matt_j
Enlightened
Aite mates got my long awaited Saint today. Not the Minimus but the full deal. Out of the box it’s a freaking headlamp and does what it should. I put the battery in and light goes on and makes dark things bright. I first played with it without the battery pack and found it to be comfortable all around light with pretty decent coverage. Same thing when is snapped the battery pack on that courtesy of SF came preloaded with 3 batteries and courtesy of TAD Gear it came with 3 extra batteries.
Few key points:
-strap is one inch wide and it is wider than on my Princeton Apex and Petzl XP.
-instead of plastic snaps to run a power wire from battery pack and keep it from tangling surefire is using three snaps on a sleeve made out of fabric. Overkill and hard to remove but more comfortable.
-Padding is superb on the main unit as well as battery pack. Neoprene which is velcro attached makes it easy on your head. Problem is that if I snag the padding and losing while removing the headlamp on and off it than I’m in for some discomfort.
-Light beam is pretty nice but than again I’m not a good guy to talk to about hues and shades of flashlights. It is dark it makes bright end of the story. I can see a pattern from led beam if I look really hard. Again no interest to me as long as it works every time.
-On/off switch is pretty smooth to operate and has no clicks for power output dialing. It’s good for powering the light but I find it worrisome for turning it off. I want a confirmation that light is off and not for example in the lowest power setting draining battery. There is also some resistance in the rotation of the switch and in comparison to other lamps which had buttons instead of a knob this may be more difficult to operate with thick gloves but for sure there will be no accidental power ons.
-Battery pack is a monster. I’m pretty sure that if I take a bullet in the back of my head I will be saved. Cables are well tucked in and kept out of way by positioning them to be easy to tuck in. One problem is that when you install battery pack on your head band and than try to screw the power wire into the lamp module you are really fighting the wire and twist it. Problem can be solved by screwing the wire prior to attaching the battery pack but still something to remember.
-Single battery cap needs to be stored somewhere and since that battery back is huge I can’t believe SF didn’t come up with some place to put it in. Also a battery charge indicator would be nice and maybe even red led eyes in the back. Battery pack has new locks which uses tension springs and weird snaps. Not something I want to operate with cold or gloved hands but not like my Apex is any better.
-I counted 5 surefire logos. Come on… If you want me to be your billboard pay me otherwise one logo is enough. Oh and I also got a sticker.
-Supporting strap that goes across the head is utilizing plastic snap ins which is great for fast removal but since lamp is pretty much comfortable the way it is I don’t see why you need it in the first place.
Is this lamp worth $185? Nope. But since I’m a customer with addiction to headlamps and expandable income I will enjoy this product at work and outdoors. My $65 Apex (on right) has a brighter beam and battery indicator which Saint lacks. Some of the problems I mentioned about the light are pretty basic so that anyone who has used headlamps in the field would have told SF how to fix them before light went into production.
Few key points:
-strap is one inch wide and it is wider than on my Princeton Apex and Petzl XP.
-instead of plastic snaps to run a power wire from battery pack and keep it from tangling surefire is using three snaps on a sleeve made out of fabric. Overkill and hard to remove but more comfortable.
-Padding is superb on the main unit as well as battery pack. Neoprene which is velcro attached makes it easy on your head. Problem is that if I snag the padding and losing while removing the headlamp on and off it than I’m in for some discomfort.
-Light beam is pretty nice but than again I’m not a good guy to talk to about hues and shades of flashlights. It is dark it makes bright end of the story. I can see a pattern from led beam if I look really hard. Again no interest to me as long as it works every time.
-On/off switch is pretty smooth to operate and has no clicks for power output dialing. It’s good for powering the light but I find it worrisome for turning it off. I want a confirmation that light is off and not for example in the lowest power setting draining battery. There is also some resistance in the rotation of the switch and in comparison to other lamps which had buttons instead of a knob this may be more difficult to operate with thick gloves but for sure there will be no accidental power ons.
-Battery pack is a monster. I’m pretty sure that if I take a bullet in the back of my head I will be saved. Cables are well tucked in and kept out of way by positioning them to be easy to tuck in. One problem is that when you install battery pack on your head band and than try to screw the power wire into the lamp module you are really fighting the wire and twist it. Problem can be solved by screwing the wire prior to attaching the battery pack but still something to remember.
-Single battery cap needs to be stored somewhere and since that battery back is huge I can’t believe SF didn’t come up with some place to put it in. Also a battery charge indicator would be nice and maybe even red led eyes in the back. Battery pack has new locks which uses tension springs and weird snaps. Not something I want to operate with cold or gloved hands but not like my Apex is any better.
-I counted 5 surefire logos. Come on… If you want me to be your billboard pay me otherwise one logo is enough. Oh and I also got a sticker.
-Supporting strap that goes across the head is utilizing plastic snap ins which is great for fast removal but since lamp is pretty much comfortable the way it is I don’t see why you need it in the first place.
Is this lamp worth $185? Nope. But since I’m a customer with addiction to headlamps and expandable income I will enjoy this product at work and outdoors. My $65 Apex (on right) has a brighter beam and battery indicator which Saint lacks. Some of the problems I mentioned about the light are pretty basic so that anyone who has used headlamps in the field would have told SF how to fix them before light went into production.
