Thought I’d post up some pics and first impressions of this headtorch because it does a lot of things very well so far. It’s a light I’ve looked at because I keep hearing good things about it, but I hadn’t bought one because it just looked too big and heavy.
I used a little Sofirn HS10 the other day to get some light under the bonnet of the car to change the headlight bulbs. I had it on high to get decent light down in there and the battery ran down before I’d got finished, so I gave this one another look and checked prices at AliExpress. Came in at £34.12 with tax inc battery.
For once, it comes in a quality box rather than the standard brown cardboard. It’s obviously aimed a little higher in the market than the usual budget offerings. It’s 18650 powered, has a USB-C charge port on one end. Sofirn switches are normally on the other end, but this one is on top. It’s pretty small and used to cycle brightness, I definitely prefer this to the mushy rubber buttons, it has an audible click and is crisp to use. The torch has a neat trick however, there’s a motion sensor next to the charge port that picks up gestures within about 8”/20cm so even a heavily gloved hand will cycle the brightness modes. This mode is activated with 3 clicks and deactivated by holding a hand over for 3 seconds. There are 4 brightnesses, and a moonlight. Each is remembered whichever light you’re using.
The head offers a simple twist from spotlight to flood to spot/flood combined, to red. So, super bright spotlight can be remembered, and mid red, low flood, whatever you want. It’s really simple and offers a lot of light options. Headband has the extra strap for stability as it’s a bit heavier than most head torches. I also think runners and climbers have been taken into consideration here as the swivel up/down beam adjust was so hard to click around I filed down the bit of plastic as it was too tight for my use.
Charge port and sensors.
Cool white 6000K-6500K for the spot. This is really impressive on high, you really won’t need to see any further than the spotlight throws a beam.
Neutral white for the flood LEDs round the edge. Nice light for general ‘round the fire’ use.
Red. I haven’t bothered to take a spot/flood combo pic as it doesn’t really show much.
The filed down plastic thingy. It clicks into fluted grooves that are on the other side of the battery case and was really hard to adjust.
The ridges compared to a standard Sofirn head torch, no wonder it’s pretty definite it’s not going to move!
Idea of size. It’s not massive, and that lens is really easy to grab and turn, much easier than faffing around with button presses to navigate.
Runtimes, impressive throughout.
So far, nothing negative to report. I’ve only had it since yesterday and took the dog out for a walk last night down steep and muddy trails, across the stream, through the woods and back. Mainly just switched between spot and flood, using a gloved hand for gesture control rather than buttons, and it works really well. I think the flood/spot would be really useful on unfamiliar woodland paths, especially if precarious, and another use that springs to mind would be caving. I don’t have much use for red, and it’s nice that it’s not going to be accidentally activated by press/hold button and is positioned as the last mode on the rotating dial.
I used a little Sofirn HS10 the other day to get some light under the bonnet of the car to change the headlight bulbs. I had it on high to get decent light down in there and the battery ran down before I’d got finished, so I gave this one another look and checked prices at AliExpress. Came in at £34.12 with tax inc battery.
For once, it comes in a quality box rather than the standard brown cardboard. It’s obviously aimed a little higher in the market than the usual budget offerings. It’s 18650 powered, has a USB-C charge port on one end. Sofirn switches are normally on the other end, but this one is on top. It’s pretty small and used to cycle brightness, I definitely prefer this to the mushy rubber buttons, it has an audible click and is crisp to use. The torch has a neat trick however, there’s a motion sensor next to the charge port that picks up gestures within about 8”/20cm so even a heavily gloved hand will cycle the brightness modes. This mode is activated with 3 clicks and deactivated by holding a hand over for 3 seconds. There are 4 brightnesses, and a moonlight. Each is remembered whichever light you’re using.
The head offers a simple twist from spotlight to flood to spot/flood combined, to red. So, super bright spotlight can be remembered, and mid red, low flood, whatever you want. It’s really simple and offers a lot of light options. Headband has the extra strap for stability as it’s a bit heavier than most head torches. I also think runners and climbers have been taken into consideration here as the swivel up/down beam adjust was so hard to click around I filed down the bit of plastic as it was too tight for my use.
Charge port and sensors.
Cool white 6000K-6500K for the spot. This is really impressive on high, you really won’t need to see any further than the spotlight throws a beam.
Neutral white for the flood LEDs round the edge. Nice light for general ‘round the fire’ use.
Red. I haven’t bothered to take a spot/flood combo pic as it doesn’t really show much.
The filed down plastic thingy. It clicks into fluted grooves that are on the other side of the battery case and was really hard to adjust.
The ridges compared to a standard Sofirn head torch, no wonder it’s pretty definite it’s not going to move!
Idea of size. It’s not massive, and that lens is really easy to grab and turn, much easier than faffing around with button presses to navigate.
Runtimes, impressive throughout.
So far, nothing negative to report. I’ve only had it since yesterday and took the dog out for a walk last night down steep and muddy trails, across the stream, through the woods and back. Mainly just switched between spot and flood, using a gloved hand for gesture control rather than buttons, and it works really well. I think the flood/spot would be really useful on unfamiliar woodland paths, especially if precarious, and another use that springs to mind would be caving. I don’t have much use for red, and it’s nice that it’s not going to be accidentally activated by press/hold button and is positioned as the last mode on the rotating dial.
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