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Jesse's Hunting > Hunting Articles > Hunting Gear > Bushnell HD Torch Lives Up to the Hype
Bushnell HD Torch Lives Up to the Hype
Brad Swadley - JHO ProStaff
- Dallas, TX
May 04, 2009
You always see the awe inspiring promises that new products tend to hold. Advertising goes a long way in encouraging this premise that you won’t believe your eyes. It’s almost as though Barnum and Bailey themselves have come out of retirement to bombard us with so much smoke and mirrors that after a while you become numb to the effect... especially when most never live up to their promise.
The HD Torch
Bushnell's new, square beam light really shines! |
Flashlight engineering has made some significant strides in the past few years. But this was the first one that I had seen that promoted a square beam of light. Yes, you read right, a square beam of light out of a round flashlight. First of all, the front is as round as a wheel. Yet the light that projects out is a true square.
My first experience with the HD Torch was down at the deer lease. We were headed down to check up on things one weekend and had arrived late at night. I received the flashlight about a week earlier, but I had been too busy to open it up. Upon arrival, I quickly opened the package and slid in the two 3-volt lithium batteries that are included. I read the brief directions included in the package and turned the light on. It was as if someone had turned on a bright, white projector, and had aimed it into the dark timber. It was quite impressive. The intense light output was penetrating the darkness easily out to at least 30 or 40 yards, making everything within its square beam quite defined. I turned it on and off a couple of times in disbelief, but it never wavered.
I have owned a lot of flashlights and none of them had ever compared to this one. But there are more features than you could shake a stick at on this bad boy. The machined aluminum body that houses the 165 lumen lighting array is definitely built to withstand some abuse. It is lightweight due to the smaller batteries that are utilized, but for me, that was a bonus, as it made it easier to carry and maneuver. The main button will not function unless you depress the rear switch. Once on, the bottom lights up with a green glow making it easy to find in the dark. When battery power is low, it turns red, letting you know it’s time to get some fresh batteries installed. The first click initiates the square beam. The second depression engages the strobe function. This would be good for home protection as it will disorient any intruders that might want to wander into your domain. The battery life is listed as 1.5 hours on the two batteries, and I have run it about and hour so far and still have not seen the red light. I leave the green light function on at night and it is easy to find in the dark. Rounding out the features is the lanyard attachment that rotates on the end of the flashlight.
In the end, the Torch truly lives up to its billing. Retail is listed as $79.99, and I would say it is definitely worth that. The only problem right now is finding one. I searched the internet to get an idea of pricing, but only one website listed them as ready to order. Hopefully they will become more readily available, so keep an eye out for them. But in the end, this is no circus stunt. The HD Torch is the real deal.
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