Compact pocket hack

lampeDépêche

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
1,241
I love headlamps; you love headlamps. Otherwise you wouldn't be reading on this forum.

And there's a good chance that you EDC a flashlight. You may even carry one in your pocket.

But it's hard to EDC a headlamp in your pocket, because the darned straps are so bulky.

Here is what I have been doing for about a year now, which works pretty well.

I took the self-retracting reel and string from an old Petzl Zipka that was out of date and underpowered. To extract the string intact and uncut, you need to do a little cutting on the plastic housing of the Zipka. But you can do it discreetly, so that if need be you could actually reassemble the Petzl. It doesn't have to be a smash-and-grab job.

That reel is very small and low-profile--it's an ellipse about 30mm x 38mm or so, and a little under 10mm thick at the center. But it rides much smaller than that in the bottom of your pocket, and it is totally smooth and round--no corners or rough edges. (I was actually very surprised when I measured it--I was going to say "it's about as big as a pair of quarters, or a pair of 2-euro coins", because that's how it feels in the pocket. It is physically bigger, as my ruler tells me, but feels very small.)

I also have a ZL H52 or H53 with me all the time. When I want a headlamp, I just make a "larks head" knot in the string of the Zipka reel, slip the body of the H52 through it, and there I have my headlamp and headstrap. There is enough friction from the string so that I can angle the light and have it hold the angle.

It is not as comfortable as a full-sized strap. If I know that I am going to use a headlamp for a particular job, then I get out the strap. But I can use the Zipka-rig for 30 minutes or so without discomfort. Or I can slip it around my neck, over my shirt-collar, to use it as a "bow-tie" light--I do that pretty often when I am walking at night in the winter, because the light is lower and my foggy breath rises above it, instead of drifting into the light.

It's a pretty good hack. The best that I have found for being able to have a headlamp-strap on me at all times, with a very minimal penalty in pocket-load.
 
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gogdog

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 30, 2017
Messages
41
I really like both ideas (elastic cord and bow tie headlamps). Though...could I see a picture of your zipka setup? And do you have the exact weight of it?

Basically...are you carrying it vertically or horizontally across your head/neck? With just one larks head loop you are getting enough tension to keep it in place, and the light is balanced enough to stay horizontally? (if carrying horizontally?)

It reminds me of a MYOG (make your own gear) strap that I now have. Its just some elastic cord and a piece of foam. It carries a AAA headlamp (like the Maratac TPF pictured) perfectly and comfortably. Though mostly...because the light AND battery itself only weigh .85oz total (.71oz if you use a lithium), and the elastic headstrap itself only weighs .08oz. It really is like you are not wearing anything.

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While backpacking, at night its almost always cold for me (idaho mountains or utah deserts), so I wear a fleece beanie. For 0 weight penalty I put a loop on it ->
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