When you’re working away on your car, you sometimes need that little bit of extra light to see what’s going on, torches are a faff, and you have to keep hold of them or lose them to the depths of your engine bay, and large inspection lights don’t always fit where you need them to.
Ring has developed the RIL6300 or Magflex Slim 500 for just those occasions.
What is it?
It’s a folding inspection lamp with a magnetised base and a craftily concealed hook for hanging. The head folds out 180 degrees and then rotates 270 degrees to the right.
How does the RIL6300 work?
Powered by a 2600 mAh battery, there’s a light output of 500 lumens on high or 250 on low, with a torch on the end providing 70 lumens.
The lamp is IP54 rated, which gives partial protection against dust along with water splashes and 10 minutes of light spray. So it’s showerproof, but don’t leave it out in the rain. It’s also IK07 impact rated, which is 2 joules of force; I’d still be careful with it though, especially if you’ve got it unfolded.
There’s a single USB C socket underneath a thick rubber grommet for charging, and on the back is a large power button and charge indicator.
It takes 3.5 hours to charge and has a runtime of 3.5 hours on 500 lumen or 6 hours on 250 lumens.
To turn the unit on, just press the power button once, this puts it on low, press again quickly and it will go onto high, press quickly once more, and the torch at the end will illuminate. A single press will turn the unit off.
What’s it like?
Fitting in your hand nicely, it’s easy to hold, and the plastic feels of decent quality but isn’t covered in any sort of rubbery coating, unlike others in the Magflex range.
The single magnet on the base is easily strong enough to suspend it from any angle with ease, and the hook feels a little more flimsy than you’d like on a device that’s bound to take some knocks in its life, but it’s an excellent addition allowing you to hang it under your bonnet.
You’ll have to be careful not to force the head through a full rotation as it doesn’t twist that far, and it only turns to the right rather than being a full 360 motion.
The torch at the end is bright enough to illuminate things deep in the engine bay; you can also twist and stow the head with the LEDs facing outward to give you a small hand-held inspection lamp too. You can also leave the head stowed to use the torch rather than extending it fully.
If you need a handy little lamp that can double as a torch for automotive fiddling, look no further. The Magflex 500 is well built and provides plenty of light to work in even the darkest garages.
Where can I get one?
Their release seems a bit limited currently, but eBay is your best bet with prices around £33.99.
