Outdoors

Tronex double flashlight backpack gives you 4900 lumens of hands-free light on the go

Tronex double flashlight backpack gives you 4900 lumens of hands-free light on the go
The Tronex sits comfortably on your upper back, giving you two extreme flashlights and a glowing back light for visibility
The Tronex sits comfortably on your upper back, giving you two extreme flashlights and a glowing back light for visibility
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Lights bend back into the shell for storage
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Lights bend back into the shell for storage
A compact unit once folded up
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A compact unit once folded up
Can sit in the grass!
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Can sit in the grass!
Can lean on a root!
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Can lean on a root!
The Tronex sits comfortably on your upper back, giving you two extreme flashlights and a glowing back light for visibility
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The Tronex sits comfortably on your upper back, giving you two extreme flashlights and a glowing back light for visibility
4900 lumens is a heck of a lot
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4900 lumens is a heck of a lot
Night into day
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Night into day
Each light can be focused from flood to focused beam
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Each light can be focused from flood to focused beam
Heads also have built-in low power LED rings that allow a power saving mode
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Heads also have built-in low power LED rings that allow a power saving mode
Becomes a power bank if you bring a plug
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Becomes a power bank if you bring a plug
Clips to your back with self-retracting straps
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Clips to your back with self-retracting straps
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Folks who do things in the dark may appreciate the clever approach Tronex has taken with its new wearable double-flashlight design, which also adds a highly visible LED circle on your back to make you more visible – just in case the monster 4900-lumen light you're pushing out isn't enough!

The Tronex folds out from a circular platter form, with an auto-retracting single clip strap that holds it onto your upper back, and two bendy arms coming out with powerful LED flashlights on the ends. The backpack itself lights up a blue ring to keep you visible from behind, and you can manually position those bendy arms to point the light wherever it's most convenient.

Each CREE XHP70 LED flashlight can be set to one of three modes, with the brightest pumping out 2450 lumens on each side. Put both of them in "turbo" mode and you can probably fry an egg at thirty paces, they really turn night into day.

4900 lumens is a heck of a lot
4900 lumens is a heck of a lot

The bendy arm positioning system, as well as turn-to-focus lenses, let you choose how much of your world gets lit up, from a focused area in front of you to a super-wide angle that gives you plenty in your periphery. And the over-the-shoulder positioning should make this thing hands-free and convenient for all sorts of activities, from rock-climbing to cycling and of course night hiking. If you'd prefer your hips to do the shining, there's always the oddly-named Repulsor instead.

The included rechargeable batteries will last you 24 hours in the lowest power mode, which doesn't appear to use the CREE lights at all, instead lighting up a small LED ring built into the focusing mechanism for a soft, unfocused light that sips power frugally. And it's got a USB port on it, so you can use it as a 13,600 mAh powerbank if you like as well.

Becomes a power bank if you bring a plug
Becomes a power bank if you bring a plug

It looks great, but it's a Kickstarter crowdfund, so it's buyer beware as usual. The campaign has already reached its funding goals, and the team says it should be shipping by "Octember." Octember, for those of you with no kids, is a mythical month invented by Dr. Seuss that's roughly synonymous with "never." Ah, you want a new Zizzer-Zoof suit and a pair of Foona Lagoona Baboona? Sure! You can have them on the first of Octember!

Clearly the Tronex team means "sometime in October-November," but on a platform that requires a certain degree of faith from buyers, it's an interesting choice of words! Earlybirds can currently get hold of the Tronex for US$99, and the retail price once it's out will be US$149. See the video below.

Source: Tronex Kickstarter

TRONEX - A New Generation Of Flashlights

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4 comments
4 comments
paul314
How do they handle the heat? Or does the battery run out before those heads get hot enough to cause fires?
guzmanchinky
That is very cool, I'm trying to come up with a scenario where I would use it! I guess a headlamp still makes more sense to me, it shines where I turn my head and takes up space in an area that usually doesn't have anything on it anyway.
Username
The video mentions "personal style" and "latest trends" . Two things that have nothing to do with flashlights.
Dirk Scott
Snowdonia Mountain Rescue Team (Wales, UK) had one of these years ago, only it consisted of two lead acid car batteries fixed to a rucksack frame with two car fog lamps bolted to the top. I'm sure they and other rescue teams will really appreciate the new lightweight version!