Durable headlights?

[Quiksilver]

What are some durable headlights?

I currently own a Surefire Saint, and am overall happy but have mixed feelings regarding the distracting beam artifacts and poor efficiency.


I also own a Zebralight H501, but it is malfunctioning and has lost my trust. I've also heard of numerous other issues with ZebraLights headlights that detract from its durability and trustworthiness.

--

So what options do I have?

Hopefully in 1xAA or 1xCR123 configuration, but am flexible.

 

[Szemhazai]

Only other option will be Spark I think - suggested configuration 1x18680 :).

 

[reppans]

I also own a Zebralight H501, but it is malfunctioning and has lost my trust. I've also heard of numerous other issues with ZebraLights headlights that detract from its durability and trustworthiness..

Can you get it repaired?.. either warranty or paid?

 

[Bicycleflyer]

I think the only problem with this question is by the time any of us have had a light long enough to declare it "durable" That model is no longer available.

For example my beloved Zenix IQ made by black diamond. I have had this thing for years and it has been my best headlamp. Small, lightweight, 2X AA battery format, regulated light, and powerful. I have used it in the rain and snow without fail. It tells me that my batteries are getting low by an occasional blink of the beam.

As you can tell, it is my favorite headlamp and has proven itself durable. But I cant recommend it to you because it is no longer available.

 

[chasm22]

I am wondering the same thing. I am frustrated with the inability to make purchases of lights or any other products where my main concern is durability /reliability. Sometimes they're two separate things but usually the road to one intersects the other.

Back in the day, the only thing you had to do was open the wallet a little wider but that seemingly doesn't do much good nowadays. The choice lately seems to be between the latest design and the older models. Even bleeping Apple can't do launch anymore without at least one big problem.

IMO, the QC engineers have either lost their clout or lost their jobs. :mad:

I would have to rate my energizer lamps as the most durable. Not the prettiest but they have never broken.

I also have a broken zl that I'm sending back to be repaired. I also have a broke set of ledlensers', two sets of malfunctioning rayovacs and too many to remember other sets.

I'm seriously thinking of a Surefire or a Petzl. I hope that they haven't sold out their reliability in order to compete with the rapid developments in technology. I'm just as interested as anyone with new features etc. but new ideas don't help if you sacrifice reliability and/or durability.

chasm22

 

[rojos]

I think the only problem with this question is by the time any of us have had a light long enough to declare it "durable" That model is no longer available.

Yeah. Most headlamps available today have been out for less than three years - not long enough to tell really.

I am frustrated with the inability to make purchases of lights or any other products where my main concern is durability /reliability.

A good warranty/return policy can mitigate some of that frustration.

 

[Quiksilver]

Yeah. Most headlamps available today have been out for less than three years - not long enough to tell really.



A good warranty/return policy can mitigate some of that frustration.

I was out kayaking on a waterway last night. Strong current, sand flats and sharks lurking beneath. A wind kicked up and as i said the current was strong and tide was going out so was pulling me out to sea.

I was wearing my SF Saint, keeping it at full power aimed in front of the kayak, and doing my best to fight the strong current and winds.



What good does a warranty/return policy do me, if my light had failed last night?


^ Yes that did happen. A fun journey but strong currents and winds, and had to rely on my equipment to keep off the sand flats or risk flipping into shark-infested waterway.

 

[rojos]

What good does a warranty/return policy do me, if my light had failed last night?

A good warranty/return policy won't help you in case of failure on the water or trail or whatever, and I didn't claim it would. A good warranty/return policy is separate from reliability/durability/performance guarantee, which I think is what you're talking about. A good warranty/return policy will however mitigate the possible frustrations involved in getting a refund/replacement, which considering the cost of some headlamps these days is not insignificant.

 

[uk_caver]

I guess that few manufacturers would see extreme reliability as something that many people would pay for, and there's the issue of rather having to have all one's lights being properly reliable in order to make a point of reliability of any of them without making some of your own products look bad.

Personally, I'm a big fan of redundancy and try and incorporate some into the various caving lights I make wherever I can, but I'm not sure how much sense that would make for most commercial manufacturers.
If a light is priced/designed to not be economically worth repairing, how much does the average manufacturer care whether a failed light failed totally, or just dropped to a state of lesser functionality?

 

[uk_caver]

A good warranty/return policy won't help you in case of failure on the water or trail or whatever, and I didn't claim it would. A good warranty/return policy is separate from reliability/durability/performance guarantee, which I think is what you're talking about. A good warranty/return policy will however mitigate the possible frustrations involved in getting a refund/replacement, which considering the cost of some headlamps these days is not insignificant.

And at least a good warranty does at least suggest that the manufacturer has some kind of faith in the product, bearing in mind that they may well be making calculations on the expected likelihood of people using the warranty in case of failure - someone buying a $50 headtorch might be rather less likely to use the warranty service on a light that has had decent usage than someone with a $500 one.

 

[dougie]

uk caver makes a very good point. Manufacturers will only offer a long warranty if they can estimate the MTBF of various components is such that the likelihood of returns under warranty is limited. Of course some manufacturers charge a premium to cover some of the likely costs of providing such a service. However, it is my experience that only manufacturers who are confident in what they build will provide a lifetime warranty. There are very, very, few headlamp manufacturers who appear to offer anything other than one or possibly two years of warranty service with their products. Although it isn't the most important thing I look for when making a purchasing decision it is something I seriously factor into the equation.