Mark Evans: The DC710 is much the same as the D710 from OrcaTorch. It is made from the same corrosion-resistant, durable hard-anodized aluminium and toughened glass, it is depth-rated to 150m, and it has the same compact size.
Like the D710, this makes it ideal for a back-up torch, but with 3,000 lumens, more than bright enough to warrant use as a primary torch.
OrcaTorch claim the beam distance from the DC710 is a staggering 262 metres – way more than the D710’s 150 metres – and it was indeed extremely bright. Inside a sunken container on the bottom of a UK quarry it proved more than capable at slicing through the gloom. As with the D710, the 6 degree beam angle greatly helps with this, and it’s also great for signalling to your buddy.
As with the D710, that mega 3,000 lumen is ‘turbo mode’, as OrcaTorch refer to it, and that is only on for a very short time – one minute – each time you access it. However, the 1,700 lumen ‘high’ setting, with a burntime of one hour 40 minutes, is still extremely bright for the size of the torch, and there are then ‘Middle’ (800 lumens, three hours 40 minutes burntime) and ‘Low’ (400 lumens, seven hours 40 minutes burntime) settings.
Again, as with the D710, all of the settings are cycled through by pressing the titanium button on the side. You can even ‘lock’ the torch into shutdown state to prevent accidental activation while in transport. This button even features a nifty LED power indicator – green shows over 30 percent charge, red is between ten to 30 percent charge, and flashing red means you have less than ten percent charge remaining. This button is easy to locate and operate even in cold water wearing thick neoprene gloves.
So if all the above is the same, what makes the DC710 different to the D710? Well, a clever bit of design. Where the D710 runs on an OrcaTorch 5,000mAh rechargeable battery with a built-in USB-C charging port (you just open the torch, remove the battery and plug it in, rather than needing a separate charger), with the DC710, you don’t even have to remove the battery from the torch. You simply twist the central section and it swivels down revealing a USB-C charging port – then all you do is plug in the cable and charge away. An O-ring protects this port, and it means you don’t have to open up the battery compartment.
The DC710 comes with a padded, zippered case, the rechargeable battery, USB charging cable, spare O-rings, and lanyard.
