DealExtreme 8 LED Headlamp ($5) mini-review

[cac313]

I'm not sure who makes this or if there is any specific model number but I bought this from DealExtreme for $5.05 (shipping included).

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1298

This all came about from this thread where I was looking for something inexpensive for working in the garage.

Lamp with packaging (different from what DX shows)



For reference, in between my 2D Mag and Fenix L0D-CE


Pros
-Light weight (3.3oz with 3 AAA E2 Lithiums installed)
-Decent amount of light, with three levels (low-2 leds, med-4 leds, high-8 leds) and good even spill. I noticed after taking the shots you get decent light to maybe 80 degress off center with the "hotspot" taking the middle 30% or so.
-Adjustable tilt
-Potentially good runtimes (this is just assumed, I have no intention of doing any runtimes for something this inexpensive)


Cons
-The only thing I have found so far that I don't like are the cut of the straps, they seem a little short. I haven't had a problem fitting it to my head or when wearing a hat but you can tell it's a bit cheap (I know, what do you expect for $5? :shrug
-It took 15 days to get here, but that's about par for DX

Beamshots

Gotta apologize, they didn't turn out all that well. Especially when trying to show the different power levels. I just omitted the lower power level shots.

Headlamp on High (3ft from doors)


Headlamp vs L0D-CE (medium)


You don't get a sense of the wide spill effect from the shots, it's not very bright but it is there.

Headlamp vs Streamlight TwinTask 2D (all 10 LEDS)


Overall
I am really pleased with this. It's not the best quality but for $5 it is a really good value. I'd recommend it.

 

[cac313]

No feedback, at all?

Hopefully this was not a sucky review or on one unit that no one has interest in. I just used this lamp again tonight and it's really quite nice light, even at the lower settings.

 

[d1337]

Thanks for the info. I am looking at getting a few headlamps for some friends that could use them for repair work ect. It's good to know that these lights are not junk.

 

[Ivanhoe]

these look like great stocking stuffers for my kids!

 

[AvPD]

After owning a 3xAAA headlamp for a while, I will only buy AA lamps in the future. I bought a 21-LED version of this one on eBay that is pleasingly bright. However a clip on the battery cover and one of the legs on the mount broke with hardly any use, luckily I had a compatible mount from a cheap incandescent headlamp I bought several years ago.

I would recommend this as a good headlamp if it hadn't fallen apart so quickly. I've taken an interest in this but the mount looks a little on the thin side.

 

[PJD]

No feedback, at all?

Hopefully this was not a sucky review or on one unit that no one has interest in. I just used this lamp again tonight and it's really quite nice light, even at the lower settings.

cac...don't be disillusioned; actually, it was a very GOOD review! A lot of times, reviews that deal with things other than the most "sought after" lights don't seem to get a lot of feed-back. But that in no way diminishes the usefulness of the review. You gave good, "real-use" opinions with some very useful pics. If there's not a lot of input, that's OK...your review is there for others to look at and gain something from. Keep it up!

PJD

 

[electrothump]

No feedback, at all?

Hopefully this was not a sucky review or on one unit that no one has interest in. I just used this lamp again tonight and it's really quite nice light, even at the lower settings.

Heck, looked like a good review to me. Going from the number of views it has, it must be pretty good.


DN

 

[cac313]

PJD, Electro....


Thanks for the positive feedback. I've very much appreciated the insight and info I've received from others on this forum, I just wanted to know that I wasn't "spamming" folks with info they didn't care about.

Thx again. :thumbsup:

CC

 

[Haz]

:twothumbs great review

 

[pbs357]

Hey thanks for your good review; pics and everything! (nothing bugs me more than a review without beamshots!) I was thinking of grabbing one of these for flat tire duty, and after your review I think I'll be clicking over to DX later today!

 

[kosPap]

well I got mine after reading the thread that is mentioned too.

I ahd trouble with it from the start. The bulb wuld not work. while I completely dissasembled it, the fault was on the carrier. Some dead-cheap chinese batteries would work, but not any quality one!

turns out taht the chisese ones were as long s it was recuired, so I ended up bending the carrier contacts to increase tension and shorten the battery space.

Now it works...

Also, from the start the 8-led mode is less bright than the 4-led mode. Seems it is anavoidable since the led are directly solder on the board with no electronincs to drive them.

cheap as expected but good to have in the car (only)