Everybody has a flashlight, but can your flashlight light up your entire home? Does the battery in your flashlight last longer than ten years without a single bulb change? Does your flashlight make you feel like you have nature’s own sunlight at your fingertips? If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, then you definitely need the Bell & Howell Torchlite.
Recently advertised on late night infomercials, this ‘as seen on TV’ product promises to improve upon traditional flashlight design with a myriad of convenient improvements and features.
Flashlights are one of the most important and most forgotten tools to have both around the house and in the car- if you’ve ever had an unexpected power outage a flat tyre at night time or had to work in a cramped, dark place place with no light then you’d understand the frustration of not having a quality torch on hand.
In this article we’ll run through the features and benefits of the Bell & Howell Torchlite, and help you decide whether the Torchlite is the best purchase for you.
What is the Torchlite?
The Bell & Howell Torchlite takes advantage of recent developments in LED technology to create a superior handheld flashlight. Flashlights aren’t a new technology- the first flashlight was created in 1889 by British inventor David Misell.
The first design for a flashlight was actually very similar to the standard flashlight used today- a series of dry-cell ‘D’ batteries laid end to end in a tube, with a light bulb and reflector at the en. This design remained largely unchanged for over 100 years, until the invention of the first practical, commercially available light emitting diode, or LED, in 1999.
LED’s are far more efficient at converting electricity to light than their older incandescent bulb cousins, and are now used in a wide range of applications, from aviation lighting, automotive headlamps, advertising, general lighting to traffic signals and camera flashes.
LED lights also have a much longer working lifetime than an incandescent bulb- incandescent bulbs last only an average of 1,200 hours, while the typical LED lasts over fifty to one hundred times that amount. The Bell & Howell Torchlite uses cutting-edge LED technology as the source of its powerful 72 lumen output, and when combined with it’s innovative design, becomes a powerful lighting tool for almost any task you can throw at it.
Torchlite Design & Construction
The Bell & Howell Company is no stranger to the art of lighting, founded over a century ago by two projectionists. Bell & Howell had their start in creating projection machinery for the American motion picture industry, and now makes everything from digital cameras to portable radios, electric shavers, floodlights, desk lamps, flood lights and more.
The Torchlite is the culmination of 100 years of light technology research and application, and this is reflected in the elegance of its design.
The Bell & Howell Torchlight contains 33 individual high-powered LED lights within a durable plastic frame with an innovative pivoting mechanism. Users are able to pivot the Torchlight 180 degrees when it is placed upon the sturdy weighted base, giving users total lighting coverage.
Also incorporated into the base of the Torchlight is a powerful magnet strong enough to lift 2.5lbs, or attach the Torchlite to any metal surface to allow the user to work hands free. The magnet is one of the most convenient features of the Torchlite and is excellent at picking up items like spilled nails.
The rugged construction of the Torchlite means it’s shock resistant, so it won’t break from an unfortunate drop onto a workshop floor. The Torchlite is also weatherproof and can be used in all kinds of weather conditions, perfect for outdoor activities such as camping.
Bell & Howell have also seen fit to include a hook on the Torchlite that can rotate 360 degrees, allowing for strategic placement when working in confined places.
The lighting system of the Torchlite consists of two banks of high power, long life LED’s. The primary LED bank runs along the length of the device and contains 28 LEDS that provide a wide beam of intense light at 72 Lumens.
Users can easily switch between illumination modes with the press of a single button, and place the Torchlite into flashlight mode. The Torchlight’s flashlight mode uses 5 LED’s on the front of the device, and works exceptionally well when more specific lighting is required.
The LED’s in the torchlite have an insanely long lifetime, with Bell & Howell claiming they last a crazy 100,000 hours, which is over 4,000 days, or almost 11 years. The Torchlite is realistically the last flashlight you’ll even need to buy.
The Bell & Howell Torchlite requires two AA batteries to operate and is relatively compact, at 10 x 6 x 2 inches. The Torchlite weighs 4.8 ounces without batteries, which do not ship with the product.
Torchlite Pricing & Availability
The Torchlite is expected to hit retail stored by Q1 2017, but if you can’t wait, the Torchlite is currently available via their phone-in television campaign, or on the Torchlite website. The Torchlite currently has a very cost-effective triple purchase deal happening- for the price of one Torchlite for $19.95 plus shipping and handling, Bell and Howell will send you three Torchlites.
That’s not two, but three Torchlites for the price of one, so you’ll never need go without light in the event of an unexpected power outage again.
Bell & Howell offer a thirty day money back satisfaction guarantee for their Torchlite product, less shipping and handling. They also have great customer service hours, available twenty four hours from their dedicated customer service site. The Torchlite ships with a two year warranty for faulty items.
The Verdict
The Bell & Howell Torchlite is one of the best, most cost effective lighting solutions on the market. Although other as seen on TV products may not deliver on their lofty promises, the Torchlite is a quality product made by a company with a long history and definitely delivers bang for your buck.
