I received my Little Monkey this week, and it is a very impressive piece. The design is no-nonsense and as simple as possible which leaves very little to go wrong. I'd say that it is brutally elegant in its design.
The very well machined aluminum battery case in particular is very impressive and should survive the bumps and scratches it will experience during its lifetime.
I have not had a chance to take it into an actual cave, but have compared it against my Serv-Light 1.0 in my large and very dark back lot, and it is almost as bright as the Serv-Light's highest setting (Serv has one P7 for flood and an MC-E for throw). Although it does not have the very floody beam of the Serv-Light, it has a good combination of throw and flood that many cavers will like.
It uses an optic which throws incredibly well, with a medium level of floody spill. My personal preference would have liked just a little bit more flood to the beam. However, that is just personal preference and the added throw will be great in the big borehole passages. A thin piece of diffusing film could add a bit more spill for those who desire it.
Although I do not have one to compare side by side, this lamp is certainly much brighter than the comparatively priced Sten-Light and has the added benefit of a machined battery housing which is not available for the Sten, making it an excellent value in the realm of high-end caving headlamps.
For those of us in the United States, we must order a power plug converter, as the UK version is 220V rather than 110V, but I was able to get one for $1 on ebay, so this is basically a non-issue.
Hope this mini-review helps any other cavers interested in a new high-end caving headlamp.
