Alaskan woods

Hello folks, I'm in need of a good headlamp for Alaska. I kick around on Admiralty Island and if you don't know about this island there are tons of brown bears. I've been told there's more brown bear per square mile than anywhere else on earth. I'd like to be able to see them as far off as possible to avoid a confrontation, however I also need good flood to see a larger area and hands free in case one charges.:sweat: If you know the weather in Alaska, you'll know it can get pretty extreme and it's always wet. I don't mind what kind of batteries it takes. I'd also like the headlamp to be a simple band around my hat.

I currently have a Led Lenser H7 for a headlamp, and a Klarus XT11 to really throw a beam if I think somethings up. I use 18650 rechargeable batteries in the Klarus. Problem with having a flashlight is, I usually have a shotgun for protection which would keep my hands filled if things really went south.

So which do you pros think have the best mix of flood and throw? Thanks very much!

I've been very impressed with the combination of throw and flood in a tiny little package with my new Zebralight H600w Mk II - I can mountain bike with it no problem, and it is very comfortable. I'm getting about 90 minutes of run time on high (1000 lumens!), and it's adjustability in power settings makes it easy to use more efficiently on lower power if need be. I picked up the $6 charger and a couple of unprotected Panasonic 18650's from FastTech for around $21, so for around $110 you'll have an awesome setup! Waterproof as well...

http://www.zebralight.com/H600w-Mk-II-18650-XM-L2-Headlamp-Neutral-White_p_117.html

Have you checked out the Coast HL27, or the Coast H8. The 8 is a really heavily made light, has three settings, low, medium, and high, and a knob is used for this. The 8 also has a moveable 4AA cell battery pack. and comes with an extra cord for using that option. The 8 flood is nice, the spot is clean and true. The 27 may work for you as well. The spot on the 27 has more spill than the 8. The 27 uses 3 AA cells, and has variable brightness than you change in seconds flat, none of that annoying clicky, clicky, clicky, or turning the end numerous times business, or holding down on a button while the light cycles up and down to get the brightness you want. Both have the fast focus, from flood to spot, and back in a flash. These coast lights are so simple you could teach a monkey to use them. You can find them at http://www.coastportland.com/led-headlamps/ , , , Sears, and of course on ebay. Now, don't read me wrong, I am very glad that other lights have the click, turning the head, and ramping options. But after using these coasts lights for a few years, I simply can't see myself going backwards for those other kinds of lights, when there is a much simpler, and more useful option. To each, their own.

Hello Kodiakk,
I'd recommend the Zebralight H600 MK II as well. Because of the awesome output, runtimes, size, & weight, it's my all time favorite headlight for hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, and running at night. I spent the last several years looking for this headlamp, and believe it to be the best around for my uses.

I live in Georgia though where it is decently warm, and have had good results with my Li-ion 18650 batteries, even in colder conditions (close to 0 degrees fahrenheit a few times)....but I have never used it in extreme cold such as found in Alaska. You said in your original post that you have used 18650 in your Klaurus up there. Sounds like you are on that island during the warmer months, but Have your 18650 Li-ion batteries performed well in the extreme cold...if you've ever used them in the extreme cold?

If the answer is no, then I'd recommend sticking with headlights that use lithium primary batteries such as the AA Lithiums made by energizer or the lithium CR123 batteries that you can use in your Klarus. "Primary" batteries are just single-use batteries & are not rechargeable. They perform exceptionally well in extreme cold conditions, and have the best runtimes of any of the other batteries available. If you need to go the route of lithium primary batteries then I'd recommend the Zebralight H52 (which uses a AA sized battery and runs exceptionally well on the energizer lithium batteries plus runs very well on eneloops and 14500 li-ion rechargeables. It runs so-so on regular alkaline batteries, but alkalines don't have enough juice to reach the higher output levels that the light is capable of.)

Since you have the Klarus (which uses either two CR123 batteries or one 18650 Li-ion rechargeabel,) you may also want to consider the soon to be released Zebralight H32 (which uses a single CR123 battery.) Very similar to the H52, and will be an outstanding performer.

