Single AA battery headlamps

[Derek M.]

Consider the Bosavi Headlamp and you might be able to stop worrying about batteries altogether.

Charge it with the same thing you're charging your phone. I don't have one myself but I have heard very good things about it and it seems to check all boxes on my headlamp features wish list without much extra fat. Maybe if would work for the OP as well…

[john shultz]

I just picked up one of these:
http://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=1404&p_id=1124431

Haven't tested it in the field, but good initial impressions and the price is right. I tend to love nearly everything Montbell makes, though.

Cheers from Osaka,

john

[James holden]

The new generation of headlamps just blows away those even a few years old

For example the new tikka RXP has roughly as much watt hours as 2 eneloops AAs (1800 mAh at 3.7v vs 2 x 2500 mAh at 1.2v), is usb rechargeable with a li-ion pack, and is as bright as the princeton tec apex which weights more (115g vs 271g) … The apex is a well respected 4xAA 200 lumen headlamp that many cavers/climbers use

Here are run times on high for the 2 lamps

Heres my partner this friday following me up with hi 4 year old tikka xp (considered the top of the tikka series then) the bubble of light you see is from my tikka rxp, not his headlamp … Even shinning down from 10-20m my new petzl was brighter on the rock in front of him than his older petzl … Basically i was lighting up the way for the climb

The flood for close up, spot for route finding and the auto brightness adjustment works great for rock climbing

As i said even 13 dollah walmart headlamps are brighter than what was commonly available just a few years ago

Next new purchase for my climbing partner? … A new "modern" headlamp !!!

;)

[Peter S]

Hi Derek

As I mentioned previously in this thread, I use the Bosavi headlamp. Checks all my boxes.

-Very light
-3 stages of bright focused light
-Diffused flood light
-Red light
-Strope (for those that don't want this, see the next feature)
-Delete any selection from the cycle
-Lockable

A very good allrounder, very hard to beat IMO.

[Derek M.]

Ah Peter, you did mention it already!

I did a control+F search for "Bosavi" before making my comment but it seems you spelled it "Bosawi," so I completely missed your post.

Good to hear it's a solid performer. My wife and I are thru hiking the PCT this coming year and I'm looking to simplify our systems for long term ease. Getting all our electronics (phones, headlamps, etc.) to be able to charge from a USB connection might just be worth the effort as it would eliminate our battery needs altogether and we could just plug in to any outlet, solar charger, or battery pack for juice.

Anyway, sorry to the OP for the thread drift.

[Peter S]

OP, sorry for drifting on…

Derek, it's my own fault. I realized i spelled it wrong right after posting, but was too lazy to edit!

The only small downside for me regarding the Bosavi is that I'm not that hooked on gadgets with non-replaceable batteries, but it's a part of the trick to keep the weight low in this headlamp.

Since you on the other hand want that feature, my guess is you will be very satisfied with every aspect of the headlamp.

[Roger Caffin]

The single AA idea is good – better than 3 D cells, but you can go lighter and keep a good battery life. No, not a coin cell, but any small rechargeable lithium battery out of a dead phone. You have to prowl around the mobile phone repair shops and ask for a FREE one.

Now, the voltage out of one of these little UL batteries is about 3.7 V (depending), and that is just a bit more than a white LED takes, so a small switch-mode chip is needed. Try Maxim or Linear Technology for a start, although Ti or NS are also possible. A custom ferrite transformer might be useful too. You can get the parts from one of the electronics distributors like Digikey or Mouser. Lots of fun for a couple of evenings.

Cheers

[David Moreno]

["Red light in itself does not preserve night vision."
"If you go for a brighter light it does not matter if it's red green or blue it will still affect your night vision."
Additional comments supported this view.]

The information this is based on is somewhat misleading.

Red light does not completely protect your night vision at any lumens output, but it does preserve much more than white light of the same lumens output. Just about any colored light, will preserve more than white light, but especially red or violet. The human eye is more adept at seeing in the yellow / green colors of the spectrum. Using red light preserves much more of your natural ability to see detail in dim yellow / green light.

Yes, the brighter it is, the less the protection.

