Which headlamp is right for me?

Hey guys, I'm looking for the perfect headlamp for me and figured I could use a little help from some experts on here... I will be using this headlamp for night fishing, hunting, and working outside late at night on my vehicle. Looking for something under $50 in price range. I need it to be a bright white light (don't need any other colors) that can be moved up and down (tilting head). I am not looking for something bulky or heavy. I need it to be somewhat lightweight and compact.

Sorry for the newbie post here, but I just needed a little help/guidance!

Thanks

While it's got a throwy beam, you may very well be interested in the Fenix HL21 headlamp which uses just a single AA cell. Also, it comes bundled with a difusor, but I cannot comment on its utility. The brightness modes seem well spaced and the middle mode has a reasonable runtime.

If you need something beefier, you may as well consider the Petzl Pixa 3 headlamp.

Sadly, I do not have any first-hand experience with the above headlamps as I'm still in the search for my ideal all-purpose headlamp.

Whatever you choose, please, let us know!

Good luck in your search!

bon1 said:

While it's got a throwy beam, you may very well be interested in the Fenix HL21 headlamp which uses just a single AA cell. Also, it comes bundled with a difusor, but I cannot comment on its utility. The brightness modes seem well spaced and the middle mode has a reasonable runtime.

If you need something beefier, you may as well consider the Petzl Pixa 3 headlamp.

Sadly, I do not have any first-hand experience with the above headlamps as I'm still in the search for my ideal all-purpose headlamp.

Whatever you choose, please, let us know!

Good luck in your search!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply and the information! I'm going to check those out. I've read a lot of good things on here about the ZebraLight 501w. Just not sure what would work the best for my purposes

Glad I was of some help!

Since nobody else with more experience than I popped in yet, I'll add that all the floody lights should produce a really smooth beam that your eyes will surely appreciate, but you may find yourself turning the brightness setting up a notch or two compared to a non-floody light so the runtimes will be considerably shorter--unless you're after a floody light that uses two or more AA cells.

Another floody headlamp that you may want to consider is the Fenix HL30 which uses two AA batteries for increased runtime (but make sure that you trust the two little prongs were this headlamp rotates). The Zebralights seem to be very well constructed, just check their runtimes see if they suit your needs and you should be fine.

Good luck!

To be honest, there are a lot of headlamps that fit your needs and budget.

I would like to ask ...do you want the battery compartment to be separate, such as on the back of the head, or on a belt? Do you need it to be waterproof since you mentioned fishing. And lastly you don't want any other color than white, but do you want multi modes...such as Low>Med>high?

But to start you off with....take a look at some of the headlamps produced by Princeton Tec, Streamlight, Black Diamond, and Petzl.

Go with a Coast H7. You'll love it. It's bright, light, and it's not like the other one trick ponies that you have to cycle thru a bunch of unwanted modes.

electrothump said:

Go with a Coast H7. You'll love it. It's bright, light, and it's not like the other one trick ponies that you have to cycle thru a bunch of unwanted modes.

Click to expand...

I may be wrong, but I believe that the Coast H7 / Led Lenser H7 is an unregulated headlamp.

bon1 said:

I may be wrong, but I believe that the Coast H7 / Led Lenser H7 is an unregulated headlamp.

Click to expand...

You are correct. The H7 is unregulated. It does have several shortcomings, but it's very lightweight, and bright. The newer model, I think is called HL7 ( I have one, but I don't have the package handy) has a better hinge on the front, the focus ring doesn't use the stud like the older one, but the beam is much smoother. If you are a white wall shiner, you'll like the beam better than the one on the older model. Myself I don't care about what a beam looks like on a white wall, but I still find myself shooting lights at them from time to time. You simply can't beat the ease of using the H7. Flood to spot, and dim to maximum light, and back all within a second, if you want to do it. NO MODES to fumble through!

I bought a Led lenser h7 lately and use it for fishing and alot of outdoor work and I find it very good. It also is very comfortable not like some other headlamps on the market which are big and bulky, I bought mine with www.flashlights.ie which have a range of different flashlights and headlamps

[h=1]This FENIX HP11 Cree R5 LED Headlamp can meet all your needs but it will costs you ten bucks more. but you get what you paid.[/h]