RTG R-PAL

For practical everyday scenarios, this device beats a flashlight hands down in every case. The small size and lightweight make it perfect for camping, backpacking, traveling...anything. The adjustable brightness is incredibly useful, as it fits a variety of scenarios. The most importantly thing is that it remembers the brightness level and doesn't require cycling through every setting to get back to the one you left it at.

It would be great for emergency kits as well, with the 300 hour runtime being valuable. With the built in flashing and sos modes, the runtime becomes even longer. If I had my way, I'd keep one in all of my vehicles and emergency kits because of this.

The R-PAL is best for every day usage, campers and backpackers.

I would recommend the R-PAL to anyone, especially outdoors enthusiasts. Given the flexibility of this lantern, it is likely to be the only one you will ever need.

I encourage honest opinions from everyone who has used this lantern and would love to hear about their experiences with it.

Disclosure: The reviewer is the designer and manufacturer of this product.

Range: anywhere from 0 - 10+ meters. At full brightness, the device is capable of lighting a large room.

Beam & Brightness: There is no beam, as there is no reflector or diffuser. There are 3 naked LEDs exposed, which are pinpoint at higher brightness settings.

Burn Time: The light can last anywhere between 3 and 300 hours on a full charge. Every two settings the brightness decreases by half or increases by twice the amount, which causes the burn time to decrease by half or increase by twice the amount respectively.

Power Source: The 18650B battery takes two hours to charge and can be replaced very fast.

Ease of Use: The device is very easy to use.  It has 3 buttons: on / off, increase brightness and decrease brightness. The modes are switched by holding down both the increase and decrease brightness buttons at the same time. Everything works as advertised, very consistently.

Weather: The batteries do not perform well at -20 to -40 degrees Celsius. The device is waterproof and dustproof and can easily handle rain or snow.

Features: The best feature is the adjustable brightness. There are 15 settings that cover a 100 to 1 brightness range. That means the brightest setting is 100 times as bright as the lowest setting. The automatic shut off is also an impressively useful feature.

The R-PAL is not the first LED lantern to use a simple integrated circuit, but it is the first to use a custom designed integrated circuit that combines both power and digital logic. This enables the device to be extremely compact, unlike every other lantern on the market.

All features work as advertised

Modes: The flashing and SOS modes are quite useful in the event of an emergency. The flashing beacon mode is one of the best "flashes" out there, with two rapid pulses occurring periodically.

The Automatic Shutoff mode is great in the event you fall asleep with the light on.

Construction & Durability: Construction and durability are very good. The device is very solid, and can withstand abuse.

Conditions: I have used the device for several months now, in wet climate and extremely dark scenarios.

Best For: I would recommend the device for backpackers, campers, and any general situation where a flashlight is used, but doesn't quite meet the demand. Reading in a tent is a perfect example: you can enable automatic shutoff, turn the light to the desired brightness, and then fall asleep reading if you wish.

Full disclosure: I am an employee of the company RTG, Inc and have had access to the product months in advance of its release.