Highlander Polaris Rechargeable Head Torch

Hands-free lighting can be really useful when you are out shooting at night, and with the threat of power cuts looming, it can be pretty handy to have around at home too. The Highlander Polaris has a fully adjustable headstrap, so fits most, and incorporates an overhead stabilization strap to stop it from sliding down when you are moving around. The straps are nice and wide and once you get it all properly adjusted, it sits very comfortably. You can also wear it over a hat if required. With the power source sitting at the back of your head, it balances out the weight of the lamp itself and so stops the whole thing from slipping forwards. The torch is not fully waterproof but is ‘splashproof’ and it can be worn under a hood, where it works just fine.

Beam

The lamp produces 550 lumens of white light on the highest setting, with a range of approximately 300m. It can also be tilted vertically, so you can either shine light out into the distance or straight downwards, to illuminate something closer in. There are four illumination settings: Power, Eco, Low and Flash. When the battery level drops below 20%, the lamp automatically switches to battery-saving mode and gives 1 hour of low-power light. This feature means that if you are out shooting at night and the battery level gets low, you can still get back to your vehicle safely. Controls & power Powering up the unit and switching between power levels is all done by pressing a single button on the side of the lamp. The button is fairly large, so you can easily find and operate it while wearing the torch on your head. To prevent the light from being accidentally knocked or switched on inside your pack, draining the battery, the ‘Autolock’ feature means that the button has to be pressed and held for four seconds to power up the lamp, which is a good idea. Two 18650 Li batteries and a Micro USB charging lead are supplied with the torch and battery runtime is approximately 3-4 hours, depending on the light level being used. Recharging takes about 8 hours and there is a light on the rear of the battery compartment that changes from red to green when the batteries are fully charged.

Conclusion

This is a powerful head torch and the runtime is very good for the size of the batteries. It is relatively lightweight, so is comfortable to wear, plus being able to adjust the angle of the lamp means that you can use it for searching ahead of you and doing work with your hands close in. As the torch is rechargeable, it is more environmentally friendly than using single use batteries and the battery-saving mode is a really useful feature. The Polaris is very well-priced and represents really good value for money.