1st Generation Kel-Lites and Early Kel-lite History

Up until 1968 when Don Keller invented the Kel-Lite, flashlights were generally regarded as disposable and were viewed many times by battery manufacturers as just a way to sell batteries. This is not to say that important advancements weren't made prior to this time but the industry as a whole was fundamentally changed when the Kel-Lite was introduced. With the possible exception of the LED being introduced to flashlights in the mid 1990s nothing changed the industry more than the ultra durable, aluminum construction Kel-Lite. In fact, flashlights sold today are not too different from the same light designed by Don Keller almost half a century ago. Specific early history can be found on Don's site, http://www.kellite.com, and at the article Don wrote for the now defunct Flashlight Museum, http://www.flashlightmuseum.com/multimedia/KelliteHistory.doc.

I have a mid-size collection of 1st Gen Kel-Lites. It is less comprehensive than a few other collectors but I still have some very unique, one off lights, that I haven't seen anywhere else before. I think the ultimate collection is the Norm Nelson collection which was purchased from his estate or the famous ABTOMAT collection on Candle Power Forums. Links to both of these collections can be found in the External Resources toolbar on the right hand side of this page. Shown below is my modest 1st Gen Kel-Lite collection.

Some of the options on the 1st Gens include judo and lanyard ring ends caps. Kel-Lite also produced a shortly lived judo stick that's shown at the lower right and was intended for self defense and sold to law enforcement only. C cells were far more popular than D cells in the first generation. In fact the only D cell I own is a prototype 2D with mace holder. This is because a C cell is closer in diameter to a PR-24 style baton and other traditional batons. There were a lot of suppliers in the early days and the lights varied quite a bit year to year. D cells were available with a large head for flood and small light for spotting and C cells were available only with a medium style head for a good mix.

As always I'm looking to buy vintage and rare aluminum flashlights. Please let me know if you have any, top dollar paid.