A backpacking trip spawned a family business that brings light to people across the United States and around the world.

Barclay Henry wanted a small, dependable flashlight that wouldn’t need replacement batteries while he walked from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. His younger brother, Ben, made a flashlight from a cordless phone battery, a 35 mm film container and a light-emitting diode.

By the time Barclay reached Oregon, Ben had refined the flashlight to its bare essentials — a nine-volt battery and a tiny snap-on plastic cap that includes a waterproof switch and two light-emitting diodes.

The little light drew rave reviews from backpackers along the trail. Vic Henry, Ben’s dad, realized his son might be on to something, and encouraged Ben to seek a patent on the design as a home-school project.

Ben was only 15 when he designed that first crude flashlight six years ago. Now, at 21, he has a patent for the 1.5-ounce Pak-Lite, and the Henry clan — mom, dad and four brothers — has a home-based business that could help them fulfill a long-held dream of self-sufficiency.

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"We all just pitch in and do what needs to be done," said Vic, a former respiratory therapist.

The Henrys already have gone a long way toward independence. They live off the power grid on a 20-acre homestead 12 miles from Interstate 5, northeast of Grants Pass. Their electricity comes from solar cells and a turbine in a creek that runs near their home.

"We’re kind of do-it-yourselfers," said Sheila, Vic’s wife. "We had all of our children at home, and Vic delivered them. We home-schooled them all."

The light’s simple design makes it nearly indestructible, and its light weight and small size make it attractive for many uses besides backpacking. Vic noted that the U.S. military ordered 4,000 lights (2,000 red and 2,000 white) just before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.

The flashlight’s long life gives it extra appeal. The Henrys estimate a typical alkaline battery lasts about 75 hours; a more expensive lithium battery could last for 200 hours. The diodes are expected to last 100,000 hours.

New uses for the basic design emerged to take advantage of the colored light that diodes can produce. A red Pak-Lite, for example, helps preserve night vision, and a green one provides better illumination in the woods at night. (Green light "sees" farther than white light.)

"We started out with one light," Vic said. "Now we have about 60."

The lights include a number of locally made components. All-Phase Circuits in Medford makes the circuit boards. TMF Polymers in Merlin molds the plastic caps.

Others are foreign-made. The tiny switches come from Japan; the light-emitting diodes from China.

The Henrys assemble the flashlights in a clean, well-lit room warmed by hot water that flows through the concrete floor in copper pipes. Wood to fire the boiler comes from the trees around their home.

The newly finished work space allowed the Henrys to move their "assembly plant" out of the kitchen for the first time, Sheila said. "Now I don’t have to clean off the table every time we want to eat."

The basic flashlight sells for $23.99 plus $2.82 for basic shipping and handling on the family’s Web site (www.9voltlight.com). They also sell through national catalog retailers such as Real Goods, and a few local stores, including Medford’s Black Bird, and Dave’s TV and VCR Repair in Grants Pass.

The light’s rectangular shape gives it a feature rarely seen in tubular flashlights, inventor Ben noted. "It doesn’t roll when you put it down."

Reach reporter Bill Kettlerat 776-4492, or e-mail bkettler@mailtribune.com