Which torch reviews

Buy at Amazon. Buy at eBay. Buy at BCF. Before you get to the detailed reviews, we ought to discuss what you should look for when buying a torch. Here are some things to consider:. Nightcore really pulled out all the stops with this torch. Built with an impressive lumens and an insane m beam distance, this is one powerful torch. The MH25GT can run for a solid 36 hours on either a rechargeable lithium-ion battery or two disposable lithium cells, so you can adapt the torch to meet your needs.

Waterproof up to 2m and with a stainless steel bezel to protect the interior components from damage, this torch is meant to take a beating. Rechargeable lithium ion battery or two disposable lithium cells. Built with a lumen capacity and a hour run time on a rechargeable battery, the LED Lenser P7R is a fantastic handheld torch for camping. With a 5-year warranty and a maximum m range, this is a great all-around torch for both casual and experienced campers.

The value pick in our review, the L7 combines durability and intelligent design with an affordable price. The torch runs on AAA batteries and gets an impressive 42 hour run time for its lumen output. We liked its long list of technical benefits, not least the AA-sized lithium-ion battery, which meant an alkaline battery could be substituted if required.

We were also impressed with its IPX8 rating, which means it will remain watertight to a depth of three feet. With just 0. The lowest option was useful for close-up lighting, but the gap between the top two was wide. Surprisingly powerful for its size, and worth checking out if storage is limited. Buy now from Amazon. Complete with lanyard, the aluminium torch had high and low beams, making it ideal for outdoor use or under-bonnet work, while there was a beacon but no red option.

We liked the slide focus: an easy one-finger operation from flood to zoom in less than a second. Uniquely here, it was able to use an alkaline battery if necessary. As usual, a five-year warranty was standard, but it was a bit too costly to get to the top.

This is the only one here rated as a worklight, rather than a torch, and unsurprisingly it struggled on the distance-beam tests. However, its claimed lumens provided a very bright flood for up to 10m and it had solid and flashing red options. For its performance, features and two-year parts warranty, it was well priced. At lumens, the Duo was rated at half the power of its big brother. And, compared with the Zoom , the price seemed a bit high.

Its practical performance lacked a little on the distance tests, but was fine for closer work. Victoper says the three lamps on the VR blast out a whopping 6, lumen. Packing in such power made it the heaviest head torch we tested by some distance. To find out which head torches we think are best, we got hands-on with all seven to put them through a series of tough tests.

We selected and bought seven bestselling rechargeable head torches that came widely recommended by a range of online publishers and retailers. We aimed to cover both leading brands and smaller companies at a range of price points. We used a light meter to measure lux in our tests. Unlike lumen, lux measures brightness over an area rather than simply the brightness of the bulb. However, we felt that a brighter torch might not always be better.

The brightness, width and reach of a head torch's beam can be both a pro and a con depending on what activity you use it for, so we didn't think we could fairly say one brightness or beam width was preferable to another. To assess whether a head torch was easy to use, we checked how easy it was to put on and adjust, how comfortable we found it to wear, whether it bounced when walking and running, and how straightforward the controls were to use, both with bare hands and with thick gloves on.

On a full charge we found that every head torch lasted well over three hours, so we decided it was a more useful test to separate them based on how much charge you get after a short spell of charging. We drained each head torch of power, plugged it in to charge for 10 minutes, and recorded how long each torch lasted.

We stopped the timer when the head torch either died completely or became so dim that it would be useless to wear. Heavy, cumbersome weights on your head are never desirable, so we weighed each head torch and rated each, praising lighter models and penalising heavier ones.

Head torches are meant to be taken out for adventures, whether that's around your local neighbourhood or out into the wilds. To test their durability, we dropped each head torch on to a patio from head height, and subjected it to water relative to its IPX waterproof rating claims.

We picked seven rechargeable head torches from leading brands and retailers, shortlisting ones that were bestsellers and that came up regularly in online search. Head torches range from as little as 10 lumens to well into the thousands.

Although there should be a basic level of brightness, how brightly a torch will illuminate an area depends on which beam setting you use as well as how many lumens the torch has. For example, a head torch with more lumens on a flood setting will spread its brightness over a larger area, so may not appear as bright as a torch with fewer lumens that uses a spotlight beam, which concentrates all of its light into illuminating a smaller area.

The gallery below shows the same torch using its flood and spotlight settings. It's easy to see how much the brightness varies depending on which beam setting you use. Beam setting brightness example. A large collection of images displayed on this page are available at. So although the brightest head torch will generally be the one with the most lumens, you should also pay attention to what beam settings it has to optimise the brightness.

Head torches with both flood and spot beams will give you the most options for getting the reach and width of your beam the way you like it.

Over the years I have tried many makes head torch, which thanks to LED bulbs are now much brighter. The latest development is hand wave control for the different brightness levels. I am currently testing the new Olight Array 2S. It has 3 LED bulbs for spot, flood and also red light. The battery is recharged by USB C cable and is housed in watertight box at the back of the headband. Once the lamp is on you can change the brightness by waving your hand up for bright and down for dimmer.

Petzl Tikkina HeadLamp. Waterproof, dustproof, shockproof - Fredproof! This moderately priced lantern torch is ideal to keep in your car and bedside table. It runs off 3 AAA batteries and has a pocket clip and a magnetic end to hold it to your car. I bought a couple of these in March and I use them frequently and they both work very well.

It looks like they have been replaced with a new model that also has a purple UV option! HeroBeam Emergency Torch - 2 pack. It is charged by the sun and automatically comes on as darkness falls. I have been testing solar garden lamps for around 15 years for this website and this is one of the most effective and impressive lamps I have ever seen, just check some of the reviews to see what people say.

It charges by magnetic USB like most Olight torches and is robust and waterproof. It can be uses in warm white tone flickering flame mode or you can switch the bulb to cold white for brighter modes. The flickering flame is fantastic in a room or tent but not bright enough outside to do much apart from look pretty. If you switch to the other bulb you have 3 brightness settings for 30, and lumens! The lumen setting is bright enough to light my medium size garden.

The Olantern is solid and has a heavy base and hanging hook and is available in 3 colours. I like the flickering flame effect so much I use it in my bedroom as a night light! Buy Olight Olantern with Flickering Flame. If you found my advice helpful and would like to support my work, please return to this page and use my links when purchasing your tools.