Best place to buy LED torches

bobbyss

I do a lot of walking at night, sometimes through dark fields and have a good torch (called Energizer) with three 1.5V batteries. It's pretty strong and I can focus the beam broadly or narrow it down. It is however just a little heavy.

I keep the torch in my coat pocket and when I need it I take it out and press the button which is three quarters way up the shaft. This can easily be done with one hand because I may have a dog on the lead with the other. I don't have to use two hands to do this.

How do they rank in terms of strength? I don't know anything about these new LED torches but if I was getting one of them what would the equivalent LED torch be to what I have in terms of battery strength etc. I see something about lumens (whatever they are) but basically I am looking for a torch as strong as what I have already if not stronger.

What's the best place to get them? Any advice appreciated.

snubbleste

One of these, caller.

biko

If you can wait - Aldi/Lidl

If you need it now - outdoor shops
http://www.outbackjacks.ie/outdoor-gear-head-torches-hand-torches.irc
http://www.greatoutdoors.ie/index.php?cPath=27_375_402
http://www.rdmh.ie/

bonzodog2

You may find one of those in post 2 in Dealz sometimes, if not they have small (3 x AAA) LED torches. Also try Mr Price.

bobbyss

OK thanks folks for all that info.

I wouldn't use a head torch because I might want to scan low under trees or I might want to scan somewhere that I am not necessarily going to be facing.

In the old days I knew that a torch with three 1.5v batteries was three times better than a torch with one 1.5v battery. So does anybody know how it all works out now with these LED things? What is the a weak LED torch? What would be the equivalent LED torch to an old torch with three 1.5v batteries in it.

What kind of battery do they use? And bulbs and bulb replacements?
Thanks

Zzippy

bobbyss wrote: »

OK thanks folks for all that info.

I wouldn't use a head torch because I might want to scan low under trees or I might want to scan somewhere that I am not necessarily going to be facing.

In the old days I knew that a torch with three 1.5v batteries was three times better than a torch with one 1.5v battery. So does anybody know how it all works out now with these LED things? What is the a weak LED torch? What would be the equivalent LED torch to an old torch with three 1.5v batteries in it.

What kind of battery do they use? And bulbs and bulb replacements?
Thanks

A LED torch taking three 1.5v batteries will be a lot brighter than an old bulb torch. LED Lenser is a very good brand, we use them for work, the guards use them, I have one in the car glove box in case of emergency. Duffys tackle shop on Mainguard St sells them, they stock a few different sizes (the large ones are very bright indeed).

biko

Ok, so you need torch recommendations.

Get something small that you can keep in you pocket. A rechargeable one won't cost you money for batteries.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/3w-rechargeable-tactical-led-torch-a76jx
http://www.halfords.ie/camping-leisure/camping/camping-cooking-equipment/halfords-advanced-led-rechargeable-torch

I had one of these in the car http://www.tesco.com/direct/mountain-warehouse-ultra-bright-3-led-dynamo-wind-up-torch/350-5005.prd

You can look in Hunting and Survivalism forums for recommendations too.

Aerohead

Go to adverts.ie and put in cree torch in the electronics section, they are the brightest you can get and you will pick ine up for around ten euro, Maplins are a rip off

Storm 10

Brightest torch you can buy is a Cree torch as aerohead said,check out the link below

http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/electronics/145/q_cree/

cnocbui

bobbyss wrote: »

OK thanks folks for all that info.

I wouldn't use a head torch because I might want to scan low under trees or I might want to scan somewhere that I am not necessarily going to be facing.

In the old days I knew that a torch with three 1.5v batteries was three times better than a torch with one 1.5v battery. So does anybody know how it all works out now with these LED things? What is the a weak LED torch? What would be the equivalent LED torch to an old torch with three 1.5v batteries in it.

What kind of battery do they use? And bulbs and bulb replacements?
Thanks

The battery count-> to output relationship doesn't work that way with good LED torches. Good ones have an electronic circuit that can boost the voltage of a single AA battery and produce way more light output than an old-style incandescent bulb torch with three AA batteries.


Here is a comaparrison between an old Mini Maglight which takes two AA batteries and an at least 6 year old 4Sevens Mini AA:

Here are is the output with the 4Sevens with a single Sanyo Eneloop 1.2v NiMh AA rechargeable and the Maglite with two 1.5v AA Duracel alkalines. The second image is with a single Li-ion 14500 (AA size and shape) 3.7v rechargeable battery.