Yes, the deeper the red, the more night vision protection you get.

If someones eyes are more comfortable with red light when waking up for a bathroom break (terrain permitting), for reading, or they want to have as little effect on others peace and darkness as possible when roaming around or setting up camp after dark, a red light is definitely the way to go. The dimmer, the better.

The noticeable effects of night vision are diminished more as the surroundings get brighter. Ie: the full moon making the night scenery brighter; near by white light sources contaminating the darkness with light pollution

Red light does have its inherent benefits. However, hiking with a red light to lead the way would definitely require a much higher lumens output to safely light the way, thereby reducing the benefits a good amount. It also would drain the battery quicker because of the higher lumens output. Yes, red light does cut through fog better than white.

One final note on the effectiveness of red light: People as we age, become naturally more night blind which reduces the positive effects of red light use. There are many people that are what's referred to as "night blind" to the point where they're not permitted by law to operate a vehicle after dark. They have extreme difficulty seeing in the dark, as well as having problems adapting to the dark again after oncoming headlights flash in their eyes. Just an example of the extreme end of this scientific fact.

Within astronomy, you'll see a nebula as a hazy grey smudge of light. Increase the aperture of the telescope (bringing more light to the eye), and you'll start to see hints of green and yellow. Increase it enough and you'll start to see other colors as well. The visual colors at the far ends of the spectrum are the last to be seen. That is why the dimmest, deepest red light is used when setting up after dark, and for star chart / map reading. It preserves as much yellow / green seeing ability as possible.

These principals are well understood and documented within the U.S. Military and the international astronomy community.

(Delmar) It sounds as though the eye expert gave you a very general view, rather than breaking it down into all of the variables. He's not wrong, just incomplete with what you were told. You also stated that there isn't really a need for hikers to preserve their night vision anyway.

I agree. In most scenarios out in the wild, there isn't a need. But, for astronomy, seeing fine detail in the dark, reading, and not bothering your neighbors in camp, there are benefits to a red light.

Example: In Colorado, I heard a Marmot playing near my camp at night. I snuck up close enough in the dark to take some photos with a telephoto lens. I was able, because of using my red light about 20 minutes earlier (instead of white), to see it enough in the dark and frame the image. Then with the infrared auto focus assist, I was able to focus in the dark and get my shots. It turned out that there were a pair of them playing on a rock outcropping in the dark.

(Bob Gross) Yes, covering the lens with red cellophane works. Just make sure that the cellophane is thick / dark enough to give the desired effect. It's what I do with my Black Diamond Gizmo headlamp.

One more benefit of red light: Stealth camping. A person would have to be roughly 2 times closer to see your red light as opposed to your white light of the same lumens output. An other Military proven fact.

My personal experience with this: more than 13.5 years military need for stealth (mainly infantry), 36 years of astronomy.

The point is, red light is not necessary or desirable for most, but is helpful and very necessary for some. If you like it / need it, don't let anyone talk you out of it. If you don't like it / need it, don't let anyone convince you that you do.

[Bob Gross]

"(Bob Gross) Yes, covering the lens with red cellophane works. "

I took no position about red light.

–B.G.–

[Ian]

My daughter and I had to do some night hiking in the rain and fog. The PT Bytes we were wearing were too bright and unusable in their lowest white light setting due to the refection from the mist so we had to switch down to the red light. Maybe a white light at the same lumen output would have worked the same. Don't know but after that experience, this is a feature I've decided I want to keep.

I've had limited experience using the red light in the military. Sometimes we'd conduct a map check with them under a poncho but it was highly frowned upon as even under a poncho, it looked like a bonfire through PVS-5s/7s etc.

I do know for stealth purposes that a red light is harder for me to see than a white light. From my experience, my eyes seem to readjust to walking lightless after viewing something with a red light than a white light. Your eyeballs may vary.

[David Moreno]

Oh, no Bob, in the other thread post that was made reference to (where the professor was mentioned) you had asked / talked about the possibility of using red cellophane to cover the white lens. It's the second post in the thread below.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=83534

I realize that this is not exactly what you are looking for. Would it do any good to put a simple piece of red cellophane over a good AA headlamp? There are plenty of good AA headlamps with multiple intensity levels, so all you need is the red factor.

