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Duracell Torches 

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To me I knew the name Duracell for one thing batteries. Here they are launching a range of top quality torches, powered of course by their batteries. However the torches themselves offer something new, not seen before.

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Have you noticed that almost all torches bulb or LED have bands of whiteness when shone into a dark area so you either have to move them about or refocus the beam to see what you require, these Duracell offerings give a totally white light, yes I mean white and not a rather washed out nicotine type yellow tinge to the colour.

The items I am looking are from the Daylight range and there are a total of nine units of varying size and shape. I am going to tell you about three of them including one that is great when you have not a hand to hold it with.

All three of the torces give 80 Lumens of light and 3watt LED. Two of them use AA whilst the other uses AAA. All the torces have a technology that avoids the waste light that normally escapes from the lens out sideways.

The first and smallest uses three AAA batteries and these are arranged in a small area side by side in a triangular shape rather than the normal one after another. The torch is 13cm long and a maximum of 4.5cm across at the lens. The back end is just under 3cm. The weight is around 130grams. The catchy name is LR03-Mini Stilo-Micro I am pleased to say it works a lot more easily than its name is at flowing off the tongue.

The neck can be twisted to allow the sharpness of the beam to be defused to cover a wider arc area. It works well in a range of general conditions. The one thing to get used to is that the on/off button needs a firm push and this is a rubber button on the back end of the unit.

The next LR6-Stilo-Mignon is a little longer at 17.5cm, at the lens it is 3.5cm across and at the base only 2cm. This is powered by two AA batteries in the more normal inline display – hence the narrower barrel of the unit.


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The same twist action at the lens end gives the same six image options settings, this a little misleading as you can twist to any position either exactly on one of the markings or anyway between any two, so it really is there just to say adjustment of the beam is possible. This is slightly heavier than the LR03 at a tad under 150 grams.

Finally the LED Headlamp offering the LR6-MN1500 Stilo-Mignon unit. This forms a headband with 3xAA batteries inserted in the part that fits on the back of the head. Seeing some of the silly units that are legal (?) on a bicycle today I assume this would qualify as there is a small red light below the on/off button. A coiled wire goes to the torch unit at the front. This is 3.5cm across and protrudes 4cm from the elasticised headband.

The total weight of the unit including the batteries and both the back and front lights is just over 120 grams in weight.

The real beauty of this is that when you need to get somewhere small like the cupboard where the fuse box is and you need both hands available to change the fuse this headband can shine the light while both hands are free to work.

All three of these products come in these terrible strong plastic display units – great for shop display – but you normally require industrial scissors to open them. Here I am delighted to say they have micro perforations that allow with care you to bend down part of the packaging and then with the aid of a screwdriver remove the cardboard backing without damage to yourself and even the chance to replace the product when not in use.

Prices start from £19.99 and should be available online and from shops. http://www1.duracell.com/uk/products-detail-daylite.aspx     

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Features12
Performance12
Value12
Ease of use12
Design12
OverallDuracell Torches rated 84 out of 100

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