headlamp/thrower recommendation

[toga]

Hello everyone,

I found this forum recently while looking for a lighting solution for search and rescue. I have been using an old mag 2c, but the thing is pretty darn heavy. I did some searches on SAR recommendations here, but the results were pretty old, and from what I've read, lighting has come a long way in the past couple years. After reading around these forums for a few days and realizing that I still don't know too much, here's what I'm thinking:

Zebralight H50 headlamp for flood
and
Surefire G2L or Fenix T1 for throw

I want the headlamp to be flood, because that's more useful for general purpose trail walking. I was then thinking a handheld thrower for looking for specific objects at a distance (e.g., trails) when needed. When training, I've found that relying on a spot for my primary light is actually a bad thing because it (i) doesn't let me see the branch that inevitably flys back into my face from the person in front of me and (ii) totally wrecks my peripheral vision. I was thinking that the flood of an H50 would pretty much take care of branches taking out an eye.

I looked at some BD and Petzl headlamps in a store nearby. I dislike the clicking mechanism of the BD, and I find 6 modes with a flash to be totally useless and distracting. Low-med-high is just perfect for me. I don't have a bad feeling about Petzl, but they are heavier than a ZL.

I don't usually have a hard time finding trails, so a spot isn't necessary all the time. For this reason, I don't mind having the thrower in my hand. From the looks of things, the size of both the T1 and G2L are comfortable enough to carry around without feeling like I have an extra bludgeon.

As far as power sources, I definitely want the headlamp to have a rechargeable source (e.g., AA NiMH). Because the thrower will be used less often, non-rechargeable is ok, provided the batteries are reliable in the cold (i.e., not alkaline).

My questions for the experts are as follows.
1. Is my logic sound, or should I be looking in a totally different direction?
2. Does anyone do SAR with an H50? Does the wide flood cause problems with others walking along?
3. I see great reviews for both the T1 and G2L, but I am unclear on how to choose between the two. Any thoughts?

Thanks, in advance, for suggestions!

EDIT: Oh, and the lights must be water-resistant. I am not planning on diving with these things, but if they go out in the rain, that's a huge problem!

 

[Hog]

I use my PT Apex pro in the woods all the time.
It is easy to switch between flood & throw when necessary.
I use protected RCR 123's & carry a spare pair with me, not really necessary unless using high mode alot, but when trailing game at night I don't want it cutting off unexpectedly which it will do using protecteds.
Hog

 

[Empyfree]

a few points to consider.

1) This should probably be in the "general flashlight discussion" forum, you'll get a lot more response there regarding the throw lights. If you smile sweetly enought a nice moderator might move the whole thread there for you!

2) All the lights you mentioned are excellent, they're also all water resistant.

3) the H50 would be my suggestion for generall walking and maintaining peripheral vision. I have never had anybody complain to me about glare unless they were walking towards me!

4) The choice between surefire and other brands is less about quality these days than it is about brand loyalty.

5) have you considered a more dedicated "throw" light? look in the review section for lights such as the raidfire spear, DBS, even an upgraded maglite with a malkoff drop in.

6) Big thanks to you and all SAR folk, You deserve to get some decent kit!

 

[mdocod]

things to consider:

if you want rechargeable solutions that are going to give long runtimes for SAR work, avoid the Fenix and the Surefire, the rechargeable solutions for them have short runtimes. If you are planning on feeding CR123s then never-mind..

As emtyfree pointed out there are quite a few lights out there that re VERY throw oriented that use the new Cree Q5 emitters, so they are also very efficient and decently bright. Many of them are compatible with 18650 size Li-Ion cells, so they have a good rechargeable solution with lots of energy density (about the same amount of power as 3xAA but in a smaller package). The DereeLight DBS, Tiablo A8, Raidfire Spear, LumaPower MRV, Wolf-Eyes 6MA HO Cree, all worth a look. There are others in this class just can't think of them at the moment.

