z51w or h600w?

daniel10

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Apr 11, 2012
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Hi,

i'm thinking to buy a knew headlamp. I want it mostly for mountain biking, but also for hiking at night and some night paddling.

In my country is very hard to find 18650 chargers and batteries so the z51w, so that is a big disadvantage for h600w.

My question is, the h51w is the right thing for my needs?

Regards from portugal
Daniel
 

psychbeat

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the H51 does not have the output or runtime for trail riding.
I have one as a loaner and have used it as a back up.

you can buy an H600w from an online retailer (illumination gear etc) with
18650s and a charger all at once. 18650s last for years under normal use
so its not like you will need to be buying them all of the time.

you might want to check out the Spark ST6 460nw as it will run on High
without stepping down after 5min (i hate it when lights step down while im riding)

cheers!
 

d1337

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Dec 3, 2005
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I have the h51 and h600. I can't believe how much I like the H600 more than the h51. Interesting point about the step down but I think it would be easy to avoid this issue by just using H2 mode.
 

eh4

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H51 series are wonderful Little lights, wouldn't want to rely on one for going fast.
 

daniel10

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Thanks for the replys. I just consider the h51 because AA batteries are very easy to find and i don't need to buy one charger, unlike the h600.

I think the spark is a great lamp but for several times i read that they are heavier than h600 when used as an headlamp :confused:
 

tonkem

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You made no mention of cost, but you might look at the Lupine line of lights. Made in Germany and sold worldwide. They are a bit pricier than what you are looking at, but the power it unmatched, in my experience, especially for riding at night(which I do). They have the Piko model for entry level that uses 2 XML leds and produces 750 lumens on high. The nice thing about them is you can just add larger batteries for longer run time. You can also purchase stand alone bike lights, or flashlights. Check them out at: http://www.lupine.de/web/en

 

AbdnBob

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Nov 12, 2011
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What type of riding are you doing? Is it riding on paths or is it technical downhill stuff with lots of rocks and roots? The answer to that will dictate how much light you need. I'm far from being a good rider but I do some technical stuff at night and there's no way an H51 would be enough light!

Lupines look wonderful but they are pricey. If money were no object, I'd love to get a Piko.

A little cheaper would be Exposure lights. They are small, self contained and have a flashlight form-factor. Need to be helmet mounted though so may not be great for hiking/paddling.

Lower (price/quality) than that, you're into Magicshine territory. There's lots of horror stories of exploding battery packs from these guys, but they are years old. I use an MJ-872 on my handlebars and have had no issues. Just respect the battery pack as you would any Lithium Ion battery. They have a good range of stuff that might suit you.

What I actually use on my helmet is a Fenix TK21 mounted in the Exposure helmet mount. Has served me very well this past winter although after summer I will get a dedicated helmet light with the battery pack in my hydration pack. Although the TK21 isn't particularly heavy, you do start to feel it after 2-3 hours.
 

zfmrchnt1

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I dont ride at night very often, but how sweet would it be to have the H600 on your helmet and H51 on the bars
 

garbman

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I dont ride at night very often, but how sweet would it be to have the H600 on your helmet and H51 on the bars
I would prefer this setup reversed.
The H51 is lighter so better for helmet mount.
Also in my opinion its better to have more lumens in the handlebar than helmet.
 

psychbeat

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I would prefer this setup reversed.
The H51 is lighter so better for helmet mount.
Also in my opinion its better to have more lumens in the handlebar than helmet.

this might be the case on the road but for trail riding the helmet light needs to be dominant
so you can see around turns etc. the bars are not always facing the way you are headed.
some of the guys I ride with dont even use bar lights anymore..

I like having both but could live with out the one on my bars but couldnt even make it
down some of our trails without the helmet light and only a bar light.
 

Justintoxicated

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For my ATV I prefer floods on bars and spots mounted to frame, so for bike riding I would think, floods on helmit and spots on bars would work best. Course it depends on the brightness of those floods, it needs to be useful.
 

Dr O

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...you might want to check out the Spark ST6 460nw as it will run on High
without stepping down after 5min (i hate it when lights step down while im riding)...

Awesome, thanks, that's really helpful- I'm kind of in the same boat as Daniel but I am trying to find or create an uber headtorch for running trails.

The H600 has been suggested and I have been trying to to work out how to fit something like an XT11 or a PC25 to a fenix headband to run with an LD20. Not come across these Spark lights before but looks like they could be the one. Not a fan of step down either although seems to be the norm on many. Off to do more research on new to me light brand :)
 
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