Owning the best hand crank flashlight & lantern is a necessity these days. When the power goes out unexpectedly and you are out of candles, having the best crank flashlight can literally be nothing less than a savior. In this post, we have reviewed the best hand crank lantern which is a great investment and won’t let you down.
Our team has tested some of the best flashlights for weeks and we have come down to the following conclusion:
Thorfire Solar Crank Flashlight is the best hand crank flashlight to invest in. create your own power with just a little elbow grease and you are good to handle a power shutdown.
Why is it the best?
Thorfire is the best crank flashlight for us and here is why we consider it to be our ultimate pick:
- Just a minute of cranking provides you with an hour of light. Isn’t that great? Just a little cranking and you get a lot of power. Amazon also loves this one as its ratings are visibly higher than a lot of other crank flashlights.
- It is super portable. This is one of the best crank flashlights because it fits within your pocket too. It means that you can carry it along with you anywhere that you go. You can also provide power in your office if an unexpected shutdown happens. You are certainly going to look cool.
- One of the best features about this flashlight is that it comes with a solar charging option. Charge it for an hour in the solar light and it will provide you with amazing power for the next 2 hours. Now that is a catch, isn’t it?
- It is also water resistant. This means that if you carry it with yourself all the time and it rains unexpectedly, then your flashlight is safe.
But What is a hand crank flashlight?
A hand crank flashlight is a mechanically powered flashlight. You simply power it up with the mechanical force which turns into electric force. And that is why with a hand crank flashlight you don’t have to worry about how much longer the battery’s gonna last.
“Energy can’t be made or destroyed”, we’ve all heard it a thousand time. So in the case of hand crank flashlight, the chemical energy (from the food we eat) converts into mechanical energy which rotates the “crank” and runs the generator to give out electrical energy which charges the flashlight.
(A crank is anything that turns the back and forth (reciprocating) motion to rotational motion)
How does it work?
To explain the working of hand crank flashlight simply, consider this above picture. We have two magnets facing each other and because they have opposite poles they are trying to come close to each other or in other words, magnetic fields are being generated.
In the center of these magnets, we can see a metal strip which has free movable electrons in it (every metal has).
When we rotate the “crank” the electrons are forced to move (because of the magnetic field), and moving electrons is electricity. This electric current charges the hand crank flashlight.
Now it’s a little complicated than that because in the best hand crank flashlights we talked about, they have a charge storing mechanism which involves a lot of transistors and capacitors. But the basic idea is this.
QOOLTEK Crank Latern (Our 2nd Choice)
Our 2nd choice is a cool looking, one of the best hand crank lantern which appears in the outlook of a lantern. This has to be one of the best hand crank lantern and the coolest one too because it comes with an FM radio. Seriously, this feature had us so impressed that we had to test it anyways. However, there are some reasons why this one is not our ultimate choice to make.
Why is it not the best?
- It is not that portable. If we look at Thorfire, we see that it fits within a pocket. However, this one does not. You need to have a hand free to carry it really well. Or, you can put it along in your bag too. But when you are camping, this one has to be carried in a hand as it does not fit into your pocket at all.
- We were not really impressed by the radio voice control. The volume control is a bit sluggish. We turned the radio all the way up but then we realized that it is too loud. But when we tried bringing the volume down; it didn’t really work that well.
Why is it still a good choice to make?
There are still a lot of reasons why this is the best hand crank lantern that you can get: - It gives off sufficient light that you would expect from a lantern. It is bright when it is full charged and you won’t be disappointed with the brightness at all.
- It offers you 4 techniques for charging and that is what made us love this one immensely. You can either hand crank it or you can charge it through daylight or just charge it with the mini USB that you get along. You can also charge it with 3 dry batteries. Thus, you have a lot of room for charging options which makes it a great pick.
- Although the volume control of the radio wasn’t very impressive but the fact that this one comes with an FM radio is more than cool to make it an attractive choice. The radio does work great and the antenna is impressive too.
- The emergency siren is also another reason to make this your choice. The siren is pretty loud to be heard in nearby or a little farther apart areas. If you are stuck somewhere, this siren might be your last hope.
As it is able to deliver the purpose for which it has been created, we think that this is one of the best hand crank lanterns to opt for.
Features
- 4 charging techniques
- 8 LED Lantern
- FM Radio
- Emergency Siren
- Emergency Charge with low conversion
- Multipurpose usage
Pros. & Cons.
PROS:
- 4 charging techniques are a major perk
- The emergency siren is great as it can be super helpful in hazardous or accidental situations
- The light it provides is fairly bright
CONS:
- Not too portable; large size
- The radio volume control is very poor; it just doesn’t seem to lower down
- The cell phone charging function or technique is not really impressive
Who is this for?
This is the best hand crank flashlight or lantern for people who are fine with carrying it around. It is not too portable because unlike the Thorfire, it doesn’t fit inside your pocket. It has to be carried in your hand so your hands need to be free. Also, if you love entertainment while you are on the go for camping or hiking etc. then the radio feature is perfect for you.
THORFIRE Solar Crank Flashlight (Our Ultimate Choice)
This is the best hand crank flashlight as it is environment-friendly and amazing energy saving too. Simply charge it in the solar light for an hour and you will get 2 hours of power. You don’t have to rely on an external power for charging it at all as you can do so during the daytime, as much as you want. It is not just your best buddy during your home’s power shut down but it is really great for people who enjoy camping and go on outdoor adventures too often. Just charge it during the day and you can camp easily at night time.
Extremely portable
What we simply adore about this absolutely best crank flashlight is that it is very portable. It is just the size of your pocket and fits in very finely. You don’t need to worry about having your hands free at all. Just slide it in your pocket and carry it anywhere you go. The portability is definitely creative and deserves appreciation too.
Features
- 1-minute hand cranking
- Solar power
- Environment-friendly
- Power saving
- IPX6 Waterproof
- Submersible for up to 45 feet
- High quality LED light bulb
- Portable
- 4 hours battery timing
- Multi-purpose
Pros. & Cons.
PROS:
- Charge it immediately with sunlight
- Waterproof
- 1-minute cranking gives you sufficient power for an hour
- Solar charging gives you 2 hours of power
- Reliable
CONS:
- No additional features
- Only one LED light bulb
Who is it for?
The Thorfire is one of the best hand crank flashlights for people who go out on camping and adventures a lot. As it is chargeable through daylight, it is easier to handle on such activities like hiking etc. also, it is water resistant which makes it easy to carry outdoors. Even if it rains; your flashlight is safe.
Verdict
We consider Thorfire Solar as the best hand crank flashlight as it stands out in performance, portability, and ease of use. You just need to crank the flashlight for a minute and you are good to go for an hour. Also, this fits right into your pocket so there is literally nothing to worry about.
Our 2nd choice to make is considered as one of the best hand crank lantern as it appears as a lantern in design. The outlook is innovative and the idea of a flashlight having a radio is also great. However, the radio volume didn’t impress us at all. We didn’t like the fact that it isn’t too portable. With the advancements reaching the heights, it would have been great if this lantern would have been smaller in size but also capable of providing the same brightness too just like the Thorfire.
We would highly recommend Thorfire as the best hand crank flashlight to buy for. Make your everyday life easier and cope up with power shutdowns easily and quickly with the best crank flashlight.
