Description
The HDL40 is a head torch built around one thing, a single front light that the pack rates at 500 lumens in high mode, with a beam reaching 75 metres. The head pivots on the band, so you can aim the light at the ground a few feet ahead of you or down onto whatever your hands are doing without tilting your neck. Five light modes are printed on the pack, one of them red, and three AAA alkaline cells come in the box, so it works the moment you open it.
That suits jobs where both hands are busy and a hand torch is a nuisance. Loft insulation, wiring behind a cupboard, changing a wheel on a dark verge, a late walk with the dog down an unlit lane, or a night under canvas where you want to read without lighting the whole tent. The pack prints a waterproof rating of IPX7, so rain and a soaking are accounted for. We would keep one in a kitchen drawer for power cuts and a second in the car, because a head torch is only useful where it already is.
The body is orange with a white front panel, which helps when you are feeling around a rucksack or a toolbox in the dark, and the band is a fabric strap in a matching orange. Running on AAA cells rather than a sealed pack means replacements are on any supermarket shelf, and the pack gives a run time of three hours. It arrives to us in fours, so the smallest order is four units and orders go up in multiples of four, which makes it worth thinking of as a set: one by the back door, one in the car, one in the camping box and a spare for whoever borrows things and forgets.
Specification
| Light source |
One front light with five modes; the pack does not state the lamp technology |
| Brightness |
500lm in high mode, as printed on the pack |
| Runtime |
3 hours, as printed on the pack |
| Battery |
3 x AAA alkaline, included |
| IP rating |
IPX7 waterproof, as printed on the pack |
| Sold as |
One head torch with three AAA batteries |
| Minimum order |
4, sold in multiples of 4 |
Frequently Asked
How bright is 500 lumens in practice?
The pack gives 500 lumens in high mode with a beam reaching 75 metres, which is enough to pick out a field boundary or a path well ahead of you rather than just your own feet.
Which batteries does it take, and do I get any with it?
It runs on three AAA alkaline cells and the pack states that they are included, so you can use it straight away and buy replacements anywhere.
How long will it run for?
The pack prints a run time of three hours. Fresh cells and the lower modes will always get you further than continuous use on the brightest setting.
Will it survive rain?
The pack prints a waterproof rating of IPX7, so it is built for wet weather and wet ground rather than being kept indoors and dry.
Is it dimmable, and is a colour temperature given?
Neither the specification nor the retail pack states a dimming function or a colour temperature. What the pack does give is five separate light modes, including a red one, which you cycle through.
Why is the minimum order four?
This line reaches us in multiples of four units, so four head torches is the smallest quantity we can send and orders rise in fours from there.