Headlamp & EDC Flashlight Advice Needed

I'm new here and seeking advice. I'm looking for a headlamp to use deer hunting and camping at a cost of less than $100. The two I've read about most recently are: the Princeton Apex and the Petzl Duo 5 LED Headlamp. I'd appreciate any experience or information you could provide about either one or a better alternative. Is there a better one for about the same money or one almost as good for less? Is either so heavy as to be uncomfortable to wear long? How bright would they be in comparison to a two D cell maglight? I'm seeking something that would have at least a couple brightness options so it wouldn't be overpowering for walking through the woods or using around camp, but would light up an area to check out what did go bump in the dark.

I'm also looking for a nice light flashlight to carry as an EDC at a cost of less than $120. Preferably something significantly smaller and brighter than a mini-mag that I could wear on belt at office. Preferably something that would have at least a couple brightness settings so it wouldn't be overpowering for walking down the hall, but would light up an area if needed. Any recommendations?

Thanks!

A friend of my has been using my PT EOS for bow hunting in southeaster NC for the past few weeks. He's fallen in love with the thing as it has three brightness levels and when he's leaving the stand the LED doesn't seem to bother the day like a regular light. It has a bit more brightness than a 2D Mag on high I think, especially for walking through the woods and it throws far enough that you can see if anything out to about fifty yards or so is going to be in your way. The Apex might be an even better light and I'm waiting to hear a little bit more about them before I try to get ahold of one. I had a Black Diamond Zenix IQ for a while and its similar in design, but nowhere near in about I believe to the Apex. Its a neat light with lots of dimming options, but too blue for my tastes with the led. Dunno about the Petzl, but most incandescent headlamps have been a disappointment to me, they don't throw nearly as far as I would like. By the way you can pick up the EOS for around $30 and its supposed to be waterproof to 1 meter, much better than most other headlamps I've seen.
As for an EDC flashlight my personal one at this point is a Surefire A2 Aviator with white led's. The two light options come in handy and its small enough for pocket carry without being too noticable. You can find them for around $125-130 on B/S/T in the forums and at some dealers with a good price. Another option that's a little more compact would be a regular E2o or E2e Surefire. Get one of these and then order a KL1 head and you can choose between either the MN02 lamp (25 lumen), MN03 lamp (60 lumen), or the KL1 led head (30 lumen). The KL1 offers the best runtime, but the incandescents give the best color rendition. I personally like the E2o for the clip, but its being discontinued and might be harder to find soon.

There are many more options out there for edc and some very advanced lights, but so far for everyday use these for me have worked very well. I'm sure some other people will chime in with other options, but in the meantime you might want to look through the headlamp reviews and flashlight reviews at flashlightreviews.com, that's where I got started down this well lit, but money poor path. lol.

PT Apex isn't for sale yet... I've heard it might finally become available in mid to late October. Something to do with some technical problems on the first batch of units. It does look promising...a 3w Luxeon for distance lighting along with four 5mm LED's for local area lighting.

I use a Petzl Tikka XP. Uses a 1w Luxeon, runs on 3AAA alkaline/NiMh/lithium batteries, has sliding diffuser lens for area lighting, has led battery meter on side, has 'boost' mode for brief periods of extra light. Runs for about 5 hours or so on 'high'. $49

Jagged said:

I'm also looking for a nice light flashlight to carry as an EDC at a cost of less than $120. Preferably something significantly smaller and brighter than a mini-mag that I could wear on belt at office. Preferably something that would have at least a couple brightness settings so it wouldn't be overpowering for walking down the hall, but would light up an area if needed. Any recommendations?

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I'd look at the HDS EDC Basic 42. Priced at $120 it is small, has four levels and pretty bright.

This is pretty much the same light as the one reviewed here except the Basic 42 outputs 42 lumens instead of the 60 lumens of the model reviewed, and it has less features (but it does have four brightness levels).

I've posted my impressions of the Ultimate 85 which is even brighter in this thread, along with some pictures.

Edit: Oh, I'd also recommend getting an SF F04 beamshaper for close up work.

-john

Another vote for the PT EOS on the headlamp. I brought mine for a hiking/camping trip recently, and on high i was able to spot treetops from a fair distance away (sorry no idea on exact distance). Good esp for medium range distances. For short distances i.e. reading for eg, it might be a bit too focused, but a bit of scotch tape or similar will fix that... Plus its really small and lightweight (comfy to wear) and waterproof, as mentioned. Only thing is it uses AAAs (x3), which makes the light really small but leaves me hoping for a longer runtime (esp on high mode). Medium and low mode is actually more than sufficient most of the times though, esp around the campsite.

EDC you might wanna also look at a SF E1L or E2L, not sure how much they cost, but get a McE2s switch for it, and you have a great 2 stage light with long runtimes. Else go for the SF L1 or L2, which have all the features you are looking for...

Stanley said:

EDC you might wanna also look at a SF E1L or E2L, not sure how much they cost, but get a McE2s switch for it, and you have a great 2 stage light with long runtimes. Else go for the SF L1 or L2, which have all the features you are looking for...

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SF L1 is $125 and is bigger than the HDS EDC Basic 42, dimmer, and has fewer levels.

-john