Gearblog - Much Too Bright Enough?

Just how bright is bright enough? I'm asking because right now we seem to be in the middle of the headtorch equivalent of a nuclear arms race. The light specialists are unleashing brighter and brighter torches - the latest Petzl Myo XP for example, is claimed to be three times brighter than it's predecessor - but no-one's asking whether we need all that light.

The XP is reckoned to produce a whopping 72-metre beam on it's boost setting, while Silva's LX claims a similar 75-metre range, but the reality for most of us is that headtorches come out for the walk to the pub or when heating up the cous cous in the tent at the end of the day when, let's be honest, a small, light LED torch is more than enough.

Back in the old days...

For years everyone seemed to manage just fine with a standard issue Petzl Zoom. It was heavy, expensive to run because it used stupid 4.5-volt square batteries, and threw out a limpid pool of dim yellow light unless you used the xenon bulb, in which case your batteries would last 20 minutes...

But somehow we managed, we cooked using them, climbed using them, night navved with them. How come? Well, the reality is that most of the time, you don't really need that much light - as long as you can see enough to stir your evening pasta, read a paperback book and clearly make out the edge of the cliff you're about to walk over, quite a little light is quite enough light.

There are exceptions of course - sometimes if you're night navigating, it's nice to be able to pick out prominent features when they're more than five feet from your nose. Ditto if you're running, moving fast and want to see where your feet are going, ditto, if not more so, on a mountain bike, which is why bike lights are now stupidly daylight bright.

And finally for climbers trying to pick out a route in the dark or discern abseil stations on a benighted descent, a really strong, clear beam can be an absolute god-send.

The escalation goes on...

So what am I saying? Well, not that you shouldn't buy a bright, new-fangled headtorch, after all it's nice to be able to see further ahead, but be realistic about how much light you actually need and pick your torch accordingly, maybe even consider a small, light low-powered lamp for use around the tent and an all-singing, all-dancing master blaster searchlight for those days when you're planning to run along Crib Goch in pitch blackness.

One thing's for sure though, LED light technology keeps developing, so don't go kidding yourself that your ultimate light's going to stay ultimate for very long. As long as the technology's there, the manufacturers will use it, but that doesn't mean you need to. Of course, whether you want to is a different matter altogether ...