The Coast headlights are not bad, but not great either. The flood to thow feature on them, however, is outstanding...but is the only outstanding feature they have. Everything else about the coast lights is sub-par such as not being water proof, the circuit is not regulated (which means the light dims over time instead of remaining constant like most newer lights,) they are flimsy (especially in the area where the light adjusts up & down,) bulky, heavy, & uncomfortable to me. I have to say though that I do like them, but I don't love them like I love the zebralights. The last coast headlight I bought broke. I exchanged it, and it has sat in a drawer ever since. I plan to give it to my nephew since I will not be using it again.

Good Luck, and let us know the answer to the question posed above about the performance of your 18650's in extreme cold (if you have ever used them in extreme cold up there.)

Thanks for the suggestions folks.

Outdoorsman5, I currently do not live in Alaska, but go up there during hunting season. Hunting season for blacktail is in the early fall so it doesn't get very cold during that time. I did live in Juneau for a number of years which is two islands over, however I didn't even use a flashlight much less a 18650 type back then.

To be honest I'm very new to high end flashlights. I bought my Klarus which is my first one at the end of hunting season last year here in Texas. I'm spoiled now haha. I was blown away the year before when I bought that Led Lenser with how bright it was. I just read how dangerous these lith batteries can be. I honestly had no idea and thought they'd be the same as using normal AAA or AA. Currently I'm using Ultrafire 18650 2400 mAh batteries which I've read aren't the best. I'm also using DSD charger. All were bought from Battery Junction with the flashlight. Any suggestions on a better quality charger and batteries? I seriously don't want one blowing up on my head if I choose a Zebralight, but on the other hand 18650 seem to be safer from what I've read here and I love the rechargeable ability along with the 1 long battery instead of several shorter batteries.

Thanks again!

Any Li-ion battery such as the 18650 that is made by Panasonic or Sanyo is top-notch. You will only find these batteries rebranded by another company though. So, the brands that I buy are - AW, Redilast, EagleTac, Zebralight, Orbtronics, and Keeppower. There may be others, but all of these batteries listed are either panasonic or sanyo batteries...and all of them are outstanding. Stay away from all other brands as most are rejects, used, or just crap brands. Most off-brands do not perform well at all (some cannot produce maximum output and some do not have near the battery life as advertised.)

I would not be worried about the dangers of Li-ion batteries. It's a legitimate worry, but is kind of like worrying about getting hit by an asteroid. The odds are very very low. The benefits of Li-ion batteries is great - huge storage capacity, more volts which equals more output, very efficient, rechargeable, and cheap. I have some AW brand 18650's 2200mah that I've had for 6 years that are not yet showing any signs of being at the end of their life. I keep them as back-up batteries since I now have both 3100mah and 3400mah batteries that have a lot more juice in them, but I'd use the older ones when needed. I monitor their voltage to make sure they are in good condition. I've only had to recycle a few Li-ion batteries that were losing their charge too rapidly when idle, but 2 of those were batteries that were left with a charge under 2.0v for more than a week....my fault.

Anyway, use them, and enjoy guilt-free lumens with rechargeable batteries.

You also asked about chargers. I used a DSD charger for about 5 years, and never had any problems with it. I bought an XTAR WP2 II charger ($25) this year and love it. I'm considering buying the upgraded XTAR WP2s charger ($30). What I like about these two chargers is that they give you the option to charge at different rates. I think the DSD charger charges at 0.5v only. The XTAR WP2s gives you the option to charge at .25v, 0.5v, and 1.0v. I'd use the .25v to charge my small 10440 (AAA sized Li-ion), the 0.5v for my RCR123's (CR123 sized Li-ions) and the 0.5v for my 14500 (AA sized Li-ions), and I use the 1.0v to charge my 18650s. My charge times are much shorter when charging 18650s using the XTAR compared to the DSD charger.

Another cool feature with either XTAR is that they have a USB port which allows you to charge your phone with an 18650 battery.....nice! Great when I'm out in the woods or just out.

There's other good chargers out there, but I like these two for the money.

Thanks again. Ordered both the batteries and charger last night. :thumbsup: