Suprabeam V4pro Rechargeable Headtorch | Performance

There’s plenty to like about the Danish Suprabeam V4Pro. For a start it has a sturdy, ‘ready for business’, vibe to it with a purposeful, grey anodised light-head that adjusts with a solid, purposeful feel.

There’s technology too, a compact, removable Lithium Polymer battery pack gives more bang per gramme than the more commonly-used Lithium Ion alternative and the spec on paper is impressive.

The single LED, for example, has what Suprabeam calls a ‘mixed beam’ with a central 10˚ spot for penetration with a wider 30˚ halo for more flood and improved balance and peripheral vision – vital when running as overly focussed beams seem to impact on balance on the move. Ideally you want a wide, floody beam for running.

The Suprabeam delivers nicely on that front as well as being comfortable and stable on the head. It has a choice of outputs controlled by a single switch on the underside of the head. A single longish 0.8-second press turns it on at the same brightness you last used. A further 0.8-second press gives you the impressively bright boost mode.

Or, if you simply keep holding the button down, when you switch on, you go into stepless dimming mode, with a choice of anything from 400 lumens to 12 – choose the minimum and you have a theoretical 100 hours of low level light.

It’s not, in all honesty, the most intuitive system ever, but with use you do get the hang of it eventually. Also switchable is the rear flashing safety light, which is operated again by the main switch using a 3.6-second hold. It would be a lot easier to have a simple switch on the battery compartment.

Suprabeam V4pro Rechargeable Headtorch | Verdict

There’s loads to like about the Suprabeam, it’s neatly made, puts out lashings of very useable light and scores bonus points for that inspired battery reserve feature. It’s comfortable on the head and there’s an optional extension lead for remote battery carriage in cold conditions too.

Where it doesn’t quite hit the mark though is first with an interface that’s slightly non-intuitive with too many button push combos to easily remember. And secondly with the positioning of its underside switch that’s far too easy to hit by mistake and, when you do, simply plunges you into darkness.

We also reckon the battery cable connectors are a little fragile for repeated connection and disconnection, something encouraged by the lack of a lock-out to prevent accidental turning on in you pack.

Work your way round those flaws – or simply get used to them – and it’s a cracking light for short to medium, fast-moving missions, but all our testers were thrown by the switch positioning and found the various lighting modes hard to get used to.

More Information

See suprabeam.com