I've seen two types; crank and shake. To be honest the only ones I've found seem like junk (Wal-Mart though). The cranks are plastic and look like they could break easy, the shakes don't seem to generate much light. Any one recommend them? If so what brand/type.
for light output, a gage of comparing is lumen output. More lumens = more light. It might also be measured in candlepower. I don't know any comparisons to judge by right off hand, but the higher the number, the brighter the light. the WalMart I work at has a Coleman battery-powered LED flashlight range there, plain white and also white/red/blue LED. I've seen some bright LED flashlights before (A friend of mine was building a "lightsaber" using a polycarb tube and an LED, it was very, very intense), and LED's are way more battery-friendly than bulbs. Unless it's something for a long-term survival situation, ie bomb shelter that likely will sit still for many years, I'd just go with a battery-powered unit and keep spares for the rare just-in-case situation.
Your best off getting a multi-fuel lantern or learning to do without. In the army, we strictly practiced light discipline when in a tactical environ. It takes some conditioning, but once learned, the human eye can see in near zero illum.
yeah you dont need a light most of the time but if you plan to use it incase you are locking yourself in a punker or such I would have a small LED and then a candel lantern or something...... and then learn not to need lights....... other then that I have found the crank ones at walmart to be beter then the shake ones but it is still far from good....
