Weak headlamp, looking for a better one

I picked up a Black Diamond Storm last year in looking for a better headlamp. Quality and functionality wise it is a good unit, however the brightest setting doesn't work out in the woods.

For comparison I have a Fenix PD35 that I ran on level 3 in the woods. Around camp it was great. I didn't need any stronger light, even in the fog we were in.

What kinds of headlamps should I consider that will have strong light output? I am not sure if I want a rechargeable unit but would be curious of some of th offerings if you have one to suggest. I am not opposed to a remote battery pack, but I'd like to keep it compact if possible. 18650's or 16340's would be good for universal use.

I've got the PD35 and just complemented it with the Zebralight H600F headlamp.. I highly encourage you to check it out. There are many positive reviews on here about it.

The head light I take backpacking is a Fenix E15 in a Fenix headband. Not overly bright but its been great for my purposes, a light for at camp and on the trail... Trusty and not terribly expensive...

I have a spark SX5 that Is my go to headlight. It'll run off AA, AAA, and 26650 out of the box. The optional remote pack adds 18650 (up to 4) and 123. I would imagine someone with a 3-D printer could make a sleeve to do 1 18650 without the remote pack.

I've been really satisfied with my Armytek Wizard (v1.5 pro) and Tiara A1 (v1 pro) on my trips to the woods. I'd recommend the neutral white tint (often referred to as "warm" also), tho. Mine are cool white and I've learned that the extra few lumens you get more for picking the cool tint aren't worth it.

The Fenix HL50 is a great little work light at lumens on high and 365 lumens in burst mode and is so light that you don't even know it is there. It is powered by either a CR123a or a AA battery. But doesn't have a lock out feature

http://www.fenix-store.com/fenix-hl50-led-headlamp/

The Nitecore HC90 is terrific. 900 Lumens of white light with RGB LEDs. This is going to be my go to hunting lamp. The lockout feature is awesome. Turn the battery cap 1/4 turn and the light can't be turned on by accident in your pack. It also runs on 2 - CR123A batteries or 1 - 18650 which can be recharged in the light.

http://flashlight.nitecore.com/product/hc90

Bob

As D8659 posted above, for outdoor use you want neutral white. I use my Zebralight H600w MkII and H602w MkII in the woods all the time and it's hard to imagine anything better for my uses. The H602w is too floody by itself, but along with the H600w it makes a killer combo. These lights use 18650 batteries and you get a lot of output and great runtimes. I typically use the 65 lumen on both lamps for trail hikes or put them both on the 150 lumen setting for a combined 300 lumens if I am running. 300 lumens total is pretty good, but much more is available if needed up to 1,020 lumens each. If you only are getting only one lamp I would go with the Zebralight H600w which has a bit of throw and flood combined, plus it is easy to stick a piece of frosted tape over the lens temporarily to floody it up a bit more if ever needed. The Armytek Wizard (warm) looks like another good option as well as the Nitecores.

I guess I never considered the offset style headlamps - basically a normal flashlight with the LED and cone rotated 90deg. All the headlamps I have are symmetrical boxes that tilt. Are there any distinct advantages those of you that use them have found? From a form factor they aren't much different than a normal flashlight = easier to find an 18650 compatible unit.

I would prefer a light with more of a beam pattern than flood, if I had to choose one. This would be for trail use and lining bear bags up through trees. My PD35 has great output for all I do, it just doesn't work well being a hand-held light. I'd like to be able to dumb down the light for camp use, but to that point the Black Diamond I have may work best for the lower level light - it even has a red LED mode to preserve night vision (another reason I bought it)

The Spark SG6 looks like another option - has interchangeable cones for flood/beam.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?399414-Spark-SG6-NW-Headlamp-Review
http://www.spark-light.com/Products.aspx?ProductID=37

Take a look at the Fenix HL55 the tint and beam on mine are perfect flood with just enough hot spot to see down the trail a long way. I felt the 30 second turbo was a gimic until I used it and now I would miss it.

Paul

The Zebralight`s biggest advantage over most other headlamps in it's class is it is one of the lowest weight lights, if not the lowest for the output. 39 grams without the battery is just crazy light weight on the h600. For comparison the Fenix HL55 weighs 115grams without battery. Huge difference there. Zebralight has programmable levels, choices of beam pattern, choice of neutral, cool white, hi cri, it doubles as a flashlight. When I first received my very first H600w Zebralight and opened the box, it seemed incredible that something this tiny could put out that much light, then I tried it and it was beyond impressive. I immediately ordered the H602w and have been using them both every day since then.

I own Several other lights, Nitecore, Armytek, Thrunite, etc, but none impressed me like the Zebralights and I would give up all the rest before my Zebralights. I never even knew anything about Zebralights before last year when I started researching, but the more I read, the more I knew that this is the right light. I used a notepad and made a chart comparing all lights I was considering and finally narrowed my choices down to the Armytek Wizard pro warm or the zebralight H600w and the zebralight won out on weight and output settings over the armytek. I suggest you do the same, make a chart or list of each light you would consider and see which one checks the most boxes for you and go with that.

You I made me curious so I weighed my Fenix HL50. It weighs in at 63g (79g with the CR123A battery). That 63g includes the head band. It still won't make it into my backpack as it doesn't have the battery lockout.

