The Hope Technology Vision R4 LED is the most powerful headtorch in our test, pumping out 1000 lumens, which means you can light up the woods or fellside so well that you can travel at speed on bike or foot. The lamp can be adapted to fit on a helmet or bike handlebars, and the battery pack can be removed and placed in a pocket. It’s also built well enough to take plenty of abuse. In use it is heavy on the head so it’s not quite as comfortable as lighter units. Also you only get up to 8 hours’ burn time, and when the battery does go flat you then have recharge it for 3 hours from the mains as this unit does not take AA batteries. These are all drawbacks for the hillwalker, but they do not detract from the performance for short, fast trips when biking or running for example, activities for which this unit is perfectly designed. I also like the large, simple button for choosing your light output. The price tag is high, though, so if you don’t need all that extra power then the Hope Technology Vision R4 LED is going to appear pricy compared with more general-purpose but lower-powered headtorches.
Bulb 4 x high output white LED
Brightness 1000 lumens
Maximum beam 105 metres
Minimum burn time 8 hours??
Batteries rechargeable 7.4 volt Li-ion
Battery charge indicator yes
Weight with batteries 280g
Website www.hopetech.com