From time to time we get some frequently asked questions in regards to LED Torches and Headlamps and uses and though it would be good to write these questions and answers here in our FAQ section. Hopefully if you are reading this there is something here in our FAQ section that may be of use to you or help with a question you may have. We update this section as regularly as we think of new questions or receive new questions from our customers.
If there is something you think may be a useful question and answer for others please feel free to email us and we will try to answer here to the best of our ability.
Should I purchase a Torch Or Headlamp
Question- I need to upgrade my old torch and need some advice on whether I should purchase a torch or headlamp.
Answer- We get this question a lot when customers are moving over from an older style maglite or old torch and they need to know what to purchase. There is no wrong or right answer to this one and it depends greatly on what you main purpose is. For example if you are a Tradie and you go up in roofs a lot for inspections both will work well for you if it is for short periods of time. But say you are doing a job somewhere and you need both hands and it will be for a longer period of time headlamps are brilliant and you would not use a hand held torch again for this application if after seeing how convenient the headlamp is. On the flip side of this if you were outside searching objects far away you would find most headlamps are for close up work say 40-50 meters and then a handheld torch would be a must. So as you can see it is very application based.
How to know how many Lumens you need in a torch
Question- I need to purchase a torch and need to know how many lumens I need.
Answer- Again this is quite a common question. We will get into Lumens in a bit more detail later but in short Lumens is just the measurement of how intense the led output is at the light. Yes the higher the Lumens is the brighter the torch is but there are many other factors that come into play for example Reflector which will determine how far the beam throws or spreads and also the design of the LED. We sell torches that will be 10000 lumens and more and extremely bright and can give distances of 300-400 meters distance. Other torches may only be 1200 lumens with a focused smooth reflector and these can give distances of 800-1000 meters. So as you can see there are a combination of factors that come into play when choosing a light for either throw or spread or a mix of both. In our menu system you will see a drop down for beam distance this is a good place to start as the torches in these sections will match roughly to these distances.
Should I buy a rechargeable torch or a torch that uses standard batteries.
Question- Should I buy a rechargeable torch or a torch that uses disposable batteries.
Answer- My answer to this question is the same nearly 100% of the time but there are a few times when it will differ. 99% of the time the answer will be buy a rechargeable torch as the unit will be a lot brighter as rechargeables can operate at a higher voltage so better beam. Rechargeable batteries can be recharged hundreds of time so the cost of running is far cheaper.
Most rechargeable torches are plug and forget so just plug into a USB port and they charge themselves and also switch off when fully charged and hold charge for much longer periods of time. So in conclusion to this point rechargeable torches are far superior.
As mentioned above though there will be a few rare occasions when I do recommend no rechargeable torches and mainly this will be if the torch is used for emergency purposes for example an emergency kit or on a boat where the torch will be stored for long periods and may need to be used when no power is available for recharging and when AA or AAA batteries are something that are kept on hand as a general rule. Otherwise rechargeable is best.
Upgrading an old Maglite to LED.
Question- I have an old Maglite that is over 20 years old and the bulb is extremely dull. Is it possible to upgrade these old maglites to LED and have them super bright.
Answer- The answer to this is yes these can be upgraded and to see the LED Upgrade kits available go to our Maglite page and there will be a link to the drop ins we sell which are easy to fit.
To answer the 2nd part of this question no your Maglite will not be super bright compared to modern LED Torches similar in size as these will output in the thousands of lumens.It will however be super bright compared to the old halogen or incandescent you have replaced in your Maglite.. To give an example an old 4D Maglite bulb outputted roughly 60 lumens. Our replacement dropins output 320 lumens so you will see a big increase in brightness.