Just ordered a new PT Corona headlight

I just ordered a PT Corona headlight and I wanted to know from people who own one if it's a decent headlight or not. I chose it because I wanted something floodier than the new Quad with more runtime, and without the cracking and waterproofness problems of the Apex. Does anyone know if the Corona has any of these kinds of problems? It looks like it has the same type of battery compartment as my outdated Yukon HL headlight. The Yukon still works flawlessly and has no cracked plastic. Does the Corona use the same plastic as the Yukon or does it use the type that cracks like the Apex, EOS, and Quad? Is it more waterproof than the Apex or does it have the same problem with leaks? Is it built to last like my Yukon HL or not? Will the bracket be weak and break or is it made better than the Apex? I'd really like to know these things from people who have owned and used the Corona as most of my questions pertain to it's long term durability. For those that have the opinion that it's not worth the cost since the Apex is a little more and the EOS and Quad are much less, I'll mention that I paid only $43 at basegear.com.

Hooked on Fenix said:

I just ordered a PT Corona headlight and I wanted to know from people who own one if it's a decent headlight or not.

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You are a brave man! I would never have dared to ask after I had already ordered one. I hate the feeling of having made a bad purchase, and it's easy to get that feeling when you depend on what others think.
I haven't seen it (PT is hard to find here), so I wont comment on it.
Hope you'll like it.

Do you know whether you purchased the newer upgraded 65lm output model or one of the older ones? The Corona has been lurking in my psyche as opposed to the Apex for the same reasons that you have mentioned. Looking forward to hearing your report.

It was the 65 lumen version. I don't think the older Corona even used Nichia CS l.e.d.s. I'm hoping for a 4 fold increase in efficiency compared to the original as the new one uses GS l.e.d.s. If that's the case, it would have longer runtime than the original while being twice as bright. The new Quad didn't turn out to be the flood light I was hoping for. The EOS is a great light, but I want something with more runtime at a high level. The EOS and Quad headlights crack after a lot of use and the Apex has worse problems with cracking and waterproofing from what I've heard. I have many more AA rechargeables than AAAs and want to take advantage of them. The Corona looks like it has the same battery compartment as my Yukon HL which is a good design with nothing to break. I basically wanted a bright flood light that runs a long time on higher settings, while remaining waterproof, and not breaking. The questions I had asked can be answered by anyone with an older Corona. I am wanting to know about the long term durability of this light. I'll find out about runtime and brightness on my own when it arrives.

I have owned a Corona for several years and like it quite a bit. Some folks don't like the Corona because they feel the regulation is not topnotch but it works fine for my purposes.

My Corona had the old leds which I replaced with Nichia CS CO leds. This has resulted in a vast improvement in light output but was a major pain to do the mod. The headlamp now puts out a very nice wall of light with the good CO tint.

This light has been very reliable but I have not used it in extreme circumstances. Usually I use other modded headlamps ie PT Matrix, PT EOS, PT Quad for most applications.

Yea I want to know how the new one is.

The new Corona headlight just arrived. That was fast. Here's my first impressions:

Build quality is excellent. No surprise there. Brightness to me seems about double that of the new 45 lumen Quad headlight, although differing beam patterns may make the Corona seem brighter. Testing the Corona against two Quad headlights together proved it wasn't really twice as bright, but I think the Corona is still at least 65 lumens out the front. The packaging on mine said it was 35 lumens, but this is definitely the newest version. One l.e.d. on high is a little dimmer than the 3 l.e.d.s on my Yukon HL headlight. 3 l.e.d.s on the Corona on high are slightly brighter than the Yukon HL's one watt l.e.d.. I'd estimate all eight l.e.d.s of the Corona on low to be around 30-35 lumens. The packaging states that on low, it uses 25-33% the power of high. This setting should give me a wall of flood light at a usable brightness with decent runtime. L.e.d. tint is a little bluish, but is a lot whiter than the 5mm l.e.d.s of the Yukon HL. The packaging states that regulated runtime on high is only 5 to 30 minutes. With l.e.d.s four times as efficient as the last version of this light and it only being twice as bright, I am hoping that regulated runtime on high will be improved with this version. My theory is that they did the same thing they did with the Quad headlight after it came out. With the Quad, they lowered the current to gain an hour regulated on high instead of 5 or 10 minutes like it was for the first month's batch.

As this is just my first impression, I have no idea of runtimes yet. That'll take time as this light has eight brightness settings. I want to get a chance to use it on hikes first. Also, sorry, but I have no digital camera to take pics. If I bought one, I'd have less money for lights.

Hooked on Fenix said:

One l.e.d. on high is a little dimmer than the 3 l.e.d.s on my Yukon HL headlight. 3 l.e.d.s on the Corona on high are slightly brighter than the Yukon HL's one watt l.e.d.. I'd estimate all eight l.e.d.s of the Corona on low to be around 30-35 lumens. The packaging states that on low, it uses 25-33% the power of high.

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The dimming and modes on the Corona sound weird, and strangely conceived. If I were designing the lamp, I'd always have all eight leds running, and then I'd dim the output by reducing current to all eight leds. Picking the number of leds and the brightness seems overly complicated. :thinking: Oh well, it's perfectly functional. I'm glad you are enjoying yours; if one wants flood, it looks like a very good product.

Went on a short night hike to test it out. Fog rolled in and I found that if I ran the light with just one l.e.d. on, I could see through the fog without floodlight reflecting off the fog and blinding me. Being able to adjust the brightness of all the l.e.d.s as well as the number of l.e.d.s was very useful. Having one source of light punched through the fog better than if I had more l.e.d.s on. The user interface is pretty simple. One button controls the number of l.e.d.s (8,5,3,1, or 0- off). The other button controls brightness levels and strobe (high, low, strobe). If you use the light for any period of time, one press of the right button turns it off. Each individual l.e.d. is comparable in brightness to the second generation Inova X1 or a Fenix EO1.

Your lucky a few months back i had ordered two from PT and got the old version even though they told me they shipped the new ones.

I wonder if they fixed one function with the light being that its casued problems with avalanche rescue beacons?

276 said:

Your lucky a few months back i had ordered two from PT and got the old version even though they told me they shipped the new ones.

I wonder if they fixed one function with the light being that its casued problems with avalanche rescue beacons?

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A paper that came with mine warned about the light's use with avalanche beacons. However, mine was a new light with old packaging so that doesn't really tell you if they fixed it or not.

I just tested the runtime on high (with all 8 l.e.d.s) with a set of Eneloops. The light reached 50% brightness (low and high levels were identical) at 4 hours. At this time, battery voltage had dropped to about 1 volt per cell. In use, if the low setting matches the high setting, it is the proper time to change out rechargeable batteries for fresh ones. It's difficult to tell when the light came out of regulation so I won't speculate. With a spotlight, the beam seems to narrow as it gets dimmer, making it easier to notice. With pure floodlight, It's very hard to tell when it actually dims as your eyes adjust easier to the dimming light.

BTW . . . .

Today i watched a 60 minute documentary show on National Geographic channel.

The show's moderator visited Indonesia,
to explore a place called "Giant Snake Cave".


And, i noticed immediately, he was wearing a PT Corona headlamp.




Oh yes, he also discovered a Giant Snake in that cave. :sick2:

(whodathunkit)

_

Just looked online and found that vid

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/dangerous-encounters/3908/Videos#tab-Videos/06279_00

The other vid is crazy.

Finished testing the new Corona on low (50% brightness) with all l.e.d.s on. It provided 10 hours and 15 minutes of solid regulation before the Eneloops used dropped down to 1 volt per cell. This is the exact same time that the high level had dropped to match the low level. At this time, the batteries were low, but brightness remained constant. I didn't want to damage my rechargeables by discharging them further, though I could in an emergency if I had to. Keep in mind that on high with rechargeables, the high level starts a little lower than with alkalines or lithiums. With rechargeables, this makes the low above 50% brightness of the high throughout the entire test. The low setting is around 35 lumens. Unlike the high setting that dimmed throughout much of it's 4 hour burn time, the low never dimmed at all. The low setting seems much more efficient. At 50% brightness, you would expect a light to last 8 hours if it lasted 4 on high (if each setting was equally efficient). Low gained an extra 2 hours and 15 minutes or 28.125% extra runtime and did it without any dimming. I would expect the difference in runtime between high and low to be more dramatic with alkalines since internal resistence becomes a factor. Since rechargeables get 10+ hours on low, I think alkalines would actually work well on this setting and do even better.

Just tested the Corona on it's lowest setting, one l.e.d. on low. On a set of Eneloops, it ran 72 hours straight (3 days) without dimming. Since Eneloops are 2000 mAh and alkalines are 2850 mAh, I wouldn't be surprised if alkalines lasted 100+ hours regulated on the lowest setting. At about 5 lumens, this setting is bright enough for indoor tasks during a blackout. Using it about 3 hours a night on the lowest setting would most likely get you through a month on a set of alkalines before it starts to dim. This concludes my runtime tests.

I got one for my wife last Xmas. It was $39.99 on clearance at Gander Mountain.

It seems very well made, The best made light I have seen and looks like it will last. No long term tests yet.

Here is the only problem with the Corona, it is quite large and heavy for what it does. It is a flood light not a beam. If all you need is a bright flood light and don't mind the weight or size, this will be great. I got it for her as a hiking light and feel I made a mistake.

I bought a PT Eos and I like it much more. It is small, light, cheaper and has a beam. It lacks the flood ability but lack of flood is less of a con than lack of beam for me.