lightest hybrid head lamp?

Marc,

Until BPL Staffer Rick Drehrer weighs in with an authoritative response, the best i can do is the following “hack” reply to your query.

i don’t know that i can answer this question for you since one would need to be familiar with EVERY headlamp currently in production, but i will try to give you some that would be possibly the lightest hybrids out there.

I’m going to begin by assuming that by “hybrid headlamp” you mean the TRADITIONAL meaning of the term “hybrid”, i.e. an incandescent/Xenon and LED hybrid, and not the NEWER LED-LED hybrids, employing a 1w or 3w Luxeon-type LED for distance lighting coupled with Nx5mm LEDs for task/proximity lighting.

I don’t think that you’re going to be satisfied with the answer though. Why? Read on…

To my knowledge, the lightest hybrid headlamp is the Streamlight Trident (there are many “clones” of this style headlamp – just check eBay for them). I used to own one. It has a tiny bi-pin Xenon bulb (VERY NARROW tiny spot beam, not overly powerful or useful, IMHO, and only real bright in the most central portion of the tiny spot beam when the batts are fresh – first 15-30min or so) and 3x5mm LEDs which do just fine for task/proximity lighting. It comes in two “flavors”, one with three green LEDs; and one with 3 white LEDs; some “clones”, e.g. Optronics Nightblaster, use 3x5mm LEDs being 1 red LED and 2 white LEDs. It only weighs 5oz w/batts (3xAAA), Mfr. claimed wt. When comparing weights among diff. Mfr’s keep in mind that the weights that some Mfr’s list on their website for their headlamps are w/o batts.

I question the usefulness of this headlamp since, IMHO, it’s non-focusable Xenon beam (it does in fact have some limited capability to focus, but i call it essentially non-focusable) has such limited use and quickly drains the meager stored energy in three AAA batts (~2hrs, what can one expect from 3xAAA batts, though light is NOT real usable near the end of that 2hrs, IME), but it’s perhaps the best answer to your question. Its Xe light output (a single level – “hi”, and i use the term “hi” rather generously) is only 18 lumens on fresh batts, 7x5mm LEDs can do just about the same (Streamlight Septor for instance at 17.5 lumens, IIRC, with all 7 of its 5mm LEDs on) and a single Luxeon LED driven at only 0.5watt can do ~33% better (generally about ~24 lumens – check out the Streamlight Enduro and various “clones” – 6 lumen low output for 24 hrs; sufficient for task/proximity lighting and 1/2watt, 24 lumen HI output for six hours – works well when a full 1w output might be over-kill for night hiking; runs on only 2xAAA batts and weighs only 2.75oz – NOT a hybrid of any sort).

For a bit more wt (at ~6.5oz Mfr. claimed), the Petzl MyoLite3 using 3xAA batts is a REAL headlamp. It is a quantum leap forward beyond the 3xAAA hybrids, IME. Its 4.5v Xenon bulb is focusable over a wide range, but this is no Petzl Zoom Halogene (sic, le “spelling” de francais [sic, again for my lousy pseudo-french; excuser moi, my apologies to the French Forum particpants for butchering their beautiful language]) headlamp and just doesn’t put out anywhere near as much light. The MyoLite3’s reflector is much smaller than the older non-hybrid Zoom/Zoom Halogene. I’m talking my own personal visual perception here, NOT light meter numbers. It’s 3x5mm LEDs work very well for task/proximity lighting and for slowly traversing a non-technical trail (“technical” here is an arbitrary, relative term. i hope it communicates something. i mean it as a rung or two above a simple footpath on the ladder of trail complexity).

A heavier 6v Xenon system (needs a fourth battery) will greatly out perform, IME, the 4.5v systems. “Burn” times are generally somewhat comparable b/t the two systems, but light output is much brighter (better “throw” or similar “throw” with beam focused wider, resulting in a larger illuminated field of view).

Not knowing what’s driving your question, the following may be a “swing and a miss, Strike three i’m out”:

With several excellent LED-LED hybrids (3w Luxeon replacing the Xe bulb and Nx5mm LEDs) headlamps now available, for most applications, except perhaps SAR which i’m NOT qualified to comment on (but, which probably, if i’m not mistaken, wouldn’t specify light weight as the primary selection criteria, but rather desire periodic HIGH output as its main requirement), i question the use of a true hybrid. Generally, you get somewhat similar performance or a liveable bit less performance from the 3w LED vs a 6v Xenon, or superior performance of the 3w LED vs a 4.5v Xe (if part of a hybrid). Yet you get longer “burn” times with the 3w Luxeon LED than with the Xe. Downside? It’s NON-focusable. Minor downside, IME.

