3-Pack: Bell + Howell Multi-Light with Magnetic Pickup Extension
Condition: New
Model#: 712764
Much more than a flashlight, the MultiLight features a bright COB work light, a bright LED flashlight, combined with a 9.25" extendable magnetic pickup wand
Reach items dropped behind the washing machine, under the couch, or car
The magnetic base provides hands-free operation, quickly attaching to any metal surface
@1DisabledWarVet@yakkoTDI “Carp” is a Traditional misspelling of “crap” around here; the probability is high that this one was. That said, these are probably less crappy than some of the other Hell + Bowell carp, and if I didn’t already have way too many LED light things (and a Harbor Freight store just a mile away), I might have grabbed a set myself.
I’m sick of flashlights taking AAA. They cost the same as AA, but last only something-% as long. (I was going to say “half as long” but I guess I don’t actually know.)
Sure, it makes our cute little flashlights lighter, but AA would be much better overall.⁽ᶜᶦᵗᵃᵗᶦᵒⁿ ⁿᵉᵉᵈᵉᵈ⁾
I guess I’m supposed to realize that our LED flashlights run so long on a set of batteries that we’ll lose them before needing to change the batteries, and the real win in the long run is the smaller batteries producing less toxic waste. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@t0nyc0tt4m@xobzoo Usually I install the batteries, test them and by the time I need it again the batteries are leaking rendering the whole mess into toxic waste.
@t0nyc0tt4m@unksol@xobzoo They do not keep their charge for something sitting there a few months. I usually keep the batteries separate. Some headlamps and lanterns for blackouts or the nieces visiting.
My frequenting used flashlights are rechargeable but 18650 or built in batteries.
@ponagathos@t0nyc0tt4m@xobzoo my lanterns are fine for years. Modern NiMH only lose maybe 10% per year and don’t corode. I have not had any issues leaving them in.
I refuse to buy anything Bell & Howell because of the doofus that advertises their crap on TV. Everything is “tactical”. That’s a word that screams FU. News flash DH, your plastic flashlights and binoculars are not tactical equipment.
At first I thought they were transistor radios. Three for $12 seemed like a great price! And then I realized those weren’t antenna…antennae…antennas…antennaes…??
Kinda want these for working on my PC and such, but honestly they seem too crappy. I’ll stick with trying and failing to use a pen light that only has a hold trigger.
@Telanis The LED lights that have an elastic headband to let you use them hands-free shining where you’re looking tend to be pretty good for that sort of thing. At least, they are for me.
I’m going to be the dissenter and say that these slightly intrigue me. This will sound stupid, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to tape a magnet to the end of a dowel to get something metal that has slipped behind or under something heavy that I can’t move. That certainly works, but the addition of a light is a bonus.
Is it $12 worth of a bonus? Maybe not…and not knowing how strong the magnet is is also holding me back. And how flimsy the antenna is as well. It would probably break if bent in the slightest.
I think I just talked myself into continuing to use my dowel method and my phone’s flashlight.
@k4evryng I have no idea about the ones on these devices, but a telescoping magnetic wand is a very useful thing to have. It’s too bad these aren’t listed anywhere else where there are reviews. I’m on the fence about them myself.
@Kyeh do you currently have one? For some reason it didn’t even occur to me that there was something like that already on the market, lol! (And if there isn’t, let’s create and market one, lol!)
I’ll have to check Amazon in the morning because that would definitely be handy to have around!
@k4evryng I do! They’re easy to find - Amazon, Harbor Freight, probably any local hardware store. I have one line this but they have longer ones, ones that pick up more weight, etc.
@Kyeh@unksol@werehatrack thank you for the tips! I don’t know why I didn’t realize this was a ‘thing’ (especially since Meh is literally selling said ‘thing’ today). I was having a senior moment, lol!
I will definitely pick one of these up! Much easier than taping a magnet on a dowel.
(I have to brag about my most impressive magnet problem solving story, lol! My daughter dropped one of her AirPods out of her ear right as she walked over a street drainage grate on her way home from the bus stop. (Seriously…this is the kind of luck I have! ) I was trying to think of a way to grab it since it was about 6-7 feet down. Thought of taping a magnet to some string, and lowering it down over the AirPod…and got it after about 5 attempts. Thank God they are magnetic!
