Kit Report: Halfords LED Torch

I have a M*****e 3D, which until now I reckoned to be the best torch I have ever used. It's robust and good-looking, and it has a powerful beam. But while it is a reassuring thing to have beside the bed (it's my jury-friendly version of a baseball bat), it's quite hefty for everyday use. I needed a good torch for my new job, something a little easier to carry about, so I dropped into Halfords to see what they had got. What they had was one of these:

It goes by the name of Halfords Advanced Cree 2C (corrected) Torch, and it's the best torch I have ever used. It is made of aluminium, of a rather pleasant gunmetal-grey colour, and the grip is slightly rubberised. At 8" long, it fits in a pocket quite easily, and yet it manages to avoid the toy-like feel of the small Maglites. It's advertised as water-resistant, and I will believe that, as it screws together with precision threads which are backed up with O-rings.

The best thing about it, though, is the quality and amount of light it delivers. The beam is very powerful, easily as good as the much bigger Maglite, although as it is an LED bulb the light is cool and slightly blue, rather than the warmer light of an incandescent bulb. But the M*****e, good as it is, has one big fault - a poor reflector design. The beam, however you focus it, has rings and holes and other artifacts which are distracting. The Halfords torch beam is absolutely clear, just a clean circle of white. I think this is the first torch I have ever seen that didn't have any dark spots in the beam pattern. You can't focus the beam, but it's perfect as it is. To be honest, I only use the beam focus on the M******e to try to get rid of the dark spots anyway.

Over the years, I have come to associate Halfords with cheap bikes and chavmobile accessories (it used to be a decent shop, way back), but this is a genuine quality item. Price on the website is £29.99, but in-store* I paid £19.99. Well worth it. I can't report on battery life just yet, but with an efficient LED it should be good.

* I hate that phrase.

Update: the link to the Halfords item is to a 2D torch, whereas this is a 2C, taking smaller batteries and therefore smaller altogether. That would explain Halfords' curious generosity when I reached the till.

Wipes

I've just visited Halford's (being the only emporium that approaches the description of 'Motor Factor' round here these days, after the closure of three other outlets, one a complete treasure for the mechanically-minded, and sadly missed) this morning, to get some cable-ties and a couple of bits and bobs.

And there, before my very eyes, was a whole rack of 'Wipes'. Wipes, you know, as in 'Baby Wipes', or those delicately-labelled 'Moist Wipes' (arse, emergency, for the use of). There were:

• Leather Wipes
• Carpet and Seat Wipes
• Dashboard Wipes
• Glass Wipes.

All identically-packaged, distinguished only by the colour, and I would guess containing exactly the same product, perhaps with a slightly different formulation in the moist bit and a different aroma. And there, at the end of the row, in a display of its own:

• Sat Nav Wipes.

Takes niche marketing to a whole new level.