If your goal is to be a social astro-butterfly, I cannot express the importance of investing in a high-quality torch with a red light function. Lighting up the dark with a standard white light torch will get you kicked from a star party faster than the speed of light. Well, maybe not removed entirely, but white lights are a big no-no at most nighttime astro events.
On average, it takes 20-30 minutes for the human eye to adapt to darkness, depending on how bright the light was that your eyes were accustomed to before. As your eyes adapt to the darkness, more and more stars can be seen. Dark adaptation is crucial for visual astronomy, providing better views of galaxies, nebula and star clusters to observers.
As astrophotographers and visual observers, our time is spent learning the craft, not researching torches, so you may be forgiven for thinking they are all the same.
But as I have learnt, they're not.
Recently Astro Night Astronomy Torches got in touch with me and sent a couple of their torches to me to test out! The BG-58 and the NML-C. Both torches retail at $99.00.
The torches arrived quickly and were well packaged. Each one came in its easy-to-open black box that screams quality. Inside each box are a business card, the torch, a USB-C cable, a USB-C micro adapter and a support strap.
All the technical specifications are listed on the inside of the lid and the torch is secured in its own moulded piece of foam.
I have extensively tested both torches during my backyard astrophotography sessions and while camping over the last couple of weeks. There are a lot of features and functions built into these torches.
First impressions and specs
These torches feel very solid. On the outside, they have clips/stands so that you can hang them or stand them up and magnets, if you want to attach them to something, a USB slot, and a battery level indicator. Both torches have a twin LED white light and a duel coloured COB red light, and a COB white light. The COB lights have a maximum of 350 lumens. In comparison, most budget torches on the market range from 100 to 250 lumens. Lumens are a measure of the total amount of light from a lamp or light source.
These torches also act as a power bank, with an output of 2 hours at 5 watts. Of course, being who I am, I used the power bank to power my UV lamp to cure my gel nails and it worked a treat! This is such a handy feature!
The power button cycles through each light mode. Holding the power button down will also turn the torch off. Beside the power button, there are the brightness adjustment buttons. The brightness of the COB red and white light can be adjusted from 1-100%. According to the specs on the Astro Night website the rechargeable Lithium-ion battery can last up to 8 hours, and charge time is between 4-5 hours. That's right, rechargeable! These torches, save the environment and your wallet, by ditching the AA or AAA batteries!
Using the redlight at maximum, I found each battery lasted roughly 3 hours, which is more than the specs advise, and they both took about 4 hours to recharge. I have used both flashlights over multiple nights before actually needing to recharge them. The BG-58 model, which is the one I have found myself using most frequently, has not been charged since I last tested the battery life and there is still more than 50 precent battery left. Even after using this torch consistently over a 3 night period while camping for wild life spotting, night trips to the facilities and lighting up the tent/ camping area when needed.
Model BG-58: A full list of specs can be found on the Astro Night website.
Model NML-C: A full list of specs can be found on the Astro Night website.
In the field
In the field, I found the red light to be the perfect level of brightness for setting up and getting ready for my astro-session. I was not left fumbling around and did not need to adjust its position. I turned the brightness level down after I had polar aligned and I was photographing my object. This is my favourite feature!
I find headlamps to be so annoying. Not only are they uncomfortable, they only light up the area my head is facing. With these torches, my area has a constant source of light no matter what I am doing. Each model has clips, magnets and a stand so they can be used in multiple different ways, keeping my hands free.
While it never bothered me, Astro Night astronomy torches did reach out and advise that some users found the battery level indicator too bright. They are working on fixing this, however, in the interim, they are supplying a cover that can be affixed that will reduce the brightness.
One thing I did notice however, the NML-C has a 270° rotating arm, folding up and down. I don't know why (maybe I shouldn't be operating certain devices while drinking, who knows) but, I did sometimes find my self trying to rotate it 360° around in circles after I had extended it outwards.
This is not a major issue, but would have been a cool extra perk if it did. But, with all their clips, hooks and magnets, they are already fairly versatile regardless on how you use them.
Summary
I've been using these torches for over a month, and I am just so impressed with their performance and build quality. If you're on the lookout for a red light torch that isn't just a red light torch then I highly recommend exploring the range from Astro Night. They are a great tool to have in your astrophotography kit. I've enjoyed using these so much, my husband is jealous and wants to get a couple for himself to use!
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