carrot
Flashaholic
The Princeton Tec Byte piqued my interest due to its light weight, use of 2xAAA batteries, red LED and white power LED at extremely low cost. I had hoped for some hands-on impressions from some other members but after not seeing any reviews for a year now I decided to take the plunge and try it out for myself. It cost me $20 at ****s Sporting Goods.
I have read some complaints about Princeton Tec's build quality in their recent offerings (particularly the Fuel) but I was encouraged by the low cost and the attractive features of the Byte.
I have been testing this headlamp for 3 weeks now and now stash it in my laptop bag as it is very small and convenient to have around.
Build Quality and Functional Design
It's clear that Princeton Tec has some very talented designers working on their headlamps. The headlamp is very cool-looking and clearly designed to shave every gram of weight. The result is that the Byte weighs a mere 64 grams, is incredibly compact, and has some nice touches. The Byte is not exactly a delicate flower, but it's also designed to be especially small and lightweight so I wouldn't throw it around either.
The battery compartment latch has a nice snap to it and is affixed by a stainless pin. Accidental opening of the battery compartment should be highly unlikely, although it is easy to open intentionally. I do worry that the battery latch will break, rendering the headlamp useless, since it is a common complaint in the similarly designed Fuel, but there are no indications that it will do so.
The Byte uses Princeton Tec's excellent weight-shaving and seemingly robust asymmetrical arm bracket. The lens is protected by an integral shroud on the body and prevents glare to the wearer. The entire headlamp appears to be made of high quality plastic but there appears to be no water resistant seals on the light.
I find the Byte to be comfortable to wear for long periods of time thanks to the curved base plate and extremely light weight. At times, I forgot I was even wearing the Byte, only reminded by strange looks from pedestrians.
The headlamp can be tilted and activated with one hand and has a very large range of tilt. You can light up the ceiling if you choose. The large range of motion means that you can use this headlamp around your neck instead of on your head if you so choose. One thing I really appreciate about this headlamp is that it sticks out a bit from your forehead, allowing it to just peek out a bit from a hooded sweatshirt or jacket.
I ran my usual heavy rain simulation on the Princeton Tec Byte. The light is rated IPX4 water resistance, which means that it should be fine with a few splashes or light rain. The Byte passed the test with mixed results and I did not wish to test it a second time. The light continued to work fine after the inside got wet, but the switch started acting flaky. I would click and it would skip modes. All modes were accessible, but it did require a few more clicks than usual. Once the light dried out, the switch worked fine and without issues. I may run more water intrusion tests again if there is adequate interest.
The user interface is simple: click once for red, click again for low white, click again for high white. You must always cycle through all the levels to get back to off. This is where I have to ding the Byte, because while red light is thoughtfully provided, you must always go through the white modes before turning it off. Other headlamps, such as the Princeton Tec Fred and the Petzl Tikka 2 Plus have separate red output modes so you can save your night-adapted vision.
Light Output and Runtime
Princeton Tec rates the Byte at 35 lumens and 80 hours. I believe the output rating is fairly accurate but the runtime seems a bit high. An independent test by Woods Monkey corroborates this. PT also claims 146 hours of runtime with the red LED, which I am not inclined to test but am willing to believe.
There is significant enough differentiation between the high and low white modes, although as the batteries weaken the high and low modes become one and the same. I'd like to note that when the batteries are weak enough, the red LED will not light but the white LED still will. I assume that the circuitry boosts the voltage for the white LED and is direct drive for the red.
One thing I really appreciate about this headlamp, is that rechargeable AAA batteries are often sold and charged in pairs, so if you use headlamps for long periods of time it's a snap to pop in new rechargeables. Contrast this to single-cell lights: what do you do with the second of a pair of NiMHs? If you have a nice charger with independent charging banks (I do), that's one thing, but if you're like most people and don't?
The Byte's white LED is a nice Luxeon Rebel power LED and my individual sample of one has a nice neutral tint to it. Compared to a Cree XP-G neutral white it is a good bit cooler but is definitely on the neutral side of cool.
The Byte has a fairly wide and fairly diffuse hotspot. I find it comfortable to read with. The white beam is fairly clean and free of artifacts. The red beam does have some minor artifacts but it's a far cry from being unbearable. I find both the white and the red pleasant enough to read by and in general I just enjoy using this headlamp. I did note that the white beam has fairly narrow spill but I did not feel like I was getting tunnel vision.
Conclusions
The Princeton Tec Byte offers unbeatable value (nothing else for $20 offers the compelling features it does) in a decent overall package. The user interface is my only real quibble with the light and I do not expect many people will take issue with its low water resistance since it is small enough to hide under a hood or hat.
The Byte is definitely a good choice for kids, as a backup headlamp, or to stow in your daily bag for the headlamp convenience without the size or weight or price of a "serious" headlamp. I think it would fill most people's needs for a headlamp but probably not be enough to satisfy a fully-fledged flashaholic as their only headlamp.
