Hi all!
I am new to this forum but I have read a lot of threads and feel like I learned a lot. Still, I thought I'd ask to see if someone has specific advice for me.
I'm looking for a headlamp to use for skating. I have two purposes:
1) when I skate at night during winter when it is dark. This is never more than 2 hours. I skate on a bicycle road with no traffic lights. I find this somewhat scary because there is often debris/stones/twigs at those roads, or even holes in the road.
2) I am participating in an ultra skate event this summer where I'll skate for 24 hours. Sunset will be at about 22:00 and sunrise at 5:30, so I expect it to be dark enough to need a light for about 7 hours. This event is on a closed bicycle circuit with no lights. There is no other traffic and there are no crossings, but there are tiny animals on the road at nights (snails etc.) and of course there's always the possibility that a small stone or twig or something will be on the road.
I have skated quite a bit in the dark with a 80 or so lumen headlamp and I hate it. I feel like I don't see a thing, this makes me apprehensive. I am always a bit scared that I miss a stone on the road and trip. Can't skate too slowly though, since with skating, going too slowly will make you trip over stones and twigs that you would otherwise just roll over. I would prefer a headlamp that has both a bit of flood and throw, so I can see the pavement right in front of me and also the road ahead.
My partner has the same headlamp and feels that it is just fine, so I think I might have worse night vision than they do, or perhaps I just prefer more light.
My main consideration for a headlamp is a combination of lumens and runtime. It is possible for me to change batteries once or twice during the ultra, but I find that many headlamps only run for less than 2 hours in 300+ lumen mode, and that's not really an option. The two headlamps that I'm currently interested in are the Zebralight H600W and the Coast HL27. I'd go with the Zebralight in a heartbeat if I could just buy it here in Europe in a shop for the same price as on the website, but, I can't. Ordering from a UK shop is expensive, ordering from Zebralight is a risk (it's on back order now, shipping takes long or is expensive, I'll have to pay import taxes that are rather high). Also, I'm not in love with the need for specialized batteries+charger that I will not have any other need for. I will buy all of that if it really makes the most sense, but if there's a good enough option that works with regular AA batteries I would like that a lot better. I don't need a perfect light, just something that's a lot better than what I currently have. On paper, I like the HL27, especially the variable brightness. It's a bit unclear to me how long it will run on the 300 lumen mode though. I wonder if the HL27 would be good enough (considering it's about half the price of the Zebralight and can run on regular batteries), and would appreciate comments on that. If anyone has other recommendations, I would love to hear them too!
I read the threads about ultrarunning here, since I think what I do is similar. I don't have as much of an issue with bouncing as runners do. I am a slow skater, I go about as fast as a runner (15 km/hour, 9-10 miles/hour), so in that regard I think I have more in common with runners than cyclists.
I am new to this forum but I have read a lot of threads and feel like I learned a lot. Still, I thought I'd ask to see if someone has specific advice for me.
I'm looking for a headlamp to use for skating. I have two purposes:
1) when I skate at night during winter when it is dark. This is never more than 2 hours. I skate on a bicycle road with no traffic lights. I find this somewhat scary because there is often debris/stones/twigs at those roads, or even holes in the road.
2) I am participating in an ultra skate event this summer where I'll skate for 24 hours. Sunset will be at about 22:00 and sunrise at 5:30, so I expect it to be dark enough to need a light for about 7 hours. This event is on a closed bicycle circuit with no lights. There is no other traffic and there are no crossings, but there are tiny animals on the road at nights (snails etc.) and of course there's always the possibility that a small stone or twig or something will be on the road.
I have skated quite a bit in the dark with a 80 or so lumen headlamp and I hate it. I feel like I don't see a thing, this makes me apprehensive. I am always a bit scared that I miss a stone on the road and trip. Can't skate too slowly though, since with skating, going too slowly will make you trip over stones and twigs that you would otherwise just roll over. I would prefer a headlamp that has both a bit of flood and throw, so I can see the pavement right in front of me and also the road ahead.
My partner has the same headlamp and feels that it is just fine, so I think I might have worse night vision than they do, or perhaps I just prefer more light.
My main consideration for a headlamp is a combination of lumens and runtime. It is possible for me to change batteries once or twice during the ultra, but I find that many headlamps only run for less than 2 hours in 300+ lumen mode, and that's not really an option. The two headlamps that I'm currently interested in are the Zebralight H600W and the Coast HL27. I'd go with the Zebralight in a heartbeat if I could just buy it here in Europe in a shop for the same price as on the website, but, I can't. Ordering from a UK shop is expensive, ordering from Zebralight is a risk (it's on back order now, shipping takes long or is expensive, I'll have to pay import taxes that are rather high). Also, I'm not in love with the need for specialized batteries+charger that I will not have any other need for. I will buy all of that if it really makes the most sense, but if there's a good enough option that works with regular AA batteries I would like that a lot better. I don't need a perfect light, just something that's a lot better than what I currently have. On paper, I like the HL27, especially the variable brightness. It's a bit unclear to me how long it will run on the 300 lumen mode though. I wonder if the HL27 would be good enough (considering it's about half the price of the Zebralight and can run on regular batteries), and would appreciate comments on that. If anyone has other recommendations, I would love to hear them too!
I read the threads about ultrarunning here, since I think what I do is similar. I don't have as much of an issue with bouncing as runners do. I am a slow skater, I go about as fast as a runner (15 km/hour, 9-10 miles/hour), so in that regard I think I have more in common with runners than cyclists.