I’d been after a head torch with both white and red lights for absolutely ages. The advantages of a red light are that it’s less likely to scare fish, plus it doesn’t ruin your night vision – something I found out as an amateur astronomer.
However, all the ones I’d seen either had flashing red lights, or the red light could be accessed only through a sequence with the white light coming on first – which rather defeats the object as your night vision has already been ruined!
Then Glyn, one of my bailiffs at Wingham, recommended this model from Argos. I’ve now had it almost 2 years and I’m extremely pleased with it. In fact, so much so I’ve bought 3 more of them, 2 of which stay in the glove compartments of the our cars for map reading and emergencies. Another I keep as a spare, as just when you find a good product they all too often get discontinued!
The single red LED is perfect for baiting-up, landing a special fish, and even reading in the bivvy. The 2 white LEDs are brighter, and are great for finding your way back to the car in the dark or unscrambling padlocks. To turn the power on just push the 3 position switch to the left for red light, to the right for white. The centre position is of course for off.
The adjustable headband is very comfortable, and unlike many other models, you can tilt the torch so that it points where you want. It can even sit on a padded base so that you can use it on a table etc. (see pic).
Power comes from 3 AAA batteries, and like all LED torches these last a hell of a long time. In fact I recently changed mine after about 18 months of use.
Although it’s not waterproof, it is described as weatherproof. Certainly I’ve had no problems whatsoever, and mine has been totally reliable.
I’d have been prepared to pay considerably more for all these features, so at just £9.95 including batteries this Energizer model is a real snip!
The Argos catalogue number is 0199258 – click here to visit their homepage.
Copyright Steve Burke 2007
