Customer Reviews

Bushnell HD Torch 165-Lumen Square Beam LED Flashlight

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I find this light extremely useful both at work or home. The "clean" beam edges and excellent level of brightness is all I need for getting around the job sight and lighting up areas when I need to locate some material. The clean edges/brightness have to be seen to be truly appreciated. I really don't like using a regular beam after using this light. The level and consistency of illumination inside the square beam area has spoiled me. Beam is bright enough to reach back into the far areas of my back yard to find my dogs on those nights they find something interesting and don't want to come in.

I can't vouch for any disorientation associated with the use of the strobe. If that is a major function you need, then you also should have access to good LLEA information associated with preferred frequencies, intensity, etc.

But for the light function itself, I think it is nothing short of superb for what it does. My favorite flashlight.

And as noted in a previous post, the only reason the rear end cap for locating the light is on is if you want it on or didn't read the directions and don't know how to turn it off. When it is on, it will go through batteries pretty fast. With it off, the flashlight is very good on battery life.

Saw this advertised in my NRA magazine and was intrigued. I found the price at $65 pretty good for a brand name product so I ordered it. Here are my initial observations both pro and con:

The good: Fine quality as you would expect from Bushnell. The light is indeed very bright as advertised. It produces a bright square light that is as consistently bright at the outer edge as the center. The farther away from an object you are, the larger the box shaped beam. I could see this being especially good when lighting up a single object from over 50 feet where there would be no escaping the impressive light. Turn the light slightly and you get a bright crisp diamond shape which gives great vertical and horizontal views. Lastly, if you want attention, it is just so different that everyone wants to know what it is. The light is not small, it is a decent size and would be hard to conceal or fit in your jacket, but would be good for self defense. Also, (yawn) is has a strobe feature.

The Bad: Old habits die hard and for me, getting used to a solid square light is proving difficult; maybe there is a good reason tactical flashlights project a round beam.

First, in a fluid tactical situation, I would not recommend a square beam because it forces you to focus within the beam. You literally can not see outside the box because the lines are so bright and crisp. I took my surefire defender and went back and forth between lights. While the Bushnell was brighter, someone could be standing a few feet outside the beam and you would not see them. With the round light, you have some peripheral vision, with the Bushnell you get tunnel vision- distracting and dangerous in my opinion.

I'm also not impressed with the rear cap switch that doubles as a battery indicator because it must be depressed to the on position for the main body switch to work! This means that you have constant green "B" light on in order to use the main switch. Again, not good from a tactical viewpoint as in the dark, it gives away your position. You have no choice, it must be on for the light to work.

So- if you want a great around the farm or camping flashlight and don't mind spending the money, you won't be disappointed. For tactical use, not good in my opinion. I'm a little disappointed but not enough to return it!

This is a pretty cool flashlight, however there are some cons to the deal as well. First impressions on receiving the flashlight - why won't manufactures make it easier to get the item out of the packaging! Once I had it out of the packaging it is a very nice flashlight, that isn't too heavy and seems to be made very durably. So here are the pros and cons:

Pros
1) Rugged and advertised as waterproof (I did not test this, yet...)
2) Incredibly bright beam
3) Edge to edge brightness of the area illuminated
4) Fairly light weight
5) Lighted B at the back is useful and doubles as a complete off switch for the flashlight (assuming this doesn't use too much power)

Cons
1) Non-standard batteries (fairly expensive rechargeable batteries are available)
2) Short battery life (to stay light weight and have such brightness this had to give)
3) Pretty expensive for a flashlight, though if it holds up well, maybe this is acceptable

The edge to edge brightness that I've listed as a pro may also be considered a con, but I haven't decided yet. Although, it is neat that it is so evenly illuminated, it does feel a bit weird not being able to see in the periphery of the beam area. This may be something I just need to get used to, but having that sudden termination line feels odd, since it isn't what I'm used to in a flashlight. Overall, this seems to be a neat product to have in an emergency, though with the battery life it has,If you're planning on using it during a power outage at home, I'd recommend keeping some extra sets of batteries handy as well. I'd give it a 5 star for its brightness and ruggedness (in a lightweight package), however the price and battery life are a 3 star. Overall the pros and cons taken together make it a 4 star flashlight instead of a 5 star light in my mind.

Here are the pros and cons of this flashlight as I see them.

Pros:
- Extremely bright. When compared to my old go-to large flashlight, a full sized maglite (the one that takes 3 D batteries) this unit just blows it away.
- Uniform light field. Just like the box says the lighted area is basically uniformly lit edge to edge. A pretty neat trick in my humble opinion. No more messing with the maglites "nozzle" to get what I want lit.
- Compact. About half the size and about a third the weight of the maglite.
- Built in battery life inidcator. When the main power button turns red - it's time for new batteries.

Cons:
- Takes non standard batteries. CR123A size

Deabtable:
- Square light field. This will personally take some getting used to, though not really a knock on the ability of the flashlight to cast light.
- Two power buttons? Main power on the bottom on the unit with a traditional button on the side.
- Strobe funtion. Personally not a fan of the strobe function, but I can see how it could be useful in certain backwoods search and rescue situations.

