Works great. flashlight is impressive

OK, confession: I have never hit myself, or a family member, friend, pet, or any other living thing with both of the Stun Flashlights I've had. Well, deeper confession: There was that one roach. But other than that, I'm a Stun Gun Jainist.That being said, when I opened the package my first thought was "wow, this thing is WAY more attractive, way more comfortable to use, and WAY WAY more solid. The entire thing is metal, and it charges from mostly dead to pretty darn alive in about 6 hours. The instructions warn that discharging the stunner charge a lot for show will dramatically decrease its lifespan. True dat. But just like racking a 12-gauge pump shotgun is one of the more off-putting sounds to the wayward burglar or overly hormoned and underly sneaky daughter's boyfriend, this thing is designed like a poisonous caterpillar -- You have a flashlight, which is one of those "duh" items at night outside. Someone is walking towards you. The LED isn't massively powerful, but in a dark area, you'd be able to severely impair someone's abiilty to see exactly where you are. The second trick this nicely build unit has is it also has a strobe that's a click away, and if you have never owned a tactical flashlight with a strobe setting, you may not believe that it's probably better at keeping someone at bay than being able to hit a perfect 1980's-era VanDamme split, and giving your potential assaulter the Neo "bring it" gesture at the same time. If you don't believe me, find someone who has one, and go into a completely dark room, then try to take down the person with a good strong strobe flashlight. You can't see ANYthing.However, the final trick this pocket-sized beastie has is of course what it's named for, and like I noted above, firing a burst into the air is going to dissuade all but determined attackers, so don't. If they manage to fully close with you, flick the switch from strobe to the full-off and spark-armed setting (my one massive gripe about this type of stun gun -- you are required to turn the light off before you can press the front of the light against thin clothing (torso is best, but if you can get it firmly stuck on their neck -- well, I'm not TELLING you to give them about five seconds of nonstop 5,000,000 volt reminders that touching you is, in the words of LeeLoo, "Never Without My Permission". Even a brief encounter -- half a second or so -- if directed at a grasping hand will render that hand less than effective in grabbing at you. Stick it in their neck for one second and they WILL fall to the ground, disoriented and in extreme pain.This is getting to be an instruction manual, not a review, so I'll stop here. The major pros of this defensive item are: Powerful and painful shock which will knock anyone right onto the ground, strobe light which can enable you to escape WITHOUT having to close with them (always better), and a pretty decent charging time. Cons are: you have to remember to flip the switch on the tail to "on" or the stun capacitors won't be in the circuit, and you have to turn the light completely off to enable the shock. I want a stun gun that has a powerful, fast strobe that can be left on while you hit the stun, but I haven't found that unicorn yet. This seems to be a very sound product. Dr. B says go buy one, and hope you don't have to use it. Oh, and check the laws where you live -- some of them are asinine regarding stun guns. Be careful.

A lot of value here for $25, but the tool has some quirks that are unwise in a "tactical" application IMO. First, there's an on/off switch on the back of the unit that operates the stun function. This could be mistakenly set in the off position making the stun function non-operational when needed. I'll probably find a way to permanently jam the switch in the on position. Second, you cannot activate the stun function with the flashlight turned on. It's an either/or choice - you either operate the flashlight or the lightening. Third, the flashlight modes - high beam, low beam, strobe - are cycled by moving a side switch repeatedly from on to off. These are training issues that maybe can be mitigated.Other nitpicks: The recharge cord is too small, and the included holder is garbage and dangerous. The nylon holder is flimsy and the unit must be loaded with the metal prong side up. That means drawing the unit out of this holder your hand may be right on top of the lightening prongs; BAD IDEA.The unit is ergonomic and fits in the hand comfortably. Seems well built and sturdy. The prong side of the unit would be an effective impact device, but to operate the controls the hand position makes this less effective. Stun function is loud and bright - a great deterrent. If this unit does have 2.517 µC it delivers a very strong shock. Finally this is $25. My former Zap Stick had less power, no flashlight, and was $60. The Taser Strikelight is bigger, bulkier, and is way over $100.

Never had use but nice fit for my hand if I do!! Have to walk blocks to work due to parking assignments.

No longer charges the stun, after a month. Flashlight still works. The charging light was always red, would think it would have shown green, when it did work. When it did work, it didn't hold charge long.

This is the second one of these I have. The included holster is useless unless you are good with needle and thread. In both cases, the factory sewing was so poor the fabric unraveled and fell apart before the first time trying to thread a belt through the loop. To arm the device, there are two switches that have to be in the on position before the unit will work as a stun device. The switch on the back is tiny, cheap, and feels flimsy. The second switch on the side has to be slid rearward, which means that when removing the device from the holster, the unit more often then not will disarm as the switch has little resistance and a holster or pocket is likely to hang up on the switch enough to disarm it.Putting the device in one's pocket or holster in the opposite direction to rectify this means almost guaranteed contact with the probes and an unreasonably decent chance of getting shocked by your own device.That said, I keep one of these in the (modified) holster with a piece of tape keeping the side switch always armed.I suspect the electronics in these things are decent enough to be reliable. The execution however, would be comical except this thing is supposed to be for personal protection.