Product Test
Steve Hole puts products through their paces
Steve tests twelve of the best head torches so you didn’t have to and suggests that prices and quality have increased since the last CM group test in early 2013.
Alot has changed in the world since the last Car Mechanics head torch group test in the January 2013 issue. Sure, there are still thousands of products to choose from and yep there is an Atlantic ocean’s worth of rubbish out there. More than ever, in fact.
However, two things have advanced. Firstly, you won’t be surprised to learn that prices have risen sharply. Secondly, the extra cost has – mostly – gone handin-hand with improvements in quality. We take a humble head torch for granted, there’s no doubt. An almost essential item in a home mechanic’s armoury. As James Stanbur y suggested in the original test in early 2013, there is still some resistance to them in the trade as garages have always traditionally used inspection lamps or as they are known in some parts of the countr y ‘lead lights’. That’s ‘lead’ as in dog rather than a heavy metal, by the way.
Some professional mechanics will never look at a head torch but there’s no doubt that they make a lot more sense than those old ones with what amounted to a light bulb in a cage type thing that often gave you grade three skin burns as they were so hot. Also, if you dropped them, they would momentarily glow brighter before a tell-tale ‘phut’ as they expired a few moments later.
The mile of cable was also a serious hazard, too. Trip over in a garage workshop and all sorts of horrible repercussions could result.
The price points here range from just £5 to £75 and if all you need is a basic head torch that you will use occasionally then the cheap one will serve you well enough. The more you use one though, it will pay to spend a bit more as quality improves as will longevity.
So, there’s no doubt that a decent head torch is a big step forward. I did some intensive research for this feature, and I have discovered all sorts of strange-looking devices masquerading as ‘useful workshop devices’ that you wear on your head. The interesting thing is that nearly all the brands that featured in the original test in 2013 are also represented here. No real alternative to quality, is there?
I trawled eBay and purchased a few unbranded head torches at remarkably low prices with the intention of including one or more of them here. I bought seven different models that without exception were truly awful.
At the other end of the scale, I deliberately omitted head torches that target beach anglers, cyclists, hikers, survivalists, or dog walkers mainly due to price. Therefore, there are no Armytek, Fenix (pronounced ‘Fennix’), Princetec, or LEDlenser products featured here. Without exception those products are brilliant. The downside is that the
