Mammut Lucido X-Zoom Headlamp?

[wrath]

Has anyone ever played with one of these headlamps?

Mammut Lucido X-Zoom Headlamp

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FBPRQK/?tag=cpf0b6-20

 

[Marduke]

Re: Headlamp ?

Have you tried searching for it?

 

[tnforever]

Re: Headlamp ?

btw, you have to upload your pictures onto a website before we can see it, you can't just link it from your computer

 

[yowzer]

I've looked at the light in stores, but for $99 or so retail, it doesn't seem worth it. I think the LED is still a luxeon like Mammut's 1-watt headlamps (The TX1 and TXlite (The latter at least is a great light despite that, and would be really sweet with a modern LED))... it's hard to tell through the optic, though. Considering you can get Petzl's RXP for less money, and in it get more flexibility when it comes to output modes, and a smaller light to boot... I'm passing this one up when it comes to time to get a new high-power headlamp.

To the guy who suggested searching: Did you try first? It's not a headlamp that's gotten any discussion here. None of the Mammut ones have had any to speak of.

 

[PhantomPhoton]

I've seen this one at REI.com, but I haven't gone into REI yet to see if there's one on display. I intend to investigate though as soon as I can. Hopefully I can find out what kind of emitter is in there. I wonder if they'll look at me funny if I sit in the store for a few hours with it on to determine if it's well regulated.

If you're an REI member every once in awhile you'll get a coupon for 20% off an item, so if you wait a bit you may be able to score one a bit cheaper than retail that way. I don't know of many other places in the states to find Mammut stuff.

 

[gooseman]

I've seen this one at REI.com, but I haven't gone into REI yet to see if there's one on display. I intend to investigate though as soon as I can. Hopefully I can find out what kind of emitter is in there. I wonder if they'll look at me funny if I sit in the store for a few hours with it on to determine if it's well regulated.

If you're an REI member every once in awhile you'll get a coupon for 20% off an item, so if you wait a bit you may be able to score one a bit cheaper than retail that way. I don't know of many other places in the states to find Mammut stuff.

According to a Mammut customer service rep in the UK, the light is not regulated.

 

[PhantomPhoton]

According to a Mammut customer service rep in the UK, the light is not regulated.

Another good potential light goes down the drain due to cheap design if this is true. I'm okay with a $25 headlamp not being regulated, but for something over the $75 mark... One would think Mammut would add a bit of shielding and a circuit that regulates for most of the battery life before dropping down to a lower level. Seriously, this isn't rocket science.

 

[yowzer]

I think the LED is still a luxeon like Mammut's 1-watt headlamps ...

I looked at one in a store again today, and it sports a TFFC-ized Rebel LED, not a Luxeon I (or III? I don't know how to tell them apart) like the other Mammuts.

 

[yowzer]

I don't know of many other places in the states to find Mammut stuff.

There are a few outdoors stores in the greater Seattle area that carry Mammut gear and clothing, including the headlamps; when it comes to those, Feathered Friends and Marmot Mountain Works have more models in stock than the downtown REI.

 

[PhantomPhoton]

I'll have to go searching the smaller shops in the Portland area. REI doesn't have any of the Mammut stuff out on display yet.

 

[kwieto]

I bought this headlamp recenty, and I found in the manual nice table containing informations about the light distance at certain times.
I couldn't find it when I was searching for the data about this headlamp before, so maybe it will be usefull for others:

Interesting is comparison with Myo RXP - even though Myo is regulated, after 10 hours the light range is about 3 times shorter than in X-zoom

 

[wrath]

So are you saying that the Mammut is brighter than the myo rxp?

 

[tnuckels]

I think often a larger (up to a point) reflector will achieve better results gathering and especially throwing light. You'll sometimes see a different front end listed as a turbo-head for a light because it does a better job than the standard head, though both use the same guts and tail end to produce the light. The cost is a larger and heavier front end. Also I noticed that the X-Zoom lists a 5° angle in spot mode, which is quite narrow. Narrower beams also tend to throw farther. So, it's quite possible that at 30h the X-Zoom can throw 3x farther than the RXP, though possibly illuminating a smaller swatch in the process. It's all a mater of compromises and trade offs.

Don't mean to knock the X-Zoom at all, but every manufacturer presents their figures in the most flattering light, so to speak. It's up to us to then figure what degree of slight of hand they are using and what the numbers really mean.

