Maratac AAA Torch, 138 lumens, weight 11.5 grams including removable pocket clip. You will not believe how bright this torch is on the highest setting! You could shoot a fox or rabbit with it at 30-50 yards, seriously! The light diffuser (included) at 1.5 grams turns it into a very creditable lantern. It also glows in the dark, as does the torch – handy when you need to find it in a dark tent.
It has three light settings quoted as 1.5 (55 hours), 40 (7 hours) and 138 lumens (70 minutes). I did a previous post about ‘Tent Lanterns’ here: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/tent-lanterns/ and I also mentioned this torch back in February: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/138-lumen-single-aaa-flashlight/ . With a birthday coming up I decided to order one. Now it has arrived I will order several more! I was pretty happy with my old Fenix LD01 at 14 grams and 85 lumens with its three settings 9 (11 hours), 28 (3.5 hours) and 85 lumens (1 hour) . (The LD02 has 8 (15 hours) , 25 (4.25 hours) and 100 lumens 30 minutes). This torch is shorter (67mm compared to 75 mm and looks more compact too. I was astonished actually that a AAA battery fitted in it. The newer Cree Led is obviously pushing out 62% more lumens per watt than the old Fenix’s model and 38% more than the new – which means you will have to carry correspondingly fewer grams in batteries .
You are getting 7 hours at 40 lumens (on the middle setting) compared with about half that at about half the brightness. That’s a lot of light. Your AAA battery will last approx two nights – more if you switch it back to the lowest setting – all you need for sitting in the tent talking or reading an ebook on your Android phone anyway afer you have finished cooking. The Eneloop’s rechargeable 750 mAh AAA batteries I use weigh 11.5 grams each, so you are getting all your light for a carry of 13 grams (torch) and about 6 grams per day (batteries). A week’s light – all up is about 50 grams! It is available from http://www.countycomm.com/aaa.html (US$29.75ea) . He doesn’t usually ship to Australia, but can slip one/a few in a pre-paid envelope for US$12 – if you ask nicely. The website had some glitches when I bought my first one (a lot of US websites do!) but he will come good with your torches. Merry Xmas!
The diffuser works quite well and also fits the Fenix torches (and probably others) and costs only US$2.50! It certainly is an alternative to unlocking the Loktite the head of the torch is screwed on with on the Fenixes – I can’t see whether the Maratac can be unscrewed or not, but with the diffuser it doesn’t need to be! As usual the addition of a bit of elastic and/or a couple of O-rings and a micro cord lock can turn this torch too into a head torch – as I have already observed with the LD01. See also my post about ‘DIY Head Torches’ here: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/diy-head-torches/
PS: Maratac now (July 2017) have an even brighter model of this (and other) torches.
