Tea time for Chris Jones in WAT-U-GOT on the 2012 Dachstein caving expedition.

Our little LED headtorch is a common sight during the darker months of the year, and for good reason. It's performance exceeds any expectations you may have concluded from its lowly price tag, meaning you are just as likely to see it crowning the head of someone on their first Duke of Edinburgh expedition as you are to someone like Chris Jones bivvying underground for 5 days!

You can never have too many Gammas, we like to use them all over the place... here are just a few ideas, but remember Gamma wasn't designed for some of these uses!

Using your Gamma LED headtorch

There is just one thing that will flummox some people.. how to switch from the large central light to the 3 smaller LEDs.. here is a little video to get you started

Once you have that wired there isn't much more to say, but we will anyway...

Lighting modes

The Gamma Headtorch functions from a single multi operation button (SMOB). This orange SMOB gives access to two lighting modes each with multiple settings:

1W LED Mode

This is the large central LED, it provides the brightest light. When in this mode the button toggles between 4 settings; High > Low > Strobe > Off.

5mm LED Mode

This mode toggles between the three 5mm LEDs and has 5 settings; White LED > Green LED > Red LED > Red LED (Strobe) > Off.

Bonus Backlight LED

In addition to the two modes of the head unit we have given you a bonus. The battery pack is fitted with a red LED light, this light has 3 settings; On > Strobe > Off. A button on the side of the battery compartment cycles between these settings and operates independently from the button on the head unit.

Operation

Turn the torch on:
Press the orange button once. The Gamma torch will illuminate your world in the mode it was last used (either in 1W LED or 5mm LED mode).

Cycle through the settings of a mode:
Press the switch again to step through each setting of the currently selected mode.

Toggle between modes:
To change modes turn Gamma on and then press and hold the button for 3 seconds.

The head unit

The head unit contains three 5mm LEDs and one 1W Luxeon LED. The unit pivots so that you can direct your light during use. The orange button on top of the unit toggles between the torch's modes and functions. This part of the torch cannot be opened and the bulbs are not replaceable.

The battery compartment

The battery compartment takes three 1.5V AAA alkaline batteries. The compartment is opened by holding the unit in your left hand and firmly twisting the cap on the righthand side of the compartment. An orange button on the left side of the battery compartment toggles between the functions of the backlight.

Adjustable headstrap

The elasticated headstrap can be adjusted for different sized heads, wearing over a monster wooly hat or climbing helmet. The straps can also be removed or replaced by sliding the elastic through the small slots in the plastic housings.

Why do you need different colours?

We all know headstrap colour is important but now we are talking about the colour of the lights which all have a few different uses. The main white beam lets you see loads, but to save on battery power the 5mm white LED will let you do most tasks in the dark. The solid Red 5mm LED is great to stop you losing your night vision, the Green LED is great for looking at the map while walking along and highlighting the contours, where the red one makes them disappear. The flashing red lights are great for saving on battery life, for use in an emergency or to scare the kids with a story about monsters and their one flashing red eye.