What headlamp do you use?

[marcelo mora]

So I'm shopping for a headlamp and I'm looking for some Ideas. This Headlamp I linked below caught my attention. What do you guys think?

[Bob Gross]

It uses CR2032 batteries, and they won't give you a lot of power.

If you know how bright of a light you need, like in lumens, then you can get better advice. I think a lot of us here end up with a headlamp that uses a single AA battery, or something similar.

–B.G.–

[Greg Mihalik]

Camp tasks?
Night hiking?
Running?
Reading?
Blinding friends?

Typical duration?

Got other things with batteries that you might want to match?

[Dale Wambaugh]

The Petzl e+ has been an UL staple for years. It's light, but it is weak. If you just want a camp light it will do, but not so hot if you have to make your way down a trail.

I use a Fenix HL21 headlamp and an Olight i2 flashlight, both using AA batteries and would take just the Fenix if I wanted to trim things down. I settled on AA batteries for availability and power/weight. With such a standard battery, there is little excuse for not starting out with a fresh battery. That and with a single battery, I have a prayer of changing the battery in the dark. Try that with the usual 3-AAA battery arrangement or the coin cell in the e+.

[marcelo mora]

I will be using it for around camp and possibly emergency situations where we don't make it to camp in time.

[Bob Gross]

Once you figure out how many lumens of intensity you need, you can start to make progress toward a selection.

Around camp, you generally don't need more than 10 lumens. For hiking along a mountain trail at night, you might want 20-50. Once in a while, you might need extreme intensity, like 100-200.

Rather than trying to carry three different lamps to cover these possibilities, many of us carry one headlamp with multiple intensity levels controlled by a switch.

–B.G.–

[David Thomas]

I like the Petzl E02 P2 e+LITE for a short trip when I don't plan to do any night hiking. Also, as a emergency light when I don't expect to need any light, or as a back-up (such as while caving) where no single light is considered reliable enough.

But for most trips, my Zebralight is so much more capable of (similarly) low and medium beams and much longer lasting in those modes but also has a much brighter mode for route finding.

For camp tasks, a headlamp is great and the e+lite's strap is one of the lightest factory straps.

But for hiking, I want a light at my waist, not on my head so dips and bumps in the trail show up better. The clip on the Zebralight is very solid and great for clipping onto a waistband, hip belt or shoulder strap.

[James Marco]

"I will be using it for around camp and possibly emergency situations where we don't make it to camp in time."
Yeah, thats about all I ever use it for. Occasional night hiking when I get stuck, never planned. The e+light is a great little tool. The batteries dont last a long time at the output required for hiking, though. Set it on low for the first hour or two, then switch to high for the next two. It works great around camp, but is a little weak for hiking. It works and only weighs about 1.25oz.

[marcelo mora]

I really like that Zebralight.. Wishlist!

Thank you David Thomas for showing me that one!

[D C]

I have 2 Petzel headlamps, (a Tikka and a Tikka XP) and 2 Black Diamond Spots a 2012 and a 2014. The newest version of the SPOT is my favorite headlamp so far. 130 lumens is an upgrade for the 2014 model. It also has a variable dimming feature that I find very useful.

Retail for the SPOT is $39 but is seems to be featured at $29 everytime REI has a sale.

[Glenn S]

Good luck with the zebralight. A couple of us have been waiting over a month for delivery of one.

[Bob Gross]

"A couple of us have been waiting over a month for delivery of one."

Glenn, there is a trick to that.

I ordered one over one month ago, and the order was placed with Zebralight. Previously, they had always shipped my order within a day or two. So, after several days and I had not heard anything, despite the credit card being charged, I inquired. They said, "Sorry, it is backordered." I was surprised that they charged it without any ability to ship product.

So, I ordered the same thing from one of their online vendors. The card was charged and they shipped immediately, so I had it a couple of days later. Then I checked back with Zebralight and they had no more excuses, so that order was cancelled.

Next, I think I need to sign up for a six-month class on the Zebralight user interface. Let's see, is it two double clicks or four single clicks…?

–B.G.–

[Dena Kelley]

I use the Black Diamond Icon- it's the brightest of the BD headlamp lineup at 200 lumens. I picked it up on sale on Steepandcheap a couple years ago ($33) and it's served me extremely well. It's got a spot beam and wide beam, three output settings for each plus a strobe setting. The newer model has red light, as well- mine does not and I wish it did, but despite that it's been a great headlamp. It's a little heavy by UL standards and takes 3 AA batteries but for my purposes it's exactly what I want. Super bright on the high setting- so bright that my hiking companions just turn their headlamps off because their lights get drowned out by mine anyway. The dim setting is more in-camp friendly.

[Glenn S]

Bob,
Which retailer? My H52W order at Knifecenter has went from "backordered, ships in 2-4 weeks" to "delayed by the manufacturer" with no delivery time in sight. I can't order from ZL's website as their site can't process my card for whatever reason and it's been 5 weeks so far from this retailer. I haven't found any other retailers with them in stock.

