Spec me an LED Torch

Good thread, read from start to finish.

Looking for a decent torch myslef, got my eye on the Fenix PD32 atm and some decent rechargeable batts and charger for it. Would appreciate anyone giving me their opinion on this torch or even on batt and charger recommendations.

The main uses are wild-camping, trekking, fishing, that type of thing. Needs to fit in the old rucksack so a small size is important (the Jetbeam BC40 is too big, for example). It must have a good throw for trail spotting and stuff, as well as decent flood for working in and around a pitch site. £100 max for torch, charger and batts.

Never realised there was so much involved in buying a good torch, and the prices!
 
shoot1st said:
Good thread, read from start to finish.

Looking for a decent torch myslef, got my eye on the Fenix PD32 atm and some decent rechargeable batts and charger for it. Would appreciate anyone giving me their opinion on this torch or even on batt and charger recommendations.

The main uses are wild-camping, trekking, fishing, that type of thing. Needs to fit in the old rucksack so a small size is important (the Jetbeam BC40 is too big, for example). It must have a good throw for trail spotting and stuff, as well as decent flood for working in and around a pitch site. £100 max for torch, charger and batts.

Never realised there was so much involved in buying a good torch, and the prices!
Click to expand...

To be honest, if you are needing a light for the likes of camping and fishing you would be better off buying a headlight, partnered with a torch in your bag for when you need extra throw for trail walking/trekking. You may look and feel like a plonker (;)) but the luxury of a headlight is hard to beat, having both hands free comes in to it's own when you actually need to do something. A torch cannot provide this same flexibility. Sure you can tail stand a light, but that only really works in certain situations where a ceiling is present :p ;).

Take a look at the Zebralight H51 or H51w headlight. It's powered by a single AA battery and provides up to 200 lumens for an hour, with a wealth of other brightness setting which will run for days on end if need be. It's quite incredible how efficient the drivers are on Zebralight's AA powered series of lights. They are able to squeeze so much out of an AA battery, I'm still amazed by it. Totally worth £41

I own just over a dozen lights and when I need to do something/find something I always grab one of my headlights. Of course when I need reach/throw/grunt I'll pick up one of my XM-L torches. However, on a daily basis headlights are just so flexible (especially as Zebralights range are detachable from the head band) it leaves my other lights almost gathering dust at times! I almost sound like I work for Zebralight - but I assure you that I don't! I'm just a big Zebralight lover. Build quality, features and performance are all near perfect.

How much throw are you looking to have with your torch? With good throw comes bigger sized heads and torches I'm afraid.
 
Last edited:
2StepSteve said:
To be honest, if you are needing a light for the likes of camping and fishing you would be better off buying a headlight, partnered with a torch in your bag for when you need extra throw for trail walking/trekking. You may look and feel like a plonker (;)) but the luxury of a headlight is hard to beat, having both hands free comes in to it's own when you actually need to do something. A torch cannot provide this same flexibility. Sure you can tail stand a light, but that only really works in certain situations where a ceiling is present :p ;).

Take a look at the Zebralight H51 or H51w headlight. It's powered by a single AA battery and provides up to 200 lumens for an hour, with a wealth of other brightness setting which will run for days on end if need be. It's quite incredible how efficient the drivers are on Zebralight's AA powered series of lights. They are able to squeeze so much out of an AA battery, I'm still amazed by it. Totally worth £41

I own just over a dozen lights and when I need to do something/find something I always grab one of my headlights. Of course when I need reach/throw/grunt I'll pick up one of my XM-L torches. However, on a daily basis headlights are just so flexible (especially as Zebralights range are detachable from the head band) it leaves my other lights almost gathering dust at times! I almost sound like I work for Zebralight - but I assure you that I don't! I'm just a big Zebralight lover. Build quality, features and performance are all near perfect.

How much throw are you looking to have with your torch? With good throw comes bigger sized heads and torches I'm afraid.
Click to expand...


I haven't considered looking at the head torches but I think I will now that you mention it as I would definitely benefit from a better head torch. I do already have a cheap and cheerful head torch which I use for setting up the tent and stuff if needs be, well it's never off my head when I'm out tbh, it's pretty vital. I think it only cost about £4 but it's a brilliant little light for the money and you're right about a head torch being hard to beat, I use mine for absolutely loads of things other than camping/fishing, practically every day too.

I don't know a great deal about the Zebralights but I have heard people mention how well made they are. I will definitely investigate that option further.

Throw-wise, ideally I would want the maximum throw for the minimum size possible (don't we all) but it would need to suit being put in a rucksack side pocket or a jacket pocket, waterproof, shock-proof. Weight is also an issue, so I wouldn't want a 2x18650 torch for example as the torch plus batts, plus spare batts would be too much to carry (hehe, a full sized tooth brush is too much when you've got to carry it along with everything else :D). With the PD32 I think it'd be plenty powerful enough as well as reasonably compact and lightweight.

It's a bit of a balance I'm after I think, which is tricky to judge from just reading the reviews and stuff and not actually getting a feel for the different torches that are available.

