A couple of recommended power preps

[fapplan]

I mentioned in a different post that we recently had a power cut one evening that lasted for approximately 4 hours. As I am new to prepping I was glad that I got the chance to use a couple of my recent prepper purchases! I just thought I'd share my experience and opinions on the wind-up radio and LED camping lantern that I used, just in case any fellow newbie preppers find the information useful.

The wind-up radio I have is the Degen DE13 - http://goo.gl/7LN36R

I chose this one as it was recommended in a post by another user on this forum. I also recommend this radio because it's very robust and is of excellent build quality for the price (I paid £16 for it). It doesn't require too much winding to get a decent amount of playback, and as well as the solar charging option there is also the option of just using normal AAA batteries. As well as a wind-up radio, it also has an LED torch with a distress beacon, a very loud siren and the option to charge phones etc via a USB port.

The LED camping lantern that I have is the Duronic 4 in 1 lantern - http://goo.gl/jcm9vf

For the money paid (£14), this is also a very robust and versatile product. As well a torch and a lantern, it is also a distress beacon and again this has the function of charging things via a USB port. One thing that I have learned after using this is to keep it charged (you can charge it via the USB port), as winding it from empty takes a long time. I think this lantern is very handy and will be adding at least one more to my preps in the near future.

I also have one of these torches - http://goo.gl/xSX6nu

I know there are a lot of torch 'enthusiasts' on this forum, and I'm sure that they would agree that in terms of value for money this torch cannot be beaten. Mine took about 3 weeks to arrive as I think it comes from the far East, but it was well worth the wait. This is another robust product (as you may be able to tell I like things that seem as though they will last for a long time), it only requires one AA battery and the light is very bright. It's also nice and small so it's easy to store in the bedside table or wherever. I will be ordering a few more of these as well because they will be handy to have in the car, at work, in the BOB etc.

I hope I haven't bored anyone to tears with these short reviews, I just thought that someone may find it useful if I recommended some useful items.

[Brambles]

Thanks for that, it's always nice to have a first hand experience review. I really like the Degen, it's just a reliable little radio. I added a wire extension ariel to it for better shortwave reception.

The lantern looks handy. How well does it light a room?

[aldhelm]

Some good items there fapplan, I got the same radio DE13 for exactly the same reason and haven't had any complaints with it at all. I bought one of those torches as well, for the price the build quality is excellent and talk about bright from a single aa battery. The only fault is it takes ages to come as it's from China. I was gutted that the missus wouldn't let me get more than one but I dare say I can sneak another one in soon enough .

[fapplan]

Thanks for that, it's always nice to have a first hand experience review. I really like the Degen, it's just a reliable little radio. I added a wire extension ariel to it for better shortwave reception.

The lantern looks handy. How well does it light a room?

That's a good idea about the extension. The lantern lights up the surrounding area very well, but I think it will be pushing it to say that it lights up a room enough to only need the one. Unfortunately I don't have any other lanterns to compare it to, so I'll try and get a picture of it at the weekend.

Some good items there fapplan, I got the same radio DE13 for exactly the same reason and haven't had any complaints with it at all. I bought one of those torches as well, for the price the build quality is excellent and talk about bright from a single aa battery. The only fault is it takes ages to come as it's from China. I was gutted that the missus wouldn't let me get more than one but I dare say I can sneak another one in soon enough .

I agree - I'll certainly be getting more. Just sneak one in - then when it arrives you can just say "Oh I ordered that AGES ago"

[Deeps]

Thanks for the reviews mate, I've got several of those wee torches, I've also just bought another 3 of these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00R ... ge_o00_s00

They take either 3 AAA or a single rechargeable 18650. I've invested in some of these and a charger, some power on them.

Your reviews have prompted me to ask, I wonder if its possible to have a review section on the forum ? Who better to get advice from than other preppers for the stuff we're talking about on here. If any of the Mods read this, is it a goer ???

[Brambles]

Thanks for the reviews mate, I've got several of those wee torches, I've also just bought another 3 of these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00R ... ge_o00_s00

They take either 3 AAA or a single rechargeable 18650. I've invested in some of these and a charger, some power on them.

Your reviews have prompted me to ask, I wonder if its possible to have a review section on the forum ? Who better to get advice from than other preppers for the stuff we're talking about on here. If any of the Mods read this, is it a goer ???

Good Idea Deeps. I'll put it to the team.

[Deeps]

Thanks for the reviews mate, I've got several of those wee torches, I've also just bought another 3 of these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00R ... ge_o00_s00

They take either 3 AAA or a single rechargeable 18650. I've invested in some of these and a charger, some power on them.

Your reviews have prompted me to ask, I wonder if its possible to have a review section on the forum ? Who better to get advice from than other preppers for the stuff we're talking about on here. If any of the Mods read this, is it a goer ???

Good Idea Deeps. I'll put it to the team.

Thanks for getting back so quick Brambles.

[fapplan]

Your reviews have prompted me to ask, I wonder if its possible to have a review section on the forum ? Who better to get advice from than other preppers for the stuff we're talking about on here. If any of the Mods read this, is it a goer ???

+1 on this. Sometimes the product reviews on other websites are not very useful because they are not from a prepper's point of view.

[BaseOne]

The LED camping lantern that I have is the Duronic 4 in 1 lantern - http://goo.gl/jcm9vf

For the money paid (£14), this is also a very robust and versatile product. As well a torch and a lantern, it is also a distress beacon and again this has the function of charging things via a USB port. One thing that I have learned after using this is to keep it charged (you can charge it via the USB port), as winding it from empty takes a long time. I think this lantern is very handy and will be adding at least one more to my preps in the near future.

I had a similar experience with the Ring Green wind-up lantern:

https://www.google.fi/search?biw=1376&b ... 344H-7Lhu0

It's not bad if charged from a power source, but manually winding it up for half an hour makes it bright enough that you can see there is a lantern in the darkness, but it's useless for lighting up the area around the lantern. A useless gimmick. We had better luck with the Freeplay wind-up radios. The winder is quite efficient and the solar panel keeps it charged anyway if the sun comes out. Both are still going strong after 3 years.