Eton Blackout Buddy Should Be in Every Home

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Eton Blackout Buddy

The Eton Blackout Buddy

The television show Revolution made its return to Prime Time last night. When it first aired in the fall, the show about a world without power struck a bit too close to home; a few episodes into it, SuperStorm Sandy plunged much of the East Coast into darkness. I’m not sure if it was art imitating life, or life imitating art, but either way there was a good bit of irony in the juxtaposition of the two events.

After spending that week without power, water or telephone, I’ve slowly been equipping the house with the items that will make the next blackout a bit easier to endure. I recently reviewed the Eton FRX3 Hand Turbine AM/FM/Weather Alert Radio, and I have also been using a second item the company was kind enough to send along for review — the Eton Blackout Buddy. I’ve come to believe that the Blackout Buddy is something that should be in every home. In fact, at under $13 each, I really think multiple Blackout Buddy lights should be in everyone’s home.

Eton Blackout Buddy

The Eton Blackout Buddy is actually two different emergency lights. While it is designed to be an emergency LED blackout flashlight, it also happens to double as a nightlight. That makes it perfect for the home or the office.

Eton Blackout Buddy

When the power goes out, the Eton Blackout Buddy light automatically turns on. It is not dissimilar to the emergency lights in public buildings that turn on when the power goes out so that people can evacuate the building.

Eton Blackout Buddy

The advantage of the Eton Blackout Buddy is that the slim light plugs into any wall socket and does its job unobtrusively. Since the Blackout Buddy doubles as an LED nightlight, it can be used anywhere a dim light might be handy at night. In addition, the prongs for the wall outlet fold into the unit so you can grab the Blackout Buddy from the wall and use it when the lights go out. And when you do need it, the Blackout Buddy packs 3 LED lights that will provide up to 4 hours of light at a time.

Eton Blackout Buddy

The Eton Blackout Buddy is a super product that, at just $12.99 each, is worth buying for all your loved ones. It is simple, it works, and it will come in handy the next time the lights go out. My only issue with the Blackout Buddy is the fact that when I first took it out of the box, the plastic casing smelled terrible. I put it outside for two days and most of the smell subsided, but it still puts off a slightly bad odor. I don’t fully understand why, but (like new carpet) I suspect something in the material needed to dissipate and, while in the plastic container, it couldn’t. You can learn more here on the product page.

MSRP: $12.99

What I Like: Simple but effective; Doubles as a nightlight; Turns on when the power go out; Give up to four hours of emergency light at a time

What Needs Improvement: Initially smelled terrible

Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.