Good light for exploring buildings

[Ironic Sobriquet]

Hi, first post here!

I'm looking for a very high power yet wide angle light I can wear on my head, throw is not really super important since 90% of my work is done inside decrepit/abandoned buildings and I just want the light to cover my entire field of vision with super bright light. I am going to guess that something around 70 meters of throw would be more than sufficient since I usually go exploring in the morning, my biggest issue is rooms with no windows and basements...

Battery life is also super important... I can spend up to 7-8 hours away from electricity, so something with a battery pack would be necessary.

And, for the clincher, I have about $100 to spend... I don't mind going a little bit over ($10~$20) but I'd rather not

Thanks,
-Ian

 

[Rat6P]

SureFire Saint.
Its a bit over your budget but its also the only high output/wall of light I can think of (in a headlamp).

 

[GreySave]

I agree on the Saint. I have a Minimus version and it is exactly what you are looking for in beam pattern and the Saint will run much much longer. I have used my Minimus extensively and it is still on the original abttery as the optics deliver a LOT of light even at the lowest settings. Cost is a factor working against the Saint while the Minimus is a little over your limit.

Zebralight makes headlamps which are also all flood and are within your price range. I have not kept up with their designs lately so I canot speak to current runtimes. I have one that I use and it has been reliable.

 

[Batou00159]

Zebralight h60 sounds perfect

oh and:welcome:

 

[jhc37013]

Hi Ironic welcome to CPF!

There is a headlamp section you may have better results if you can have your thread moved there but I'm sure you can still get some good advice here.

First do you really need 70 meters that is quite a long distance and it sounds by your first impressions you are looking for a flood light. I have some headlamps that will throw 70 meters and I have some that will shine a wall of light but I don't have one that will do both well.

The best wall of light headlamps are those like the Zebralight and the Surefire Saint. You need long runtimes so the wall of light headlamp I am thinking of is the H60. This light uses 18650 rechargeable battery's, you could get a spare and keep it in your pocket or a bag of some sort and that should be pretty good for you. The H60 is a wall of light and not a thrower.

H60- http://www.zebralight.com/H60-Headlamp-18650-Flood_p_10.html

Another option would be the H31, it's a cr123 headlamp and has more throw but is less floody than the H60. Using this light you should be fine with 70 meters and I would think the flood would still be sufficient and you can use rechargeable RCR123 is you like or just carry spare cr123's with you if needed.

H31- http://www.zebralight.com/H31-Headlamp-CR123-220Lm_p_25.html

There is a Zebralight model H51 due to release mid August that uses AA,14500 or rechargeable NiMh and is comparable in output and throw to the H31.

H51- http://www.zebralight.com/H51-Headlamp-AA-200Lm_p_37.html

The Zebralight's are great if your going to wear them a lot because of their extremely small size. The question is what battery's do you want to use, since your going to be using it so often one that supports some type of rechargeable like AA Nimh or 14500 & 18650 lithium seems practical.

There is also the Princeton Tec Apex Pro that uses 8 AA's with a pack I don't remember the runtimes but I think if you use rechargeable AA's it could also be of great use.

PT Apex Pro- http://www.brightguy.com/products/Princeton_Tec_APEX_Extreme.ph

Sorry to throw so much at you but your options are many and hopefully this can at least get your search started. Just do plenty of researching and ask all the questions you need to before ordering, good luck.

 

[mcnair55]

I use to explore the old cold war places in Berlin a couple of years ago,use to sneak into an old Russian underground bunker that I found by accident and I had only a hand light with me so never went to far into it,going back soon and this time armed with a decent headlamp as I want to go deeper inside so I look forward to the replies also.

 

[Colorblinded]

I prefer a head lamp I can adjust focus on and the Petzl Myo XP and my new RXP have treated me well. I have a sort of love-hate relationship with petzl but over the years I've become too attached to their flip-up diffuser. It's nice to be able to reach up and flip it down to spot something further away and then flip it back up.