Rather than repeat several very long Posts here, a link to a Thread dealing with these fine flashlights is herewith included. The Thread includes some other Forum participants observations and replies. Besides, my Posts there make for good nighttime reading when one is having trouble falling asleep – my writings will never fail to do the trick! Pleasant dreams.
Just so no one wastes their time reading those Posts in case this solution isn't a viable option for them, here are a list of downsides, in my estimation, to the use of a Fenix CREE-based flashlight in place of a headlamp:
1. don't normally where a hat with a stiff-enough brim to clip the flashlight to.
2. batt-life, even on lowest output level, is too short and don't want to carry spare batts.
3. the beam pattern is more of a "spot" instead of a "flood"
4. clipping it to my hat/cap brim makes it visible (though no light spills back into the eyes) to the eyes and is disconcerting.
5. a couple of models require two-hand operation to turn on and off or to change modes of operation or levels of light output (some models only require a one-handed tail-cap button push for these purposes).
6. even though its PWM is quite excellent in its implementation, the plain fact that it uses PWM turns me off since there might be a situation where PWM becomes an issue.
7. in hot night hiking weather, when a cap/hat causes overheating and the hat is removed, a special flashlight headband would be needed to "side-mount" the Fenix flashlight.
8. don't like to side-mount a lighting device; want it right smack dab in the center of the forehead.
9. need to tip head from time to time (for instance, when focusing from some close-at-hand task to a distance viewing situation) to focus light beam where the eyes are looking – there is no angle adjustment as with most headlamps.
10. light color is too "white", prefer something with a little "yellow" tint to it.
11. all CREE models, even on lowest light setting, are too bright to read by.
12. never need more than a single 5mm LED Photon microlight for night hiking.
13. the various light output levels were not designed/selected with nighttime hiking as a design goal. hence, the varous light levels are not intelligently selected for such purposes, particularly when compared to a 1W or 3W Luxeon headlamp.
14. the highest output levels are too bright for 95% or more of nighttime hiking possibilities, and the lowest level is too low for some more technical terrains/trails; a level midway b/t the lowest output level and the medium output level would be preferred, but b/c the flashlights were NOT designed with this in mind, there is no such light output level on the CREE Editions of the Fenix flashlights (i.e., would prefer something between 15 and 25 lumens of output).
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