One of those telescopic magnets would have probably come in pretty handy that day. )
@k4evryng@unksol@werehatrack
Wow, good thinking - congratulations! These things don’t extend that long usually - maybe there’s some extra-long ones but mine only opens to about 2 feet, I think.
@k4evryng@Kyeh@werehatrack I think it’s more of a mechanic thing. At least that’s why I have one. Dropped too many bolts down the side of an engine block lol.
@k4evryng@Kyeh@unksol I’ve had to retrieve dropped fasteners blind from cavities in the bodywork more than a few times, in addition to the ones that found a cozy spot to hide in amongst the works under the hood. For inanimate objects, dropped items can be remarkably perverse in their choices of landing point. Just recently, a radiator cap slipped in flat against the tank so that only the relief valve end was sticking out, and not where it was obvious. From above, it was completely hidden; from below, if you got a flashlight in just the right spot, you could see it but not get a hand on it. That one required my bendy-claw widget to fish back out.
I’m guessing about 120 lumens from the cob, and 50 to 60 from the itty bitty flashlight. I doubt that these are as bright as the freebies from harbor freight, but the magnetic base that isn’t directly on the back might be useful, and the magnetic pickup has some appeal. I just have trouble believing that anything from Hell + Bowell is actually useful. I spotted a couple of other items of their stuff over at CVS the other day, and I remember wondering when CVS became QVC…
Specs
3-Pack: Bell + Howell Multi-Light with Magnetic Pickup Extension
Condition: New
Model#: 712764
what’s included?
Price Comparison
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Warranty
90 days
Estimated Delivery
Standard: Tuesday, Dec 26.
Enhanced: Friday, Dec 22 - Tuesday, Dec 26.
This looks like carp from a bubble gum machine.
@yakkoTDI
@yakkoTDI -
@ashemo That is an awe some vending machine!!
@yakkoTDI, Did you misspell the word ‘crap’, as in, I might by this crap¿? I still have about 37 min to decide!!
@1DisabledWarVet @yakkoTDI “Carp” is a Traditional misspelling of “crap” around here; the probability is high that this one was. That said, these are probably less crappy than some of the other Hell + Bowell carp, and if I didn’t already have way too many LED light things (and a Harbor Freight store just a mile away), I might have grabbed a set myself.
3-for-Sunday?
I do miss 2 for Tuesday.
Back to crisp, clean, whole-number prices! Meh flashlights though
Where is the instant 1¢ discount?
@awk Ah fart in your geberal direction!
I am drawn to this deal in multiple ways.
@hchavers Its magnetic!
@eeterrific @hchavers No, like a moth of a
flamelight.WHAT HAPPENED??
Since you can’t find a price to compare these with NOW you decide to sell them at a WHOLE NUMBER?? 
MAKE UP YER FREAKIN’ MINDS!! 
/giphy driving me crazy
Glad to know the light-emitting component comes pre-installed on this light. Saves a step with the ol’ hot air station and solder paste.
@awk Props to the home reflow setup. Some of us have to struggle through with a soldering iron.
@awk @mehakane Electric, or heated in the forge, as is proper?
@awk @mehakane $9 hot air gun from Harbor Freight will do.
It seems to be missing the Swiss army knife feature, but I guess we can’t have everything.
Where’s the banana for a size comparison?
Omfg no 99 cents? How nice!
Nothing says “quality” like the need for 3AAA batteries.
@t0nyc0tt4m If they included the batteries, the extra shipping cost would destroy the profit margin on these things.
@t0nyc0tt4m Yep.
I’m sick of flashlights taking AAA. They cost the same as AA, but last only something-% as long. (I was going to say “half as long” but I guess I don’t actually know.)