The Mini AA can output about 360 lumens on max with a Li-ion battery for only a few minutes before it starts to get warm. Something more modern like a Nitecore EA11 could output nearly 900 lumens on the same battery in Turbo mode.

The output of good LED torches is usually adjustable so you can select between run-time and illumination level.

slinky2000

I got a Lenser p7 as a present last Christmas. Best torch I've ever had, much much brighter than any maglight I've had.

bobbyss

Ok Thanks for all that. It was really useful.

I can not say in all honesty that I understood all of it but ... if I am in a big field and I want to shine a torch at the very far end of it to focus on a cow/fox/person/dog etc, what LED torch would you recommend (esp ones that allows you to focus real narrow and out again) that I get. What are the specifications that I should be looking out for? Thanks.

biko

Cree as mentioned before
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRZe2Gd5ycI

bobbyss

biko wrote: »

Cree as mentioned before
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRZe2Gd5ycI

The link refers to a torch about the size of a pocket knife costing about E5 and I doubt very much if it would do the job I specifically described above ie illuminate a cow/bull/dog/fox the other side of a field.

That's why I cut to the chase in giving an example of what job I want a LED torch to do in the hope that someone who knows about them could tell me exactly what to look out for.

I could look at 100s of LED torches adverts but would really be none the wiser.

cnocbui

bobbyss wrote: »

The link refers to a torch about the size of a pocket knife costing about E5 and I doubt very much if it would do the job I specifically described above ie illuminate a cow/bull/dog/fox the other side of a field.

That's why I cut to the chase in giving an example of what job I want a LED torch to do in the hope that someone who knows about them could tell me exactly what to look out for.

I could look at 100s of LED torches adverts but would really be none the wiser.

Are you comfortable shopping on eBay or Amazon UK or do you want something available locally?

biko

http://www.reactual.com/outdoor-equipment-2/led-lights/brightest-led-lights.html

bobbyss

cnocbui wrote: »

Are you comfortable shopping on eBay or Amazon UK or do you want something available locally?

Very uncomfortable.. No, just a good strong torch that I can pick up locally. Have seen some in B&Q and what other posters have recommended. Will check them out.
Thanks

cnocbui

bobbyss wrote: »

Very uncomfortable.. No, just a good strong torch that I can pick up locally. Have seen some in B&Q and what other posters have recommended. Will check them out.
Thanks

That's a pity as what's locally available, that I have seen, is 6 years behind and 2nd rate.

Owldshtok

Not true.
Picked up a great LED torch in Hugh Duffy's fishing & Hunting shop in Mainguard St. recently.
Good product,good price with personal experienced service from a local shop,not a faceless multinational.

cnocbui

Owldshtok wrote: »

Not true.
Picked up a great LED torch in Hugh Duffy's fishing & Hunting shop in Mainguard St. recently.
Good product,good price with personal experienced service from a local shop,not a faceless multinational.

That is good to hear. As I said, I was talking about what I had personally seen.


Here's the sort of thing I had in mind:

With a single AA sized (Li-ion, not alkaline!) battery it does this:

Discodog

I walk my dogs along the shore every night. Invest in a LED Lenser. I have the P14 & it's superb. You can focus the beam & it has 3 light levels.

This is really useful because the low setting is perfect for walking without losing your night vision. One click of the on off switch & it extremely bright with a long range. A set of batteries easily lasts the winter.

You can get them from Maplin in Wellpark or Duffys as mentioned earlier.

Any LED Lenser will be good & last for years.

bobbyss

cnocbui wrote: »

That is good to hear. As I said, I was talking about what I had personally seen.


Here's the sort of thing I had in mind:

With a single AA sized (Li-ion, not alkaline!) battery it does this:

That photo is scary. Either the graveyard that you were in has very big crosses or someone has staked many Draculas.

What is a Li-ion battery?

TerrorFirmer

Lithium Ion rechargable.

cnocbui

bobbyss wrote: »

That photo is scary. Either the graveyard that you were in has very big crosses or someone has staked many Draculas.

What is a Li-ion battery?

Ha Ha. That photo is from a German site and I suspect the person who took it reviews a lot of torches so he set up distance markers.

Li-ion is short for Lithium ion. Mobile phones, Laptops and even modern cordless power tools use them. Most types are rechargeable.

