively.

My biggest qualm is the price. For $50, I’d prefer the LED to be removable so the tripod could be used to hold a camera as well. But if you’ve got a good job, then sure, the Gorillatorch will scratch that consumer itch. [Gorillatorch]

Magnetism in feet is quite strong

Extremely high quality, flexible Gorillapod legs

Useful, dimming LED

Removable head would be welcome

Sometimes harsh spotlight output

[Maxwell]

Energizer’s latest industrial-grade flashlight will take LEDs to war…or just your next backyard camping trip.

The Energizer Hard Case Tactical Flashlight 2AA features a 70-lumen white LED, along with four additional LEDs including red, blue, green and infrared—a selection of fine lighting choices for incognito map reading or simply an impromptu infiltration disco.

Droppable from 5 metres and including a swiveling head with a range of motion of nearly 180 degrees, it’s pretty neat for a flashlight, but it’ll set you back $US125. And you can call me cheap, but I just don’t assassinate world leaders in the dead of night often enough to justify the purchase. [Popular Mechanics via Newlaunches]

The Price: $US40

The Verdict: The HydroStar SUB is one of the most supremely useful flashlights I have ever seen. The hand-crank means that it will never need batteries, and it can hold a charge surprisingly well despite having several modes. About a minute of cranking at a forearm-busting pace will generate about 45 minutes to an hour of usable light from the 1/2 watt centre LED, and nearly two hours from the side LEDs and the strobe. The laser pointer, on the other hand, will only get about 5 to 10 minutes. Still, I would not recommend detaching the hand crank because every once in a while you will need to give it another hit to keep it functionally bright.

The USB charging option is also a handy feature, although your arm would probably fall off before you fully charged an iPod. In an emergency though, you could probably stand the pain long enough to juice up a basic mobile phone to make a quick call. The whole package is fairly rugged too, so you don’t have to worry about dropping it or getting it wet. Under most situations, the SUB should come away unscathed.

The bottom line is that if you are looking for a solid, utility or emergency flashlight, the HydroStar SUB would be a great choice. It packs in far more functionality than standard flashlights, and it is maintenance-free to boot. [Seattle Sports]