Torches - Page 4

kontour10 · 03 Jan 2015, 12:54 pm

I mainly use a HDS Clicky. Mine has a high CRI emitter which helps with depth perception and colour rendering, although I don't think they offer that option any more.

They are a little on the pricy side but super amazing quality and have a lifetime warranty. I had one for 4 years with zero issues before it slipped out of my pocket somewhere in the Western Desert. Ordered another one as soon as I got to town and it's been going for a year now with no issues either.

Light Knight · 03 Jan 2015, 2:09 pm

Another torch I recently purchased is the Energizer 3 in 1. This can retail for nearly $40 in Coles, but you get one for less than $20 at Bunnings. This has a 100 lumen torch and 150 lumen utility light, uses 4AA, and is waterproof. It also has legs that move out so that you stand it up in torch or utility light mode.

The torch light has a warm tint (which is rare these days), although it is not a true warm white LED. The torch also has a diffused beam which I prefer over a hard edge beam.

The utility light has an almost 180 degree even diffused cool(ish) white light, which is potentially quite useful for some lighting situations.

I wouldn't recommend it as a main torch, but certainly useful if you want a warmer looking torch light, or well diffused wide angle light field for photography.

peterh13 · 28 Mar 2015, 12:56 pm

Bought one of these from ebay China about a month ago. Didn't come with batteries or charger as advertised but still good for $20. The only place I could buy batterys for it was from Jaycar and the xmas tree charger fitted it.
How much light does it give off I hear you ask. I shone it towards my face and turned it on. Im now waiting for my guide dog to arrive ...

phytrix · 28 Mar 2015, 1:03 pm

I use a Coast HP7 LED Torch alongside a Black Diamond Spot Headlamp. Both of these I have been using for a matter of months, and I am fully satisfied with them. They set me back about $50 each and both offer a pretty decent set of features (i.e. flood lighting). Great pickups and I'm glad that these were initially suggested to me

Echo · 14 Apr 2015, 5:54 pm

So I've been doing a bit of research because God do I need a new torch. I'm lucky if I can see 2m in front of me with my current one (that's what happens when you find your torch in a gutter).
After watching some reviews I've decided to go with the Fenix PD35.

It's a middle of the range torch and for $85 it's almost perfect. 960 lumens lol, although that's if you run it on turbo and then you're battery will only last an hour or so. Still has like 470 or something if you run it on high and after watching some YouTube videos of it in use I think it will be perfect for a primary exploring torch. I'll also be purchasing some of those cheapo Cree torches you can find all over eBay for less than $10 each, just as backups in case of an emergency.

Echo · 14 Apr 2015, 7:13 pm

Of course when I add on the cost of 2 li-ion rechargeable batteries and a charger for them I'm at about $130 total. But I guess you can't put a price on quality....

Midget · 15 Apr 2015, 2:09 pm

I bought a new torch because I don't know where my mighty bike torch went. Led Lenser M7. Epicly bright. At first I wanted something even brighter, but then in a dark drain, I'd probably get all sorts of headaches and eye problems (with a brighter torch).

timdole · 17 Apr 2015, 2:04 pm

Have thought about getting a dynamo torch as a back up, they don't produce astounding amounts of light but they don't require batteries

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coghlans-Coghla ... 3cdbca7299

Midget · 17 Apr 2015, 2:55 pm

I've had a couple torches of that variety, some with the moving hand grip and one shaker-charger torch. They keep breaking on me. :/

Echo · 21 Apr 2015, 9:14 pm

OK I know I said that I was going to buy the Fenix PD35 but after doing some more research and talking to people I've decided to go for a hands free approach.
I have instead decided to buy the Fenix HP15 ultimate edition. I like this because it still has really good light output (I watched some YouTube videos to get a feel for it), it's head mounted (so I can have my hands free), it runs on double A batteries which is very useful because I currently run my torches on rechargeable double A's so I have a heap of them and a charger, and the battery life isn't even half bad. If you run it on high (400 lumens) it will last approx 3 hours. Of course it is waterproof to 1m or so that's always helpful. I will also have a few cheap hand torches in my exploring kit.

