Help me find a non-PWM headlamp for running

Haven't posted here for six years or so but my old account was apparently still working. :thumbsup:

So, winter is here and daylight hours are few and my current headlamp is PWM flickering and the beamshape is strange with no decent side-spill so I get tunnel vision after half an hour or so. What I'm after is:

* Enough light for running.
* No visible PWM. Preferably constant current or possibly so high PWM frequency that I won't notice. I can't watch DLP projectors at all so it needs to be higher than that at least.
* Rechargable battery. I would prefer to just plug it in as supposed to take the battery out and put it in a charger.
* Waterproof. Rain does occur.
* Beamshape suited for running. I like the concept of having one flood and one spot LED so you can mix or select between the two but zoom optics is ok with me.
* 80+ minutes runtime.

I read Szemhazai's excellent taredown of the Petzl NAO and it looks promising although no constant current. Has any flicker sensitive person tested it? I got the suggestion of Zebralight or SPARK, but I'm not so convinced about the optics/setup.
Olight H15S looks nice but perhaps a bit weak. Any takers on this one?

A wide flood, like the Zebralight H602w, is ideal for running, I think, because any small movement of the light from the motion and impact of running will not be readily discernible; while the beam from a headlamp with a reflector will bob around. The H602w cannot be switched from flood to spot nor zoomed, yet an H602w on high may possibly suffice to light up the running path to the distances you require. 1020 lumens, even spread out, is still pretty bright in the center.

The 18650 battery of th H602w is powerful enough that you may not have to recharge that often, so having to remove the battery may be less of a bother in that case.

On the other hand, runner Valpo Hawkeye here would possibly recommend the H600fw over the H602w.

Sounds good. Do you have to take out the battery for charging or can you plug a charging cable to it?

You would have to remove the battery for charging.

Ah! I see myself not wanting to open a wet headlamp to get the battery out and let the moisture in, taking a shower and forgetting all about it and when I need it the next time, the battery hasn't been recharged.

Pretzl sales rep did reply somthing a bit vauge about "direct current" when I asked if it PWMs or not. Might there have been an update between NAO and NAO2?

I would say you look closely at the Petzl Tikka RXP. Programmable and does not require battery removal for charging.

I have the new 2014 575 lumen Nao (and the tikka r+) as well as the rxp and outside of just sheer output I much prefer usin the rxp and wearing the rxp vs the nao. I also like having direct access to off on the rxp from any mode whereas on he nao you must cycle thru all modes before getting to off.

tikka RXP is roughly as bright as the BD Icon or the old princeton tec apex at much less a weight

as said above it has a usb 1800 mAh 3.7v battery pack, has flood and spot, and has the auto brightness adjust

i dont know about trail running but for climbing its great

heres my tikka RXP lightning up the overall climb for my partner who has a BD icon (the hot spot in front of his head)

Neat! Does it flicker?

winny said:

Neat! Does it flicker?

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i havent had any flickering ... it does adjust the brighness on reactive mode and there will be a slight noticeable change every now and then

also if you buy it from somewhere like llbean you get a no questions asked lifetime warranty ... or REI that now gives you a 1 year no questions asked warranty .. etc ...

so if it does flicker just take it back ... how i wish they sold those 900+ lumens chinese brand headlamps there, i would snap one up in an instant with that kind of warranty

cue003 said:

I would say you look closely at the Petzl Tikka RXP. Programmable and does not require battery removal for charging.

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+1 The newer models should be regulated. It's on my buy list for running headlamp now that the days are getting shorter and that I'm running longer distances. I'm currently using a Fenix HL30 which is all-right but bounces a bit and has all the weight in the front: it's OK for up to 10k maybe or on trails but for running longer distances or rugged terrain I'm looking at something else.

Labrador72 said:

+1 The newer models should be regulated. It's on my buy list for running headlamp now that the days are getting shorter and that I'm running longer distances. I'm currently using a Fenix HL30 which is all-right but bounces a bit and has all the weight in the front: it's OK for up to 10k maybe or on trails but for running longer distances or rugged terrain I'm looking at something else.

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The entire Petzl Tikka lineup for 2014 (Tikka, Tikka +, Tikka RXP/R+/Nano) are all regulated for constant output throughout the battery cycle.

cue003 said:

The entire Petzl Tikka lineup for 2014 (Tikka, Tikka +, Tikka RXP/R+/Nano) are all regulated for constant output throughout the battery cycle.

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The tikkina and tikka are not regulated

only the tikka+ and above are

i own the new tikka as well

Regulated as in adjusting the PWM duty-cycle to maintain constant output (flickering at that PWM frequently) or regulated to constant current though the LED? Huge difference for us flicker sensitive!

Regulated as in maintains the brightness over the battety life

ive owned a few petzls and have never noticed any flickering

however the brand new out of the box fenix hl55 that i just got flickers very noticeably, like a candle

Maby check out a H35/55 Wave by olight, looks intense!

I have on order a HL55Vn which should be good as well and is a good combo of flood with some small throw.

People don't seem concerned about PWM and hence not the people selling them either so I walked in to a brick and mortar sports store and tried to explain my problem in vain (I got a hint of understanding when I compared to a DLP projector making rainbow colors during fast movements) but they did let me test it in the store and ended up with a Silva Trail Runner II USB at 117 USD. It does flicker at the low setting but at high setting I didn't notice anything in the store. At home and when fully charged I can see that it runs at about 90 % duty-cycle. Might be OK, otherwise I will rip it apart and rebuild the driver for one constant-on mode or off. They use two different LEDs with different optics which is fine by me as is will get rid of some of that spot-induced tunnel vision but they don't have the same bin on both so the (blue) hotspot is there with green floodlight to cover it up. Perhaps my demands are 4000 % higher than the average customer but I wouldn't mind spending money on a perfect headlamp where they have tought about everything.

Tonight is gym night so I'll break it in early next week.

Tried it on my 9.4 km run. 130 lumen is bare minimum to do for running. The PWM was not noticeable until it started snowing/drizzle but acceptable. The difference in tint went unnoticed on the tarmac/gravel. "Intelligent Light" = one flood, one spot did reduce the tunnel vision drastically.

Still thinking about getting that NAO2.

cue003 said:

The entire Petzl Tikka lineup for 2014 (Tikka, Tikka +, Tikka RXP/R+/Nano) are all regulated for constant output throughout the battery cycle.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info cue!

Ordered the new 575 lumen version of the NAO but got the old 355 lumen version so I need to ship it back and wait for the real one to arrive. Tried several local stores to avoid this problem in the first place + test for PWM flicker but seems like the local brand Silva is king. One had the old 355 in their catalouge but not in stock. The quest for flickerfree running goes on.

Wiiii! Finally got it and I can report NO FLICKER WHAT SO EVER IN ANY MODE. Seems like the engineers did a very good job.