Headlamp for Datacomm/AV work

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for suggestions for a headlamp for datacomm/AV work. I picked up a couple of these lights before at the electrical supply store:

http://www.service.kleintools.com/CGI-BIN/LANSAWEB?WEBEVENT+R0161245F91F0A000A7AB064+PRD+ENG

They are all broken now. Either the casing or the hinge cracked. I'm looking for something more durable that can withstand being dropped in basements, thrown in a tool belt pouch, toolbox, etc. Also, I'd like the lamp to use a more common battery. Most AV component come with AAA or AA batteries.

It looks like the Zebralights are a good option, but I'm concerned about tint. What tint would be more appropriate for indoor wiring, warm or cool? I often have to terminate wires in a very specific sequence. These wires have a wide range of color combinations that are sometimes difficult to make out. Being that all my work is done directly in front of me, throw is not a concern.

Thanks in advance!

-Steve

It's mostly a personal choice when it comes to tint. Cool will give you better contrast when there is also incan/warm fluro lighting while if you have to deal with red/green/brown wires a lot a warm one might be a good idea.

I agree that the Zebralight is probably your best bet. I would recommend the H50 as it seems that people have had the least amount of problems with this model. It has the twisty switch instead of a clicky. Less things to go wrong. This light is my first choice for wiring projects. The cool tint works fine, it is actually pretty white.

In the conditions that I work, there is usually no lighting at all. If there is a lighting, it's usually an incan bulb.

As far as the wire colors, there are basically every color. The tough ones to make out are the white wires that only have colored stripes/dashes. The stripes could be yellow, orange, brown, green, blue, etc. Sometimes really old wires have washed out colors making them even harder to make out.

-Steve