I have recently re-started an old hobby which I was really into several years ago but let lapse until August last year (2020). With COVID restrictions on travel and more time spent looking for wildlife in the garden this was a natural progression sparked by a kind offer. A good friend offered me a moth trap that he had spare and I snapped his hand off and said YES! From then on evenings have been a bit different, the curtains stay open as I watch for moths landing on the window and my 2 kittens are fascinated by all these fluttery creatures just the other side of the glass. Several times a night I check if any ‘good’ moths have landed on walls or windows by going out into the garden. But this was a pain in the darkness until I discovered the perfect tool for the job – the Celestron ThermoTorch 5.
After buying a ThermoTorch 5 I was so impressed that I purchased two more, one for my wife to use at the horse stables where she is sometimes finishing off husbandry chores in the dark and another to keep full-time in my car in case of emergency. Suddenly everything was much easier when checking the patio for moths and it even illuminated the Pipistrelle Bats flying around the garden that had been attracted in by the moths, what a bonus. I even took a phone camera picture in the dark using the torch to light it, see my caterpillar picture below!
The three light levels of the ThermoTorch make it really flexible with lower levels used when shining it into the trap to check if any moths were in there but without disturbing them with another light source. The highest level was excellent when exploring the darker reaches of the garden, looking at the leaves of bushes where some moths had landed temporarily. By doing this I managed to ‘pot up’, ID and release several moths that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise and even caught a couple of scarce species this way. Without the torch these wouldn’t have been seen and the data lost to science, which sounds dramatic but as a trained zoologist that means a lot to me. Usually for moth trapping the nights were relatively warm, but a few UK species fly in winter so when I was out searching for moths in November and December the hand-warmer function of the ThermoTorch came in particularly handy. Even using the torch as a light and a hand-warmer a single charge lasted a long, long time. In fact over the whole trapping period from 1st August to 31st December I only recharged the torch once from its original charging.
As well as the torch and hand-warmer properties this has a third function that I also used just the once and that worked brilliantly as well. This was as a power bank, for charging up my mobile phone. The one I had in my car was used to boost my phone when I needed it to take photographs. Without this recharge I would have been stuck but essential pictures were taken and the charge on the phone lasted all afternoon. The torch itself is sturdy and well balanced with a compact length of just 17cm and a weight of 350g and has a claim to have been drop tested which is reassuring but I will try not to test that out if I can help it! It is water resistant and comes with a useful belt holster, although I find it small enough for most of my pockets and so don’t use the holster. The torch comes with a USB cable and that is how it is charged. I use my pc to recharge it but we also have USB sockets in some plugs at home so they could be used too. Many Hotels and B&Bs have USB plug sockets as standard too so when away on holiday charging it up wouldn’t be a problem either.
I have found the ThermoTorch perfect for use in one of my hobbies and I am sure that most people would find a use for it in their lives. With its multi-functionality it is a versatile wee device and whether bought for your own use or as a present I am confident that it won’t disappoint.
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