We’ve been playing around with the PAD-L portable LED light for sometime now and we thought it was about time to share our comments on what its like. Firstly, we’d like to thank Agnes for sending in the demo unit for us to review. Though it was a shame that we didn’t go on a camping trip to review the PAD-L because that would be most ideal. We do however, believe that if you are the type of person who likes outdoor activities, wilderness exploration, hiking and camping, etc, the PAD-L will certainly not disappoint you.

I’m sure you will already have seen our unboxing pictures from earlier on in the week. Our first impressions on unboxing was that it was more than expected. In terms of the packaging, there were not tons of non-environmental friendly plastic wrapping the PAD-L light itself, what’s more is that the packaging overall was done quite impressively for a light (and I don’t mean that in a bad way!). There were instructions included which teaches you how to use the light and the different modes that it has to offer which is always a good thing. You’d be surprise the number of demo units we receive that don’t have any instructions or messages enclosed at all.

Moving on to the PAD-L’s design, it’s about the size of an iPhone and fits nicely into the Altus Lumen PAD-L carrying pouch. Designed like one of the older iPod Videos, it’s LED light is where the display on the iPod would be. A single button is located on the right to operate the light and a stand is conveniently hidden on the side which can be pulled out when needed. The cover which is attached to a swivel hinge and the stand was the most valuable design of all in my view, because this offered flexibility and stability in the way you wanted your light to be shone. Because the PAD-L is weatherproof (don’t throw into water though), its battery is hidden away beneath a battery compartment below the LED light which is enclosed by a cover locked by a screw. We understood the reason for this during our review, however, this was particularly difficult to get access to and took a while to unscrew. While this was indeed important to stop water from slipping into the battery compartment, we believe it could possibly have been done differently. We didn’t feel a screw was absolutely necessary because this meant wherever we went we needed a screwdriver with us in order to be able to replace batteries? However, apart from this minor issue, the design of the PAD-L portable light was most suitable for its designed purpose.

The PAD-L requires four AAA batteries which are not always easy to gain access to because most gadgets use AA these days. Nevertheless, you’d be absolutely surprised at the amount of light you’d get from the PAD-L. This is especially evident at night, in dark rooms and I can imagine it will be extremely helpful when I go on my fishing trips. With different modes for the light’s brightness including long life, low power, medium power to full power at the touch of its single button, it was as simple to operate as any plain ordinary flashlight. The PAD-L also offered flashing mode which flashes its LED light every 0.5 seconds, this will certainly be valuable for cyclists who are keen on road safety.

By the way, in terms of the more technical specs. The LED is the 0.5 watts type (four of them), in relation to how long the battery will last in different brightness modes (full power, medium, low, long life), the PAD-L can keep shining for one hour, 2.5 hours, 12 hours and 100 hours respectively. Weighing at just 98 g, its not much difference from your typical iPods and mp3 players. The one which we received was black, silver is also available, here’s a few more pictures below.

Same position in room but when lights are switched off:

In another room, but dim lighting:

Lights out!

And when our batteries began to die on us, the red warning light switched on:

Like we always do, here’s a summary of what we thought were the good and the not so good points about the Altus Lumen PAD-L portable LED light.

Pros:

• Unexpectedly brighter than what you would assume from a tiny portable light of its size
• Swivel hinge cover design has great benefits for those planning on taking it for some outdoor sports and camping trips
• Weatherproof is always a feature good to have in gadgets like these
• Battery indicator clearly tells you that you will need to replacement its power supply soon
• Different brightness modes and flash mode provides an added bonus
• Additional solar charger accessory is an optional add on if you don’t prefer to buy batteries
• All round reliable, lightweight and handy to have in the boot of your car in case of emergencies

Cons:

• Battery compartment requires screwdriver to open, not always handy
• Uses AAA as oppose to more popular AA, but that’s just a minor issue

If anyone would like to see any further photos or have got a question, we’d be happy to answer them the best we can. So leave us a comment!