An innovative, award-winning, solar-powered head torch -
the Everlite EL8 Solar - is about to become available in the
UK.
The five-LED head lamp comes with a compact 82-gramme solar panel
which is used to charge the unit's built-in Lithium Ion battery
during the day. You just hang it on your tent or pack, plug the torch
into it and let the sunshine do the rest.
It takes around seven hours of sunshine to fully charge the torch
giving from 12 to 24 hours of light output depending on the
brightness setting of the light. Range on full brightness is claimed
to be approximately 20 metres.
There are four settings, high, low and emergency blinking, plus an
automatic setting which switches the light on when a built-in
photocell decides that it's dark. There's also a neat charge
indicator on the headtorch body which glows red, yellow or green
depending on charge levels.
You can buy additional accesories which allow you to charge small
electrical items, like an MP3 player, mobile phone or PDA direct from
the headtorch or the solar panel, which is a neat touch.
The torch won one of only 17 Backpacker magazine 2008 Editor's
Choice Awards, based on months of trail testing winning praise for
its ability to make batteries redundant.
We've got one on test right now and we'll be reporting back
shortly, but it looks like a brilliant idea for anyone on an extended
trekking trip who wants to leave the spare batteries at home and
would be fantastic, say, on the Annapurna Circuit, for keeping both
torch and perhaps an MP3 player running happily.
Even better, with a projected retail price of just over £30,
it won't break the bank, particularly when you factor in savings on
replacement batteries.
You can find more information on the Everlite EL8 Solar at
www.newlite.com
or via the UK importers ESC Outdoor at www.esc-outdoor.co.uk.
Test to follow soon.
Burp.
