Ring Automotive Zoom 750 Inspection Torch Review

Ring Automotive Zoom 750 Inspection Torch

When you imagine a mechanic’s toolbox, what you may visualise is a whole lot of sockets, wrenches, power tools, screwdrivers, pliers, etc. You’d be overlooking one of the most important tools though: the torch.

It’s quite the unsung hero, but to really perform any serious work, or even just basic inspections, you’ll need one of these guys. Checking for leaks with a torch makes it that much easier. Lost a nut? You’ll probably need to scour with a torch too.

Thus, when Ring Automotive wanted to send over a flashlight for review, it seemed pretty pertinent to the subject matter of automotive. The big question here is if it’s worth splurging for a nicer torch, like this one, or is any other economical alternative worth it?

Initial impressions – Ring Zoom 750 Inspection Torch

The Ring Automotive Zoom 750 Inspection torch comes in a simple box, as you might expect from a flashlight. It’s everything you need to get the flashlight going, the unit itself and a USB to microUSB cable. You may question the inclusion of said cable, but that’s because of how the lamp is packaged.

This is an integrated package, with the battery built in. Charge time is estimated to be at around 12 hours by Ring Automotive themselves, and it appears to be pretty close from hands-on experience. Depending on how heavy you use it, battery life can range from 5 hours on full power to 11 hours on low power.

That may sound short, but keeping in mind that it’s a high powered flashlight, it should easily last any mechanic or technician weeks with typical on/off inspections. The only time you may need a longer lasting light is for nighttime work, but then you should have a floodlight handy.

Practical use

First impressions are positive, the Zoom 750 torch sports a very robust build. It looks quite smart too, boasting a black brushed aluminium body with a knurled midsection for grip. The front end features Ring Automotive’s logo and a blue metal cladding at the end of the torch.

While this is the most powerful and largest torch Ring Automotive has to offer, the big thing they focused on is the dimensions. They wanted something small enough to fit in a pocket so mechanics can pull them out on a whim.

You’ll probably need a good size pocket to fit the Zoom 750, but its plenty plausible in a workshop scenario. It’s quite lightweight, but the rugged build instils plenty of confidence so I wouldn’t fret a few knocks and shocks here and there.

Switching it on via the button on the rear reveals a strong luminous light emanating from the torch. It is truly astounding how bright this torch is, its plenty bright for inspection work whether you’re looking into the bonnet, underneath the car or even down the road.

The flood, which is the beam width, is adjusted via twisting the neck of the torch. This gives you a pretty broad range of zoom distance, up to 6 times. It goes from a focused beam to an expansive light that bathes the object with a cool 6000K light. The zooming action is quite smooth too.

It’s quite impressive when you consider its a single LED doing all the work here. There are two levels of brightness: 350 lumens to conserve battery life or 750 lumens at max power.

Since the torch implements an integrated li-ion battery, you charge it via the microUSB port exposed when you unscrew the back cover. You’ll also find a USB port here because the Zoom 750 can also serve as a power bank if you need it to charge your phone. With IC protection, there’s no need to worry about overcharging or excessive discharge.

Verdict

It may be pricier than many cheaper alternatives flooding the market right now, but that extra money does translate to a better build qaulity. It feels like a fantastic bit of kit, and I’d imagine it can last quite a long time even inside a workshop environment.

Every mechanic needs a good torch, and the Zoom 750 will serve perfectly well as an addition to the workshop. It’ll survive abuse, it has a good battery life, and it functions like any other good flashlight. If you want a stronger torch inside a lightweight body, you can’t do any better than this.