Sure, it makes our cute little flashlights lighter, but AA would be much better overall.⁽ᶜᶦᵗᵃᵗᶦᵒⁿ ⁿᵉᵉᵈᵉᵈ⁾
I guess I’m supposed to realize that our LED flashlights run so long on a set of batteries that we’ll lose them before needing to change the batteries, and the real win in the long run is the smaller batteries producing less toxic waste. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@t0nyc0tt4m @xobzoo Usually I install the batteries, test them and by the time I need it again the batteries are leaking rendering the whole mess into toxic waste.
@ponagathos @t0nyc0tt4m @xobzoo or you know. Just use nimh like a sane person
@t0nyc0tt4m @unksol @xobzoo They do not keep their charge for something sitting there a few months. I usually keep the batteries separate. Some headlamps and lanterns for blackouts or the nieces visiting.
My frequenting used flashlights are rechargeable but 18650 or built in batteries.
@ponagathos @t0nyc0tt4m @xobzoo my lanterns are fine for years. Modern NiMH only lose maybe 10% per year and don’t corode. I have not had any issues leaving them in.
I do prefer 18650s for my flashlights.
@mcanavino @t0nyc0tt4m You are better iff not getting rhe “quality” batteries that Hell + Bowell would have supplied. Think “Lucas”.
@t0nyc0tt4m the price already let me know they would take batteries.
@t0nyc0tt4m @xobzoo This is so true. Usually there is even room for the AA but they go with AAA instead. Big Battery at work!
Feels like they just wanted to get rid of something that’s been sitting in inventory for over a year, this is a really “meh” deal.
@snypr Then why don’t they come with free Trackrs?
@phendrick @snypr They are probably still packing irks and want to be sure they have enough trackers for those first.
Yeah, AAA batteries is kind of a bummer.
I refuse to buy anything Bell & Howell because of the doofus that advertises their crap on TV. Everything is “tactical”. That’s a word that screams FU. News flash DH, your plastic flashlights and binoculars are not tactical equipment.
@MarkML
/giphy rambo
@MarkML Tactical
@Kyeh @MarkML I want some of those tactical Christmas stockings!
@Kyeh @lomerson2 @MarkML They do have so many different, easy ways to add on the overflow stocking gifts.
@Kyeh @MarkML only thing missing is the AK-47
Can these be used as magnets with LED light extensions?
@phendrick Not without a significant markup.
At first I thought they were transistor radios. Three for $12 seemed like a great price! And then I realized those weren’t antenna…antennae…antennas…antennaes…??
Oh, praise glod, the 99¢ adder is GONE!!!
how strong are the magnets?
anybody want to venture a gauss?
@docflash Strong enough to support the light.
@docflash Not strong enough to lift a mitorcycle out of a swamp, that’s for sure.
Batteries - NO. Rechargeable - YES SO, NO
These lights are at Walmart for about $7 but before you get excited they only produce 100 lumens, which is equivalent to a 15w incandescent.
@chas501 Thanks
@chas501 For comparison, that’s still more than three times the output of an old-style Maglite 3-D-cell. Some of us remember when those were leet.
Kinda want these for working on my PC and such, but honestly they seem too crappy. I’ll stick with trying and failing to use a pen light that only has a hold trigger.
@Telanis The LED lights that have an elastic headband to let you use them hands-free shining where you’re looking tend to be pretty good for that sort of thing. At least, they are for me.
I’m going to be the dissenter and say that these slightly intrigue me. This will sound stupid, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to tape a magnet to the end of a dowel to get something metal that has slipped behind or under something heavy that I can’t move. That certainly works, but the addition of a light is a bonus.
Is it $12 worth of a bonus? Maybe not…and not knowing how strong the magnet is is also holding me back. And how flimsy the antenna is as well. It would probably break if bent in the slightest.
I think I just talked myself into continuing to use my dowel method and my phone’s flashlight.
@k4evryng I have no idea about the ones on these devices, but a telescoping magnetic wand is a very useful thing to have. It’s too bad these aren’t listed anywhere else where there are reviews. I’m on the fence about them myself.
@Kyeh do you currently have one? For some reason it didn’t even occur to me that there was something like that already on the market, lol! (And if there isn’t, let’s create and market one, lol!)
I’ll have to check Amazon in the morning because that would definitely be handy to have around!
