Looking for some feedback on the Photon Fusion Headlamp. How does the Fusion compare to ,lets say , an eternalight in brightness and throw, useful bright runtime? Want a light weight headlamp with good runtime that is brighter and has better throw than my Aurora headlamp. Prefer a light with a dimmer function. It needs to be tough because my lights get used and abused.Thanks
Photon Fusion
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Streak
Enlightened
I like my Fusion. It's clever design allows it to be used as a handheld flashlight as well.
It's not exactly compact (compared to say the Petzl Tikka/Zipka) with it 3xAAA battery compartment and fairly large head but operates really well with all the modes.
Make sure the model you get has the upgraded battery case, the clip on the cover of the old one was quite weak.
It's not exactly compact (compared to say the Petzl Tikka/Zipka) with it 3xAAA battery compartment and fairly large head but operates really well with all the modes.
Make sure the model you get has the upgraded battery case, the clip on the cover of the old one was quite weak.
I took a chance and ordered one from paramagic1 on Ebay,53.00 shipped USPS Priority. I emailed him beforehand about the weak battery latch issue and questioned him about how long he had his inventory. He said that he had sold many Fusions and had not had any complaints and only had his current stock for a month.I should get it sometime next week. So we'll see.I looked at Craig's review and noticed that the meter readings were about the same as the eternalight. Hopefully in real use it will produce more usable light than my eternalight. Main reason I am buying the Fusion because its regulated and of course its a headlamp(my weakness). I have an Aurora headlamp and its advertised as a 150 hour light but that is very misleading. I probably get less than 10 hours of good light on high. Everything from there is downhill.
APW
Newly Enlightened
The upgraded clip is a must. I have had 2 replacements due to the weak clip. The new batch also comes with belt-clip and a pouch.
Lantern Jack O.
Enlightened
chanik
Newly Enlightened
The high bright mode on fusion lasts ~10hrs on fresh alkalines with a fairly flat output level since it is switching regulator based. After that the light is usable for many more hours in medium mode and then dim mode. Medium and dim are 4x and 16x longer and dimmer respectively.
Lantern Jack O.
Enlightened
Okay, mine arrived today from brightguy. I'm impressed with the light output, and the dimmer feature. This is the newer model with pouch, belt clip, and (I suppose) the new battery cover.
Had trouble removing the headband clip until I pried up on the catch with a flathead screwdriver.
This seems a very useful light that can replace at least a couple of other lights. I'll likely be using it in handheld or "table" mode as much as the headlamp mode. The wide, even beam pattern is quite nice, and suprisingly bright.
Had trouble removing the headband clip until I pried up on the catch with a flathead screwdriver.
This seems a very useful light that can replace at least a couple of other lights. I'll likely be using it in handheld or "table" mode as much as the headlamp mode. The wide, even beam pattern is quite nice, and suprisingly bright.
Luminocity
Newly Enlightened
I love my Fusion. It has proven quite useful for night fishing, camping, and working in the attic.
I run it with NIMH 1800 MAH batts, so operating costs are very inexpensive for me. I just keep an extra set of batts in the carrying pouch when I take the light on a trip. That has worked out really well so far.
As far as price goes, you can get it for $39.95 at BotachTactical.com. Be forwarned though that some folks have run into issues with this supplier. However, I purchased my first Fusion from them and had no troubles at all. From what I understand, they seem to do OK on smaller orders, but can have problems with larger orders. If it were me and I only wanted one unit, I would get it from them. The price is just too low to pass up. If you don't want to deal with these folks, i too have dealt with Paramagic1 with great results.
As far as the improved battery cover latch goes, don't worry if you get the older one. You can just email the manufacturer to request a free replacement. Heck, I came out pretty good on that deal. I had to request improved battery compartments for the 3 Fusions that I purchased. They sent the replacements along with 3 complementary yellow Photon 2 lights. Then they goofed and sent me 3 more replacment battery packs and 3 more yellow Photon 2's!!! Then they sent one more battery compartment and Photon 3 light. The same thing happened to a friend of mine who requested his replacements at that same time. You might not get all the extra replacement stuff like we did, but I bet you would at least get a free Photon light. Not a bad deal! Just have to baby the old battery case cover/latch until your replacement arrives. That is what I did. The replacements arrived before the old latch had a chance to fail. Most likely though, you will get the new and improved latch as it has been available for some time now.
Best of luck to you!
I run it with NIMH 1800 MAH batts, so operating costs are very inexpensive for me. I just keep an extra set of batts in the carrying pouch when I take the light on a trip. That has worked out really well so far.
As far as price goes, you can get it for $39.95 at BotachTactical.com. Be forwarned though that some folks have run into issues with this supplier. However, I purchased my first Fusion from them and had no troubles at all. From what I understand, they seem to do OK on smaller orders, but can have problems with larger orders. If it were me and I only wanted one unit, I would get it from them. The price is just too low to pass up. If you don't want to deal with these folks, i too have dealt with Paramagic1 with great results.
As far as the improved battery cover latch goes, don't worry if you get the older one. You can just email the manufacturer to request a free replacement. Heck, I came out pretty good on that deal. I had to request improved battery compartments for the 3 Fusions that I purchased. They sent the replacements along with 3 complementary yellow Photon 2 lights. Then they goofed and sent me 3 more replacment battery packs and 3 more yellow Photon 2's!!! Then they sent one more battery compartment and Photon 3 light. The same thing happened to a friend of mine who requested his replacements at that same time. You might not get all the extra replacement stuff like we did, but I bet you would at least get a free Photon light. Not a bad deal! Just have to baby the old battery case cover/latch until your replacement arrives. That is what I did. The replacements arrived before the old latch had a chance to fail. Most likely though, you will get the new and improved latch as it has been available for some time now.
Best of luck to you!
Lasernerd
Enlightened
Photon Fusion Rocks!
There is a newer version with an additional Red LED in it.
