No more drunk fumbling now! (True Utility LockLite Key Torch)

Member Name: carly_pussycat

Product:	True Utility LockLite Key Torch
Date:	11/06/07 (90 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A torch without having extra bulk, cheap, lasts LONG

Disadvantages: Hard to attach to your key initially

Have you ever stumbled home drunk and wondered who moved the keyhole in your door? I bet you have! Well, I can’t say I have given that I hate drinking (!)....but it's still hard to find your keyhole in the dark, and this task would be made infinitely easier with a light. My boyfriend figured this out a couple of years ago and bought himself a mini keyring torch, forgetting that you'd need to point the torch AND the key towards the door at the same time....kinda fiddly! Whilst browsing iwantoneofthose.com (not for this product I might add, but we always end up with about 5 things we'll never need) we noticed that the geniuses at True Utility had created a torch which would attach itself onto your key!

Priced at only £3.99 we found this gadget to be a bit of a bargain and bought one for each of us and two as potential small presents for friends because it fits any round key and should prove very useful after a night out.

The LockLite comes unpackaged with a small no-frills cardboard label attached to the keyring and a plastic key in the gadget as an example. It’s a really simple looking thing which is basically just a sturdy little stainless steel container with a black rubber top showing the True Utility logo. All of this is attached to a fair sized metal ring at the top, and it’s handy that they have included a connection between the gadget and the ring which allows you to swivel the key through 360 degrees. The black rubber top presses down with an easy cushioned feeling to emit the bright 6mm LED light, which apparently reaches 3 metres. I haven’t measured it exactly but it is definitely better than no light if you find yourself stuck in the dark somewhere, and it’s also great if you’ve dropped something underneath the seat of your car!

* THE ASSEMBLY - When you unfold the cardboard label there are assembly instructions. You might think that something this simple wouldn’t need instructions but trust me, it wasn’t easy and I was doubting that I was following the instructions properly. True Utility admit themselves that the initial steps for taking the gadget apart and attaching it to your key are a bit fiddly but to me that was an underestimate! I think that possibly the difficulty lay with my longish fingernails that I wasn’t willing to break, as my boyfriend managed to unclip the gadget eventually though it still wasn’t easy. However, given that this device includes 2 long life Lithium batteries with a combined life of 100,000 hours I think you’d have to be seriously bad at finding the lock, or live a very long time before those batteries would wear out and you’d need to remove the key. I suppose if you’re renting as we are, then you’d need to be able to remove the key when you move house but I still can’t see that being too much hassle. I think it was difficult to attach the key to the LockLite as it needs to be impossible for the two to become separated without you realising – and this is definitely the case. The only way to lose your key would be to lose the LockLite as they can’t come apart unless you take them apart.

Once attached the LockLite really doesn’t add much extra bulk to your key, which will be a major advantage for anyone who carries their keys in their pocket as opposed to a bag. The whole thing is just 2.5cm diameter by 1cm. Being stainless steel and very sturdy feeling I can't see my LockLite breaking or being damaged in my lifetime. It's been in my bag for over 6 months now with soft things, hard things, other keys and stuff, and still it looks pretty much the same as when I bought it (apart from a little bit of sparkly makeup on it!) It's built to last and I'm sure it will.

I know this is a short review, but it's a simple thing that needs little explanation so there really isn’t much else to say about this, other than that it’s a genius invention and everyone without a security light should have one so stick it in your basket next time you’re at iwoot, Firebox, Amazon or anywhere you notice it being sold. Even people with security lights may find this handy for those situations I mentioned above, like losing little things in poorly lit situations.

I can’t say that I am looking forward to removing the key when we move house, but then what are boyfriends for?

Summary: A really useful gadget which doesn't cost the earth