New Pelican HeadsUP 1w LED

[Dale]

Anyone seen/used the new Peli 2680 headlamp. Waterproof to 152m (deeper than I can hold my breath.) Uses Pelicans recoil technology.

I'm looking at either the 2630 or the 2680 for wildfire night shift work, boat work, and the odd bit of caving.


If the 2680 has variable output, it might be just be what I'm looking for.

Would be interested in opinions/observations.

Dale

 

[wasBlinded]

The 2680 will have a strong spot beam, while the 2630 beam is wider. The 2630 will have better weight balance, with the 3 cell pack at the back of the head, while the 2680 has 4 cells up front with the light head.

 

[Beaker]

I just tried out a 2630 for the first time (caving) yesterday. Very nice, on the whole. Well-built, solid design, great battery life (even on full power)... my only complain is that it isn't focusable, and the beam is sometimes a bit too "spot" (vs flood) for my needs, but on the whole, an excellent deal at $40 and completely suitable for my purposes.

 

[jdriller]

Does the 2630 use a side emitter?

 

[robk]

Yes, the 2630 uses a side emitter with a reflector. Quite bright, I use NiMH cells, high power is good for over 3 hours with 2500mAh cells. Very white, good spot with ample spill. Highly recommended!
Rob

 

[StuU]

I just recieved a 2630 last week. It's not too bad tho I am less impressed with the beam now than when I first tried it out. The beam on medium is a lot like the UK 4AA eled but has more remnants than the eled. Really too much spot- on high, I can illuminate deer at 75 yards plus.

Otherwise a solid package. Two head straps. Very tough battery holder with waterproofing gaskets. Well-designed connector between light & battery holder. Switch feels average. My 2630 did not have the strobe setting.

I am thinking of modding the this light with a high-dome luxeon and either a 17mm reflector or an NX01 optic. Of course, I prefer more of a flood on my headlamps.

Also, somebody recently posted an Ebay link that showed an offbrand headlamp that looked identical to the Pelican 2630 with a starting bid of $17.99.

Stu

 

[jdriller]

Thanks, Robk

 

[Dale]

Sounds like the 2630 is pretty good, still no one has a view on the 2680, apart from what can be reasonably interpereted from Pelicans web site?

 

[AlanR]

I picked up 3 - 2680's last night.

They are very bright but also very spot. Too much for caving but they should be OK for scuba. The LED/reflector module is removable so it should be possible for Pelican to make a wider beam version.

The package and instructions for the 2680 don't say or indicate that they are waterproof, but the Pelican web site does. Both the light cover and battery cover are O-ringed (the light cover is double O-ringed) I haven't disassembled the switch to check how well it's sealed - it feels a little to easy to have the same seal as the battery cover.

Two of the 2680's are going to Belize tonight for scuba diving and One is going caving, I'll let you know how they work out in a week or so.

-AlanR

 

[Dale]

Thanks,

The beam pattern seems to be the restricting element for walking,scrambling and rock hopping! Look forward to the review after the trip.

Have, in the meantime, purchased a 2630. (I also own a M6 LED, nice light over 20-50m.)

-Dale

 

[Mattman]

Can you actually use a headlight for diving? The last mask I had on would have made me wear the light up precariously on the top of my head. I never even thought of using a headlamp until one of my diver buddies saw the "H2O 1M" marking on the front of my EOS and remarked that it would be nice if it went deeper. I'm interested in hearing how they work out for diving in Belize.

 

[vtunderground]

Well, My 2630 arrived today. To be honest, I'm a little dissapointed. The plastic feels cheaper than the plastic PT uses, and the straps are 2/3 as wide and 1/2 as thick as PT's. Also, and this is a big thing, why on earth didn't the use a lambertian LED??? I tried the Pelican reflector on a lambertian 1-watt star, and the beam was beautiful! I have no idea why they chose to use a side-emitter. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif I'm trying to decide what to do about that...

Initial verdict: I should have saved my $$$ for the PT Apex /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

edit: Oh yeah, it has the whitest beam I've ever seen from a side-emitter. That alone may keep me from replacing the star with a high dome.

 

[StuU]

vtunderground- I had the same impression as you about the 2630. But I just modded mine with a Q-bin 1-watt luxeon and a SO17 reflector. It now is much much improved with a large hotspot and wide spill. An easy mod.

 

[AlanR]

Follow up on the Pelican 2680\'s

I'm back from Belize!

We took the 2680's down to 60' Scuba diving, no leeks. (I should have taken it on my 146' Blue Hole dive)
The spot is about as bright as the spot of my C-8 Pelican dive light BUT the C-8 gives a total wider view. The color is about the same as a HID light so didn't screw up the people shooting video. It was very hard to wear it underwater but both of us managed to keep them on.
Overall dive conclusion: Adequate for a primary light but just barely.

My brother took his 2680 caving (in Belize also). He got two and a half days of caving out of one set of batteries (Very good). It was bright enough to light up anything at any distance in the caves but not wide enough to light up the whole cave at once.
Overall caving conclusion: Very good, but needs to be wider beam. My brother may switch over to this light for caving.

We are looking into ways of re-focusing this light. if it works, I'll let you know.

Post questions if you have them.
-AlanR

 

[vtunderground]

Thanks to Photon Fanatic, I got a Lambertian TWOJ Lux-III star in the mail today. After installing it in my Pelican 2630, I was faced with the worst "donut-hole" beam I'd ever seen. After some examination, I realized that the aluminum part of Lux-III stars is twice as thick as the aluminum part of Lux-I stars - this was keeping the emitter from protruding far enough into the reflector to get a decent beam.

So, after much cursing, the TWOJ sat nicely on the star formerly occupied by the stock side-emitter (don't ask how I removed the side-emitter without damaging the star, it wasn't pretty). Everything went back together, and I was quite happy to see the nicest beam of any of my headlamps (and nicer than most of my flashlights). It seems slightly brighter than before, too. I guess this headlamp has some potential after all /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

before:

After:

(those rings are from jpg compression, the beam itself is perfectly smooth)

I'm a LOT happier with this headlamp than I was before, but I'll save my final verdict until after I have a chance to use it underground /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Beaker]

Re: Follow up on the Pelican 2680\'s

[ QUOTE ]
Overall caving conclusion: Very good, but needs to be wider beam. My brother may switch over to this light for caving.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, I would concur, after trying mine on one caving trip. (These were smallish California caves, so YMMV in larger caves elsewhere.) Overall very nice, but focusability would really make a HUGE difference.

 

[AlanR]

Re: Follow up on the Pelican 2680\'s

[ QUOTE ]
Beaker said:
[ QUOTE ]
Overall caving conclusion: Very good, but needs to be wider beam. My brother may switch over to this light for caving.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, I would concur, after trying mine on one caving trip. (These were smallish California caves, so YMMV in larger caves elsewhere.) Overall very nice, but focusability would really make a HUGE difference.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dude, Do I know you? I'm in the So. Cal. Grotto. The only other California caver I know with a 2680 is Doug of the D. Dogs.

If your in So Cal, you should join the So Cal or another grotto (Desert Dogs or San Diego).



-AlanR.

 

[Beaker]

Re: Follow up on the Pelican 2680\'s

I don't think so, unless we met at the Western Regional this year -- I'm with the Diablo Grotto in Oakland.