 

[kwieto]

So are you saying that the Mammut is brighter than the myo rxp?

I don't have Myo RXP, so this are only my supposings. I am telling about Myo RXP because I considered that model against X-zoom, so I did some comparisons "on the paper".

Surprisingly (for me) on fresh batteries (included alkalines) X-zoom reaches the distance about 120m easily. I tested it yesterday in the "city night" (so there was no full darkness, but street lamps, lights from cars and buildings), and the spot was pretty visible on the building which is c.a. 120-140m far.

Then compare the table which I presented before, with similar about Petzl:

As you see, the light is regulated quite short time for higher output levels.
In fact, according to the specifications, regulated times above level 4 are pretty shord (4h for level 5 and only 1h for level 7)
After 30 minutes of lighting, X-zoom on the LOW selection should achieve similar distance as Myo RXP on the level 5 (MID)
And the light is lasting about 3 times longer than RXP (300h for the lowest and 120h for the highest setting, comparing to the 97 and 50h for the RXP)

This may make this headlamp very good especially for longer camping - you can take one or two replacement battery packs less :")

Funny thing is that the light on the narrowest setting is square... with very sharp edges.

 

[yowzer]

Don't mean to knock the X-Zoom at all, but every manufacturer presents their figures in the most flattering light, so to speak. It's up to us to then figure what degree of slight of hand they are using and what the numbers really mean.

Mammut takes the 'X distance at which the light still generates .25 lux' approach. The maximum runtime is calculated based on .25 lux at 2 meters distance.

Funny thing is that the light on the narrowest setting is square... with very sharp edges.

The only rebel-equipped flashlight I have has a square hotspot too (Riverrock Nightfire 2AA focusable from Target.) It might be an artifact of the LED, like cree rings...

 

[PhantomPhoton]

A square hotspot comes from an optic or very focused reflector which projects an image of the die. All aspherical mods and such as well as very focused optics and parabolic "recoil" reflectors do this. It has nothing to do with the rebel LED just the optics used in the light.

 

[yellow]

as to regulation <-> non-regulation.
Sure, I like regulation too, but we all know to handle it.

99 % of headlamp users wont notice (or even understand the concept) but would notice and rant, if their lamp "stops working at just 3, 4, 5 hours of runtime"

Thats why most of them behave direct-drivish, even when they have drivers inside

 

[kwieto]

I think it depends on the needs of the user.

For those who need to have good light during a night run or other activity like that, the regulated light will be more suitable - they will get constant light for some time (the less long as the more bright setting is used).
Looking at The Myo RXP specification - the LOW/MID setting (level 4) gives 10 hours of the constant lighting, which means more or less one whole night of usage. Then you replace/recharge batteries and you are ready for the next night adventure.

From the other hand, the regulated light drains batteries faster than the non-regulated, because it need to take more power to step it up when the batteries become more and more used.

So for those whose priority is the time of lighting, non regulated lamp can be better solution. OK, the light starts to be dimmer from the very begining, but it lights longer as a total.
The second reason is that the light is regulated only for some time - then it becomes to behave as non regulated. So you have very bright light for some period, and then accidentaly the light drops its range rapidly (depending on the level of lightness set) when exhausted batteries went out from the "regulated period".
In fact, when the regulated lamp gets batteries too drained to keep the regulated light, you can see the advantage of the non regulated lamp, which should be brighter at the same time.

This is why for me the interesting test would be to compare different lamps after certain times of usage - i.e. t=0 t=5h, t=10h, ....

 

[kwieto]

A square hotspot comes from an optic or very focused reflector which projects an image of the die.

You are right. If you get the light close enough to the wall, you can even see the delicate net of the darker points - same as you see on the Rebel die:

 

[yowzer]

A square hotspot comes from an optic or very focused reflector which projects an image of the die. All aspherical mods and such as well as very focused optics and parabolic "recoil" reflectors do this. It has nothing to do with the rebel LED just the optics used in the light.

That's interesting. I have a headlamp (A mammut one, to make it vaguely on topic) with the same style optic as that flashlight and it doesn't have a square beam. I don't have a camera handy, and don't know what the proper name for the shape is... It's a concave dish with a convex hemisphere bulging out of the center, basically.