Aldi Lightway 5W LED Trekking Torch – review

It seems that you can’t go far on these islands without bumping into the ubiquitous budget German supermarket Aldi. My better half and I pop into our local one about once a month to scoop up various bargains (I’m particularly a fan of their gherkins). They like to do special offers on household items and have provided a smartphone app (there’s an app for everything, right?) which I periodically check for anything interesting.

Anywhere, gherkins aside, I recently saw that they were selling a pretty decent-looking LED torch for £6.99. At that price I thought I’d have a punt, and here’s what I found.

Once I’d cut through the thick plastic clamshell packaging (I had to use some tough meat scissors) I was impressed with what popped out. The torch itself is made of what seems like a tough anodized aluminium, probably a better aluminium than my soft Maglite (although that’s not difficult…). It certainly feels sturdy and solid in the hand.

Opening the battery compartment (the tail cap), I found the threads to be nice and smooth with no nicks or catching bits. It takes 2 x AA batteries.

It’s operated in reverse-clicky style (it comes on only after you’ve released the button after pressing) using a typical rubber-covered button in the tail cap. It cycles between full on, 50% and off. It uses a Cree XP-G2 LED (same as my Fenix), and the paperwork claims that it does 160 lumens, so I have to assume that’s 100%, so 50% mode will be around 80 lumens. Having used it around the house and garden I think most people will find the 50% mode adequate for most things. Battery life is claimed to be 7hrs on 50%, 3.5hrs on full. I simply haven’t used this long enough to confirm any of that though. I can’t tell yet if the voltage is regulated.

Pulling the head of the torch outwards moves the beam from flood to spot. Note that it’s not turned like a Maglite, but simply pulled straight outwards. The spot beam shape is a slightly rounded square, while the flood is round and pretty wide with not ‘hot spot’. The beam seems pretty clean, with no obvious artifacts or weirdness.

It comes with a nylon pouch, which is handy to protect the plastic lens, although seems slightly too small for the torch, which is odd. The torch only seems to be splash-proof, so I would be wary of using it in heavy rain. Also a couple of batteries are included, although I put some ‘leak proof’ Energizer alkalines in. I might try some lithium primaries next time.

Overall, I think a torch like this for £6.99 is a pretty mad bargain. Construction seems very sturdy, similar to other lights I own which are 4-5 times the price, with no loose bits or any obvious problems. Beam is satisfyingly bright and clean. Certainly a usable addition to your torch collection. Stick it in your car, rucksack or even your EDC. I’m off to rural Ireland in a few weeks to see a friend, so I’m hoping to put it through its paces. Get it while it’s available (in the store and online), if not, keep your eye out for its next Aldi appearance. And pick up a jar of their gherkins while you’re at it.

Pros:

• Solid construction
• Price
• Good beam

Cons:

• Waterproofing could be better
• Nylon pouch could fit better

That was my first ever torch review, so I hope it proved useful!