LED LENSER FROGMAN TORCH
The New Improved Frogman Torch arrived in a nice presentation box along with a lanyard and batteries, a quick check to ensure that the single "o" ring was greased and the torch was ready to dive with, straight out of the box.
My initial reaction was that this was a quality torch. The body comprises a shockproof ABS construction, which feels very solid and has a 60-metre depth rating. The head of the torch is finished with Polished high-grade stainless steel. So in the looks department this torch scored well, but how would it fair underwater?
I strapped the frogman Torch to my camera strobe, thinking to use it as a spotting light. I had a similar E-Led torch from another major manufacturer mounted as a Focus light on my camera and I would make a direct comparison of these two torches.
I dropped in on the wreck of the East Neuk off of Eyemouth (Thanks to Iain and Jim of Marine Quest) and the visibility was a pleasing 8 metres, for a cold November day. This enabled me to back away from the wreck, to take pictures of whole sections, such as the boiler or engine block. In the good light my E-led focus torch could hardly put a dot of light on the boiler. The Led Lenser Frogman Torch however, was illuminating a bright spot on the boiler. In the end there was no real comparison as the Frogman torch was far more impressive. So in the power department this torch scores very highly as well. I would go as far to say that if I mounted the frogman torch as my focus light I would very rarely have to switch on my main light, for most of my normal diving. This torch should certainly not only be thought of as a back up torch.
So how does this small torch pack such a punch? Well to start off with the Frogman has a 1.5w Cree Led Chip that is 25 times brighter than a standard Led and 50 times brighter than a standard bulb. This powerful light is then focused by the lens, which is situated in front of a Patented reflector system. This results in the projection a long and powerful beam. This beam has minimal edge spill and illuminates only the object at hand and not the surrounding particles in the water, thus enabling you to see further in poor conditions. So for the often-murky waters of Scotland this is a big advantage, but as my test above proves the torch performs very well in clearer conditions too.
So what advantages does the new frogman torch have over the older model?
Firstly there is the already mentioned Cree Led Chip which provides more light. This also has a lower power consumption and its claimed that you can expect 50 hours of light from 1 set of 4 AA batteries. The main difference however, is the addition to this model of a magnetic switch. The previous model suffered badly when the head of the torch required to be rotated to turn the torch on and off. Many divers found this to be impossible to perform any deeper than 30 metres down. Thankfully though the addition of the switch solves this problem and makes the torch easy to turn on and off underwater. My only gripe with the frogman Torch is that whilst the body of the torch is very smooth for comforts sake, there are no attaching holes apart from the lanyard hole at the end of the torch. This makes it difficult to attach this torch to a helmet or a camera with bungee cord or tie wraps. A rough area, a couple of grooves or another hole in the casing near the head end would make it much easier to secure this torch. That really is the only negative thing I could say about this torch.
The price is £45 which is £13 more expensive than the similar e-Led torch I tested it against but I would say that its money well spent for a tough, powerful, well constructed and economic torch that will last a lifetime with no bulbs to replace. To Put it another way if Luke Skywalker arrived on earth with £45 to spend The New Led Lenser Frogman torch would be his new light sabre.
Available in black and yellow.
The New Improved Frogman Torch arrived in a nice presentation box along with a lanyard and batteries, a quick check to ensure that the single "o" ring was greased and the torch was ready to dive with, straight out of the box.
My initial reaction was that this was a quality torch. The body comprises a shockproof ABS construction, which feels very solid and has a 60-metre depth rating. The head of the torch is finished with Polished high-grade stainless steel. So in the looks department this torch scored well, but how would it fair underwater?
I strapped the frogman Torch to my camera strobe, thinking to use it as a spotting light. I had a similar E-Led torch from another major manufacturer mounted as a Focus light on my camera and I would make a direct comparison of these two torches.
I dropped in on the wreck of the East Neuk off of Eyemouth (Thanks to Iain and Jim of Marine Quest) and the visibility was a pleasing 8 metres, for a cold November day. This enabled me to back away from the wreck, to take pictures of whole sections, such as the boiler or engine block. In the good light my E-led focus torch could hardly put a dot of light on the boiler. The Led Lenser Frogman Torch however, was illuminating a bright spot on the boiler. In the end there was no real comparison as the Frogman torch was far more impressive. So in the power department this torch scores very highly as well. I would go as far to say that if I mounted the frogman torch as my focus light I would very rarely have to switch on my main light, for most of my normal diving. This torch should certainly not only be thought of as a back up torch.
So how does this small torch pack such a punch? Well to start off with the Frogman has a 1.5w Cree Led Chip that is 25 times brighter than a standard Led and 50 times brighter than a standard bulb. This powerful light is then focused by the lens, which is situated in front of a Patented reflector system. This results in the projection a long and powerful beam. This beam has minimal edge spill and illuminates only the object at hand and not the surrounding particles in the water, thus enabling you to see further in poor conditions. So for the often-murky waters of Scotland this is a big advantage, but as my test above proves the torch performs very well in clearer conditions too.
So what advantages does the new frogman torch have over the older model?
Firstly there is the already mentioned Cree Led Chip which provides more light. This also has a lower power consumption and its claimed that you can expect 50 hours of light from 1 set of 4 AA batteries. The main difference however, is the addition to this model of a magnetic switch. The previous model suffered badly when the head of the torch required to be rotated to turn the torch on and off. Many divers found this to be impossible to perform any deeper than 30 metres down. Thankfully though the addition of the switch solves this problem and makes the torch easy to turn on and off underwater. My only gripe with the frogman Torch is that whilst the body of the torch is very smooth for comforts sake, there are no attaching holes apart from the lanyard hole at the end of the torch. This makes it difficult to attach this torch to a helmet or a camera with bungee cord or tie wraps. A rough area, a couple of grooves or another hole in the casing near the head end would make it much easier to secure this torch. That really is the only negative thing I could say about this torch.
The price is £45 which is £13 more expensive than the similar e-Led torch I tested it against but I would say that its money well spent for a tough, powerful, well constructed and economic torch that will last a lifetime with no bulbs to replace. To Put it another way if Luke Skywalker arrived on earth with £45 to spend The New Led Lenser Frogman torch would be his new light sabre.
Available in black and yellow.
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