Hey all 
Recently picked up the LC90 and wanted to pull a few picks and words together to share my thoughts.
Now I’m not a torch connoisseur but I have been through quite a few in my time!
My current go to torches are the P5r.2 and MT6 both from Led Lenser.
I’ve found these to be built well and have superb battery life compared to light output.
Brief specs,
LC90 - £25, powered by a rechargeable 18650 3.6v cell, Anker doesn’t quote run time on high but that’s 900 lumen, 200mtr light throw, IP65.
Would be nice to know battery life and light output on each brightness setting.
Unpacking,
No frills minimal packing in the traditional blue and white colours.
The internal packaging is simple and protective.
First Impressions,
Good looking torch, good weight and well balanced, smooth zoomable lens.
The end button cap and battery cover cap screws on nicely and feels like they would remain solid and reliable.
Setting Up,
It’s a torch, so not much to do here other than insert battery, charge and fit the wrist strap.
To insert the battery you need to unscrew the end button cap which reveals the battery cover cap which is also where you plug in the micro USB to charge the battery.
Anker states 6hr charge time, mine was almost fully charged out of the box and took just over an hour to top it up to full.
In Use,
This torch has multiple modes as most “tactical” torches do, High, Medium, Low, Strobe and Emergency.
Move between the modes by half pressing power button, release and half press again, repeat until you get to the required mode then fully press the button.
The torch turns on in the last mode you used.
The light is cool in temperature and on high is very bright, more than adequate on medium and not much of a reduction in low mode.
If you have the need for strobe or emergency it looks like these modes function in high setting.
Having to remove the end cap to charge is pretty annoying for me as it means this cant be left on charge and used as a grab it and go emergency light.
The zoom function is pretty smooth and a good addition.
Photographing light at distances in the dark is obviously tricky but here’s a few at different distances.
All pictures were taken in high mode.
Indoors,
Completely dark room, zoom is wide and distance is 5mtr.
After reviewing this photo I noticed a dark patch in the centre of the picture, I’ll talk more about that later.
Outside,
10mtr wide zoom.
Nice flood of light illuminating the end of the garden and spreading over to the houses beyond.
For night walks you won’t miss that puddle or dip in the ground!
30mtr narrow zoom.
Good focus at this distance with nice spot of light on the corner of the building.
Little bit of light pollution coming in from the left from a street light.
40mtr narrow zoom.
Good amount of light on the subject.
60mtr narrow zoom
At this distance i started to find the focus is not that tight. The brightness suffers because of this and the houses are not as well illuminated as it would be using my go-to MT6.
100-110mtr narrow zoom.
This is the furthest I went with the LC90.
At half the quoted distance I wasn’t blown away at the amount of light it projected onto the tree.
The focus system suffers from a dull spot in centre of light on wide zoom.
I noticed in the indoor and 10mtr garden shot a dull spot in the centre of the picture and wanted to explore this further.
Pointing up to a white painted ceiling revealed quite a dull patch in the centre.
This may no bother some users, but niggles me.
Battery life,
Run to exhaustion, leaving this in high mode it ran for just over 4 hours, this is a fantastic run rime. I really don’t know why Anker doesn’t shout about this and quote the high power run time in their spec list.
One thing I couldn’t establish is if this “steps down” the brightness level to medium over time.
Here’s pics took from the start and at each hour until the battery ran flat, I’m struggling to see any reduction in output overtime.
Start,
After 1 hour,
After 2 hours,
After 3 hours,
Who would use this?,
Because of the zoom and multiple brightness modes this torch will suit almost any user.
I say “almost” because let’s not forget this is a rechargeable torch.
Rechargeable power sources come with obvious limitations over readily available disposable batteries.
But horses for courses, limited run time may not limit some users.
Pros,
Bright white light.
Multiple brightness modes.
Zoom focus.
Stylish.
Well balanced.
Excellent value for money.
Cons,
Having to take the end cap off to charge.
Zoom focus needs refinement.
No belt pouch.
Conclusion,
This is a really great torch and lets not forget its just £25!
I feel it performs best in wide zoom to flood an area with light, although you do suffer from that dull spot in the middle of the beam.
The single thing I believe could make this torch significantly better is improving that zoom focus. Being able to focus those 900 lumens a little tighter would be a great improvement and at the same time correcting the dull spot when in wide zoom.
.