recomend me a headlamp

[aljsk8]

i go up in my unlit attic / loft quite a bit - to get things out and at the moment running cables pipes etc

sick of holding torch in my mouth!

so i need a headlamp

please submit your recommendations im after low cost but not fall appart quality - so value for money is important not just low cost

are any of the DX / KD ones worth looking at

thanks

Alex

 

[angelofwar]

Try the Gerber Meridian for throw (1-watt LED) or a Rayovac sportsman with the diffuser lens for periphial lighting. The Meridian cost's is a little more, but a little better quality. The rayovac is nice and a good lamp for the price, but will still hold-up to all but the most arduous tasks, and has more functionality, and both are weather resistant.

http://www.e-headlamps.com/gerber_meridian.asp

http://www.rayovac.com/flashlight/se1whlt-b.shtml

 

[aljsk8]

i know the DX ones are probably rubbish - but is there a "best one"

 

[half-watt]

for "attic" use, you could pretty much go with most anything from an small array of 3 or 4 5mm white Nichia LEDs to a Cree/SSC emitter.

unless you're talking HUGE attic, i'd say something like the Princeton Tec Aurora 3x5mm white LED headlamp with 3 adjustable brightness settings and running off of 3xAAA batteries would suffice.

this very fine headlamp (used by backpackers for many years now) is on closeout at STP (sierratradingpost.com). i've owned several Auroras over the years and still own one (with a "closeout" due to arrive this coming Monday via UPS.

at STP it's only $16.25.

since you're in the UK, i don't know what shipping will cost.

Petzl (a French company) makes the Tikkina, Tikka/TikkaPlus, and Zipka/ZipkaPlus (very pocketable as an EDC also - i used a Zipka/ZipkaPlus for years as an EDC). however, unless you can get them on sale they will be pricier - normally up to $35 or so for the ZipkaPlus - the most expensive of the Petzl small headlamps. They all run on 3xAAA cells.

a small Fenix flashlight clipped to the brim/visor of a ballcap also works for hands-free use. this is what i went to (i.e. a Fenix light clipped to my ballcap visor/brim) a couple of years ago for ultra-light backpacking and stopped using purpose made headlamps. these will run, in the good ol' USofA, 'bout $40+, depending upon model.

i have purchased some (several diff. types) headlamps on eBay which would also suffice for your purposes. one in particular you might really like (i do): i like it's simplicity, brightness, burntime, and battery form-factor...

search eBay for a "21 LED" (or "21-LED") headlamp. it has only two modes: OFF (if you can call that a mode), or ON (with all 21 5mm white LEDs lit). it uses only 2xAA cells (readily available) and runs off of alkalines or NiMH rechargeables.

burntime is rather decent, but i never timed it closely. actually, i never really paid close attention at all, but it has to be in the range of 5 to 20 hours on a pair of cells (probably more like 10h on a pair).

it puts out a flood of light - very usable for your particular application (unless your attic is 100'/30m long) out to maybe 15'-20' (5m-7m approx.).

i picked them up for $5 to $10. and have given them away as gifts to neighborhood kids and kids at church. some of my adult friends in the building trades really liked them also.

they are NOT cheaply made, but also NOT the highest quality small, plastic headlamp. i've had no issues with them to date, nor has anyone that i've given them to.

hope this info helps.

 

[aljsk8]

its only a small attic about 6m x 5m

ill look for the 21led one

and at some of your other recomendations

thanks

Alex

 

[fa__]

You could also have a look at zebralight
http://www.zebralight.com/

 

[half-watt]

its only a small attic about 6m x 5m

ill look for the 21led one

and at some of your other recomendations

thanks

Alex

just remembered, i did a timing test on the 21led model (just checked my headlamps.xls XL spreadsheet). the range was 5.5h to 6h on a pair of 2xAA alkaline cells. sorry, never did a burntime test on NiMH cells. i must have been thinking of another headlamp when i greatly overestimated the burntime in my prev. Post.

when the cells are just 'bout expended the headlamp drops to "glow" mode, as i term it. in just a minute, your eyes will adjust to the GREATLY reduced light output and you ought to be able to make it out of the attic, or activate a backup light source (e.g., a small MagLite Solitaire which has a fresh cell in it since it's only used for the type of situation).



here's just one URL to that eBay headlamp.

