Headlamp Straps for hat size 8 heads

[lemlux]

Thanks to my father's genes, I have a size 7 7/8 hat size and my son wears size 8. For those who don't know that means I can't fit into the snap-button type adjustable baseball caps and might fit into the loosest of adjustable strap hats. In high school football I was the only member of the team that had to wear a late 1940's - early 1950's vintage leather helmet rather than the plastic helmet worn by everyone else.

I hesitate to buy a headband without trying it for fit first because most designers understandably don't worry about fit considerations for sizes that are 3 standard deviations larger than the median.

Help, anyone?

 

[cistallus]

The Nitecore headband (widely available as a separate item), adjusted all the way out, barely hugs my head, and I can pull it out from my head several inches, and the band when adjusted right is snug but doesn't compress my head too much. So that one might be worth a try, it's not too much money anyway. It has small loops on the sides and on top to hold small AAA/AAA type lights, or 123 type lights that aren't too fat/long (like Mini 123).

The ZebraLight headband, such as comes with the H501w, adjusts out so far that it will just fall right to my neck (even going past my ears). Note that this one doesn't have a top strap (but the H501 is so light, for most people it doesn't really need one), whereas the Nitecore does. The light sits on the forehead in its silicone bracket.

The Fenix headband (also a separate item) is snug on my head even adjusted almost all the way out, and it isn't as stretchy as the others so feels tighter when pulled out a few inches, so might be too tight for you even if it fit (unless you need it very snug for running or something). It has two plastic screw-down side brackets that will take lights up to about 7/8" diameter or maybe a bit less, with a minimum of about 5/8" or so.

Note that a problem with side-of-head mounting is glare, esp. if you wear glasses.

If none of those work, between a camping store and a fabric store you could probably get stretchy webbing and buckles and such and put something together yourself.

 

[vaska]

most designers understandably don't worry about fit considerations for sizes that are 3 standard deviations larger than the median.

Help, anyone?

But they worry about the ability of using their headband with a helmet.

 

[vtunderground]

What vaska said... Every headlamp I've owned will adjust loose enough to fit around a Petzl Ecrin Roc caving helmet, with plenty of elastic strap to spare. I wouldn't be too worried.

 

[MikeAusC]

Despite the price of $3.45, this Headband is very well made, is designed for large headlamps and is comfortable, because the straps are wide.

dealextreme sku.32755

 

[FroggyTaco]

I also have a 7 7/8 head & the zebralight straps fit very easily.

 

[andrew123]

I just received my ITP H01 from goinggear. I loosened the strap as much as it would go and measured a 24" circumference. that is not stretched at all.

 

[lemlux]

Thanks, guys, for your helpful and comforting comments.

Any idea if the AA sized loops on the Nitecore will hold (without wiggle) an e2 body? I have a pair of e2's with Nailbender-modified KL4's with 3 level 1.4A XP-Gs for throw and a pair of 1.0A Kuku 2-level drop-ins for flood. I can play around to see which three are best in combination.

Or will I only be able to fit my fenix PD30 which is a little too throwy for a headband in my opinion?

btw- I drive all of these with Panasonic CGR1760HG cells I was able to find a few years ago which still deliver between 1.6 and 1.78 mAh. I have enough cells to carry 2 changes for each light so I can run them pretty brightly without worrying about going dark.

 

[cistallus]

When you say "e2" - looking at SureFire's web site, the first one I see is E2D LED Defender - 2-CR123, says 1" bezel, body diameter not stated but looks similar. I have a JetBeam Jet-III M of similar size, about 1" body diameter.

It's really too big a light to fit in this headband - I did manage to push it into one of the top elastic loops with a bit of difficulty. I think it would likely just flop around too much even when secured by both top loops (flop left and right). (Note that each side only has a single loop).

So I don't think a 2-CR123 light is suitable - for this headband you'd want a single AA or AAA or CR123 - I did try it with my Mini 123 and that works fairly well.

Have you considered a dedicated headlamp, like the SureFire Saint or Saint Minimus, or others? I don't know if they fit (I have no dedicated ones) but if you found one that did, it might be the best solution.

 

[lemlux]

My older e2 bodies have a max OD of about 0.82" as compared to my PD30 which measures 0.85" max OD including tailcap. These are both much thinner than 1.00" you guesstimated for your assessment. Heads of each are larger,but would lie forward of the loops.

My minimag bodies, by comparison, measure out at 0.71" OD.

Does the elastic really only accomodate > 0.71" and <0.82"?

 

[cistallus]

Hmm, you're right, my Mini 123 is about 0.8" diameter.

So I guess the most important thing is to have low overall mass so they don't flop around much.

For a minimum: I'd say my LiteFlux LF2X is about 0.55", and it's not really held well by the NiteCore headband loops - although it actually works well on the top band, with its clip helping to hold it to the rear loop, the front loop steadying it, and the slight pressure against my head flattening the loops enough to hold it fairly securely.

The ads for the headband say 24.5mm diameter flashlight, but I'd say a bit less, like 0.8", is easier to put in place or remove and is still held snugly.