Best $20-$40 headlamp

[dave43]

What do you think? Need something for ice fishing. The brighter the better.

 

[da.gee]

zfreak has some good deals on Princeton Tec EOS headlamps over in the Marketplace. They are decent stock but I sent a couple to datiLED and he modded them with a Seoul LED ($32). They are awesome. It would put you over your $40 budget but you'd have an excellent product.

zfreak sells out fast so go take a look if it is of interest to you.

 

[sabre7]

Fenix L0D Q4?- a little over $40, very, very bright, comes with clip, mount on brim of baseball hat... instant headlamp!! when not ice fishing use it as an EDC light or general use. Even has snowflakes on it too!!

 

[WadeF]

If you want something floody check out the Zebralights, which will be $39, or $49 for the Q5 version. These don't have much throw, and are mainly for lighting up all around you:

http://www.zebralight.com/

The nice thing is they offer a very low, low, which works great for a book light, and runs for a long time, I think 3.5 days on low.

 

[ltiu]

River Rock K2 headlight.

Available at Target stores for around $26.

Water resistant (but tested waterproof up to 2 feet by myself).

Uses 3AA.

Very bright on high. Long runtimes (around 12 hours) on low.

 

[fishx65]

Lowes and Meijer carry a 3AAA Luxeon Dorcy that I like to take ice fishing. It has an electronic switch that makes it very easy to operate with gloves on. About the same brightness as my EOS with a much smoother beam. $19.99

 

[dave43]

River Rock K2 headlight.

Available at Target stores for around $26.

Water resistant (but tested waterproof up to 2 feet by myself).

Uses 3AA.

Very bright on high. Long runtimes (around 12 hours) on low.

You like this better then the ROV 1W Sportman extreme?

 

[ltiu]

You like this better then the ROV 1W Sportman extreme?

I think you are referring to the ROV 1watt single AA headlight?

Then my answer is yes. Why?

1) Way brighter.
2) Way longer runtime. Even on high. On low, runs for at least 12 hours or more.
3) More functions, high, medium, low, stobe.
4) Comes with a rear red LED that can stay on or blink - for bicyclist who need a blinking red LED behind them to keep cars from hitting them from the rear.

The only issue I have with the River Rock is the reflector does not produce an even smooth light. The spot is kind of oblong with some shadows.

 

[dave43]

I read about the K2...the only problem I see is that some say it's heavy and I'm worried eneloop nimh's won't fit in it. i like the low power setting which the ROV doesn't have.

 

[ltiu]

I read about the K2...the only problem I see is that some say it's heavy and I'm worried eneloop nimh's won't fit in it. i like the low power setting which the ROV doesn't have.

It is indeed a bit tight in the battery compartment for NiMH. Sad NiMH's are a bit thick. I use L91's on mine all the time.

It's not heavy at all. I mount mine on my helmet though so the helmet may actually weight more.

And some say heat is an issue, but I have never had an issue with heat. I have been using mine for spelunking for 5 months now (about 10 trips of sharp rocks, dirt, water, dust, sweat) and it has not failed me. Quite reliable I would say.

I have converted 3 fellow spelunkers over to it form their Petzl Tikka Plus. The biggest selling point is the brightness. They all saw that the low setting on the K2 is brighter than the high setting on the Petzl Tikka Plus.

 

[dave43]

Does anyone know if the eneloops batteries would fit?

Itiu, It looks like you have the RR and Rayovac which are rated 85 and 45 lumens respectively. Is there a big difference in brightness between the two?

 

[WadeF]

dave43, if you're going to be out in a lot of cold weather you might want to run Energizer's lithium AA's. They aren't rechargable, but I hear they are the best in cold environments. The Zebralight seems to perform best with them. Be sure to check out the reviews on teh Zebralight in the Flashlight Review forum. It's a single AA light, very small, light, and comes with a lot of nice accessories.

 

[BSBG]

Black Diamond Zenix IQ ($25-30 on sale) plus a SSC P4 star ($10) and ten minutes with a soldering iron and a screwdriver:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=182768

 

[ltiu]

Does anyone know if the eneloops batteries would fit?

Itiu, It looks like you have the RR and Rayovac which are rated 85 and 45 lumens respectively. Is there a big difference in brightness between the two?

Eneloops fit but you will have a hard time taking it out.


The RR is way much brighter.

Also, some more difference:

1) The RR is a spot light type with good throw. The ROV with the diffuser off is also throwy but the spot is a very tiny dot.

2) The ROV with the diffuser on is floody. The RR does not have a diffuser and stay spot all the time.

3) The RR has a longer runtime and dims towards the last hour or so of battery life, stating constant most of the time. The ROV just dies after about 2-3 hours of use without warning.

 

[DaveG]

Just picked up a ROV-K2 at Costco for $12.97,liooks like a close out item.If you can find one that is a good deal.

 

[ltiu]

Black Diamond Zenix IQ ($25-30 on sale) plus a SSC P4 star ($10) and ten minutes with a soldering iron and a screwdriver:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=182768

Can someone confirm if this is water resistant? I found out recently that most Black Diamond headlights are not water resistant. No o-rings and no claim on packaging that it is water resistant. Unlike Petzls which do claim water resistance.

 

[Alan B]

The RR K2 seems to have overheating problems with Lithium and in some cases NiMH. The heatsink is very small and enclosed in plastic. They depend on the internal resistance of the Alkaline battery to limit the current, apparently. More info here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2189203

Many inexpensive headlamps seem to have problems with Lithium AAs. My favorite headlamps are the Petzl MYO XP and the Zebralight. The MYO XP has had problems with Lithium AAs, but it loves NiMH. The Zebralight loves lithium AAs, as well as NiMH and Alkaline work fine also.

The Zebralight with a Lithium AA is amazing in the long runtimes. With any battery type the LED has 3 very useful levels of light output with large differences between the levels, so low is really low, bright is 50+ lumens, and medium is in between. It has a very good even flood pattern. For throw I use a handheld flashlight (or the MYO XP headlamp). The Zebralight is also waterproof and incredibly light so wearing it for hours is not a problem at all. It also runs a long time on a single AA - it is very efficient.

-- Alan

 

[ltiu]

The RR K2 seems to have overheating problems with Lithium and in some cases NiMH. The heatsink is very small and enclosed in plastic. They depend on the internal resistance of the Alkaline battery to limit the current, apparently. More info here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2189203
-- Alan

I feel the claims of overheating problems are from folks who tested the lights indoors in a controlled environment. Not in real-life outdoor real-world situations.

I have real-world/real-life experience with these RR K2 and I have had very good experience with them.

I run these on high for more than an hour at a time and no issues so far. I've had my light for over 5 months now and taken it to 10 trips and used it on high for more than 1 hour at least 3 times. I always use L91's.

It is still working really well.

 

[Spence]

Princeton Tec EOS.
:candle:

 

[guyg]

I just bought an Energizer H/L. It has three sets of lights. The single is 1 watt, then to the two red leds and last is the 2 low power leds. The low power ones should be plenty for close range use such as fishing. I use mine a nite to roll up my tarps in the dark.