While it’s NOT an LED-LED hybrid, the Petzl MyoXP, accomplishes a similar purpose by running the 3w beam on LOW power and sliding an included diffuser over the beam for use as a task/proximity light. This is the lightest solution (~6oz) to my knowledge currently available that would do the work of a Xe-LED hybrid and yet be ALL LED.

The BD ZenixIQ is probably the lightest LED-LED hybrid (~5.7oz w/batts since it only use 2xAA batts and a boost converter to up the voltage sufficient to forward bias the LEDs) from a big name Mfr., but i can’t recommend it, due to its extremely poor (in my testing) battery life. It just doesn’t live up to BD’s claimed “burn” times. Similarly, for this reason, i can’t recommend the BD VectraIQ (5.6oz Mfr claimed w/o batts; 8.9oz w/4xAA alkaline batts), which i run several sets of batts through, nor (and i’m guessing here since i don’t own it) the BD Helion (7.6oz Mfr claimed w/3xAA batts). The VectraIQ doesn’t get the claimed battery life. Also, while BD does a great job with their Xe output, the beam is non-focusable. Focusing, for me, is part of the appeal of a Xe beam. The lightest LED-LED hybrid might very well be the BD Spot at 3oz w/it’s 3xAAA batts. It uses 3x5mm LEDs for task/proximity lighting (3 levels of light output + flashing[IIRC]) and a 1w Luxeon (with 3levels of light output[+flashing??? – i forget]). However, as is common with the newer BD headlamps (excluding the Icon, Gizmo, and Wiz which i haven’t tested yet, but do own and perhaps will test batt. life soon) suffers from far less than the Mfr. claimed batt life (so as not to increase the length of this already too long post, please search the Forum posts and Reader Reviews for some comments on the Spot’s burn times which i posted some many months ago). The BD Icon though, if it “breaks out” of the less-than-claimed batt. life “box” that some of the other recent BD headlamps are contained in, may be a very light hybrid-hybrid contender at only 6.6oz w/batts Mfr. claimed wt.

For me, since i do a lot of night hiking, performance outweighs a couple to several ounce wt. savings. So, for me it’s the PT Apex for primary distance lighting. I’ve even modified mine to accept, when absolutely required, a belt/pocket/pack mounted 4xC battery box. Prior to the Apex, i often (not always) resorted to a Petzl ZoomZoraBelt (4xC) with halogen bulb and even on a few rare occasions a Pelican 2660 HeadsUp Lite with a Xe bulb (126 lumens – bright, but, too bad, only one output level – IME, rarely needed 126 lumens of light output) and 3x5mm LED hybrid. It used a 4xD batt. box – *HEAVY* would be an understatement!!!

Generally, i prefer to carry two headlamps. A PT Scout or Petzl ZipkaPlus for task lighting (& backup light source should my primary fail for some reason – something a spare set of batts won’t solve) and another headlamp (Apex or MyoXP) for distance lighting for use in nightime hiking. Why? I don’t like not being able to “guesstimate” how much “burn” time i might have left for distance lighting use which is the case if i’m multi-tasking my “hybrid” use headlamp. “Let’s see if i’ve already run it for 2hrs on medium Luxeon output and now i’ve run it for 2 more hours of low 5mm LED output, how much did that 2hrs of low 5mm output reduce my Luxeon output – better get out my solar powered calculator and those discharge curve charts i had the Mfr send me.” Or, i could break out my DMM and measure the remaining no-load voltage on each batt and guesstimate from there – i think you get the idea – the answer is beyond my level of intelligence, hence two separate headlamps.

So, in summary, personally, i would choose a newer LED-LED hybrid headlamp over a traditional Xe-LED hybrid SINCE WE’RE TALKING LIGHT WEIGHT. Should you want the absolute best distance viewing, then you’re going to have to go with a significantly heavier (from a percentage of total weight standpoint) high powered Xe or Xe-LED hybrid headlamp (and bring spare batteries, adding to the overal weight of your lighting system).

[NOTE: Later today i can weigh most of the above headlamps on my new digital scale and give accurate weights with alkaline batteries and with Li batts, and then update this Post or add a new Post with the actual weights of my units.]

[Under Construction — check back periodically to see additions/changes to the Post being added AND existing text changed at this time.]

I assumed LEDs could not eluminate as far as other bulbs. I would be using the head lamp for mountaineering and climbing so distance is important…I don’t want to go off a cliff.

I currently have a 7 year old Petzel with two halogens. It takes 4 AA batteries. I like its capabilities but it weighs allot.

I was looking at the Petzel Myolite 3. However, is a LED/LED appropriate for climbing?

Marc

Hi Marc,

I’ve used a Princeton Tec EOS for alpine climbing a lot, it has the juice required for a nighttime descent, which I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy a few times.

I’m looking at the Myolite 3 as well, I haven’t had the chance to pick one up and try it yet.