Food for thought and I'm in no major rush so I guess I'll keep looking and researching. Thanks a lot for the reply, much appreciated :)
 
Tomsk said:
An alternative to a headlight is a headband which can hold a torch.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was looking at the Fenix torch head bands, but they don't look like they do one to take the diameter of the PD32 torch.

I suppose I could look at other torches if I go that route, there's definitely plenty of options. :)
 
can someone recommend me so high capacity rechargable D batteries please?
around 10000mAh would be nice and a link to the seller(s) if possible too.
its for the fenix TK70 torch, so more capacity the better, budget is no more than £10 per battery inc shipping + possible import taxes + any other charges. Im looking to get 8 or 12 of them.
 
shoot1st said:
I haven't considered looking at the head torches but I think I will now that you mention it as I would definitely benefit from a better head torch. I do already have a cheap and cheerful head torch which I use for setting up the tent and stuff if needs be, well it's never off my head when I'm out tbh, it's pretty vital. I think it only cost about £4 but it's a brilliant little light for the money and you're right about a head torch being hard to beat, I use mine for absolutely loads of things other than camping/fishing, practically every day too.

I don't know a great deal about the Zebralights but I have heard people mention how well made they are. I will definitely investigate that option further.

Throw-wise, ideally I would want the maximum throw for the minimum size possible (don't we all) but it would need to suit being put in a rucksack side pocket or a jacket pocket, waterproof, shock-proof. Weight is also an issue, so I wouldn't want a 2x18650 torch for example as the torch plus batts, plus spare batts would be too much to carry (hehe, a full sized tooth brush is too much when you've got to carry it along with everything else :D). With the PD32 I think it'd be plenty powerful enough as well as reasonably compact and lightweight.

It's a bit of a balance I'm after I think, which is tricky to judge from just reading the reviews and stuff and not actually getting a feel for the different torches that are available.

Food for thought and I'm in no major rush so I guess I'll keep looking and researching. Thanks a lot for the reply, much appreciated :)
Click to expand...

Shiningbeam's Blaze is turning a few heads at the moment, it seems to me that more people need to be paying attention to this recently released light. It is well regulated, powered by a single 18650, has well spaced modes, has built in voltage protection, HAIII, square threads, IPX-8 and is forward clickie.

It's slightly larger than Zebralight's SC600, but it is able to stay on max brightness until the cows come home, it doesn't step down in brightness after X amount of minutes, thanks to it's larger head and fins. At $56 I know what I'll be buying next month. Unfortunately it is out of stock at Shiningbeams, when items go out of stock they remove all reference to the product on their site. I believe it will be back in stock in Feb.

Best I can do right now is show you a google cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...aze&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=firefox-a
 
Last edited:
2StepSteve, did you order the Blaze from the states and have it shipped over ?

Or is there a UK retail/online site ?

Realy fancy a quality light for when I'm doing the Mongol Rally come July 4-6 weeks i'll get plenty of use out of it I reckon. :)
 
Does anyone know of a clamp that will hold a 18650 cell torch to allow it to be clipped or clamped on to something and removed quickly?

My dad uses his working on cars and something like this would make it an ideal hands-free inspection lamp. He already has a headlight.
 
Just got a Sunwayman V10R XML-T6 from flashaholics.co.uk, with 8 Sysmax CR123's and a promo code (CPF) it was just over £70. Not cheap in my eyes as I have never had an expensive torch (Petzl headlamps excepted) but when I received it it was worth the price.

I can't believe the output (160 lumens on a CR123 or 460 with a RCR123) and its tiny (much smaller than I thought!), the control ring is perfect and all together it will be great for sticking in my pocket for night shifts.

http://i41.tinypic.com/208e6pf.jpg

Can anyone explain what steps I would need to take when charging and using an AW RCR123a and a WF139 charger to ensure I don't blow stuff up?
 
jamesblade said:
2StepSteve, did you order the Blaze from the states and have it shipped over ?

Or is there a UK retail/online site ?

Realy fancy a quality light for when I'm doing the Mongol Rally come July 4-6 weeks i'll get plenty of use out of it I reckon. :)
Click to expand...

I haven't ordered one. I was going to but they have run out of stock. :(

I have just heard back from the owner of shiningbeams that the new batch of the Blaze won't be ready to ship out until between 2-3 months time! :(

xarr said:
Just got a Sunwayman V10R XML-T6 from flashaholics.co.uk, with 8 Sysmax CR123's and a promo code (CPF) it was just over £70. Not cheap in my eyes as I have never had an expensive torch (Petzl headlamps excepted) but when I received it it was worth the price.

I can't believe the output (160 lumens on a CR123 or 460 with a RCR123) and its tiny (much smaller than I thought!), the control ring is perfect and all together it will be great for sticking in my pocket for night shifts.

http://i41.tinypic.com/208e6pf.jpg

Can anyone explain what steps I would need to take when charging and using an AW RCR123a and a WF139 charger to ensure I don't blow stuff up?
Click to expand...

Looks like you have a nice light there. I'm afraid I have no experience at all with CR123 or RCR123A cells, so I can't offer you any advice.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom