Headlamp Recommendations?

We just went through this a few weeks ago, so the thread is here somewhere.

Some hikers prefer a strong beam. Others prefer a strong floodlight. Some want something strong enough to search by. Others just want something for camp chores. Some hikers want something that works on a single standard battery. Others don't care. Some hikers want the lightest in weight. Others want something that will run a long time.

If you know how many lumens of light you need, that is one good place to start from.

–B.G.–

I find that the Petzl elite is a great light for around the camp and summer use. However, if you are planning to do any hiking at night, it can be a bit difficult to navigate. I've recently became a fan of Zebralights. The H51 throws out up to 200 lumens and weighs 2.2 oz. with the battery (I think it's AA). The headband adds another 0.7 – 0.8 oz. The H31 is even a bit lighter. Overall, it is not SUL but it's very capable for the weight compared to other headlamps such as the Black Diamond Spot which offers half the lumens for the same weight.

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i have to say i really like my princeton tec fuel (the new version with 4 led s is what i have) it is great around camp and seems to bepretty tough it stands up to the abuse of my 6yr oldboy when he gets a hold of it lol

kevin

Feel free to add a quick post of what your using with a brief pro/con list if you have time.

I know there is threads out there which I have perused. I wrote a much bigger post up and then lost it so I decided to just post a quicky to get a snapshop of what people are using.

Looking for a camp light bright enough to hike in the dark…the h51 looks nice but might be out of my price range for now. Any negative experiences with this light? Anyone else have problems with their Elite?

Cheers

New, haven't used it yet. But, it's just one ounce and costs $5.99 on sale at Big 5. I personally don't need much light at night. I'm not hiking at night, I'm just getting around camp and maybe looking in my pack etc. So, cheap and ultralight.

Look at the Princeton Tec Scout. Small but has 3 brightness and 2 strobe settings.

I've owned a zebra lightH31w and gave it away after I bought my Fenix hp10.

Check out the reviews at Amazon.

I use the Fenix HL20. It runs off a single AA and has a good spot beam for moving around at night. With the included diffuser it works great as a camp light.

It weighs less then 3 oz without battery and has a max output of 105 lumens thanks to it's CREE LED. The mid setting of 48 lumens is great and you get 5.5 hours out of a battery with it.

AA batteries are easy to find the world over and a single battery means no worrying about having *enough* good batteries to run the light.

Fenix lights are also IPX8 rated (can be submersed at 1 meter depth for 30 minutes).

Here is a list of the best picks for lights, imo (weights with batteries)

Pick the best one for weight/runtime/function. The photon has a pretty minimal amount of light. All the others have similar output I think. The difference between the 70 lumen Remix pro and 200 lumen zebralight is much more drastic on paper than it is in the real world.

I chose the A3 EOS because it is light weight, and has pretty good output on high when needed. If you really need alot of output for extended night hikes, then the zebralight would be hard to beat.

Can't recommend the brand, but since others have done so I can suggest keeping an eye on Steep and Cheap, they've often had Princeton Tec headlamps on sale. That's what I'm doing. :)

Is the ITP A3 EOS really .75 w/ the AAA battery? One AAA is already about .4 oz. If it is, I think I might consider getting one.

Just saw it listed on the manufacturer's website and it's listed at 9 grams! I'm getting one.

Nite-Ize has a light called the Zip-Lit. It is a zipper-pull light that weighs 2.8 grams, or about 0.1 ounce.

One $5 card held two of them, with batteries, and with spare batteries.

–B.G.–

I think the best value (good quality at “reasonable” price) is the iTP H01, or the iTP A3 update flashlight clipped to the brim of a hat.

My favorite headlamp is the zebralight h51 which is just about perfect for me. The only thing I can think to improve would be a battery life indicator. This is not a cheap headlamp though.

More thoughts on my recommended flashlight page.

–mark

"The only thing I can think to improve would be a battery life indicator."

How should battery life be indicated?
1. Meter like a fuel gauge?
2. Digital number display?
3. Green-Yellow-Red color indicators?
4. Should the display be full-time, or only on demand?

Whichever, it would greatly complicate the control circuit tremendously.

–B.G.–

I have heard good things about zebra 51 on other forums.

What are peoples thoughts about surefire saint or saint minimus?

I am looking to get a new light too. Thanks.

> How should battery life be indicated?

On depend would be my choice to minimize drain and to avoid extra display hardware. My suggestion would be that on power up of the circuity it would pulse (maybe 2.5 lumens) a number of times to indicate how much power there is. Say 1 flash for every 25% of estimated power, so a fresh battery would give 4 quick flashes. So if someone wanted to know how state of batteries they would just just unscrew the battery cap until contact is broken and that tighten. The flash light would strobe, and the user would know the state of the batteries.

> Whichever, it would greatly complicate the control circuit tremendously.

Indeed which is why I think it's a a nice to have, rather than a core requirement for the light I use.

Hey Aaron:

what made you switch from the zebralight h31 to the fenix hp10?

I suggested looking on amazon for reviews, but when I searched for zebralight I didn't find any reviews because there were no zebralight headlamps listed. Can you provide a link to look at.

–Mark

I'm a huge fan of this little guy.

http://www.amazon.com/Cyclops-CYC-MHC-W-Micro-Mini-Light/dp/B001QCXTBI

You can find them at Gander Mountain, Kmart, and all over for 4 bucks with batteries.

Weighs .38 ounces with batttery.

An alternative to the ITP A3 EOS is the Maratac. Same emitter and electronics but a better case (knurled, and it can end-stand). Mine weighs 0.7 oz with a Li AAA, and you can turn the pocket clip around to hang it from your hat brim.

"Say 1 flash for every 25% of estimated power, so a fresh battery would give 4 quick flashes."

That wouldn't be easy to do, because the light has no way of knowing what kind of battery was powering it. A lithium primary battery has three or four times the energy density of an ordinary alkaline primary battery.

If the user had to flip another switch depending on the kind of battery being used, that would add more weight and complexity to the whole unit.

–B.G.–

Mark,

I was talking about the reviews for the hp10.
There 53 reviews for it.

The one thing I really didn't like about the zebra light was that it moves around in it's plastic cradle casing while you're running.
You have to constantly rotate it up. Even with some tape to stretch it out it eventually just stretches the plastic out and then doesn't work at all.
I love the light itself, but the hp10 has a better beam to run with.

I do love my Fenix HP10, but I think the Spark ST6 headlamps would be better for running or hiking trips that are just a night or three. It's much lighter than the Fenix, but also puts out more than twice as much light. I can't get to their site right now, but it was http://www.spark001.com.