recommendation of a $30 to $40 headlamp and a mailorder source?

[cooper]

I posted this earlier in the wrong forum. Did do a search here before posting and didn't find recommendations for this price range. So:

Looking for gifts for a couple of guys who depend heavily on small headlamps and go thru them pretty fast. Need something tough and with a switch that is least likely to turn on inadvertantly. I have used a few in the past but don't know what's out there now.

Thanks.

 

[ibcj]

If you are looking for a led headlamp, check out the Princeton Tec EOS.

They are widely available, and run $30-$40 depending on where you buy. I picked up a new one on Ebay last week for $30.

They are small, lightweight, waterproof, and have the following settings - low, medium, high, flash. It uses three AAA batteries and has pretty decent runtime.

For the money, it's a pretty good headlamp.

Here's a link to Brightguy.com.
http://www.brightguy.com/products/Princeton_Tec_EOS_LED_Headlamp.php

 

[Meduza]

PT Eos on Lighthound.com:
http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=PRODSEARCH&txtSearch=eos&btnSearch=GO&Page=1

 

[cy]

many threads on this topic already. but really hard to find....

my fav is Argo HP for $30. EZ mod for li-ion use, simply dropin 17670 with no mods. or swap out star, or barely 18650 (not recommended)

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=134811

 

[nzbazza]

Nuwai HLX-712L from www.amondotech.com. Do a search for 712L to find the special with 8 free CR123A for $27.50.

My personal favourite headlamp. Runs on 2 CR123A's, both primaries as well as 3.0V and 3.6V Li-Ions.

The headlamp is very bright for a Lux1, with 3 fully regulated levels and has been tough enough to withstand the abuse I give it.

See flashlightreviews.com for a review 4.5 stars.

 

[Edro]

I'd agree with nystrpr and meduza. PT EOS is a solid headlamp.

The EOS is a spot beam type headlamp. Great if they use it for spotting distant objects (or not so distant) and do not need a floody type light. Regulated (keeps the same level of light as long as the batteries can hold it, then starts dimming very quickly), projects a good distance and takes alkaline batteries, NiMH or Energizer Lithium AAAs.

If your friends use their headlamps for close up work then I'd recommend the PT Quad as it provides a flood of light. This one is also regulated and is battery friendly like the EOS but since it uses less intense LEDs and has lower light levels, the light lasts longer on a set of batteries than the EOS.

Two different lights depending on the application.

As meduza mentioned, try Lighthound.com. He already linked the EOS, so here's the Quad:
PT Quad

REI also sells them; they usually charge close to MSRP but sometimes they go on sale:
PT EOS
PT Quad

If you do decide on the EOS, here's a golden nugget for you: LLBean took the EOS and rebadged it as their "Trailblazer Headlamp." And it's on sale to boot:
Trailblazer

Good luck.