Headlamp for Wildland fire fighting

[beast1210]

I looked at several old posts but most came from 2006 with no real info, so I want to ask the question again. I am going into my first fire season and am looking for a good headlamp. I have been told guys like the Foxfury lights but there is no real review on them, and most old timers think that a light is a light.:shakehead I currently own a Mammut Zoom runs on AA's, is ok but not very bright, but offers both flood and spot.A Fenix hp20 on AA's, which is a nice light, long run time/bright but doesnt offer flood, " most say the diffuser is crap" and I am worried about the durability of the remote switch. My third headlamp is a Princton tec Apex pro runs on CR123's and damaged by Deet. Most wildland guys choose a AA battery, because its the same as radios and are free at base camp, rechargeable's are hard because you may be out for at least 14 days at a time.

So my first thought , I was leaning toward the Spark ST-460NW but I will have no way to recharge 18650's, nice spot and separate diffuser. Then I heard that Spark is working on a 2 AA verson w/XML called the SD5 and it may be the ticket.:thumbsup:

A friend recommended the Zebra for great flood, then carry a handheld for distance work.

Just from looking at the foxfury lights, they should be a good flood but no distance.

A question to any seasoned wild land fire fighters out there, do you prefer a flood for up close work or spot for accurate, distance trail finding work. Looking for advise. Thanks

 

[Szemhazai]

In my opinion quite good heavy duty headlamp with a combination of the flood and spot is Petzl Pixa 2 - and it runs on AA. It is to heavy for typical sport's / outdoor use but for work should be ok.

Petzl Pixa 2 (Cree XP-E) compared to modded Petzl Tikka XP (Cree XP-G R4).

 

[Bolster]

Hello Beast. Not to throw advice at you that you already know, but it's commonly recommended to use headlamp for flood and handheld for throw. That would be my choice. However if your hands are full and you need throw, then a dual-beam is your next best bet. Have a look through the dual-beam options in the link in my sig line. And maybe review the 'what to consider' link, too; can you live with a battery pack or not. If I were to buy an AA dual-beam from what's on the market today, I'd look at the Petzl Myo RXP.

Szem is a very knowledgeable guy and the Pixa 2 is hardy & worth a look, but be aware: it's large, only 30 lumen, and you can't turn off the hot spot. Pixa 3 gives you choice of either spot or flood or both.

 

[beast1210]

1. However if your hands are full and you need throw, then a dual-beam is your next best bet.
2. can you live with a battery pack or not.

Dual beam would be great, but without experience its hard to say what I'll need.
Battery pack is fine, I will always have my fire pack on, just not sure how the hp20 remote switch will hold up yet, its too new. which is why I wouldnt want to have take the pack off to grab a hand held for distance work. I like the Pixa series but not sure its bright enough.

 

[Szemhazai]

In that case why not to give another chance to the Apex - Apex Extreme exactly - 8xAA, 200 lumens output... ?

 

[Bolster]

In that case why not to give another chance to the Apex - Apex Extreme exactly - 8xAA, 200 lumens output... ?

Agree! Would seem a great choice.

 

[FoxFury]

I looked at several old posts but most came from 2006 with no real info, so I want to ask the question again. I am going into my first fire season and am looking for a good headlamp. I have been told guys like the Foxfury lights but there is no real review on them,
Just from looking at the foxfury lights, they should be a good flood but no distance.

Howdy. I came here to guide and not shill. I recommend you check out the FoxFury Discover Tasker-Fire. We've received very good feedback thus far and have heard that the Discover (100 lumen) cuts through smoke better than our Command and Peformance models. There are some reviews on our products on Amazon and firelink.com but I don't believe there are any on the Discover yet.

We've talked to lots of wildland firefighters over the years. The feedback we've heard is that flood lighting is more important than distance (100 + ft away) lighting. Smoke tends to scatter more in the wildland setting compared to structural firefighting. Wildland Hotshot crews seem to have an even stronger need for flood lighting (for safety reasons) because they use equipment (saws, etc.) and need to be able to light the area they're working around. Hope that helps.

 

[beast1210]

Howdy. I came here to guide and not shill. I recommend you check out the FoxFury Discover Tasker-Fire. We've received very good feedback thus far and have heard that the Discover (100 lumen) cuts through smoke better than our Command and Peformance models. There are some reviews on our products on Amazon and firelink.com but I don't believe there are any on the Discover yet.

We've talked to lots of wildland firefighters over the years. The feedback we've heard is that flood lighting is more important than distance (100 + ft away) lighting. Smoke tends to scatter more in the wildland setting compared to structural firefighting. Wildland Hotshot crews seem to have an even stronger need for flood lighting (for safety reasons) because they use equipment (saws, etc.) and need to be able to light the area they're working around. Hope that helps.

thanks, I just havent seen any beam shots or CPF style reviews. I looked at firelink but didnt find anything. If you know of any, I would certainly take a look. thanks

 

[FoxFury]

The reviews on Fire Link are quick and very simple. http://firelink.monster.com/products/products/494-foxfury-headlamps.

I've been working on getting beamshots on a white wall for Bolster. We did take beamshots in an outdoor setting. I quickly threw a video together that shows the outdoor beamshots: http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/7XuYhHczic/
For reference, the camera is 13 ft from the bush and the hillside is 24 ft long. Camera settings were: ISO 400, Aperture 3.5 and Shutter 5 seconds.

