Looking for a ultralight headlamp: Mammut S-Lite or Mammut S-Flex?

A suggestion-

I just fashioned a headlamp out of a tiny, 3-led light (18 lumens) meant to clip to a baseball cap and a length of thin cord. I actually used a guitar pick to create a flat plane for my forehead. It weighs 14 grams with batteries and cost me $10. It uses two medium-sized watch batteries, not sure the #.
It may be slightly less reliable than a Mammut, but looks solid to me. I can give you a report in two weeks.

If the Mammut headlamps turn out not to fit your UL requirements take a look at the Princeton Tec Scout.

Two LEDs
3 brightness levels + strobe
Four coin batteries
Very lite (I forgot the weight)
Water resistant W/ neoprene O ring seal & sealed switch

I had difficulty deciding between the 2 lights and eventually went w/ the s flex. Brighter flood but w/out the lower light option of the the s lite. But the flex does have a red light option (which I have yet to use for night vision). The s lite has a longer operating time vs the flex fwiw.

I guess my conclusion is that for such a small light, I opted for the brighter of the two. Simple as that. And I have only used the s flex, so as for comparison – I am going off of memory and manufacturer spec.

Also, the flex is replacing my mammut txlite this year as my 3-season lamp. The Lucido technology has worked for me thus far w/ the txlite and also my serious climbing lamp – the xzoom. My only qualm is that they are not regulated.

I'd say get a Zebralight H51. It also uses 1 x AA, it's far brighter (up to 200 lumens), has great flood, it's regulated, quite affordable etc. The only downside I can see is that it is a bit heavier….37g for the main light and then another 22g if you want the strap.

For me, I use a coin cell light (Petzl e+Lite or Photon) if I want minimal lighting and then I use the H51 if I actually want to be able to walk in the dark. These Mammut lights hit the middle ground where they are heavier than the e+Lite and Photon without really being much brighter.

quick question: Can you adjust the angle for these lights? as for example with the Petzl Tikka?

That sort of a few clicks for changing the angle of the lights off your head… I found that very useful, e.g. when reading a book at night, lying down, at low light, with a more downward angle… then when walking more straight light angle with high light…

does anyone know?

cheers,
claudio

No field experience, but I did play with a Mammut S-Lite at REI a few days ago. I do like the fact that it's powered by an inexpensive and readily available AA battery. The angle of S-Lite is adjustable.

Been a while here, busy w/ the ole life and such…

Got *chased* out of Jellystone by a big hungry GRIZZ in the middle of May this year. Julia and I made a hasty retreat in the eve/night to complete an ~20 mile day along the Yellowstone River in the north of the park.

Conclusion: S-flex is now relegated to the daypack/emergency use tupperware. Go with brighter if you are lower on the food chain IMO. Loved the headlamp until I had to hike at night at a clip and with a purpose…pick your poison: light or bright!

I have the s-flex and i originally liked it a lot but the feeling has diminished. The shape of the plastic body is not "forehead" shaped so it is very uncomfortable compared to just about any standard headlamp. I originally purchased the light in early spring and almost used it exclusively with a skull cap and i thought the spot light and red leds were acceptable for the weight.

Now that the weather is hot and muggy and no cap is needed, the rectangular shape on my forehead is just downright uncomfortable and hard to adjust. I fixed this situation by cutting out a very small piece of closed cell foam (using the shape of a older broken black-diamond headlamp as a template) and squeezing it behind the headlamps band. This made it a usable headlamp again, but had I known I would've had to resort to something like this to make it remotely comfortable i would've spent my money somewhere else.

^ for those that do not use their "Headlamp" on the head, the adjustable band makes it pretty convenient around ones wrist, etc. for camp chores.

Nick-you've probably given some of the best advice in this thread. You(hikers including me) don't know when/if you'll ever need to night hike. Despite how bright you think your headlamp is, chances are if you're overly concerned with saving .5 of an ounce it isn't going to be bright enough to hike on a dark night.

Also, the lights that take the flat, watch style batteries get poor battery life relative to AAA and are much more suceptible to instant fatality during the colder months.

I've used a new style Tikka XP for the last two seasons, which is by no means light, but it's bright enough and gets excellent battery life.

I've been using the Mammut S-lite for a while now. I like the single battery aspect and think for around camp purposes it puts out a well balanced light between flood and spot.

One feature of my old Petzl's I liked was a simple one handed on and off switch.