I know the pic says 900 lumens and technically it does have 900 but that's only in the burst mode, which is like a flashing strobe for 30 seconds. 400 lumens on high is still super bright.

FYI I will be using rechargeable NiMH batteries. It takes 4 at a time and the whole things weighs approx 200g with batteries and all.

phytrix · 21 Apr 2015, 9:20 pm

Seems pretty decent, one of my friend has one of those and it's relatively good. I wouldn't imagine you'd ever need to exceed the medium setting... it'd just shred your battery and I'm usually comfortable floating at around 150 (which is the medium setting for this headset). Still nice to have the option for exceptional circumstances, though.

Only thing is it doesn't come with a diffuser

Echo · 21 Apr 2015, 9:26 pm

phytrix wrote:Seems pretty decent, one of my friend has one of those and it's relatively good. I wouldn't imagine you'd ever need to exceed the medium setting... it'd just shred your battery and I'm usually comfortable floating at around 150 (which is the medium setting for this headset). Still nice to have the option for exceptional circumstances, though.

Only thing is it doesn't come with a diffuser

What's a diffuser? Is it bad not having one... Better not be I just paid for this model on ebay.
And yeah mid is still pretty bright. I plan to carry 8 spare batteries on each trip so I should be pretty good for getting through any drain.

phytrix · 21 Apr 2015, 9:30 pm

Echo wrote:
phytrix wrote:Seems pretty decent, one of my friend has one of those and it's relatively good. I wouldn't imagine you'd ever need to exceed the medium setting... it'd just shred your battery and I'm usually comfortable floating at around 150 (which is the medium setting for this headset). Still nice to have the option for exceptional circumstances, though.

Only thing is it doesn't come with a diffuser
What's a diffuser? Is it bad not having one... Better not be I just paid for this model on ebay.
And yeah mid is still pretty bright. I plan to carry 8 spare batteries on each trip so I should be pretty good for getting through any drain.

It's pretty much just a light distribution method, so you can have soft light or something more direct if you prefer. Not a big deal for some, but it's one of the reasons why I shyed away from this model when purchasing my headtorch.

Echo · 21 Apr 2015, 9:34 pm

phytrix wrote:
Echo wrote:
phytrix wrote:Seems pretty decent, one of my friend has one of those and it's relatively good. I wouldn't imagine you'd ever need to exceed the medium setting... it'd just shred your battery and I'm usually comfortable floating at around 150 (which is the medium setting for this headset). Still nice to have the option for exceptional circumstances, though.

Only thing is it doesn't come with a diffuser
What's a diffuser? Is it bad not having one... Better not be I just paid for this model on ebay.
And yeah mid is still pretty bright. I plan to carry 8 spare batteries on each trip so I should be pretty good for getting through any drain.
It's pretty much just a light distribution method, so you can have soft light or something more direct if you prefer. Not a big deal for some, but it's one of the reasons why I shyed away from this model when purchasing my headtorch.

Ahh fair enough. What do you use?

phytrix · 21 Apr 2015, 9:43 pm

Echo wrote:Ahh fair enough. What do you use?

I just use a Black Diamond Spot, it's pretty cheap and reliable, but maybe in the future I'll opt for something a little brighter. It outputs at about 130 lumens, which is ok, but I feel like another 20 or 30 would go a long way.