 

[DM51]

Hello toga, welcome to CPF - and thank you for your PM.

I see Empyfree's point about moving this to 'General Flashlights', but this could be argued either way. The headlamp half of your question is just as important to get right, and this is the right forum to discuss that, so let's leave the thread here for a while and see how it goes. It can be moved later if necessary.

If you visit the other sections you will see a plethora of threads discussing small handheld lights with good throw, and there will probably be many that will fit your requirement very well. There is nothing to stop you joining in the discussions there, and asking questions about lights you are interested in. You can start a new thread there too, if you wish, although it must not be a duplicate in any way of this one.

Empyfree, Hog and mdocod have given you some good ideas to consider. You may soon find your head swimming with all the other advice available here on CPF...

 

[Rzr800]

Great advice and commentary that brings to mind what the upcoming single 18650 Zebralight or any other similiar headlamp should look like design-wise if throwing is a focus. After carrying the Spear for awhile; it sure would be nice to see how that same beam pattern could be used hands-free both on high and low for pretty much a do everything light as the H50 seems to be now.

 

[mdocod]

to be honest, I haven't seen very many SAR dedicated lights on the market, what I really want to see, is a plastic bodied light with an aluminum head for heat dissipation, large format, like 3-4D, to be run on NIMH D cells, with a cree driven to a comfortable ~750mA, nice tight focus. The plastic body is so you can grasp the thing on cold nights without the cold going right to the bone. It might not be the brightest performer out there, or the most compact, but it would run all night on a single charge which IMO is very important for SAR stuff.

 

[toga]

I wanted to post a quick update here on this combo. I ended up deciding on a Zebralight headlamp and a Fenix T1 for throw.

First, having a flood headlamp and thrower in hand is an awesome combination. The flood takes care of short-range things (e.g., that patch of ice you're about to slip on) and being able to aim the throw without having to turn my head is very helpful.

I mostly use the ZL, because most of my time is spent walking around. The battery life of the headlamp on low is awesome. Also, I really like how low the low is...unlike really bright headlamps, having such a low low doesn't totally wreck my vision outside the lit bubble around me. For the most part, I can see around me just fine with only my headlamp on. The low low is also nice because it puts out just enough light at a distance to see the reflection from my dog's vest without being overpowering. The two-hand operation doesn't bug me that much, and I really like how easy it is to rotate the light so I can turn it away from someone instead of blinding them (I usually rotate it downward so it sort of lights up my face...makes it easy for whoever I am talking to). Oh, and the ridiculously low weight is fantastic! The shipping was slow, and that sucked, but overall I am very happy with the ZL.

I chose the Fenix T1 mostly due to the testing done by members of these forums. I think the picture that sold me was when someone baked it inside a loaf of bread and it still worked. I like the size of the T1 as it fits well inside any pocket but is large enough that I don't worry about losing it. I almost only use it on "low" which is still pretty damn bright. (Really, I just turn it on "high" to show off!) The clicky on/off is great for one-handed operation if I want to briefly light up an area at some distance from me. The throw is plenty; when it is pitch black out and you are in the woods, you don't really need the strongest thrower on the planet to see what you need to see. I got the T1 in olive, and the color is pretty sweet. I am very happy with the T1 and the guy from fenix-store (David?) was very nice in responding to my emails.

The main down side of this setup so far is that some of my SAR teammates have ridiculously bright headlamps that ruin my ability to use the ZL on low. In these cases, I turn it to medium and find that my headlamp balances the light output of theirs sufficiently that I can still see in front of me. It's really not a big deal, to be honest.

The other thing I have noticed (which was well said in this thread) is that the metal housing of the T1 gets damn cold in the winter here (Mass). Since I prefer a metal flashlight over plastic for durability issues anyway, this is just something I deal with. I get around the cold housing by putting the light in my pocket when I am not using it, so it stays relatively warm.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback (both in this thread and across the rest of the forums).

Cheers,
toga