When you’re in the thick of it, rolling around on the floor underneath your car or leant over deep in the engine bay, the absolute last thing you want to be doing is blindly grabbing at what’s in front of you hoping it’s the piece that you’re trying to get to. You need to see what you’re doing; without that, you can kiss an easy job goodbye. Forget the puny little torch on the back of your phone or relying on the workshop fixtures that your significant other is probably nagging you about burning into the early hours of the morning — this is the domain of a solid workshop light.
Knowing the plight of many garage dwellers, Griffiths Equipment fired out the Narva Colt 1000 high-powered handheld LED spotlight to us for a hands-on workshop test. The box boasts specs such as 2500 lumens, crisp 5700k light output, and a 244m beam pattern at 1 lux. That’s all fancy light-measuring talk for “it’s a grunty unit”. But how grunty is all that in the real world? We found out.
Narva wasn’t lying when it said 244m beam pattern — unless you’re operating in a shed that has us drooling at the mere thought of it, you’ll have plenty of light blazing at wherever you aim the spotlight. That makes the light a toolbox staple when you’re out of the workshop and begin to burn the midnight oil. It’d be a killer portable hunting and/or fishing spotlight, and ideal for late-night off-roading ventures or just for lighting up the neighbour who keeps pinching your avocados.
With 2.5 hours of burn time, you can turn the Colt 1000 on, throw it under the car, and almost forget about it without concern. When you eventually deplete the battery, it’s rechargeable through a 240V AC charger. You can also chump up a little more pocket money to get your hands on the 12/24V DC cigarette plug charger.
Don’t be scared to literally throw it under the car, either. This bad boy is built tough. We ended up playing an impromptu game of workshop throws that would have left your precious iPhone/Galaxy destroyed. The Colt 1000 remained unscathed. It’s waterproof, too, so when you inevitably drop it in the oil drain bucket, she’ll be right; just run it under the outside tap. Don’t drop it over the side of the boat, though — it may be waterproof but it can’t swim …
It’s got a strap, too, which reduces the likelihood of that happening. Being a handheld unit over a fixed stand equivalent, you can get it into more spaces, whether that’s pushing it up into those tight engine bay confines, getting it past the pile of crap to see the back of the parts cupboard, or simply storing it in your toolbox.
After getting a good hiding in the workshop, the Colt 1000 gets our approval. Packing six grunty LED lights into one handheld unit that can be thrown around as if it’s nothing, and not having to worry if fluids are spilled on it, makes for a dreamboat workshop light. It’s portable, manoeuvrable, and easily stored. Better yet, it’s got plenty of charge, recharges quickly — 1.5 hours — and can be recharged on the move, so you aren’t restricted to just workshop use.
For further information and to find your local stockist, visit griffithsequipment.co.nz.
