Lind Equipment Beacon360 Torch Puts Area Lighting Design in Your Hand
We use a lot of handheld lights in the course of our work and play, but the Lind Beacon360 Torch is very different from what we’re used to. And that’s a good thing.
Pros
- Integrated rechargeable lithium-ion battery
- 360° (high and low), 180°, and flashlight modes
- Much better area coverage than other handheld lights
- IP65 weatherproof ingress rating
- 4-LED battery level indicator
- AC or DC charging
Cons
- Handle is a bit large
- Could use 1/4″ tripod threads
Lind Equipment Beacon360 Torch Design and Use
At first glance, the Lind Beacon360 Torch looks like an area light small enough to carry around. At the risk of oversimplifying it, that’s pretty much what it is, and it’s brilliant. It’s more than just an area light, though.
The light’s optics are designed to cast a wide area of light. Diffusers soften the light and create visibility for closer applications.
There are four modes that you cycle through by pressing the power button. A full 360° activates all of the LEDs, including the top. High operates at 1100 lumens and low runs at 500 lumens.
At full power in 360° mode, it’s appropriate for area lighting in a single room of a residential or office construction. Outside, it’s great for lighting up the area around your vehicle or even your campsite.
Dropping to low, we really like it as you move into confined spaces or work underneath a vehicle.
From there, you get a single bank casting 180° light at 300 lumens followed by flashlight mode (just the top LEDs) at 320 lumens.
180° mode works well for keeping a broad light in front of you in crawl spaces or when you need to hang the light at eye level and don’t want it shining back at you. It’s also useful for inspecting small areas of drywall or paint for imperfections you need to smooth out.
The flashlight mode is best for keeping light in front of you as you walk from point to point.
Lind Beacon360 Torch Runtime
Here’s the runtime Lind estimates you should get from the Beacon360 Torch:
- 360° High: 4 hours
- 360° Low: 8 hours
- 180°: 10 hours
- Flashlight: 10 hours
We actually got quite a bit more in our runtime test. On a fully charged battery, we got 4 hours, 54 minutes.
Mounting the Light
The base of the light includes a set of magnets. They’re strong enough to hold even on thinner painted steel. We wouldn’t recommend driving around the jobsite with the light on top of our truck, but it should stick wherever you put it for the most part.
There’s also a metal hang hook that tucks into the base. It’s great for hanging upside down under a hood. It’s not wide enough to accommodate a 2×4, though. If you want to hang it, just pop a nail or screw into an exposed stud or joist and get to work.
We would like to see Lind add 1/4-inch tripod threads to the bottom. We ran across several situations where elevating the light on a tripod would have been helpful and didn’t have a vehicle close enough to stick it to or material to hang it from. Since we almost always have a tripod close by for lasers, it would have been helpful.
Lind designed the light with an IP65 ingress rating. With the cover over its charging port, that should keep it protected against anything the weather can throw at it on your jobsite. Rubber on the handle and bumpers should protect it from whatever your coworkers can throw at it.
Size and Weight
At just 11.5 inches tall and 3.3 inches wide, it’s easy to keep the light in your truck box or tool bag so you have it when you need it.
The Torch weighs just 2.3 pounds, so it’s an easy load to bear as well. Using the metal hook, it’s easy to set it on your belt loop or tool belt when you don’t need it in your hands.
The handle diameter is larger than most flashlights. Considering we’ve been hanging, sticking, or setting it down more than using it as a handheld light, we’re not terribly put off by that.
Lind Beacon360 Torch Handlamp Price
You can pick up the Lind Equipment Beacon360 Torch direct for $110. It’s also available at a variety of electrical and industrial distributors. Be sure to ask about it the next time you place an order!
The Bottom Line
In a world where LED lights are producing more output with smaller sizes, the Lind Beacon360 Torch is incredibly useful for a wide range of applications and its size makes it easy to carry around. Give it a shot and you might just discover what we did—that it’s the work light you didn’t realize you needed!
Lind Beacon360 Torch Specs
- Power Source: Integrated lithium-ion battery
- Approvals: cETLus portable work light and CE certification
- Output: Flashlight: 320 lumens / 180°: 300 lumens / 360°: 500 (low), 1100 (high) lumens
- Charge Time: 4 hours
- Color Temperature: 5000K
- LED Life: 50,000 hours
- Ingress Rating: IP65
- Weight: 2.3 pounds
- Dimensions: 11.5 x 3.32 inches
- Warranty: 3 years
- Price: $110