[William Chilton]

Glenn, I bought the H52W direct from Zebralight last month. It was shipped 12 days after ordering. I paid for it by Paypal. Do you have an objection to paying through Paypal?

[M G]

I can recommend brightguy.com

Had the model I wanted instock, same price as Zebralite and shipped very quick.

mg

[Glenn S]

I've paid through PayPal, but I don't have a PayPal account.

Brightguy.com did have them in stock, so I cancelled my other order and placed an order with them. Hopefully it'll ship soon.
Edit: 2:07 hours later, shipping email received. Fast turnaround!
Also, within the hour of request, Knifecenter replied with cancel confirmation, so no foul on them.

(The one on Amazon is the cool white. Couldn't find the neutral (w) model there.)

Thanks for the tips!

[David Thomas]

I've found sellers of Zebralights, with them in stock, on Amazon and eBay:

[Glenn S]

Ok, so I finally suceeded in getting a Zebralight H52w. I ran some tests, and either my understanding of "regulated" power is incorrect, or I'm doing something wrong, or this light is way overhyped…

I played with it for a couple days, understanding the roadmap of settings, then I did a couple burn tests. I put in a freshly charged 2mah eneloop and ran it on H1. After just under 35 minutes, the dimming was noticeable. After just over 45 minutes, it had faded more and was indistinguishable from the H2 setting. It didn't switch over to H2, it just slowly faded away very un-regulated like. At the rated time of 54 minutes, it was on par with an L1 setting. I tried different batteries, all with similar results.

So I tried a burn with an M1 setting. I went to bed and woke up. I checked the chrono on my watch and it was almost exactly 6 hours. The M1 was indistinguishable from the M2 setting. I pulled out my BD Gizmo double AAA that has almost 5 hours of burn time (verified, and dies quickly, without fading like this ZL), is a third lighter, and it was practically brighter than the ZL at this point, as the ZL continued to fade quickly.

It's my understanding that "regulated" means it should hold its intensity level through roughly 80% of the rated burn time, before falling off quickly. I seem to be falling pretty short of that time allotment.

Is something wrong with this picture? For the weight, I'm a little underwhelmed at its performance so far, especially since it's so floody that it doesn't make a very good thrower either, even though it does not have the diffused lens. I'm definately glad I did not do with the H52fw model.

[Bob Gross]

"Is something wrong with this picture?"

There are all sorts of things that could lead to your results.

What kind of instrument are you using to measure the light intensity? If it is only the human eyeball, that is not very reliable.

You stated that you used an Eneloop battery that was freshly charged. Many rechargeable batteries will experience decreased performance after many charge cycles due to increased internal resistance and self discharge. In other words, a battery with a hundred cycles on it will fade faster than another one with five cycles on it. Other batteries with similar results, which you did not divulge. Also, some battery chargers do a much better job than other battery chargers.

I use mostly lithium primary batteries in my Zebralights, and the time results that I get are in line with my expectations.

–B.G.–

[Glenn S]

Don't need an instrument to compare light beams from different lights and see the changes, nor to click between the H1 and H2 and see no intensity changes. If it were so hard to see with the eye, then there'd be little point in having different settings in the first place.

And I foegot to mention, newish eleloops with maybe a dozen cycles on them, various batteries tried. Sanyo eneloop charger with independent bank charging. Full "4 flashes" with the rough ZL battery test.

Obviously these aren't scientific, but with these results, it's hardly necessary, as the performance to rating spread is so wide.

[Daniel D]

This is all you need for camp but it could be used as a spare along side the Petzl e-light, then you don't need to take spare batteries.

Another option is look at the USB chargeable lights offered by Black Diamond and Petzl. Often I'll go into the bush with a solar panel, then I can charge my USB items.

http://gossamergear.com/etc/accessories/photon-freedom-micro-light.html

[Bob Gross]

"Don't need an instrument to compare light beams from different lights"

Glenn, actually, the human eye cannot distinguish light intensity changes very accurately at all. For one thing, different lights have different color temperatures. Also, they have different beam widths. It is scientifically well-understood that the human eye doesn't do this very accurately.

You might need to get a software patch for your Zebralight.

–B.G.–

[Glenn S]

"Glenn, actually, the human eye cannot distinguish light intensity changes very accurately at all."

Exactly, which is why I'm a bit disappointed, since I can make these comparisons with just naked eye observations.

[Rex Sanders]

I love genuine Photon Freedom micro lights with adjustable light output, and this custom model ticks even more boxes for me:

http://www.dougritter.com/dr_photon.htm

– The case is yellow, so you can find it in the dark.

– It has "a protective LED tube that both eliminates most side scatter and protects the LED", which actually helps.

It's good enough for around camp and evening reading. I usually take two: one stays attached to my pack where I can always find it, the other gets used around camp. At 7 grams each (plus the clip), it's a luxury I can live with. And it's made in USA.

On my last trip, a $4 clone micro light was dead straight out of the package (note to self – test before leaving). Glad I had the $16 Photon attached to the pack; only Photons for future hikes.

I want a much brighter light for night hiking. Zebralight H52w is on my wish list, to be bought when someone actually has them in stock.

— Rex

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