Moonlight Noctia Max Headtorch
The storm hit somewhere out of Dufton on the lower slopes of Cross Fell. This was the Summer Spine Race and of the runners who made it over to Greg’s Hut that night they would affectionally call the hill Cross Hell forevermore.
I lost the path traversing Great Dun Fell, realising my error as I found myself heading down into a steep gill, ominously close to the many mine workings that scatter that side of the hill. I switched my head torch on to its brightest setting as I scoured the ground for the path, eventually finding it but then like a comedy navigation masterclass I started following it the wrong way. The weather worsened. The path became fainter and fainter. Perhaps had I not been on my feet for so long I would have worked out the issue, but I didn’t, I stumbled on for another thirty minutes, fortunately North again. Somewhere on the summit plateau I worked it out – my torch was fading away, three hours of claggy cold nonsense had done for the battery, I was also worried that water was getting into the housing. I swapped out to my spare and limped down to Greg’s Hut. I should point out that when you really need a torch the one on your phone is next to useless as is the one on your watch.
I was in the market for a new head torch. My lesson from Cross Fell was I needed:
- Long battery life, even in British ‘summer’ weather conditions.
- I wanted a ‘daylight’ setting so when I really needed illumination I had it.
- I wanted to be able to operate the torch with gloves or mittens on.
- I wanted it to be robust, I’m not particularly careful with my gear.
Then I guess rechargeable, a range of settings and if I’m paying proper money for a proper bit of kit, then a good warranty. What I didn’t want to do is go onto my myriad WhatsApp groups and ask ‘what headtorch’ type questions.
I settled on the Moonlight Noctia Max.
Specification
- 500 Real Lumens
- Battery life 3-130h depending on setting
- Weight 150gDual-lens optics enhance your peripheral vision
- Replaceable battery
- Tough aluminium body
- Dustproof and fully waterproof
- USB-C fast charging
- Storage bag included
The first thing that appealed to me was the brand and it’s brand values; this is a small Norwegian company staffed by outdoor enthusiasts, and you get the impression that if you had a problem, the CEO would sort it out.
The second was the robust nature of the torch; aluminium body, simple design, built for the job in hand, the torch was comfy to wear, battery easily changeable for when a spare was needed for super long adventures. In use, the primary setting offers a basic light, good for situations when you want to be seen rather than see, perfectly good for reading, using a map, any general tasks – and of course acres of battery life. Even when I haven’t charged it for days and days this setting has never bottomed the battery out. I use this setting when running in groups, not wanting to burn out the retinas of my friends, or when running on good tracks or tarmac. There are three further settings getting up to the full mode which still gives a few hours light in even the worst conditions – I’ve regularly run in sub-zero conditions with no loss of performance. While I typically don’t need this mode it is comforting when running alone or when looking for trail features.
There are a few other features which I found by chance (I’m not great at reading the manual); the red flashing light is handy, if an emergency situation arose. Such was my surprise when I found it that I did mess about and found it had two modes of red light, a 10 lumen safety white light, strobe red, strobe white, and SOS in Morse code, at least I think that’s what it was saying.
Pros
- Light enough for any runner.
- A performance torch, essential for ultra running.
- I like the design, it looks like it is built for function not aesthetics.
- Fast USB-C charging – and you don’t need a branded cable.
Cons
- There are cheaper torches out there, indeed I threw one away in Alston recently.
- There are lighter torches out there.
- If you want longer life in a brighter torch then probably go for one of the other Moonlight units, although why anyone would want brighter I really wouldn’t know.
About the author: Jon Barton is a one time rock cat, founder of Vertebrate Publishing, now goes running. Words about books, publishing, running and climbing adventures.
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