Prudent Prepping: Charging Up

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping. 

I was asked off-blog about my choice of flashlights, recommended battery types, and what my choices were. That topic was covered in this post from 2018 as well as several others since then; to find them, use the search box in the top left corner and put in Nitecore. 

This post, however, isn't a rehash of flashlights but rather is about charging batteries inside a flashlight! I've made jokes about fans of flashlights with ALL THE LUMENS more than once, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate (or covet) more light. To get all the lumens -- or in my case, a reasonably large number of lumens for my budget -- you need a better set of batteries than what are found on the hardware store shelf. Making that choice affordable in the long run means using rechargeable instead of disposable batteries, which unfortunately requires a charger for those batteries. I had one Nitecore charger for the two flashlights I own, but decided that another was needed to cover my prepping bases. Who hasn't heard or said, "Two is one and one is none"? With that in mind I ordered a spare. 

Nitecore D2 DigiCharger

https://amzn.to/3qDbYQL

This is a similar charger that was included in the first Nitecore flashlight I bought, but I wanted this particular kit for the car charger plug. If you do an Amazon search for Nitecore chargers you will find many different models, including some with USB plugs. A surprise to me was exactly how inexpensive this charger is: only $20.99! 

From the Nitecore Amazon page:

• Compatible with and identifies Li-ion (26650, 22650, 18650, 17670, 18490, 17500, 18350, 16340(RCR123), 14500, 10440), Ni-MH and Ni-Cd (AA, AAA, AAAA, C) rechargeable batteries
• Capable of charging 2 batteries simultaneously; Each of the two battery slots monitors and charges independently Compatible with LiFePO4 batteries too
• Optimized charging design for IMR batteries & over-charge prevention to protect batteries
• Integrated LCD panel clearly displays charging parameters and progress; Two conveniently located side buttons allow easy selection of specific battery types and charging parameters. This bundle includes EdisonBright battery carry case with in-car charging cable.

A nice feature about this model is the ability to select the battery type when setting up the charger; along the side are buttons that allows the user to scroll through a list until the specific type of battery is shown. 

Due to how little I actually use these flashlights, the batteries had about a 50% charge from the last time I topped them off, and the recharge time was automatically adjusted by the unit. I've yet to run down the first flashlight, and even though I'd like to see how long it would run before the batteries died, I think I'd need a way to freeze the flashlight body to keep it from either melting or setting anything close on fire from the generated heat from being on for such a long 

time! 

I will be upgrading the AA flashlight in the bag I started building last year to a Nitecore P12GT or similar very soon.

Recap and Takeaway 

• One Nitecore D2 DigiCharger with car charger cord ordered from Amazon: $20.99 with Prime shipping.
• A very smart addition to my gear, since I now have a charger in my GHB and one at home, ready to dump in a BOB if necessary. 
• Nothing else was purchased, but several things need to be looked at soon. 

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If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.