Disclaimer: The torch was supplied free of charge by Doeracil for review.
The Thorfire HL1508 is a small head light, with a built in 300mAh LiIon cell, and a supplied USB cable for charging. According to the manufacturer the light outputs 55 lumens, 25 lumens or a red strobe, and uses a CREE XPE R2 LED for the main beam. Rather than me ramble on, let’s start with some pretty pictures.
The light with its strap:
The mode button:
The two red lights:
A view of the rear showing the charging port with the rubber cover removed:
Compared to AA and AAA batteries:
Compared to an old Petzl head torch:
As you can see from the photos, it is rather small, and the case is manufactured from polycarbonate, with a metal joint on the back, and a metal clip. The light can be worn as a head light using the supplied strap, or clipped onto a belt, or a ruck sack strap. The general impression is favourable. This is not a premium light, and it is made from polycarbonate rather than metal, but the mouldings are decent, and it does not feel at all flimsy. The case does not flex when pressed firmly, and I suspect it would tolerate some abuse. I was not prepared to drop test it on a hard surface. I believe the front cover is made from plastic and not glass. The manufacturer does not claim that it is waterproof, although they say that it is splashproof. I’m not sure I would use it in heavy rain, but I can believe it would survive a light drizzle.
The light has one button on the top, made from a transparent rubber. To cycle through mods, press the button. The sequence is off, high, medium, red strobe, off.
The light contains an internal LiIon cell which can be recharged using the supplied USB cable. The USB socket has a small rubber cover to prevent ingress of water and dust. The switch emits an orange glow while charging, and then when charging is complete the light emits a green glow. I ran the light on full mode, to check that it shuts down when the battery is very low, to protect from overdischarge. It does.
Okay, so how does this wee beasty perform? Well not bad actually, and much better than I thought given the modest specifications. The beam on high is fairly neutral with no obvious tint, and fairly smooth, with no rings. There is a slight irregularity, not that you’d notice in normal use. The beam is rather floody, which is not unexpected given the small reflector.
The high mode, whilst no match for my cross country torches, is bright when compared to the torches my neighbours carry for dog walking. You could quite easily use it to locate items in your loft, or for picking some homegrown winter veg after getting back home after dark. The manufacturer claims a runtime on high of 75 minutes. According to the ANSI definition, which has been adopted by most manufacturers, the runtime is defined as the time at which the output drops to 10% of its initial value. My measurements, using a digital light meter, show that the light easily exceeds the ANSI defintion. At 75 minutes the measured brightness was 64% of the initial value. After two hours, the output had dropped to 43% of its initial value, which is far from exhausted! The runtime is shown in the following plot:
The vertical axis units are arbitrary, as I have no means to calibrate my light meter. The horizontal axis units are minutes. As can be seen from the graph, the light continued running for more than two hours, but I stopped taking measurements at 2 hours and 5 minutes.
I cannot measure the total light output but the manufacturers claim of 55 lumens is believable, though obviously that is the initial value on a fully charged battery. The low mode is claimed to last 4 hours. I did not take any measurements, but I see no reason not to believe them, given their conservative estimate of the runtime on high. Rather uniquely this light includs a red strobe mode, whereby two red LEDs flash. This mode is claimed to last 72 hours, so you could for example use it as a beacon for your tent when out camping in the wilds. It might also prove useful as an emergency beacon, if you have to call for help.
Pros
Small, light, nice beam, runtime on high exceeding the manufacturers specification, inexpensive.
Cons
Plastic casing, modest brightness, poor output regulation, brief instruction manual written in poor English.
Summary
This is a nice, small inexpensive light, well suited to general tasks such as dog walking or footling about in the loft, where you need both hands free. It would also make a nice emergency torch in case of blackouts. It is not as tough as metal torches, but neither is it delicate, and it should survive regular light use given reasonable care.
Please note that as mentioned at the start, the light was supplied by the manufacturer, free of charge, as a representative example.
At the time of writing the torch is available from Doeracil on the Amazon web site for approximately £10. I have given this light 4 stars out of a total of 5, as I think it offers very good performance and value for a modest sum of money.
I will add some beam shots in the next day or two.