The Zap Cane does indeed have two secrets in store for those who purchase it (or find themselves on the receiving end of a good strike). The first is a flashlight that’s positioned in front of the cane’s handle. A good place for it, surely, as it should mean it will be a bit easier for those using it to find what they’re looking for, without having to put the cane in awkward positions. But, it’s the second secret that actually means the Zap Cane is illegal in several states.

Finding yourself in a precarious situation, the Zap Cane will give you a quick and easy way to get out of it. Just lift the case, put the end of it against an attacker’s body, and fire. The result? A million-volt charge sent through the attacker’s body. As we mentioned above, the Zap Cane is illegal for someone to own in 8 states: HA, MI, MA, NJ, NY, RI, WI, and PA. However, if you’re not in one of those states, then the Zap Cane will cost about $103.

[via Gadget Lab]

As you can see from the image above, it’s pretty obvious where the name of the device comes from. The look of an underwater mine is inescapable, but it also makes it one of the coolest looking gadgets we’ve seen in awhile. It also makes it easy for you to roll the device into an area that you need lit-up. However, if you do need this little ball of light to hang from something, the 11 Neodymium magnets inside will help you with that, making sure that it will stick to the magnetic surfaces around your home.

There are eight white LEDs on one side of the device, and four red LEDs on the other. The red lights are meant for a “night vision” scenario, where perhaps using the white light may be too bright. What’s better, though, is that the Striker Light Mine Professional is available right now, and it will only cost you $20.

[via UberGizmo]

A new spotlight and area light has debuted called the Norman 3600 Portable LED Area-spot Light. The thing is large coming in at 17 pounds and standing 33-inches tall. It can be deployed in 20 seconds from its storage bin to the upright and ready to use position. The Nomad 3600 is rechargeable and lasts for nine hours on low, six hours on medium, and 2.5 hours on high setting.

The light has three intensities for area lighting and spot lighting. It can telescope up to 8-feet tall and the light head rotates 340-degrees. The light can be worn as a backpack for portability and it can be carried with a handle too. The brightest setting is 3600 lumens and the light can be seen for up to 1.1 miles. Medium settings 2400 lumens and low setting is 1200 lumens. The thing is really cool and I was thinking it would be nice to have one until I saw the price of $1,199.99.

The Switchback can be used as a headlamp and can then be transformed into a lantern to light a wider area. The Swithcback is adjustable can be used to provide multiple brightness with 5 lumens, 20 lumens, 80 lumens, and 130 lumen settings. The beam will go up to 23 meters and the battery life is up to 72 hours. The light has the articulating tripod stand with magnetic feet we are used to seeing from the company.

The Switchback is water resistant with a rating of IPX-4 and power comes from a pair of AA batteries. The lamp housing measures 2.6″ x 1.3″ x 0.8″ and the battery housing is 3″ x 1.8″ x 1.1″. When in headlamp mode the thing measures 4.5″ x 3.3″ x 2.1″ closed and 6.5″ x 3.3″ x 2.1″ open. The works weighs in at 8.8 ounces and sells for $59.95.

The latest addition to the Gorillatorch line is the new Blade flashlight. The Blade is the first offering with rechargeable batteries in the line and it uses a 130-lumen LED. The blade is also the first flashlight from Joby that is able to be removed from the tripod stand.

The internal rechargeable battery charges from a USB port or can be charged from the wall outlet with an included adapter. The flashlight can pan 360-degrees and tilt 180-degrees. The legs of the tripod have the flexible and articulating adjustability Joby is famous for along with the magnetic feet that are very handy. The light can be adjusted to spot or flood settings. The Blade is available right now for $59.95.

Magic Bulb did manage to show off their rechargeable bulb at IFA, so there’s thankfully pictures to go along with the text. As you can see above, the bulb itself looks like your ordinary, run-of-the-mill bulb on the left, which is exactly what you’ll use it for most of the time. It has an estimated life expectancy of 20,000 hours, so it should last you quite awhile. As for that rechargeable battery. It’s built-in, and will make sure that your bulb displays its light for up to 3 hours after a power outage.

And considering the bulb has the ability to output 50W of energy in just 4W, you should be able to see everything around you just fine even if the power does go out. And, if you’re in an emergency, where you’ll need a flashlight? You can actually unscrew the bulb form the housing, extend the neck, and use it as a handheld flashlight. Apparently they figured out a way to make it so that you’re hand doesn’t melt off while you hold it. There’s no word on exactly when the LED bulb will make it to retail shelves around the world, but word has it that the price will be somewhere between $30 and $40.