@k4evryng I do! They’re easy to find - Amazon, Harbor Freight, probably any local hardware store. I have one line this but they have longer ones, ones that pick up more weight, etc.
@k4evryng you can get them with a light head for $4. They are good when you drop a bolt down weird holes.
https://www.sears.com/craftsman-magnetic-pick-up-tool-with-light/p-00946946000P
@k4evryng just googling magnetic pickup tool and you will see tons of options
@k4evryng @unksol I’ve seen them as candy-rack items near the registers at places like Micro Center, Autozone, JoAnn Fabrics, and Flying J.
@Kyeh @unksol @werehatrack thank you for the tips! I don’t know why I didn’t realize this was a ‘thing’ (especially since Meh is literally selling said ‘thing’ today). I was having a senior moment, lol!
I will definitely pick one of these up! Much easier than taping a magnet on a dowel.
(I have to brag about my most impressive magnet problem solving story, lol! My daughter dropped one of her AirPods out of her ear right as she walked over a street drainage grate on her way home from the bus stop. (Seriously…this is the kind of luck I have!
) I was trying to think of a way to grab it since it was about 6-7 feet down. Thought of taping a magnet to some string, and lowering it down over the AirPod…and got it after about 5 attempts. Thank God they are magnetic!
)
One of those telescopic magnets would have probably come in pretty handy that day.
@k4evryng @unksol @werehatrack
Wow, good thinking - congratulations! These things don’t extend that long usually - maybe there’s some extra-long ones but mine only opens to about 2 feet, I think.
@k4evryng @Kyeh @werehatrack I think it’s more of a mechanic thing. At least that’s why I have one. Dropped too many bolts down the side of an engine block lol.
@k4evryng @Kyeh @unksol I’ve had to retrieve dropped fasteners blind from cavities in the bodywork more than a few times, in addition to the ones that found a cozy spot to hide in amongst the works under the hood. For inanimate objects, dropped items can be remarkably perverse in their choices of landing point. Just recently, a radiator cap slipped in flat against the tank so that only the relief valve end was sticking out, and not where it was obvious. From above, it was completely hidden; from below, if you got a flashlight in just the right spot, you could see it but not get a hand on it. That one required my bendy-claw widget to fish back out.
@k4evryng @Kyeh @werehatrack yes the non magnetic version is good to have to. especially since the magnet can stick to the thing you are trying to retrieve from.
https://www.craftsman.com/product/cmmt14112/flexclaw-pickup-tool
Negsive on these is the batteries.but ,.I have a few of these ,the Nebo Workbrite Grab, rechargeable. Use all the time… Seem to be NLA many places.
https://www.amazon.in/NEBO-LED-Work-Light-Rechargeable/dp/B07NPHLYF3
I’m guessing about 120 lumens from the cob, and 50 to 60 from the itty bitty flashlight. I doubt that these are as bright as the freebies from harbor freight, but the magnetic base that isn’t directly on the back might be useful, and the magnetic pickup has some appeal. I just have trouble believing that anything from Hell + Bowell is actually useful. I spotted a couple of other items of their stuff over at CVS the other day, and I remember wondering when CVS became QVC…
In for 2 sets of workplace stocking stuffers.
I’m tempted, just to get those extraordinary magnets which will stick to “…any metal surface.”
@rpstrong ooh, tin, lead, copper, aluminum, nickel, cobalt, platinum, gold, silver, and uranium too?
@werehatrack You were right up until the end - but U2 is more post-punk than metal.
withered-corrupting-hydra!
BUT! Can you stick them to each other or will they reject one another
If I can get 4 uses out of each one before they escape and can’t be found, then they’ve paid for themselves.
In for a set of magnetic pickup tools with really big handles so I’m less likely to lose them.
Great, more so-called “Bell+Howell” junk
@richrauch Alexander Graham Bell and Thurston Howell III would be alarmed at this!
/image thurston howell what will it cost me
wait, is this my old phone?
/image early cell phone antenna motorola
I was really hoping that was an antenna coming out the top. FM + weather-band would make these actually nice.