Bob

ETA:

After reading the specs and the output levels of that light. Holy smokes; 1090 lumens in a tiny package. I just might be in the market for another headlamp. I need a fourth headlamp; really I do.:laughing:

Doh, looks like I forgot to factor in the headband weight. So the difference will not be as much between the Fenix HL55 and the Zebralight H600. Sorry for the mistake. The Fenix HL55 with headband and 18650 Battery will be about 160 grams total and the Zebralight H600 mkII with 18650 battery will weigh about 125 grams total. I take the top headstrap off on my Zebralight as it isn't needed and that shaves off some more ounces on it's weight. You just need to route the headband differently with the silicone holder and it makes it very stable even when running.

LOL HorizontalHuntr you may just be in the market for one. If you are in the market I recommend the neutral white over the cool white especially if you use it outdoors. The neutral is 1020 max lumens, but far worth the trade off for neutral.

WigglyTheGreat said:

Doh, looks like I forgot to factor in the headband weight. So the difference will not be as much between the Fenix HL55 and the Zebralight H600. Sorry for the mistake. The Fenix HL55 with headband and 18650 Battery will be about 160 grams total and the Zebralight H600 mkII with 18650 battery will weigh about 125 grams total. I take the top headstrap off on my Zebralight as it isn't needed and that shaves off some more ounces on it's weight. You just need to route the headband differently with the silicone holder and it makes it very stable even when running.

LOL HorizontalHuntr you may just be in the market for one. If you are in the market I recommend the neutral white over the cool white especially if you use it outdoors. The neutral is 1020 max lumens, but far worth the trade off for neutral.

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I'm looking for a good headlamp as well. Can you tell me if the Zebralight SC600w headband swivels to adjust the beam?
Also, the Nitecore HC 30 http://flashlight.nitecore.com/product/hc30 looks very similar in specs (1000lumen) to the Zebralight and is only $50 vs. $89 for the ZL. Anyone have a HC30?

I used to have a Zebralight H31Fw (lost around the home, alas - still hoping it turns up), and now use an H52Fw. Love both. The headstrap they ship with allows tilting the beam up or down as needed (second the rerouting the strap; there's a thread describing it here somewhere). The range of outputs make it fabulous in the woods - bright for gathering firewood without poking an eye out, much dimmer around the camp site with night-adjusted eyes.

It's also nice in hotel bathrooms as a night light clipped to the shower curtain in the very low setting!

-jk

ateupwithgolf said:

I'm looking for a good headlamp as well. Can you tell me if the Zebralight SC600w headband swivels to adjust the beam?
Also, the Nitecore HC 30 http://flashlight.nitecore.com/product/hc30 looks very similar in specs (1000lumen) to the Zebralight and is only $50 vs. $89 for the ZL. Anyone have a HC30?

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I'm not sure if I recall correct, but I think my friend had HC30 last fall when we went out to play with our flashlights. He really liked it and told it was best headlamp he had found for 50$. I considered its hotspot too narrow for my taste, but on the other hand it had pretty nice throw. Depending on your use, consider Nitecore or Zebralight and (my favorite) Armytek.

From what I can see the Nitecore HC30 is only offered in Cool White which would eliminate it for me right off the bat for outdoor use. I looked up the modes for the Nitecore HC30, Zebralight H600w MkII and also the Armytek Wizard Pro Warm. The extra modes on the Zebralight were a big plus for me. The Zebralight and Nitecore seem to be about the same weight, while the Armytek is a bit more approximately 20 more grams for the light itself, but claims to be built more robust and excellent waterproofing. I listed the modes and some specs of these three lights below hopefully it can be helpful. Let me know if I got something wrong on here.

Modes for Nitecore HC30 in lumens are: 1,000, 400, 210, 70, 1, (strobe, beacon, SOS) Peak Beam Intensity: 6,600cd, 40.3g lamp weight. Can use 18650 or CR123 batteries, IPX8

Modes for Zebralight H600w MkII are : 1,020, 620, 330, 150, 65, 30, 11, 3.5, 0.4, 0.06, 0.01,(Strobe, Beacon, Batt. Runtime Indicator) 39g Lamp weight. Peak Beam Intensity: N/A (reflector with 12 degree spot and 80 degree spill, definitely more throw than the Armytek, not sure if it reaches as far as the Nitecore.) 18650 battery, IPX7

Modes for Armytek Wizard Pro Warm are: 975, 390, 185, 65, 14, 1.8, 0.2,(Strobe, Beacon, Batt. Runtime Indicator) 59g lamp weight. Peak Beam Intensity: 2,900cd (70 degree spot, 120 degree flood) Can use 18650 or CR123 batteries, IP68

WigglyTheGreat said:

The Zebralight and Nitecore seem to be about the same weight, while the Armytek is a bit more approximately 20 more grams for the light itself, but claims to be built more robust and excellent waterproofing.

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I've tested my Wizard with the turbo mode on. It gets really really hot. I think the extra 20 grams are good for heat sinking but after a while it doesn't matter. I think these headlamps simply aren't meant to be run on turbo mode constantly. Because of the head-over strap I haven't felt Wizard too heavy. I prefer Tiara in my daily use though.

HorizontalHuntr said:

You I made me curious so I weighed my Fenix HL50. It weighs in at 63g (79g with the CR123A battery). That 63g includes the head band. It still won't make it into my backpack as it doesn't have the battery lockout.

Bob

ETA:

After reading the specs and the output levels of that light. Holy smokes; 1090 lumens in a tiny package. I just might be in the market for another headlamp. I need a fourth headlamp; really I do.:laughing:

Click to expand...

So far my HL50 (put in a old flip phone soft case) hasn't turned on in my pack but also put the lack of a lock out as a negative.