Summary:
This is a very cool flashlight with an amazing ability to cast a strong and uniform light. But the unit isn't without its quirks. I can easily see this unit being the perfect flashlight for some people but possibly not the right choice for others.

If you a search at Amazon for "LED flashlight" the Bushnell HD Torch isn't even mentioned in the top 150 brands/models. Maybe that's why Bushnell decided to include it in the Amazon program for review? I know I'm not supposed to mention things like that, but honestly that would make me think they aren't selling a lot of them so they needed to raise public awareness of their brand (in flashlights) and what they have to offer to set them apart from their competition.

After my old school love affair with Maglite, my loyalty went to Coast when LED flashlights became all the rage. And I have to admit, Coast makes an amazing flashlight at a reasonable price. I own 2 and love them. I use them primarily for camping trips.

I have felt the need, however, for a "home" flashlight that I could not only use for such things as power failures but just general everyday use. While such a flashlight didn't necessarily need to be rugged, I felt it did need to have the widest possible and brightest possible beam.

The Bushnell HD Torch is the ONLY flashlight I have ever seen that fulfills both needs and far exceeds any reasonable expectations. It is BRIGHT and the beam pattern is pure genius, nothing in any flashlight, even comes close. You may get more lumens from some flashlights in a highly concentrated area, but this flashlight doesn't work exactly like that, it's more like the projector at a drive-in theater with no film in the projector ... ridiculously bright and white and equally so across the entire square area of its beam. The entire square area is equally bright and looks exactly like daylight.

So what else? Case construction? Rock solid! I can't imagine every putting a dent in the case, let alone damaging it. Switches? Rock solid! Satisfying hard "click" on and off. Tactical quality. Battery life? Not so great, but come on, 90 minutes is a long time unless you are in a job that requires the flashlight to be on for extended periods. For most of us, 90 minutes on time translates to a few months of normal use.

PROS: I compared 3 flashlights in my backyard the day the HD Torch was delivered. Both were adequately bright at the very center of the beam but the brightness fell of rapidly from there. The HD Torch illuminated my entire storage shed from a distance of 40'. The major pro is bright USABLE light.

CONS: I'm not a tactical user but if I was I may not like the fact that the main power switch has that "B" logo on whenever the flashlight is on. I don't want to be a target with that little glow pointed at ME. If I were a tactical user I would probably cover the "B" with electrical tape. A minor detail is when I opened the package the flashlight was very oily to the touch. I had to wipe it down with a paper towel. I think the manufacturer should have done that before packing it.

I was a bit excited when I researched rechargeable batteries to fit this flashlight until I found that most rechargeable battery manufactures are not too keen on using their batteries in high-powered flashlights. And that actual use time if you do is likely going to be about 60 minutes continuous. Not bad, but just consider how much you are going to keep this flashlight on at one time. For most of us, not a problem, but if you are a pro user, you may want to consider getting a case of 24 or more batteries at a time (hopefully at about a buck a battery).

This is a great light. Solid, not too big, and very bright. It seems much brighter than 165 lumens, and the light is so crisp. Also, the beam is a great size. I can light up an average size house from around 50-75 feet and the neighbors don't even know it. The only down fall is the button battery indicator. While cool, it drains the battery so I just make sure to hit the tail button to turn the light off and I get great battery life.

This flashlight replaced my mini-mag that I currently carried. I primarily use the flashlight to pre-flight aircraft in the early mornings and at night with the sun being down. I was amazed at the brightness and clarity of the light. It is able to light up the tail of the aircraft like daylight. The tail is about 40 feet up, and this was an area where the mini-mag was lacking. It is larger then the mini-mag, but it still fits nicely into my bag, and is not cumbersome in any way. For the negative reviewers, just read the instructions. Use the tail cap button to turn the flashlight on and off as this prevents the find me light from being on when not in use. I highly recommend this light to those who need day at night!

First real improvement in a flashlight. More like a projector with even corner to corner light and plenty bright. It is nearly as bright as the brightest center spot of a 4 "D" cell Maglight according to my light meter, except it is the same brightness from corner to corner unlike the tiny bright spot of the Maglight. The illuminated square measures 28" x 28" at ten feet. This LED light will render your standard flashlights obsolete. You won't be disappointed.

This is the best flashlight I have ever owned. Period. The strength of the illumination is astounding, and the square pattern replaces the standard round illuminated area that fades with distance. For those who don't read instructions, the "find me" light on the butt can be turned ON/OFF to conserve battery strength. And if you're whining about the cost of replacement batteries, then you've missed the point of this optical achievement and you should carry a flaming stick upon exiting your cave at night. Although I am not certain about the designer's intended use for the strobe effect, it certainly discourages roaming nocturnal wildlife (and my neighbors). Well done, Bushnell!

This flashlight is neat. It projects a square light on the surface you are pointing at. And it is BRIGHT! I am a fan. it even has an easy-on button, in addition to the regular button. I found this to be a pretty great flashlight. HOWEVER, I am not a fan of the two 3-Volt lithium batteries it requires -- they are expensive, and not as easy to find as other common-use batteries, in my opinion. I also found that the light went through the two batteries which came in the packaging relatively quickly. So, while I really like the flashlight, and think it's a really well-performing product, the battery thing knocks it down a peg in my opinion, so that's why I'm only giving it four stars instead of five.