Recommended.
Edit: Now Cautiously Recommended, as parasitic drain on this headlamp is significant. Never store this headlamp with batteries inside.
Pictures to follow, maybe.
I have read some complaints about Princeton Tec's build quality in their recent offerings (particularly the Fuel) but I was encouraged by the low cost and the attractive features of the Byte.
I have been testing this headlamp for 3 weeks now and now stash it in my laptop bag as it is very small and convenient to have around.
Build Quality and Functional Design
It's clear that Princeton Tec has some very talented designers working on their headlamps. The headlamp is very cool-looking and clearly designed to shave every gram of weight. The result is that the Byte weighs a mere 64 grams, is incredibly compact, and has some nice touches. The Byte is not exactly a delicate flower, but it's also designed to be especially small and lightweight so I wouldn't throw it around either.
The battery compartment latch has a nice snap to it and is affixed by a stainless pin. Accidental opening of the battery compartment should be highly unlikely, although it is easy to open intentionally. I do worry that the battery latch will break, rendering the headlamp useless, since it is a common complaint in the similarly designed Fuel, but there are no indications that it will do so.
The Byte uses Princeton Tec's excellent weight-shaving and seemingly robust asymmetrical arm bracket. The lens is protected by an integral shroud on the body and prevents glare to the wearer. The entire headlamp appears to be made of high quality plastic but there appears to be no water resistant seals on the light.
I find the Byte to be comfortable to wear for long periods of time thanks to the curved base plate and extremely light weight. At times, I forgot I was even wearing the Byte, only reminded by strange looks from pedestrians.
The headlamp can be tilted and activated with one hand and has a very large range of tilt. You can light up the ceiling if you choose. The large range of motion means that you can use this headlamp around your neck instead of on your head if you so choose. One thing I really appreciate about this headlamp is that it sticks out a bit from your forehead, allowing it to just peek out a bit from a hooded sweatshirt or jacket.
I ran my usual heavy rain simulation on the Princeton Tec Byte. The light is rated IPX4 water resistance, which means that it should be fine with a few splashes or light rain. The Byte passed the test with mixed results and I did not wish to test it a second time. The light continued to work fine after the inside got wet, but the switch started acting flaky. I would click and it would skip modes. All modes were accessible, but it did require a few more clicks than usual. Once the light dried out, the switch worked fine and without issues. I may run more water intrusion tests again if there is adequate interest.
The user interface is simple: click once for red, click again for low white, click again for high white. You must always cycle through all the levels to get back to off. This is where I have to ding the Byte, because while red light is thoughtfully provided, you must always go through the white modes before turning it off. Other headlamps, such as the Princeton Tec Fred and the Petzl Tikka 2 Plus have separate red output modes so you can save your night-adapted vision.
Light Output and Runtime
Princeton Tec rates the Byte at 35 lumens and 80 hours. I believe the output rating is fairly accurate but the runtime seems a bit high. An independent test by Woods Monkey corroborates this. PT also claims 146 hours of runtime with the red LED, which I am not inclined to test but am willing to believe.
There is significant enough differentiation between the high and low white modes, although as the batteries weaken the high and low modes become one and the same. I'd like to note that when the batteries are weak enough, the red LED will not light but the white LED still will. I assume that the circuitry boosts the voltage for the white LED and is direct drive for the red.
One thing I really appreciate about this headlamp, is that rechargeable AAA batteries are often sold and charged in pairs, so if you use headlamps for long periods of time it's a snap to pop in new rechargeables. Contrast this to single-cell lights: what do you do with the second of a pair of NiMHs? If you have a nice charger with independent charging banks (I do), that's one thing, but if you're like most people and don't?
The Byte's white LED is a nice Luxeon Rebel power LED and my individual sample of one has a nice neutral tint to it. Compared to a Cree XP-G neutral white it is a good bit cooler but is definitely on the neutral side of cool.
The Byte has a fairly wide and fairly diffuse hotspot. I find it comfortable to read with. The white beam is fairly clean and free of artifacts. The red beam does have some minor artifacts but it's a far cry from being unbearable. I find both the white and the red pleasant enough to read by and in general I just enjoy using this headlamp. I did note that the white beam has fairly narrow spill but I did not feel like I was getting tunnel vision.
Conclusions
The Princeton Tec Byte offers unbeatable value (nothing else for $20 offers the compelling features it does) in a decent overall package. The user interface is my only real quibble with the light and I do not expect many people will take issue with its low water resistance since it is small enough to hide under a hood or hat.
The Byte is definitely a good choice for kids, as a backup headlamp, or to stow in your daily bag for the headlamp convenience without the size or weight or price of a "serious" headlamp. I think it would fill most people's needs for a headlamp but probably not be enough to satisfy a fully-fledged flashaholic as their only headlamp.
Recommended.
Edit: Now Cautiously Recommended, as parasitic drain on this headlamp is significant. Never store this headlamp with batteries inside.
Pictures to follow, maybe.
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