The mammut requires two quick pushes to turn it on "which can be a trick with real cold fingers" This puts the light in the low setting which is the one I use 95% of the time.

It's not really a complaint but if I had known that in order to turn the light off from that setting would require four more pushes of the small switch I probably would have looked elsewhere.

I have been using the S-Lite since late March and will say it is so-so. It is really 1.7oz with battery and has plenty of useful light. I will admit that it isn't the most ergonomic shaped light, and I really preferred my old Black Diamond Gizmo, but since it died this will have to do for a while.

Everything is a trade off.
I have been using a Zebralight sc50w, iTP EOS A1 & A3, Dereelight Javelin & C2H, Petzl Tactikka, and recently a Mammut S-Flex.

Of all these my favorite is easily the Zebralight. It has a great user interface, terrific beam – good balance between flood and spot, amazing efficiency and the best CRI (color rendering index – means objects are more easily identifiable)

Of all these lights the S-Flex has the worst CRI, which is a real bummer because otherwise it is great. It is a little cumbersome to have to press the button a few times to switch it off, but on the other-hand this helps keep mode selection simple – double press to turn it on then cycle through medium, high, red constant, red flashing, then off.
I have not thoroughly tested, but based on my ad-hoc observations I would say the battery life is overstated and a little disappointing.
I love its simplicity, light weight, compact size and the fact it has red modes.

My thoughts on a great all-round flashlight – take a look at the Zebralight H51w. A little on the heavy side but covers pretty much all situations, fantastic CRI, user interface and efficiency – meaning less batteries to carry on a longer trip.

Can anyone confirm? Wondering if the S-flex can handle the Energizer Lithium batteries.

I'm new here, pardon me if any of this is old news:

1 – Now that 1.5-volt lithium AA and AAA batteries are available, that's very low-hanging fruit to save weight and increase performance. I've never had a problem swapping them in for alkalines.

2 – I keep some lights loaded with Costco-Kirkland alkaline AA or AAAs for normal, around town use. I put lithiums in others (including one in each car) because lithium works at -20F, alkaline does NOT) and I live in Alaska.

3 – for cheap button-cell batteries, go on ebay. I don't remember precisely, but maybe $0.15 each when you buy a few dozen instead of $1-2-3 each at the watch shop.

4 – I know everyone uses AAA for the bulk / weight and that's great for UL use especially with lithiums, but for basic skiing out my front door, I wish there were more AA choices because of the battery life / cost savings.

5 – If it's been a while since you changed batteries in your LED light, check it with new batteries and you'll be AMAZED at how bright it is again. Unregulated LED lights have a long, slow taper and while they may last "150 hours", only the first 20 hours were very bright. New batteries are cheap in comparison to missing a trail junction.

6 – use a digital voltmeter. New alkalines are 1.55 to 1.59 volts. At 1.52, I'd still hike with it. At 1.45 volts, it's in the trash, unless I need a reading light at home.

7a – Headlamps go on your head IN CAMP only

7b – Don't hike with a headlamp on your head – you see no shadows when your light orginates from near your eyes. Shine it from your waist – then you'll see the dips and rises in the trail and you'll trip a lot less.

8 – when you have a light on your head, wear a baseball cap! The bill of the cap greatly cuts the glare and lets you see more on a lower setting.

My wife and I have had the best luck with the single AA style Zebralite.
We usually use lithium batteries except when it is warm out and in situations where weight is no concern.

Button cells can be hard to get and expensive.
It takes 3 AAA batteries to get the same juice as one AA and they are annoying to deal with.

Lithium AA batteries are what I consider the best compromise. They are lighter, have more juice, longer shelf life and work much better in the cold than alkaline.

The Zebralite's are regulated with three brightness levels so they squeeze out the most light from a single AA.
I haven't tried the Fenix lights, but suspect they have similar performance.

I'll be using Lithium in the winter for weight savings and better cold weather performance.

I want the weight and AA performance of the Zebralight H501, but the spot/floody beam of an H31. I don't think the H501 has enough throw for hiking, in camp sure, but not for hiking. Steve, what Zebralight do you use? Also, the H502 is coming out soon, kinda wanted to wait for that.

I've read Lithium have a much flatter output curve, thus less important to use regulated. Anyone know anything about that?

Bryce,
Have you looked at the H51? It's an AA with beam of the H31. I have it and love it. For its size and power source, it puts out a wall of light and definitely throws far enough for night hiking. However, the runtime on high is only about an hour before it steps down to the medium level. You could still hike on medium. But then again, I don't actually night hike!

