Need info from owners of energizer headlamp please.

[Jaygnar]

I need some info on a particular energizer hard case headlamp.
http://www.botachtactical.com/enhaprhe.html
What I need to know is:
1- How does the switching work? Specifically can you switch directly to the red leds without cycling through anything else?

2- How would you rate the water resistance of this light? Do you think you could use it in the rain without it shorting out?

Please Lemmie Know. Thanks.

 

[Marduke]

There are two switches on top of the light. The one controls the white, the other red and green. The white switch is high > low. The colored switch is red > green.

I would feel totally comfortable taking the light out in a rain. The battery compartment is sealed decently with a rubber seal. I use this light for caving and so far it has taken a pretty decent beating.

 

[Jaygnar]

Thanks for the quick response Marduke.
I was unsure if I would get anybody at all to respond.
I have a couple more for you.
What do you think of the light overall for the money?
Have you tried energizer lithiums in it?

 

[Marduke]

I think it is a great value for the money. It's just as well built as headlamps twice it's price. No, I have not used L91's in it due to price. I have been using Duracell 2650's and Rayovac Hybrids in it. I used it continuously on a 6.5 hour trip and the cells still had a good deal of juice left when I got home and checked them.

The only tweak I had to make was when the diffuser was down, some light refracted through it into my eyes. So I roughed up the top clip part of the diffuser with some sand paper and hit it with a sharpie marker. Problem solved.

 

[Jaygnar]

Thanks again.
I think this may be my next headlamp.
Just not sure what I'd use the green setting for but that's alright.

 

[Marduke]

The other headlamp which I nearly bought was the 2008 gray Myo XP, since I can get one for $70 locally. Who knows, I still may end up getting it if I can find a caving buddy some time in the future who will go with me.

 

[Jaygnar]

Yeah the Myo-xp looks awesome but I really don't have that much to spend. I think that you'd be happy with it.
I used to be able to do some caving when I lived in the mountains of western NC. I moved to northeast GA and there are no caves here.:thumbsdow
The good news is that in an hour and a half I can be back in the mountains but the gas prices are just silly right now so I'm primarily working on camping and survival skills with gardening as a second hobby.
I know there are some serious caves in south GA that I might check out if my finances get a bit more stable.

In NC most of the caves I got into were small systems with a few rooms and then generally ending up above ground again. Nothing serious. The furthest underground I ever got was maybe 50ft (excepting large cavern systems that were just (tours).

What kinda caves do you generally visit?
I don't mind hijacking my own thread but if it bothers moderators I guess I could start another thread in the breakroom.

 

[half-watt]

The other headlamp which I nearly bought was the 2008 gray Myo XP

at this point in time the (gray) '08 Myo XP is my favorite HL (though the '08 Primus PrimeLite Race w/its Rebel LED is close or equal to it). it is so very bright. in the mail to me now is an '08 Black Diamond Icon (3W + 4x5mm), and a '08 BD Spot (1W + 3x5mm), both upgraded to Cree's of an undisclosed BIN. the Icon may compete w/the MyoXP??? it will however, according my telcon w/BD, still have the narrower/smaller diameter "spot" beam of the prev. non-Cree version of the Icon. as such, the MyoXP will probably be better.

BD stated & backtracked (unless i totally misunderstood this part of the telcon, which is distinctly possible as i'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, by any means) that the 5mm LEDs may have been upgraded too. if so, on 4x5mm HI some trail hiking might be possible.

i also recently purchased an upgraded [interim - more on this in a moment] '08 PTec Apex (4xAA cells for power) which now boasts 80 lumen o.p. vs. the '07 model's 60 lumen max. o.p.

side-by-side one of my pre-08 Apex's is noticeably dimmer than the new '08 Apex.

however, what i'm really looking fwd to, is what might be released next month (August '08) according to another online retailer i recently spoke w/via telcon. next month, supposedly/possibly/hopefully PT will release an upgraded emitter version of the Apex (Cree? Rebel? SSC? - Rebel was the most likely emitter mentioned by the retailer in the telcon) which is supposed to compete favorably in terms of brightness w/the '08 MyoXP and Icon HLs.

hope this info helps.

 

[Jaygnar]

Just wondering if there are any other places that sell this light?
Anyone?

