Tony Powell sees the light with the help of Energizer’s work lamps.
I was provided with an impressive collection of torches and working lamps by PMM on behalf of Energizer, the well-known and trusted manufacturer, to carry out an extended test on their products. I received a set of Energizer “hard case” lamps, including a pivoting head lamp, a small pivot plus hand lamp, a large pivot plus hand lamp and the larger rechargeable lamp and power bank – and, most importantly, batteries!
I’ve had these lights on test now for what seems like an eternity, even though in reality it’s only been a few months. Anyway, I’ve been able to give them a good run. These lights are well built, which is important. The construction is rugged but the light is a nice bright white, which is a big help to see items properly when the beam is on them.
I used them mainly for vehicle repairs, of course, but also managed to put them to use around the home and for a quick visit to the loft along. Night time dog walks have also been improved – I can now see more clearly and avoid stepping in anything unpleasant! A great point to note, actually, is how long the batteries have lasted inside before needing to be replaced. Likewise, the rechargeable lamp just needs a quick plug in before it’s ready to go again.
All the lights have continuously provided a very crisp white light and despite several accidental drops and knocks have continued to work without issue. They have good grips and multiple options for sticking to the job via magnets, hanging from built-in hooks or simply standing upright, with the headlight being strapped to your forehead leaving you hands-free when needed.
In use, the lights all did what they say on the tin and provided ample light for repair work in the darkest of engine bays with a long-lasting burn time – so no sudden loss of light mid-job or even a yellowy fade away.
The hardcase professional magnetic headlamp (hchdm322) can be strapped onto a safety helmet or just your head and the 400 lumens of light provided was bright enough for any job. It also has a magnet built in to secure it when needed. Comfortable to wear and not too bulky with up to a 30m range and between 3.5 and 30 hours of life depending on your chosen power setting, when walking around with my dog it was very comfortable and not overly heavy and it proved itself very useful as a black dog in the dark is not the easiest of things to see! It also came in useful up in the loft, leaving my hands free to hold on and not put a foot through the ceiling.
The small hardcase pro pivot plus (hcsw21) is comfortable to hold and has magnets to hold it onto metal, gives 300 lumens, between five and 30 hours of burn time and the same 30m range. It is small and compact, making it useful in tighter spaces. Using it in the engine bay was very useful, due to its compact size you could tuck it in between cables or pipes or stick it to metalwork to illuminate the area leaving both hands free to work on the job in hand with plenty of light to easily see what you were doing.
The larger torch, the hardcase pro work light (hcal412) features a multi position built- in hanging hook, a lanyard and built-in magnet with a variable lamp dimmer control gave between 150 and 550 lumens and from eight to 40 hours of operation, providing a nice bright working light for any job. Hanging it in the back of the work van at night gave excellent lighting of the toolbox so you could see which tools you wanted easily and even read the spanner or socket sizes. All the lights are IPX4 water resistant.
The Energizer panel work light (awllb) with two multi-position light panels and flexible handle/stand/hanging hook gave out the biggest amount of light at 1,100 lumens for up to six hours off a single charge on full power with both panels lit and one can safely calculate 12 hours with one panel lit. Of course, this one is rechargeable so there is no panic to get new batteries when needed – simply plug it into the wall and recharge it. Oh and no further panic as it has a charge level indicator. Finally, the extra surprise for those addicted to their smart phone or busy business calls is that you can use this light to recharge your phone in an emergency or simply rely on it as a backup if a charger isn’t available and that important call is due any moment.
It certainly helped us out after a long day out and after the sun had long gone down, illuminating the work area using the two panels to cover a wide piece of the floor so those precious and very expensive tools all got picked up and returned to their home in the toolbox – then topping up the phone on the way home to let the boss know we were on our way back.
Having thoroughly tested all of these lamps, I would happily recommend them to anyone looking of a strong, bright, reliable torch or work light with a long life expectancy.
