Glennbo
Newly Enlightened
I love my Princeton Tec Apex Pro headlamp, and use it just about every day. I put about four hours a week runtime on it, and I've had it since last October, so...about ten months. It's worked incredibly well, and I rely on it so much I bought another one as a backup. Good thing I did because my primary has failed.
On a late night walk this week the light wouldn't stay on. I had to hold down the on/off switch for it to light, and the LEDs were VERY dim. I stopped, put in new batteries, and same thing. I had to hold down the on/off switch for it to light, and the light was very dim.
This discouraged me to no end. We're talking about a $90 headlamp here that I've only subjected to regular use for less than a year. But after I got home I tried it again and it lit up just fine!
However the next time I turned it on during my nightly walk home from work it freakishly had the same VERY dim lights...but this time it wouldn't turn off! I had to actually unscrew the battery case and physically disconnect the batteries for it to turn off! The switches were completely unresponsive. This condition is the exact opposite of not staying turned on, except that the LEDs are the same amount dim.
And this time the headlamp has not miraculously recovered and started working again on its own. I have scoured the headlamp for any external damage but there is none. I have been using the same cr123 batteries (Nuon) that I used all winter long without problems. I admit that I tested some Li-on rechargable batteries in it for about a week during the second month I owned it. I wasn't happy with the results (low runtimes) and so returned to using regular cr123s, and everything was fine afterwards.
I'm royally bummed out. Thank goodness I have my backup because I walk one mile home from work evry night and really need my headlamp, if for nothing else other than to keep from tripping on unseen potholes. I'll tell you, once you get used to a good headlamp lighting your way it's a living hell walking home in the dark without it. I'm also somewhat embarrassed because I just recently bragged about how great this headlamp is on the "Favorite Headlamp" thread on this very forum!
Before I send it off to Princeton Tec for a post-mortem and hopefully some restitution, I thought I'd ask the brain trust here if they have any idea of what went wrong with my favorite, most used and loved light. :mecry:
And since I've never had to send a light back to the manufacturer before, or anything else for that matter, what's the best way to go about it so that I can get it repaired or replaced? Does anyone have any experience with Princeton Tec's customer service?
On a late night walk this week the light wouldn't stay on. I had to hold down the on/off switch for it to light, and the LEDs were VERY dim. I stopped, put in new batteries, and same thing. I had to hold down the on/off switch for it to light, and the light was very dim.
This discouraged me to no end. We're talking about a $90 headlamp here that I've only subjected to regular use for less than a year. But after I got home I tried it again and it lit up just fine!
However the next time I turned it on during my nightly walk home from work it freakishly had the same VERY dim lights...but this time it wouldn't turn off! I had to actually unscrew the battery case and physically disconnect the batteries for it to turn off! The switches were completely unresponsive. This condition is the exact opposite of not staying turned on, except that the LEDs are the same amount dim.
And this time the headlamp has not miraculously recovered and started working again on its own. I have scoured the headlamp for any external damage but there is none. I have been using the same cr123 batteries (Nuon) that I used all winter long without problems. I admit that I tested some Li-on rechargable batteries in it for about a week during the second month I owned it. I wasn't happy with the results (low runtimes) and so returned to using regular cr123s, and everything was fine afterwards.
I'm royally bummed out. Thank goodness I have my backup because I walk one mile home from work evry night and really need my headlamp, if for nothing else other than to keep from tripping on unseen potholes. I'll tell you, once you get used to a good headlamp lighting your way it's a living hell walking home in the dark without it. I'm also somewhat embarrassed because I just recently bragged about how great this headlamp is on the "Favorite Headlamp" thread on this very forum!
Before I send it off to Princeton Tec for a post-mortem and hopefully some restitution, I thought I'd ask the brain trust here if they have any idea of what went wrong with my favorite, most used and loved light. :mecry:
And since I've never had to send a light back to the manufacturer before, or anything else for that matter, what's the best way to go about it so that I can get it repaired or replaced? Does anyone have any experience with Princeton Tec's customer service?
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