Vulta Volcano Flashlight: From Extremely bright to Firefly Mode, with Red or Blue Also
The about $79.95 Vulta Volcano Multi-Spectrum LED Flashlight (White, Red, Blue) takes 4 AA batteries and runs quite a long time on a set of four. While I tend to use Lupine cycling lights with rechargeable LiIon cells, the Vulta Volcano can get going fresh again with a set of four AA batteries.
- 1 / 60 / 200 / 500 / 880 Lumen Outputs
- One Primary White CREE XM-L2 LED Emitter
- Six Red and Six Blue Secondary LEDs
- Emergency SOS and Signal Beacon Modes
- Red/Blue and Red/Blue/White Strobe Modes
- Dual Body Switches with Last-Mode Memory
- Type III Hard Anodized Aluminum Housing
- Submersible and Impact Resistant
- Reverse-Polarity Protection Circuitry
- Active and Passive Overheat Protection
The Vulta Volcano flashlight is smart in that it won’t fry the LEDs as some lights will, which greatly shortens LED lifespan: if used on its Turbo Mode (extremely bad-ass bright), it will drop down to High mode after a few minutes. Its twist-on diffuser cap is useful for a broad area of light without the harsh glare of straight-on illumination.
The Vulta Volcano is best for its flexibility. For example, its “firefly mode” is not enough to walk by, but can illuminate a map or back of a camera, etc. As well, the red LED mode saves night vision and could be used as a taillight for a bicycle assuming it could be aimed appropriately. As for blue mode, it’s something I would not generally use (blue is the worst color for night vision), and red/blue flashing mode presumably is for law enforcement, but might be useful to pretend to be, say if in a skanky area where one feels at risk.
The SOS and strobe modes might be a good idea for those in trouble, assuming one has the flashlight along: it’s fairly heavy at 277 grams (including 4 AA batteries and lanyard). And that is the reason I might not take it at times; it is fairly large and heavy. When I hike up in the mountains, I’d prefer something lighter, like the Fenix RC09 and/or Fenix RC11. However, those lights have no red LED mode and they require rechargeable batteries—and they have run themselves down due to poor design of the lockout switch.
All in all I like the Vulta Volcano and I tend to take it with me in trips in the car. The diffuser makes a nice light for night use and/or for inserting contact lenses into my eyes in the dark.