Hi Bryce,

Yes, Lithium's are supposed to have a flatter output over time. I believe you always want a regulated circuit with single AA lights because LEDs are more efficient at the higher voltage that circuitry can produce.

I think the main reason 3xAAA lights are so popular is they achieve that voltage without the circuitry.

I don't remember the model # on my Zebralite, but it is a flood pattern. I have done some night hiking and found the throw adequate on the middle brightness setting in pitch black cloud covered nights.

I would have probably preferred a narrower spot for night hiking, but I tend to use the light mostly for lighting around camp and the flood works better there.

What with LED lights lasting so long, I don't give much thought to the state of battery charge unless it's a long trip or I'm planning a longish night hike.

So I grabbed a regulated light (2 x AA, mini-maglite confriguration) for a recent overnight. But after an hour of use on the tral that night, it started to go off, flicker on, repeat. Which forced me to use a mini, back-up lamp.

An unregulated light would have given me ever reducing light for many more hours and that would have been better.

That's not a reason to not use a regulated light. But it is more of a reason to check battery voltage before starting out.

The H51 gained weight over the H501, but I looked at it. I considered I though because I like the beam pattern.

This is why I go with Lithium AAs:

L91 Energizer Lithium
3000 mAh @ 1.5v = 4500 mWh
14.5g
L92 Energizer Lithium
1200 mAh @ 1.5v = 1800 mWh @ 7.6g
Sanyo NiMH
2700 mAh @ 1.2v = 3240 mWh @ 30g
Energizer Max Alkaline
2850 mAh @ 1.5v = 4275 mWh
24g
Panasonic Lithium CR123A
1550 mAh @ 3v = 4650 mWh
17g
Energizer Lithium AAA
1250 mAh @ 1.5v = 1875 mWh
7.8g

AA batteries have ~3x the power of AAA, and are lighter than CR123A batteries and easier to find (haven't researched price though).

I will always have a space "set" of batteries with me. In this case, 1 x AA, which weighs less than 3 x lithium AAAs and less likely to lose.

Unregulated AA lights may not bee than bad in terms of drop off of lumens IF you use Lithium:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/features/runtime_explained.htm

"Unregulated AA lights may not bee than bad in terms of drop off of lumens IF you use Lithium:"

Lithium primary batteries have a very flat voltage characteristic over nearly the entire life of the battery. In other words, the voltage does not droop much until the battery is relatively finished. Then it dies in a hurry.

Most alkaline batteries have a moderately flat voltage characteristic, so they steadily and constantly droop over most of the battery life.

Regulator circuits attempt to take a varying voltage in and produce a constant voltage out, but that isn't so important with a lithium primary battery since they are already pretty constant.

The constancy of the voltage fed to the LED is important if you are driving the LED directly. There, the voltage equates to light intensity. However, many headlamps have an LED driver circuit in the middle. This "chops up" the battery voltage to be able to produce different light intensities. So, the regulator is not so important if you have a fancy LED driver circuit.

–B.G.–

"LED driver circuit" = PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)?

If so, and if you have a constant voltage (read: Lithium) then your unregulated light should be able to maintain proper brightness for the majority of time. Correct?

Yes.

A typical LED driver circuit takes the battery voltage and produces PWM, which we call chopped DC. If there are only a few skinny pulses, then that makes the LED light up dimly. If there are lots of fat pulses, then that makes the LED light up brightly. Most driver circuits have some kind of a feedback/control feature to normalize the drive to the LED, so it doesn't matter too much whether you have a more constant battery or one that is drooping in voltage. LED driver circuits are especially important for getting the high intensity that many of us seek these days. If you tried to drive the LED directly to get the intensity, you might burn it out from overheating.

–B.G.–

I may be wrong, but I read that a single AA doesn't provide a good voltage to drive current LEDs efficiently and so they use a regulated PWM circuit to raise the average voltage to an efficient voltage level, something higher than the 1.5 volts of a standard AA.

3x battery lights don't need this as they can produce approximately 4.5V which I guess is enough to not require the voltage boost conversion.

The argument for the many 3xAAA lights is that they should be more reliable because there is no PWM/regulator circuitry to fail, but I find that the extra wiring and contacts can fail on 3x lights making them just as unreliable.

I believe that a durable regulating circuitry can be made and from what I have seen the Zebralites have proven to be quite reliable.