http://cgi.ebay.com/21-LED-HeadLamp...ryZ83552QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



there are other 21 LED headlamps (and 23, 25, 27, 37, 40, .... LED headlamps). most of them run on 3xAAA cells, though a larger 40 LED headlamp runs on 3xAA cells. these others have multiple modes (usually 3 different number of LEDs on, depending upon mode, plus a flashing mode). these are also decent quality (with just a few exceptions - the Tikka "knockoffs" are notoriously BAD IME [in my experience] and i can't recommend them). i actually prefer the 2xAA 21 LED version i recommended over the 21+ LED 3xAAA versions. the physically larger 40LED 3xAA headlamp is fine too, but a bit too bulky - it extends a ways out front and is subject to bouncing if the top/bucket strap is tensioned too loose.

oh,...also, the 2xAA 21 LED headlamp does NOT use a battery carrier for the cells. ALL of the others, IME (including the larger 3xAA 40LED headlamp), use a battery carrier to hold the cells, meaning you load the cells into the battery carrier and then insert the carrier into the headlamp and replace the cover.

with the 2xAA 21 LED headlamp, you just insert the two cells (observing the clearly marked polarity indications inside of the battery compartment) and snap the cover closed.

hope this info helps.

 

[aljsk8]

ive decided im going to get an old petzl and convert it to cree - a nice project
and should only cost about $15 - i have most of the bits

thanks for all the help tho

i took it all onboard


Alex

 

[yellow]

I ve done this and its not easy (I do bet someone asking what lamp to get, is not this heavy into modding that it will be usable) and its expensive, as You need Led, driver, Optic/reflector, heatsink, the host light itself, ...

low light: zebralight
"normal light", medium cost, long runtime, use OFTEN: Streamlight Argo HP, driven by an 17650 Li-Ion
"high light", lesser runtime: PT Apex or such

... note: as by now, most any headlamp NOT features an actual good led and has to be modded by "emitter swap" (easy work)
... except the Zebralight

 

[aljsk8]

dont worry im am a heavy modder

i have a cree - and i am going to direct drive it and have no reflector/optic
so its just flood

ill keep you posted - and mabee post some pics etc when ive done

Alex

 

[AvPD]

On the subject of the 21-led lamp, I bought one that had brittle plastic, the mount and one of the battery cap clips broke within the first week (not the first time I've been a victim of brittle plastic either). I fit it to the mount of an incandescent headlamp, so I can still use it.
It chews through my NiMHs quite quickly, I only get about an hour of full brightness on average cells. With new good quality rechargeables I'd expect at least two hours of full brightness.

 

[aljsk8]

i ended up making my own headlamp out of a cheep incan lamp a heatsink and cree - ill post some pics in a few days

Alex

 

[half-watt]

On the subject of the 21-led lamp, I bought one that had brittle plastic, the mount and one of the battery cap clips broke within the first week (not the first time I've been a victim of brittle plastic either). I fit it to the mount of an incandescent headlamp, so I can still use it.
It chews through my NiMHs quite quickly, I only get about an hour of full brightness on average cells. With new good quality rechargeables I'd expect at least two hours of full brightness.

agreed that it is a brittle (in contradistinction to pliable) plastic. so, is the head of my PT Apex. haven't broken either. did crack the brittle plastic on a Photon Fusion headlamp. took quite drop onto a hard surface making contact a the right angle to crack it. nothing some cyanoacrylate adhesive couldn't fix.

i've gotten just over five and half hours before "moon"/glow "mode" on good quality alkalines - duracell and energizers.


BTW, there are actually a couple of version of these 21-LED 2xAA two-mode (ON and OFF - if you can call OFF a "mode") floating around on eBAY.

i've ended up with two of each (though i've since given a couple of them away to a friend's two boys).

one type had the battery compartment lid/cover opposite the On/Off switch. the two i have uses some dimmer LEDs (these are the ones i mentioned burned for just over 5.5h). the other type has the On/Off switch incorporated into the battery compartment lid/cover. these are noticeably brighter. i never did any burntime measurements on these.

 

[AvPD]

took quite drop onto a hard surface making contact a the right angle to crack it.

Mine cracked (where the plastic is thinnest around the hinge bolt) just from wearing it a few times and leaving it on a table. The battery cap is mostly my fault.

the other type has the On/Off switch incorporated into the battery compartment lid/cover. these are noticeably brighter.

This the type I have, bright for a 5mm LED device but with Chinese generic LED efficiency.

 

[aljsk8]

if you want to see what i came up with go look in homemade/modified in a few mins

thanks

Alex