 

[Jaygnar]

Okay, pulled the trigger on this one. I've read some horror stories about Botachs customer service but I'm praying for the best. Wish me luck

 

[Jaygnar]

Well, I got the headlamp in today and everything looks solid. It's not dark yet so I haven't been able to test the light outdoors but I have a pretty big basement that I was able to test it in and I think I'll have no problems in terms of output. With the high and low mode and the red leds combined with the diffuser, I think that this is gonna be all that I need for camping. Another bonus of the diffuser is that it acts as a lens cap so I can just put the diffuser in place and toss the light in my pack without having to worry about the lens getting all scratched up. The green led may be useless except for the fact that by using just one green led alone combined with 3aa batteries should give quite a bit of runtime. Thats all for now, I'll post later about actual night in the woods performance.

 

[TorchBoy]

Re: Need info from owners of Energizer headlamp please.

I used it continuously on a 6.5 hour trip and the cells still had a good deal of juice left when I got home and checked them.

Were you using high, low, wide or narrow, and what sort of passages and chambers did the cave have?

Jaygnar, would it be more useful to non-pipe inspectors (like, well, almost everyone) if the green LED was a single 5mm white LED?

I've been keeping an eye out for this headlamp here, as other hardcase models are easy to find, but it hasn't quite got here yet. In the meantime I guess I'll continue using homemade headlamps for my caving.

 

[Jaygnar]

Re: Need info from owners of Energizer headlamp please.

Jaygnar, would it be more useful to non-pipe inspectors (like, well, almost everyone) if the green LED was a single 5mm white LED?

I guess that a white led in place of the green would be better but to tell ya the truth if I were gonna mod it (I'm not) I'd put a UV led in there for mineral and scorpion hunting.:twothumbs

 

[Jaygnar]

I took the headlamp outdoors after dark and I gotta say I'm impressed. The high mode is PLENTY of light for looking around my lawn in darkness. The low mode is easily bright enough to handle around the camp tasks. With the diffuser in place, the high mode is great for hiking at night in the woods. The diffused low mode id great for any close work that you might want to have a "floodier" beam pattern for like cooking with an alcohol stove or tasks inside the tent. The red leds without the diffuser allow for night adapted bathroom trips to the woods surrounding camp and with the diffuser, reading while preserving night vision is pleasurable.
The complaints that I have are only a few. First is the fact that when not in use, the tab that allows for manipulation of the diffuser picks up a bit of the spill from the Cree and it's annoying to have that light hovering just above your line of sight. This however is easily corrected by either applying some electrical tape to the tab to make it opaque. (which I did initially as a quick fix) Or roughing the tab up with sandpaper and applying a drop of paint, nail polish, or permanent marker to fix the problem.
The only other thing I dislike about the headlamp is entirely subjective. I like to lie on my back in my tent and read. This headlamp has a rear battery pack that makes this less comfortable than the headlamps that have the light and battery case as one piece. This is NOT A PROBLEM. I knew that the light was designed this way before I purchased it and I only mention it here because it is something I noticed. I can either simply turn over and lie on my belly and read or just take the light off my head and set it beside me so that it illuminates the page. I completely understand that the people who designed this light wanted a rear battery pack to balance the weight and it is well balanced. With 3aa batteries a single forehead mounted unit would be unwieldy at best and horrible at worst.
Overall I am pleased with the light and I hope to spend a lot more time using it. And the green led works if you want to pretend that you're the Hulk and mindlessly rage around camp but I suggest that you indulge in this only if intoxicated or alone or (preferably) both.

 

[Marduke]

Re: Need info from owners of Energizer headlamp please.

Were you using high, low, wide or narrow, and what sort of passages and chambers did the cave have?

Jaygnar, would it be more useful to non-pipe inspectors (like, well, almost everyone) if the green LED was a single 5mm white LED?

I've been keeping an eye out for this headlamp here, as other hardcase models are easy to find, but it hasn't quite got here yet. In the meantime I guess I'll continue using homemade headlamps for my caving.

The cave had a pretty good mix, of both extremely claustrophobic, and sections with a couple hundred feet visibility. I made a trip report in and older thread.

I loved putting my Cree Energizer on max with the diffuser up for lots of flood for close in crawling though the boulder piles (breakdown). In the open passages, having the diffuser down on medium worked well most of the time. Only gripe is that when the diffuser down, part of the light was reflected though the top clip part of the diffuser into my eyes, so when I got home I roughed up the top of the diffuser with some sand paper and put some black sharpie on it. Problem solved. I really put that headlamp through hell that day, and it worked like a champ. 6.5 hour trip and it survived water, mud, grit, sand, and more direct hits on the ceiling than I care to admit. Didn't even need a single battery change. The low mode was easily brighter than what most anyone else had, including the PT Apex. Best of all, it was a bargain at less than $50 delivered from Botech Tactical.