You will need a big pocket to hold Wicked Laser’s new FlashTorch Mini, because mini, in this case, is relative. The smaller version of the original FlashTorch — which lights fires and can cook your breakfast — is better suited to being carried in a backpack than in a pants pocket, according to Gizmodo.
At $200, the 40 percent smaller FlashTorch Mini costs the same as the original FlashTorch. The differences are in size, weight, brightness, and bulb life. The FlashTorch Mini is a bit more than 8.5-inches long and weighs 13.6 ounces. Its 2300-lumens halogen light output is the equivalent of a hall-sized video projector and the bulb is rated at 1,000 hours. That all sounds pretty hefty, but the original FlashTorch is a monster by comparison. The FlashTorch outputs 4100 lumens, is 11.7 inches long, weighs 1.3 pounds, and has a 2,000-hour bulb.
Made from anodized, machined aircraft-grade aluminum, the FlashTorch Mini should stand up to more abuse than most people could ever give it. Halogen lights give off a lot of heat, which is why you have to be careful using them in your home. The Mini has a heat-resistant lens and reflector, a good thing since it wouldn’t be too helpful for them to melt when you turn the light on. You can adjust the beam from flood to spotlight and if you do not need to light up the whole forest or football field, you can dial back the intensity, which also saves battery power.
With the light at full power, the Mini’s lithium-ion battery pack is rated to last an hour or 100 minutes at the lowest of the three settings. The battery pack recharges without removing it from the case with an included charger. If you do consider carrying this light in any pocket, or in a backpack or luggage for that matter, there is an automatic lockout mode so you will not light up your clothes, your leg, or anything in your luggage.
The FlashTorch Mini’s heat, as with its predecessor, is enough to start a paper fire just by holding the light close. That is impressive, but the ability to scramble eggs in a metal cup by balancing the cup on top of the lit Mini means you will not have to carry a small cooking unit when you head out in the woods.
