Some rather clever PR bod out there knows me a little too well!
A couple of weeks ago I received a rather smart black box. Within this black box was a very cool torch, the design of which I’d not seen before – and with that was also a single battery and a smart canvas pouch, sporting a karabiner and adjustable belt hook, all very SAS in its black, non-reflective style. Perfect. However it all looked a little small and whilst a fan of key fob torches this was a little bigger (about 11 cm) but certainly no Maglite – my former torch of choice when in the military.

Nonetheless, I popped in the battery and was impressed to find the on / off button situated on the base – a clever tactical design. I turned it on and wow! Damn but this thing had a power. The bookshelf, even in broad daylight lit up right in front of me. I resolved that somewhere down the line, this little gem would warrant a review. Little did I realise quite how soon it would come into use. In the meantime I hooked it on to my gadget bag and traipsed through several days of standard 9-5 monotony.

A weekend or two later, having all but forgotten about the torch, I disappeared off for a weekend break with some seven others on the TT Tech team to the Norfolk coast. We had hired an enormous cabin right on the sea front and it was sheer bliss.

One of the aspects of sea front accommodation at the location however was a complete absence of any street or promenade lighting – great for star gazing but a real bind if trying to figure out how to unlock the three tiered locking system on the rear gates to dash out and get Fish ‘n’ Chips for a baying crowd. Worse still when you know those gates are covered in marauding spiders just dying to pinch at your fingers... *shiver*

Until I remembered I had the torch locked on to the side of my gadget bag! Ha! Now, frankly I’d not gotten around to reading up on why this torch was meant to be so good but that night I discovered it all by myself. Unlike Maglite and various other brands out there – dare I say, most – there is no ‘dead’ spot on the beam of the LED Lenser. It has a great focal centre and then spans out perfectly.

Unlocking the gates I thought I’d test out the range a little and found that I could easily light up the entire driveway and a good distance beyond (I’d estimate and I’m pretty good at such judgements, 80+ metres.)

Across the three nights away this little torch got some fairly good use and it’s still going strong on its original single AA battery. Furthermore it’s not showing any signs of wear and tear so I checked the spec’s and understand why!
If you know someone who likes to go camping/ crack – of – dawn fishing and an array of other outdoor type pursuits, I’d recommend this as something to add to the gift list. It looks great and does its job very well!

8/10 – and the downgrade from 10/10 is only because the current price for a torch makes me hesitate – but with free delivery, maybe I’m still being a bit harsh.

Available from thetorchshop.co.uk or ukoutdoorstore.co.uk and currently priced £34.83