Quality made Headlamps?

I have a Mamut and a Petzl headlamp that get the job done, but in keeping with my preference for USA made (or other country such as Japan, Germany, etc) I'm looking around for other options.

Obviously brighter is better as long as it has a lower mode too, but I'd also like it to be waterproof (as in submersible waterproof) and it needs to be tough.

Any suggestions?

Zebralight, Spark, Surefire, and Fenix all make very high quality headlamps.

The questions is how much you are going to spend, and what you want them to do.

I'm really liking my Saint Minimus Vision. Very comfortable and inocuos. Really digging the variable output.

My Zebralight H51Fw is an awesome little light. It's my favorite general use headlamp. I also have a Spark ST5-190w that I use the frosted lens with, and it too is an awesome light. I use it as my dedicated hiking/camping headlamp because its T body design is more conducive to wearing with a hat or under a hood, compared to the H51.

made in the usa is dead. as long as we have free trade with china, you are free to buy a superior product



zebralights are likely the best headlamps on the market, and there is one for every use

if you wanna save some money the fenix HL21 looks very nice, and it comes with a diffuser, so it's good up close and at a distance

Don't me to hijack your thread but thank you to everyone for listing more quality companies. Has helped me in my search for a new headlamp.

Ezeriel said:

made in the usa is dead. as long as we have free trade with china, you are free to buy a superior product

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lol, what??

I don't think you understand why American companies choose to have their products made in China - its because labor laws are almost nonexistent so they can use essentially unpaid and unskilled workers to build your products to save money and increase profit margin. The net result is certainly NOT a higher quality product.

Anyway, all the Zebralights and Fenix lights I've looked at are made in China.

I'm not sure any headlamps are made in the USA anymore. Some are assembled in the USA from imported parts. I think that most of Princeton Tec's headlamps are assembled in the USA.

ZebraLight and Fenix headlamps are nice, but if you are unfortunate enough to have problems with them getting warranty service can take months.

Princeton Tech might be the way to go then, for me.

My Fenix lights (now given away) have been decent but the Quark 123^2 I got was junk and convinced me to buy better brands.

RiverRatMatt, don't miss out on the zebralight headlamps. I have gone through a lots of headlamps over the years, and none of em are as good as any of the zebra's. The UI is the best around. They are more efficient than any other headlight. The number of output options make them more versatile than any other I've experienced. Only drawback with a zebra is the headband bounces around too much when running/jogging, but this can be fixed by buying an inexpensive but very sturdy NiteIze headband (around $5.)

RiverRatMatt said:

Princeton Tech might be the way to go then, for me.

My Fenix lights (now given away) have been decent but the Quark 123^2 I got was junk and convinced me to buy better brands.

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I too have purchased many headlamps. All of my Princeton Tec lights fall apart. This includes the replacement headlamps that I had received. The plastic parts seem to crack and spilt very easily. My avatar is a Princeton Tec Apex Pro which I moded with a smooth reflector and R2. It cracked and spilt while sitting in my draw. The hinge broke

As you are set on USA made, then go for Surefire.

Princeton Tec reinforced the hinge on 200 lumen Apex. It is not a weak point anymore.

Overall, I think Princeton Tec are about the same quality as Petzl and Black Diamond. They are not better, nor worse in my opinion.

Do a search for "kavelight" on CPF. I'd like to have one, just ain't in the cards right now.
As for lights mentioned above, my experience is limited to Princeton Tec and Zebralight. Hands down the Zebralight wins my vote. Out of the four PT's zero are still working. Two had switch issues, the other two broke at the battery compartment cover. I didn't abuse, or loan them out to be abused either.

******On a positive note, Princeton Tec's customer service was excellent. When the first switch decided to punch out, I sent them an email and got a brand new light in no time. No questions asked*********

I got the Zebralight after reading all the reviews and really wanting a light that wasn't powered by AAA's.

Good luck!

Steve

YoSeKi said:

Princeton Tec reinforced the hinge on 200 lumen Apex. It is not a weak point anymore.

Overall, I think Princeton Tec are about the same quality as Petzl and Black Diamond. They are not better, nor worse in my opinion.

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All my new Princeton Tec headlamps all suffer from cracking and weak hinge. That includes the new strengthen ones. That has certainly been my experience with them.

I would recommend Zebralight or Spark.

Any new developments on this front? What do cave divers use?