Streamlight Argo HP Observations

[strat1080]

For the first time I took my new Argo HP with me on a mountaineering trip. What I discovered is that it was extremely comfortable and the beam is very useful. I know many don't care for the artifacts but they didn't affect its utilization whatsoever. The tint in mine is pretty good and the beam pattern is the best of any headlamp I've ever used. It is nice and floody but still has some very good throw. My experience with headlamps is that they are always either very throwy or very floody. This is a nice compromise.

Others in my party had a very hard time making out the trail. I never once questioned where I was going. Others were using PT and Petzl as well as some cheap Wal-Mart headlamps. The nicest thing of all is that the 123 Lithium batteries weren't affected by the cold temperatures that we encountered at 12,000 feet before dawn. Sure you can use AAA Lithium batteries but they are more expensive than SF 123 Lithium batteries with much less capacity. They also typically require 3 cells.

I find that the size and weight of the Argo HP is very good for the performance offered by the headlamp. Sure there are lighter headlamps but I don't care for the 3AAA configuration as AAA batteries are rather weak and I require lithium batteries for my activities. It is rather expensive and not practical to use lithiums in this setup. The bottom line is that I really like this headlamp and feel its perfect for my activities despite the negative reputation it has here on CPF. To me its the perfect combination of size, weight, and power. The beam is absolutely perfect for hiking, climbing, and backpacking. It lights up the trail very well and throws a good distance.

 

[coors]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this headlamp. Is your lamp stock or have you modded it?.. like TigerhawkT3 shows in the u-tube videos: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Streamlight+Argo+HP+Seoul+Mod,+Part&search=Search
I stumbled on the how-to videos a few days ago and have thought about getting a Streamlight Argo Hp to mod to a Seoul emitter. Any idea whether the cheap CR123a batteries (blue or grey) on eBay are any good? I've been buying the lithium aaa batteries for about $1 apiece on eBay, but as you said... the CR123 batteries are cheaper.

coors

 

[coors]

Also, I forgot to ask... will the rcr123a (rechargable lith-ion) batteries work in this headlamp? If so, what kind of performance do these give compared to the cr123a batteries?

coors

 

[strat1080]

My headlamp is not modified. I just got it a month ago. Apparently it can use a Pila rechargable cell. For my needs, I don't see much of a requirement for modding this light. It seems like all the mods turn this into a thrower. For what I need a headlamp for I need a beam that throws but also lights up a good area. The spill is adequately bright and lights up a good area. There is no distinct spot in the beam, its just a flood with some decent throw, only with no hole in the middle like you would expect from a Maglite.

Overall its the perfect headlamp for my needs. I'm an extreme backpacker/mountaineer. It is nice and simple. With nearly all other lights there are some issues that annoy me, like the light not lighting up enough area(EOS), or not having enough throw(5mm LED headlamps). This is a good compromise. I don't see the artifacts in actual use. I also like the fact that the first lighting option is low as compared to high like most other headlamps. I don't like blasting my night adapted eyes with tons of lumens. On high I can light up the entire campsite and I can hike through tough terrain on low without ever questioning where I am going. Rather than bringing 2 headlamps for different purposes, the Argo HP does well at everything.

 

[coors]

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and experience. I went ahead and ordered an Argo Hp, 4 Pilas, charger and some Seoul emitters and AA thermal epoxy. If I can get a great winter light for this price it will be money well spent! My other lightweight alternative is the Stenlight, but if I can get by without having to shell out over $300 for a headlamp, plus mods, then that would be just great.

coors

 

[Windscale]

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and experience. I went ahead and ordered an Argo Hp, 4 Pilas, charger and some Seoul emitters and AA thermal epoxy. If I can get a great winter light for this price it will be money well spent! My other lightweight alternative is the Stenlight, but if I can get by without having to shell out over $300 for a headlamp, plus mods, then that would be just great.

coors

It may be worth considering running the HP on 1x 17670. I posted a thread about this not long ago and the views I got is that it works this way. Using 1 Li-ion is always much safer than putting 2 in series. Also, my UF 17670 is 1800mah which may mean longer runtime. Since posting that thread I have been very busy doing other things so I have not tried this combo out myself. But I will do so soon.

I am still in the process of looking for a good headlamp. My old favourite was the Favourlight 3W. It is almost ideal, running on 2x123As with switchable power levels. But it does not work comfortably with RCRs, so the search is still on.

 

[yellow]

a 17650 fits in without any modding,
the circuit draws 80 (low) and 350 mAh from the batt, then

modding to 18650 greatly increases runtime,
modding with a Seoul greatly imporoves output (I use it with the original refli, sanded from the back as much as possible - floody & ringy beam, but does not concern me too much in use)

 

[Windscale]

a 17650 fits in without any modding,
the circuit draws 80 (low) and 350 mAh from the batt, then

modding to 18650 greatly increases runtime,
modding with a Seoul greatly imporoves output (I use it with the original refli, sanded from the back as much as possible - floody & ringy beam, but does not concern me too much in use)

Thanks. But may I ask you a further question? Will it run on 2x RCR123As (Protected) 3.0v or 3.6v? Do you know what is the regulated voltage range of the HP? I am not much of an electrical man so I don't quite understand if this is related to the circuit draw in terms of mah as you have stated.