–B.G.–

I was just agreeing with you. A red cellophane covering over a headlamp lens works quite nicely.

[David Moreno]

Ian B.

I agree totally. I can't count how many times we ambushed the enemy (simulated enemy) because we spotted even their cigarettes glowing in AN/PVS 4's, 5's, etc.

Some people have a problem seeing map detail in red light. Depending on the map, we used to also use blue light for the maps. Contour features were much easier to see, especially when they were close together which were blurred in red light. As a civilian, I sometimes still use a blue light on maps.

My comments about yellow / green light is the same primary reason that the cat eyes on the helmet bands were luminous yellow / green. It was the only way at new moon, triple canopy jungle, and cloudy skies together to see the guy in front of you. So dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Just these 2 bobbing yellow / green dots up ahead.

[Ian]

There's nothing like marking up your laminated map with red alcohol marker only to discover that it becomes invisible ink during a red light map check. A mistake only made once. Twice if you're a cadet.

Class A thread drift apology to the OP.

[David Moreno]

LOL Ian B.

I guess we did get a little off direct topic here.

I guess my point I've been trying to get at here is:

If red lens use works for you, then go with it. If it doesn't, then don't. There are certain situations that benefit from red lens usage, but within a specific lumens range.

If anyone who uses a red lens is thinking of switching to a (1) AA battery headlamp, or any new headlamp, and can't find one with a red lens option that suits you, you can make your own red lens. Just make sure that one of the white light lumens settings is the same or close to what you've been using for your red light. You can affix 1 or more red cellophane candy wrappers or colored craft plastic sheets either through the screw off lens covering or with rubber bands to temporarily make it red lensed at very little weight penalty. This may simplify your choices for weight, money, and versatility concerns.

[James holden]

Well i ordered that nitecore headlamp

Got it and there was an issue fresh out of the box

Looks like im out the shipping costs to return it

Thats the issue with ordering headlamps online, unlike buying one from a store such as MEC or REI you cant simply walk in and exchange it.

And with these chinese brands if something goes wrong beyond the 15-30 days youll often need to ship it to china to fix.

Lesson … If you do order these chinese brands try to buy from MEC (sells fenix flashlights) or somewhere like that

Or at least somewhere with free return shipping … These arent petzls were dealing with here

;)

[Bob Gross]

"Got it and there was an issue fresh out of the box"

Please tell.

–B.G.–

[James holden]

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?390744-Nitecore-hc90-swith-problem

[James holden]

I sent an inquiry to a fenix dealer about return shipping costs if a headlamp came with issues upon arrival (like the nightcore i just got), i was thinking of picking up the fenix hl55 instead

Thanks for the reply

Another questions if i may?

If i order a headlamp from you and it has issues right out of the box, will i be out the cost of shipping back?

I recently had issues with another headlamp manufacturer with their product not functioning properly out of the box.

Their response

Hello Sir,

If you ask our opinion – you do not need to buy this lamp – you already expecting troubles with it, so you will definitely get one…

If you will be claiming that the product you purchased has manufacturing defect which prevents its proper operation – we will need to check it ourselves before jumping to any conclusions, so if you will be able to get the lamp back to us without incurring any shipping costs – great, otherwise it will be your responsibility to get it to us for assessment.

My reponse

Wow

I simply asked what your return policy is on defective out of the box headlamps.

I expect a headlamp to be able to turn on, cycle through all the modes properly (which my last headlamp didnt) and turn off. Basically to perform as advertised.

If that is "expecting troubles" and your Fenix lights cannot do this I will definitely not purchase a headlamp off you.

I find your response to a simple query about your policy quite unprofessional.

Thanks for your help,

Apparently asking about their return policy before making a purchase and expecting a light to turn on and go through all the modes properly is "expecting trouble" with some of these chinese brand lights!!!

I think ill stick with lamps from reputable retailers

;)

[David Ure]

Brutal. Thanks for sharing.