Midget · 22 Apr 2015, 9:47 am

In my opinion, getting a high output head-mounted torch isn't a good idea. If you're ever on a group explore with someone who has a such a torch, a simple glance from him will have you dazzled and slightly shocked. Okay, but what if you use it when exploring alone? If you point a bright torch at a wall at night when you're close, it'll have the same effect. Of course if you leave it on low and utilise the high power when you need to, then it's a different story.

dodger · 22 Apr 2015, 11:42 am

Midget wrote:In my opinion, getting a high output head-mounted torch isn't a good idea. If you're ever on a group explore with someone who has a such a torch, a simple glance from him will have you dazzled and slightly shocked. Okay, but what if you use it when exploring alone? If you point a bright torch at a wall at night when you're close, it'll have the same effect. Of course if you leave it on low and utilise the high power when you need to, then it's a different story.

I agree with midget. Also it's better to use lower light and let your eyes adjust to the darkness. Night vision is surprisingly powerful but takes a bit of time in the dark to "activate". I've heard using very low red coloured light is good for that too but I haven't really tried gelling or putting red filters on my lights.

phytrix · 22 Apr 2015, 2:16 pm

Midget wrote:In my opinion, getting a high output head-mounted torch isn't a good idea. If you're ever on a group explore with someone who has a such a torch, a simple glance from him will have you dazzled and slightly shocked. Okay, but what if you use it when exploring alone? If you point a bright torch at a wall at night when you're close, it'll have the same effect. Of course if you leave it on low and utilise the high power when you need to, then it's a different story.

I do agree that usually a high output headtorch isn't necessary, although there are exceptional circumstances where it is handy. And in the cases where it's not, a lower setting can be used. Most headtorches (I would think) offer higher lumens as the price increases to satisfy those who require extreme lighting, although it also ups the battery power when using lower settings. Why would anyone develop a torch that can output 100 lumens for 50 hours when they could develop a torch that does the same thing but also has more flexibility in regards to its target audience?

Midget · 22 Apr 2015, 5:43 pm

True, true. Personally, I'd have a cheap head low light head torch, and a more powerful standard torch. I've yet to use a head torch though.

phytrix · 22 Apr 2015, 8:46 pm

Midget wrote:True, true. Personally, I'd have a cheap head low light head torch, and a more powerful standard torch. I've yet to use a head torch though.

Head torches are really handy when you're fiddling about (putting on filters, changing lenses, setting up tripods, s*** like that), definitely worth it imo.

Nuggs · 23 Apr 2015, 5:21 pm

Saw this at Woolies for $20 and couldn't walk past. "Xstreem Focus".

107 lumens.
3x AAA

Apparently the focused beam is good for over 400m. Wide beam is good too.

So far very impressed for a cheapie. Looking forward to testing it out properly

phytrix · 23 Apr 2015, 5:28 pm

Nuggs wrote:My name's Nuggs and I'm a big nerd

Nice pickup for $20

How fast does it chew power? Also, I call bs on the 400m focused beam >.< Sounds like that did that in optimal conditions with complete darkness, else that's some unworldly light leakage.
Also, sweet guitar. Is that a fender?

Nuggs · 23 Apr 2015, 5:41 pm

phytrix wrote:
Nuggs wrote:My name's Nuggs and I'm a big nerd
Nice pickup for $20
How fast does it chew power? Also, I call bs on the 400m focused beam >.< Sounds like that did that in optimal conditions with complete darkness, else that's some unworldly light leakage.
Also, sweet guitar. Is that a fender?

I literally just brought it home, so not sure about power usage yet.

Will test out the 400m theory tonight.

The guitar is an Onyx. I don't think the brand exists anymore.

phytrix · 23 Apr 2015, 5:47 pm

Nuggs wrote:-

Ah cool, well be sure to update us after you try it out

One of my mates has an Onyx, I'm not a fan of the sound though... might just be his model though.
I knew I could get away with that quote manipulation

Light Knight · 26 Apr 2015, 2:58 pm

I have the torch version of that Xstreem headlamp (from Coles). It is bright for the price and well built. It does indeed focus down to a very small beam (which ends up being in the shape of the LED chip). The downside is (as with many cheaper torches) that the light is cool white - not so good for photography.