[via OhGizmo!]

That’s exactly what the USB Solar Charging 4-port Hub (with Flashlight) is. Besides having a really long title, which gets right down to the point, the hub is actually pretty useful. It comes with a rechargeable battery at 130mAh, and as the title suggests, that battery can be charged from either direct sunlight, or itself being plugged in. It comes with seven mobile phone connectors, which should take care of most every phone that anyone would still be utilizing in this day and age.

It’s small enough to be portable, and features things like an LED indicator for battery life, charging status of that battery, and the output status. It has an On/Off switch as well, making sure that you don’t drain the power needlessly. The four USB ports are fully USB 2.0 compliant, for the record. It’s a plug-and-play design, meaning it should just work right off the bat. You can order it right now from here, and it will only cost you $22. Oh, and did we mention that it has a flashlight on it, too? Because it does.

[via Brando; thanks, Lawrence!]

The new Gorillatorch allows you to brighten up any area without having to hold a flashlight. And with a bendable tripod, the light can be positioned in anyway you want. It also sports magnetic feet.

Powered by three AA batteries, there is a dimmer feature that ranges from 65 lumens to energy-saving levels. You can get the Gorillatorch starting in September for between $29.95 and $34.95.

The lamp is designed to work as a regular desk lamp but then can be turned sideways to become a flashlight. The light source shifts upon turning the lamp on its side. There is also a “Healing Light” mode that emits a blue glow.

You can adjust the brightness of the lamp by twisting it. It runs on batteries and can be charged up for use as a flashlight. You can get the eneloop starting in September in Japan for about $155.

This new flashlight sports a 70-lumens white LED plus four other LEDs in red, green blue and infrared, just to make things interesting. There’s one thing you can never claim about this flashlight, and that’s the notion that it doesn’t give you options.

It’s really durable, too and can be dropped from fifteen feet, has a 180-degree swiveling head and more. However, the price tag is a bit steep at $125, but I guess that’s the price you have to pay for a high-tech tactical flashlight. I guess.

[via Newlaunches]

This mini-microwave can be used to heat up food and drinks in a few seconds, flat. Sounds pretty impressive. Plus, it’s small and compact, fitting easily in your bag for those on-the-go heating needs.

The FlashPoint includes a rechargeable battery and a combination safety lock. No one seems to know where you can actually buy this thing, however. But it seems to have published in the Financial Times ‘How to Spend It’ magazine, so the idea that this is a fake seems less likely.

[via OhGizmo!]

It’s a fact of life that, when you go to investigate what could possibly be a gremlin under your car hood, you tend to discover that the AAs in your flashlight have succumbed already, so the Life+Gear PSD NOAA is off to a good start: the bulb might only be a 0.5 Watt LED, but the fact that it’s powered via the simple hand crank is a lifesaver for anyone, like me, that tends to forget about batteries until they’re actually needed. The PSD will also run on standard AA batteries or a DC power supply, too, but it’s bright enough under your own wrist power; one minute of cranking is enough for around 30 minutes of torchlight.

Also in the rubberised casing is an emergency siren, which is as loud and annoying as you’d want a siren to be, together with two red flashing LEDs designed to draw attention to yourself; Life+Gear call them super-bright and, having looked at them straight-on when I switched the PSD on by accident, I can confirm that you’ll soon be spotted (or alternatively blinded). While you’re waiting for your eyes to stop watering, there’s a standard AM/FM radio that relies on a fiddly little dial to tune and has merely adequate sound quality through the in-built speaker, and the ability to pick up the NOAA weather alerts should you fear a storm coming. Hand crank radios are nothing new, but it’s still nice to be able to unplug at least one gadget and go off-grid with your entertainment.

The crank itself feels sturdy and capable of putting up with a serious churning, but the payoff to the PSD’s compact body is that the handle is relatively small. Anyone with large paws might find it tricky to use, and trying to grip it while wearing all but the thinnest gloves is a chore. Although Life+Gear have built a cellphone charger into the PSD, you’ll not be wanting to rely on it solely to power your handset.

Still, if you’re a regular flashlight user then you’re probably pretty good at keeping on top of fresh batteries; the PSD is more for occasional, emergency use, and in that sense it shines (forgive the pun). At $30 it’s cheap enough to leave in the glove compartment of your car for those “just in case” situations, and while it’s not going to replace a proper radio, emergency beacon or cellphone charger, it could readily step up when one of those takes a temporary dive.

Rating:

3 out of 5 gears