The best travel torches to keep in the car

Striking an ideal balance between build quality and value, NEBO's Slyde King 2K takes the prize. It has five light modes, with the brightest throwing a beam of light at a distance of over 400 metres. That's all great but what makes this torch so fantastic is that you can slide back the handle to create a work light, you can then stick the torch to a metal surface thanks to its magnetic base - perfect for changing a wheel or illuminating an engine bay, for example. It feels solid too, with an aluminium body.

This isn't a torch. It's a portable jump starter that happens to have a 100-lumen torch. To be more specific, it's CAR top-rated portable jump starter. Hailing from industry leaders NOCO, the GBX45 is the smallest in the Boost X range but is still capable of jump-starting almost any non-commercial vehicle engine. It also acts as a power bank, it's tough IP65 rated, and is very light and compact. We also appreciate how simple it is to use. The torch also features an SOS function.

Half the output of the NEBO torch above yet more than twice the price, what gives? While the NEBO is well made, the German Ledlenser is brilliant. On top of the impressive build quality, the MT10 has Ledlenser's Advanced Focusing Optics lets you switch between flood and focus beams instantly. Moreover, it seems to make more efficient use of each lumen, giving a better quality, clearer beam than what you get in cheaper torches with the same brightness. The MT10 has a long run time and seven-year warranty too.

For the inevitable and painfully overused car analogy, this is the TVR of the torch world in terms of power to weight ratio but luckily it's much more reliable. The 1000 lumen headline concerns the torch's Turbo mode, which can be used for up to 30 seconds. For the most part, you use up to 500 lumens, depending on the mode. Like the Slyde King 2K above, it has a handy magnetic base but is also has a neat wireless charging pad.

The Silverline Wind-Up Torch's brightness is peanuts compared to the others here but it's designed as an emergency light source. It weighs almost nothing and is reliable. Wind it up with the foldaway handle for one minute and you get an impressive 30 minutes of run time.

The AA torch is quite an old school unit compared to most others here, but its reliability, value, and efficiency deem it worthy of a place. It is C battery-powered (included), but in return, it has a reasonable run time. When the included batteries need replacing you can always do so with rechargeables. The base with six angles is handy for various instances and so too is the 180-metre beam.

Most motorists do not need this torch. It's a long-range spotlight that only a few of us need. For the output it provides and the toughness it bears, this is quite a compact torch. It has five light modes: Turbo, High, Medium, Low, and Strobe. Turbo offers 1500 lumens of concentrated light for a short time capable of reaching 925 metres.