Ryan

Ryan said – “I’m looking at the Myolite 3 as well, I haven’t had the chance to pick one up and try it yet.”

But have you thought about putting it on a diet to lose a little of its weight?

I need a good light for my winter AT start and I don’t think the Atom will do it alone. At 6.53 ounces the P Myolite 3 is as heavy as one of my quilts.

If this one is that good I need to see one in person and decide if I might be able to lighten it up some.

I’ve found the Myo XP (LED only) a better light than the Myolite 3 and it lasts a lot longer. I didn’t like the change in light colour when changing from the LEDs to the halogen bulb either.

However, the Tikka XP gives almost the same level of illumination (subjective user view, not a scientific test) and apart from long winter lights is my choice.

Petzl say that lithium batteries will damage the light, but I have yet to see any ill effects.

I’m with Neil on this one, I’d easily pick the MyoXP or TikkaXP over the MyoLite3. The Xe burn time on the MyoLite3 leaves a lot to be desired. It’s really very short with a halogen bulb. Also, note, IIRC, the MyoLite3 doesn’t come with a standard incandescent bulb for long burn times (the LEDs suffice for this purpose and “burn” longer on a set of batts) though it can be purchased separately and installed; only the base MyoLite with any LEDs comes with both a halogen and a standard bulb, IIRC. The light output of the MyoLite series is at best is no better, IME, than the MyoXP. I also don’t like the yellow color of the 4.5v light output, and it only gets worse as the batts run down. Marc doesn’t want to go off a cliff (an admirable goal to say the least), so perhaps the 3LED output mode of the MyoLite3 is inappropriate for his use. This being the case, the halogen “burn” time may be a real drawback (~3.5hrs and after only 30min you’ve lost about 33%, IIRC, of the “throw”).

If one values weight above maximum light output, then pick the MyoXP over my favorite, the PT Apex – you certainly haven’t made a bad choice going with the XP. If ligthest weight is absolutely mandatory, but you still might need a really bright light, then the TikkaXP or the PT Eos would be an excellent choice but you get a bit less maximum light out vs. the MyoXP (not that you always need tht much light) and also shorter “burn” times due to the smaller AAA batts vs. AA batts in the MyoXP.

Bill, unless you need distance viewing from your headlamp, something like the new ZipkaPlus (with the newer 2x, or 80%, brighter LEDs) is quite bright, or if you want to use Li batts (which weigh about 0.13oz per batt less than alkaline batts) go with the PT Quad and you don’t have to worry about possibly damaging the headlamp. Petzl discourages their use in their headlamps, but as another Poster has already pointed out, he has had no ill effects from using them. Medium output from both the Quad and the ZipkaPlus is generally all i need for most tasks, including traversing a clearly delineated, simple trail without a lot of bends, hence no need to see far distances ahead to pick out blazes. For more difficult trails, these smaller task/proximity lights don’t suffice for my purposes. In those cases the PT Eos or the TikkaXP are the minimum i require to feel comfortable picking out blazes.

My apologies. Needed to diagnose a misfire in a friends Subie this afternoon after church meetings, so i didn’t get a chance to weigh those headlamps i mentioned in my earlier, extremely lengthy Post. I will make an attempt to dig them out tomorrow and weigh them. Thank you for your understanding.

“I assumed LEDs could not eluminate as far as other bulbs. I would be using the head lamp for mountaineering and climbing so distance is important…I don’t want to go off a cliff.”

The new 1w Luxeon LEDs do very well for distance lighting, and the newer 3w Luxeon LEDs nearly rival some of the best 6v Xenon/halogen bulb systems. Sure the 6v Xe systems can still shoot a beam out further, but other than perhaps for SAR purposes, the 3W Luxeons (and to a lesser extent the 1w Luxeons) have sufficient throw for most other applications.

Historically hybrids were used to provide long battery life with a light which could be used for way-finding or other apps that needed a very bright light for sort periods of time. In most cases, I would recommend skipping the old hybrid headlamps. With the advent of 1W and 3W Luxeon LEDs, very few applications require a halogen bulb. I haven’t used a halogen based hybrid in a number of years because LEDs have been bright enough for my purposes, have much better battery life, and are close to indestructible.

For applications that need a long throw, I would recommend the the PrincetonTec EOS because it’s focused been has a good throw for way-finding it’s durable, has good battery life, and is light weight. The EOS is only adequate for close up / task lighting, but not as good as something which has a couple of .5mm LEDs (the LED hybrids). If you want better “close in” lighting, I would recommend going with a separate button light such as those made by Photon or the Peztl e-Lite which also can function as a backup light.

If the EOS doesn’t provide enough light then I would look at the PrincetonTec Apex. Not light weight, but great thrown and long lasting.

For the most complete info, I would suggest one of the flashlight geek sites like http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/ or http://www.flashlightreviews.com/index1.html