I received a tactical flashlight from Survival Hax for the purpose of evaluation and review. This rather small flashlight (just over five inches long) has some big features. At first glance you might notice it’s aggressive appearance with a knurled handle for a positive grip. A focusable thousand lumen beam is located at the head while the button power-switch is located at the end. The flashlight case is constructed of aircraft grade aluminum and is crash, pressure, and water resistant.

The power is provided by interchangeable sources. The primary power source is a rechargeable 3.7 volt lithium battery and the secondary power option is an adapter that holds three AAA batteries. This adapter is a great provision as AAA batteries are generally accessible from any grocery or convenience store and enables you to stock up and carry extra batteries when operating in off-grid situations.

Then there’s the integrated electronics that provides five lighting modes: Low, Medium, High, Strobe, and SOS. Each mode is accessed by a full or half click of the switch. I discovered a slight inconvenience that once you click the flashlight off it advances to the next mode so that when relit you may have to cycle through to access your preferred mode. The rechargeable battery will last three hours on high and five and a half hours on low. I imagine that the strobe mode would use even less power but would be aggravating to use but could extend the battery life in a pinch.

The head of the flashlight uses a convex lens as part of it’s focusing capability. I took off the retaining ring, removed the lens, and held it curved side toward the sun and about an inch over some crushed dark dry leaves and created a coal that I coaxed into a flame. Next, I removed the battery and took some fine steel wool and stretched it out to touch each end. After a few attempts the steel wool sparked sufficiently to ignite a paper towel. Then by using one of the alternate power AAA batteries I was able to make a flame by connecting each end using a thin hourglass shaped foil gum wrapper.

These are just three benefits outside of the flashlight’s intended use. Because of it’s rugged construction I would imagine that it would also make a formidable self-defence weapon. Although the tactical flashlight comes with an attached wrist strap it unfortunately was too small for my hand to fit through it.

The Survival Hax Tactical Flashlight is a solid tool that is easily stored in a glove compartment, backpack or pocket and weighs only a third pound. It’s good to know that it has these multiple capabilities that can be used in various survival scenarios. For more information on Survival Hax’s Tactical Flashlight you can visit their website at https://survivalhax.com/products/tactical-led-flashlight .

It turns out that there ARE AAAA sized batteries (pronounced as “quad A”) with equivalent cells known as “LR61″s. They are 3.5MM shorter than AAAs and can have reverse polarity compared to conventional larger sized batteries. I took a voltage meter and discovered that was the case with these. So I began to think about applications for this new find and decided to test them as a replacement for a single AAA cell flashlight.

In order to make this new sized battery work I had to modify it a little. To lengthen it I added a small wad of aluminum foil to the flat end while wrapping the entire length of the cell with masking tape, making sure to surround the terminal at the other end for proper insulation. I wrapped enough tape around the circumference to match the diameter of a AAA battery so that it would not rattle and be centered properly for the flashlight connectors. As you can see by the photo, the battery works! The remaining five batteries lie beside the flashlight, along with the 9V casing and it’s parts.

This was a fun discovery and experiment but I also wondered about the significance of other applications. When you only have access to a 9V battery but have need for 1.5V cells, the dis-assembly and modification of the AAAA cells within can provide a variety of voltages when they are placed in series or strengthened when wired in parallel. If you find yourself in an emergency situation this could be valuable knowledge.