A normal alkaline battery is 1.5V. A Li-ion battery will be more like 3.7 - 4.2V. Sophisticated LED torches - ie, those not sold in Ireland - have complex electronic circuits that can cope with a wide range of battery voltages so they work with almost any type of battery you put in them - alkaline 1.5v, NiMh 1.2v, Li-ion 3.7v.

Li-ion batteries can store more energy in a given volume than any other common battery type. They can also output that energy much faster than other battery types.

Modern LED torches can be very bright - like car headlight bright from a single AA 'sized' battery - at least for a short time. To do that they need to be able to get the energy from the battery fast - something alkalines can't really manage.

The torch in that photo takes a single AA sized battery. You can get an AA 'sized' Li-ion battery called a 14500. They are rechargeable up to 1000 times and you have to get a special charger for them because Li-ion batteries are 3.7v and because charging them safely is a black art.

For someone who uses a torch a lot, AA sized batteries are perhaps not ideal unless it needs to be comfortably pocketable, even Li-ion. There is a bigger Li-ion battery called an 18650 which can run an LED brightly for hours, or dimly for days. Torches that take those batteries can have very impressive performance.

You can get a charger that will charge 14500 and 18650 batteries for €4 including shipping from Hong Kong. The batteries for about that each also. A charger plus battery for under €10 that would do what 100 packs of 8 AA batteries from Tesco would cost.

The leftmost torch takes an 18650 - the battery next to it. The torch on the right takes an AA sized battery of any type. The batteries next to it, from L-R are: 14500 Li-ion, Eneloop NiMh 1.2v rechargeable, Alkaline 1.5v. The charger can charge the two Li-ion batteries.

JackyJoe

Tried to put in a url, but not allowed "new user" ??

Anyway go to Caulfield industrial.com site. In the search box type,led torch, and you will get a good selection here, and are in Galway and Oranmore. So you can go in see the item, pick it up, give the once over and see if they suit your needs.

Discodog

JackyJoe wrote: »

Tried to put in a url, but not allowed "new user" ??

Anyway go to Caulfield industrial.com site. In the search box type,led torch, and you will get a good selection here, and are in Galway and Oranmore. So you can go in see the item, pick it up, give the once over and see if they suit your needs.

Typical Caulfields -their prices are all over the place. Some of the torches are competitive, others are way over what you can buy them for elsewhere. By the way, for anyone looking there, Coast are the same brand as LED Lenser - just the American version.

As for the battery debate. I would always prefer to run on good old fashioned, buy anywhere, batteries. The key to a good everyday torch isn't just brightness. The quality, focussing, ease of use etc are just as important.

I have three LED Lensers & I consider them to be the best.

Lots here & the tiny €14 K2 is amazing. Choose your model & phone Wellpark to check if it's in stock

http://www.maplin.ie/search?text=lenser&x=0&y=0

bobbyss

Discodog wrote: »

I walk my dogs along the shore every night. Invest in a LED Lenser. I have the P14 & it's superb. You can focus the beam & it has 3 light levels.

This is really useful because the low setting is perfect for walking without losing your night vision. One click of the on off switch & it extremely bright with a long range. A set of batteries easily lasts the winter.

You can get them from Maplin in Wellpark or Duffys as mentioned earlier.

Any LED Lenser will be good & last for years.

Was up in Maplins last week they did not have any P14 Torch in stock but was mighty impressed with the P4 (or P 6 I can't remember which one it was.) How much is the P14 and are the batteries normal aaa batteries alkaline ones. The fellow said the P4 (or P6) takes regular duracell ones.

Discodog

bobbyss wrote: »

Was up in Maplins last week they did not have any P14 Torch in stock but was mighty impressed with the P4 (or P 6 I can't remember which one it was.) How much is the P14 and are the batteries normal aaa batteries alkaline ones. The fellow said the P4 (or P6) takes regular duracell ones.

The p14 is a bigger torch. There is a new version of it P14.2 which is brighter but has half the burn time. The standard P14 does 80 hours & is more than bright enough. It take 4 aa batteries.

€57 here with free delivery

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LED-Lenser-Professional-Torch-Black/dp/B001FSZISK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458412321&sr=8-1&keywords=lenser+p14

Baggy Trousers

I do a fair bit of night hillwalking and caving. I find the Petzl head torches superb.