Panasonic’s Emergency Flashlight Lets You Use Any Kind Of Battery | Emergency Preparedness | Forums

Would have been neat if they added a hand crank and used rechargeable batteries as well

*heading to the patent office*

Panasonic has unveiled an LED flashlight that can be powered by nearly any battery you've got on hand during an emergency. The Any Battery Light will accept AA, AAA, C, and D batteries (sorry, nine-volts won't do you any good), with the flashlight churning out 86 hours of light when fully loaded. But more importantly, since natural disasters rarely offer the benefit of choice, it means even a single AAA battery will draw some level of light at the times when you need it most. It's also significantly more adaptable than existing emergency flashlights that let users toggle between AA and D batteries. Panasonic plans to release the Any Battery Light first in Japan — a country that's experienced its fair share of emergencies — for 2,000 yen (approx. $24) starting in January.