[Jesse Anderson]

Wow, that has to be some of the worst customer service I've seen in quite a while. The good news is that there are a lot of good retailers that sell Fenix Products. Amazon for example, carries pretty much the whole line, can't say I've ever had a bad experience with returns or any time of service working with Amazon.

[scott insley]

I'm not sure if anyone has already mentioned it but I can recommend the TrustFire Z2 as a single AA light if you're on a budget. Think I got mine for $16 on Amazon.

I've used mine with Alkaline AAs (Duracell) and Nimh AAs (Eneloop) and its worked well. You'll only get the full 280 lumen output using 14500 3.7V Lithiums but even with the 1.2V and 1.5V AAs the output is plenty bright enough (somewhere in the range of ~100+lumens). Plenty of variability in brightness with the 3 settings.

Admittedly its not actually a headlamp until you pair it with a headband and attachment, but you can use the standard zebralight ones (its the same diameter) and they're pretty cheap. I don't even take my headband any more though, just clip it to my shirt or belt pocket and its hands-free without blinding other people in camp when I look at them.

I've dropped it loads of times and its still going strong. A great feature (unintentional I think) is that you can unscrew the housing containing the lens and reflector and it becomes a flood light, hang it under your tarp/tent and its a lantern.

I'm sure its not as good as a zebralight (or many of the others suggested) but its a great budget alternative.

[James holden]

Silly me

I went out and bought a Fenix HL55 headlamp as everyone says its a solid brand

Looks like its got a flickering problem on low

http://youtu.be/M_ZTE5XyZ14

This is fresh out of the box, with fenix batteries, and yes i cleaned the contact and threads and tested it with other bats

Guess im gonna have to see how good that Fenix china based customet service is

This is two fresh out of the box of these "reliable" chinese brand lamps with issues in two weeks

You wont find that with Petzls, and MEC/REI/LLBean would take care of it if you had such issues

;)

[Jesse Anderson]

Eric,
Not that I'm saying in any way that defects are acceptable. But just so you know, REI carries a number of Fenix Products. Mostly flashlights. You're quite right in these situations though, buying from the right retailer is as important as the products itself.

[David Ure]

What Eric uses his lights for is certainly more important than most of us around camp. As such, he would notice the defects more clearly than I probably would. Having said that, 2 out of 2 defective headlamps is not good.

Thanks for the honesty. I'm buying a Petzl!

[James holden]

Jesse

If i lived in the states i would have bought the nitecore hc50 from REi !!!

MEC carries the Fenix flashlights, but not the headlamps, if they had those id buy it from there!!

Any light can fail, and my 2 out of the box issues doesnt mean they are all bad … But i believe that these are issues that should have been caught by QC

Many companies make good reliable products in china, including climbing gear that i trust my life to … But these are usually western companies bring their own processes and QC there

When it comes to chinese brands, the QC and service may not be as good

My point is that going to a place like those light forums, one gets the impression that one should buy nitecore/zebralight/fenix/armytek/etc because they are the best and clearly superior to the normal brands

However as my not so stellar experience has shown, some thing matter than straight out lumens, aluminum bodies or even battery types if it doesnt work properly out of the box

Heres a story about why i want a powerful headlamp …

A few weeks ago one of my climbing partners took 3 other folks on NE buttress of Slesse. They got to the top and couldnt find the rap stations as the sun was setting. They had 40-120 lumen headlamps from Petzl and BD. Because of this they had to bivy overnight. Turns out that they were looking right at the rap station and couldnt even see em as their headlamps werent powerful enough. My partner went out the next week and bought a 200 lumen BD Icon, he said he never wanted to be that cold again!!!

Which is why i want a 900+ lumen headlamp for those few times when i need it to be daylight out.

But it also need it to be as reliable as possible as if it dies in the middle of a night climb it becomes a deadly situation (i carry a backup but you cant get that out in the middle of climbing a pitch on lead).

All i want is a headlamp that works as it should out of the box !!!

Ive contacted the distributer for fenix here. Fenix has a 15 day exhange warranty if defective through the dealer, well see if this gets honored. Ill update again with more info later.

;)

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