I hope that is helpful.

 

[Jonnyg7lus]

Hello from the Uk,
I recently purchased the Foxfury Pro 500 lumen's (CR123) I also own the streamlight vantage headlight. I deal with a lot of moor fires here. The Foxfury has a fantastic flood capability and a selection of light modes and I must say that the floodlight is the most practical for fire-fighting even the fact that it is white light it does a fantastic job and fits on any helmet i have tried it on. It is a bit more bulky to carry than other lights but it is rated for firefighting and is 100% waterproof. it also can run on 3 cr123 with the ability to keep the full power setting!. the streamlight vantage is also a very good light it is very small ,rated and gives a good throw at 100 lumens for 4 hours+ it will also clip to just about any helmet. The Fox fury lights do have a hotspot but a better flood than any other light i have tried. of course the pro runs on cr's but you can get a less powerful version that runs on c batteries i have tried this but it is heavy on the back of my helmet.
I would say that the fox fury is fantastic but for prolong periods spare batteries required but cr123 are not that heavy to carry. Cost is a big thing the Vantage is a good cost saver but does not have the light capabilities of the foxfury.

 

[Bolster]

The Fox fury lights do have a hotspot but a better flood than any other light i have tried.

What other lights have you tried?

 

[Jonnyg7lus]

Hello Bolster,
I started with petzl headlights as i use them for climbing,however not fire rated. I have used surefire for many years and found the G2L great but again it is more of a spot as is the streamlight vantage. The fox fury seems to have more open reflectors giving more of a flood in fact in a simple test that i did from the fire station, I asked my friend to go to his front room window as he lives on the side of a hill 1/4 of a mile from the station. I put the Fox fury light on full power and pointed it towards his window i then turned on the Vantage and pointed it the same direction, moved the lamps 10 meters apart, the result was interesting in that the streamlight appeared to be brighter to my friend even though it was 100 lumen's compared to 520 lumen's. However at my end the streamlight illuminated a lot more of the immediate area.

I have read your thread on floodlight headlamps its fantastic! great compilation,

 

[jrk]

Beast: I worked in wildland fire for many years, but to date my experience I started out when the issued headlamp was an incandescent with a 4 D-cell battery pack worn on your belt. The ideal headlamp would depend somewhat upon what job you'll be performing (handcrew? engine?) and what fuel types you'll be working in (brush? grass? conifer?) but in general:

Flood over spot: you need good peripheral vision at relatively close distances, as in the distance from the head of your pulaski to the toe of your boot. Again, depending upon your environment, your need and the ability to see distance is pretty limited. A small separate handheld using the same battery type is a good option.

Speaking of battery type, there's no reason to use anything but AAs.

Tough and simple: it's a very abusive environment on all types of equipment.

I just checked out the FoxFury Discover Tasker-Fire mentioned above and it really does seem ideal.

One thing to consider is that you'll be joining a crew as a "new guy". Crews can have interesting and sometimes rigid ideas of what works. Showing up on Day 1 with a high end piece of kit . . . you probably know what I mean. You might just bring what you've got and see what others are using. And then late one smokey night trot out that Foxfury and smile smile smile.
Have a great season.

 

[beast1210]

Beast: I worked in wildland fire for many years, but to date my experience I started out when the issued headlamp was an incandescent with a 4 D-cell battery pack worn on your belt. The ideal headlamp would depend somewhat upon what job you'll be performing (handcrew? engine?) and what fuel types you'll be working in (brush? grass? conifer?) but in general:

Flood over spot: you need good peripheral vision at relatively close distances, as in the distance from the head of your pulaski to the toe of your boot. Again, depending upon your environment, your need and the ability to see distance is pretty limited. A small separate handheld using the same battery type is a good option.

Speaking of battery type, there's no reason to use anything but AAs.

Tough and simple: it's a very abusive environment on all types of equipment.

I just checked out the FoxFury Discover Tasker-Fire mentioned above and it really does seem ideal.

One thing to consider is that you'll be joining a crew as a "new guy". Crews can have interesting and sometimes rigid ideas of what works. Showing up on Day 1 with a high end piece of kit . . . you probably know what I mean. You might just bring what you've got and see what others are using. And then late one smokey night trot out that Foxfury and smile smile smile.
Have a great season.

Thanks

 

[pec50]

Also worked wildlands for a number of years and concur that flood is preferable and way less tiring particularly as your eyes become night adapted. But, again, I have to agree this is somewhat dependent upon terrain and fuel. I might add that I really liked having a multilevel light that could be dimmed so as not to interfere when looking for lingering hot spots. But, personal preferences ... the KISS approach was important, reasonably waterproof, as was the ability to use the light with gloves.

I typically had availability to AA and sometimes AAA so you might want to factor that into your selection particularly so when batteries go south and you can lend or borrow. I also always carried another backup light for when I needed to change batteries, primary light failure, or as a loaner; but used the same battery type. I experimented over time and situation and suspect you might want to allow yourself that luxury until you find a solution that meets your preferences.

Seems you have been provided with some good choices already.

 

[beast1210]

Thanks, right now I'm experimenting on homemade diffusers for the Fenix HP20, until Spark gets their SD5 out.