So sang AC/DC, and so in this Blog, we will discuss the importance of illumination in the field when bushcrafting and choosing the right sort of illumination for the right job. Over the years, I have bought and collected many a torch, and some were good and some were not worth the pennies spent on them, as the old adage goes, “buy cheap buy twice.” But then again a Mora Companion Knife can do the same jobs as a handcrafted bushcraft knife costing hundreds of pounds. It is trying to find the balance of practicality, price and durability of the torch required.
Traditional Bulb vs LEDS
This may be a bit obvious, but it's worth a quick mention. The traditional bulb is made of glass with a filament that glows when electricity passes through it, and hey presto, you get a light. Still, these are prone to damage and generally don’t last as long as an LED bulb. I have found that they use more battery power, whilst LED bulbs, short for light-emitting diode bulbs, produce light through electroluminescence, a process where electrons in a semiconductor material release energy in the form of light when an electrical current passes through them and are more robust than the traditional light bulb. They come with varying powers of brightness, generally labelled as Lumens, the higher the number of lumens the brighter they are, but more Lumens will run the batteries or battery down quicker.
Battery Power
This is more of a personal choice than function, but there are many torches out there that rely on different power sources, from the smallest watch-type battery to the great pack battery that belongs to what I think of as the Coal Miners' Headlamp, to me, I usually like to keep things light (no pun intended), and I generally find that with my main torches that I will use will require either AA batteries or AAA batteries, though my little EDC torch is powered by a watch battery.
Batteries vs Rechargeable Power
Now, this may have changed since I have used rechargeable head torches or when this Blog was written, but my wife and I decided to go green and use rechargeable head torches instead of using batteries. In theory, until they come with an indicator of power left in the torch, they can leave you in a sticky situation. As I found out one night out during one of my apprentice weekends during winter, when I went off away from camp into the woods and without any warning, my head torch just died and left me standing alone in the complete and utter darkness and a small blue cloud above my head with swear words. Luckily, I keep my EDC torch on my person and a spare battery-powered head torch in my day sack. At least with battery-powered torches, they will give you some warning as their brightness generally dims when the power diminishes.
Choice of Colours
This is dependent on choice, as these days torches come with different choices of colours from just the traditional white to having the colours Red, Green and even Blue. As anyone knows when they are blinded by a bright light in the darkness especially by other people wearing head torches and forgetting they have them on is quite irritating at times but I'm quite guilty at this mistake but nobody’s perfect and it is important to note that it is generally about 20 minutes in the complete darkness to start gaining your night vision so soon as you're exposed to a bright light you have to go back through this process again. Having a torch, especially a head torch with a choice of soft white light and full beam or the same with the addition of red and green filters, will be ideal.
Head Torch vs. Handheld Torch
Again, this may be obvious to most, but as I was growing up, head torches were just for miners until in 1973, Petzl had the ingenious idea to purchase some knicker elastic from a lingerie store to mount the first wearable head torch! Since then, the advances of torch and battery are huge, but the mounting principle has remained unchanged, keeping the torch attached securely and comfortably on your head. The first true hand-held electric flashlight was invented in 1899 by British inventor David Misell, who patented a battery-powered device with an incandescent bulb and reflector. Initially marketed as the "Electric Torch," but both have advanced to using LEDs. Some will probably have ancient memories of the old dribble chin torch holder whilst either trying to set up a Basha or trying to use both hands in the dark. You can get a headband for the handheld torch to be positioned on either side of the head, but the head torch is generally fixed in the middle on the forehead, with the ability to be adjusted down or upright. The handheld torch can be more powerful and versatile in the hand, such as the small but brilliant inspection Coastal torch, to the large, powerful Maglite that can illuminate vast areas.
Every Day Carry Torches
I have tried quite a few EDC torches over many years, from the simple Mini Maglite to the Nitze Photon key ring and have mixed results with many of these EDC torches. Either they don’t last long in battery life or the connection to the key chain is of poor construction and simply disappears when you need a light at the right time. I came across a little nifty keychain torch in the supermarket made my Engergizer for about six pounds which worked on a simple press and hold function switch but I don’t keep this attached to myself it's stored in my possible pouch on my belt. I have had this little EDC torch now for about three years, and it has not let me down; in fact, it was the torch that got me back to the Woodland Ways Camp when the rechargeable head torch left me stranded alone in the dark.
Durability
Now this is a big factor, and it's all about the quality and construction of the torch you pay for. As I said, if you buy cheap, you buy twice, but on the other hand, you don’t have to spend over the odds for a good torch. There are some reasonably good torches at reasonable prices. I do find Engergizer head torches are just as good as Petzl torches, and they both have the same functions and faults. They can break in two ways! Yep, a fifty-pound head torch and a ten-pound head torch can break in two ways that I know of, both the outer plastic casing and the battery contacts inside the battery housing compartment. Generally, the elastic headband will stretch away over the years, but I'm sure some adapt and overcome mentality can solve this issue.
Trialing the New Fenix HM23 Head Torch
This new head torch is a bit of a wild card for me at the moment, as I have only used it a few times. But someone from the Bushcraft world who was having the same problems with plastic head torches recommended the Surefire Saint, as it is made of an aluminium body with a rubber casing attached to the headband that runs on a single AA battery. The price for me was a bit too much for my very empty wallet, and I could not justify purchasing the Surefire head torch, but I discovered the Fenix head torch at a fraction of the price, with near enough the same features. Though the Surefire has a manually adjustable beam range, the Fenix has only three soft, medium and full beams, but so far, I cannot fault it at the moment. But maybe time will tell.
Final Thoughts
I hope you have enjoyed my musings on my experiences with various torches over the years, but at the end of the day, I think it is like everything, it is up to the individual and their preferences and how much they are willing to spend on a product. I just hope this little bit of advice helps. At the moment, I will still carry my little Energizer EDC little handheld torch as a backup in my EDC pouch, and when I’m out in the wilds, I will keep testing my Fenix head torch.
