With spending a fair amount of time
out in the Scottish Mountains, a good headtorch is pretty much always in the
rucksack. Must admit to being a bit of a torch geek and currently have five
which get used for different applications depending on time of year and what
I’m doing.
I was aware of the LED Lenser brand
since we use them a lot at work (I work for a Railway Signalling and Control
contractor so nightshift is part of the normal working week) and always found
them a good balance of cost and performance and as part of the Trail Team, we
got to choose from:
The SE07R was my choice based on the
rechargeable battery and light output of up to 220 lumens.
The package includes the lamp unit,
rechargeable battery and associated charger.
First thing I liked about the set up
was the fact you can use either the supplied lithium battery of standard AAAs
without much fiddling about. On environmental grounds, would opt for the
recharging but good to know that for multiday or very long single days, there
is another option.
Couple of nice features – the charger is a standard micro
USB which is the same as my Samsung phone so one cable will do a couple of
devices and also the battery can be charged separate from the headtorch since
the charging port is on the battery itself.
Other key features for me include –
- Transport Lock – prevents light accidentally switching on when stored in the rucksack.
- Variable Focus – wide flood beam to narrow spot.
- Smart Light Technology – Several Light Programs
- OptiSense Active Light Measurement Technology mode – light output adjusts automatically.
- Glare-free High End Red LED Light to protect night vision (useful when in a tent or shared accommodation)
With a Summer Solstice Summit ascent
of Ben Lomond planned with my wee sister, there was a great opportunity
to put the torch to “normal” use (okay …I admit I had already tried it by
climbing to a cupboard at home). We left the car at around 00:30 with Irene
using my other preferred top end head torch (a Petzl Nao) in order to give a
side by side comparison – we both agreed the light output from the SE07R was
actually superior (despite the Nao having a higher lumens specification) and it
was clear from the outset the SE07R on full power was bright …very bright in
fact ! A nice even light and the beam adjustment was simple – played
around a bit as we climbed up through the forest section and settled on a wide
beam which lit the path and sides well. Reckon the narrow beam would be useful
when searching for a navigation feature or control point during a night race.
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| Perfectly Balanced Beam |
Given the shortness of the darkness at this time of year, it was simple enough to adjust the main torch output as daylight started to arrive which would obviously help burn time. In addition, I also found the automatic light output adjustment pretty subtle which was one of the niggles with my other torch. We weren’t out long enough to compare the overall battery life of the two torches but given the ability to swap out batteries …don’t consider this as a major issue.
One concern I initially had was the
battery and lamp unit being combined and the possibility of it feeling a bit
“front heavy” whilst worn but very quickly never noticed wearing it to the
point of forgetting to take it off once the sun was up. We had perfect weather
but given that the SE07R has an IPX6 rating (aka Protected against heavy seas -
Water projected at all angles through a 12.5mm nozzle at a flow rate of 100
liters/min at a pressure of 100 kN/m2 for 3 minutes from a distance of 3
meters) it should cope with the very worst of Scottish conditions. Interesting
that the Nao is only rated at a slightly lesser IPX4.
Looking forward to further use out
in the Alps and happy to say the SE07R has already become my head torch of
choice for use here in Scotland. Reckon my teammates will appreciate the Red
LED function when the inevitable happens and a wee night visit to the loo is
required ! Given that the SE07R is also available at roughly half the cost of
the Nao it represents outstanding value as well as great performance.
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| A Happy Beard ! |
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