 

[mdocod]

Strat: I totally agree with you on the HP, it's just got great utility value, great size/weight, great regulation, great beam that's plenty bright. It has some of the flattest regulation of any headlamp out there. (I bet it uses the same driver as the Pro-Polys?? maybe?).

-------------------------------------

Interesting question about it running on 2xRCR123s..

it *might* but there is no logical reason to do so, as a 17670 has about 50+% more energy than 2xRCR123s, not to mention, since the V-in on the regulator is very close to the V-out to the LED when running a single cell, the regulator is operating in a very efficient state. on 2xRCR123s it would not be operating nearly as efficient.... so in the end, a 17670 may actually provide near double the runtime as a pair of RCR123s in this light....

if you really wanted to do it, I would suggest emailing Streamlight with that question.... maybe they can give us some more detailed information about the driver...

-----------------------------------

 

[coors]

It may be worth considering running the HP on 1x 17670. I posted a thread about this not long ago and the views I got is that it works this way. Using 1 Li-ion is always much safer than putting 2 in series. Also, my UF 17670 is 1800mah which may mean longer runtime. Since posting that thread I have been very busy doing other things so I have not tried this combo out myself. But I will do so soon.

I actually ordered 4x 17670 "protected" batteries... I thought that these were called "pilas". Please, do let us know your findings using the 17670s... runtime, output, etc.

coors

 

[coors]

a 17650 fits in without any modding,
the circuit draws 80 (low) and 350 mAh from the batt, then

modding to 18650 greatly increases runtime,
modding with a Seoul greatly imporoves output (I use it with the original refli, sanded from the back as much as possible - floody & ringy beam, but does not concern me too much in use)

The 2400mah 18650 batteries seem like a great upgrade, but I'm not confident enough yet to try this mod. I read the thread dedicated to the 18650 modification and noted that you used epoxy to refasten the contacts. What kind of epoxy did you use... 2-ton, 5-minute, or ??? Did you enlarge the battery well with a round file or an adjustable reamer or ??? And what kind of runtimes are you getting with the 18650s?... compared to 17670s or the standard cr123a cells?

coors

 

[coors]

Interesting question about it running on 2xRCR123s..

it *might* but there is no logical reason to do so, as a 17670 has about 50+% more energy than 2xRCR123s, not to mention, since the V-in on the regulator is very close to the V-out to the LED when running a single cell, the regulator is operating in a very efficient state. on 2xRCR123s it would not be operating nearly as efficient.... so in the end, a 17670 may actually provide near double the runtime as a pair of RCR123s in this light....

if you really wanted to do it, I would suggest emailing Streamlight with that question.... maybe they can give us some more detailed information about the driver...

-----------------------------------

Thank you for sharing this very useful information! I'm looking forward to seeing if the 17670s will provide nearly 10 hrs of regulated output from the Argo HP. That would be fantastic! If the 17670s do give out 10hrs of regulated light then would the 18650s give out 33% more runtime (a little over 13hrs?) Am I calculating this all right?

coors

 

[Windscale]

I decided to email Streamlight and here is the reply I got from them:

"Streamlight can only recommend using the batteries the light was designed for. The Argo HP uses 2 3v lithium CR123. Use of any other un-recommended battery will void the lifetime warranty of the light.

Regards,
Rob"

Back to the drawing board!

 

[cy]

This Argo HP headlamp mod is proving to be the one to get. with 17670 li-ion cell, runs in regulation for a long time. P4 upgrade turbo charges output without overheating. I'm still using S-bin luxeon, which puts out plenty of light. would not do the 18560 mod... walls are too thin. not worth losing reliability for increased runtime. I'm already getting 6+ hours on high. another few hours runtime will not make any functional difference for me. your mileage may veri...

got a Stenlight, but Argo HP is the one I grab. naturally for caving trips Stenlight is main light, but Argo HP still comes along for backup duties.

just did a night hike at Turkey Mountain a few days ago. Argo HP really excelled at lighting up rocky path on the way out. very dangerous decent... one wrong step and it's bad news.

here's the original Argo HP mod link I posted sept 06. loads of posts modding Argo HP since then.
Argo HP was given to me by Streamlight after Shot show 2006.

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

here's the original mod pic, second showing different headlamps: ARC HID, HID Storm, Argo HP mod, Stenlight

 

[mdocod]

If the 17670s do give out 10hrs of regulated light then would the 18650s give out 33% more runtime (a little over 13hrs?) Am I calculating this all right?

I'm not sure where you came up with 10 hours, (I never said 10 hours)...

The Argo HP runs about 5 hours on 2xPRIMARY CR123s (3.0V). On 2xRCR123s I would expect about 3-4 hours (if the regulator SUPPORTS it, might NOT), on a 17670 6+ hours is quite possible.

 

[coors]

so in the end, a 17670 may actually provide near double the runtime as a pair of RCR123s in this light...

Thanks for taking the time to answer. I misread your statement above... I thought that I read "double the runtime as a pair of cr123s", when in fact you wrote "rcr123s". That's where I went astray... I'm sorry about that! 6+ hrs on a single rechargable battery is still excellent stuff, in my opinion. For me, 4x 6hrs would give me 24 hours of nightime riding, camp setup, etc. before I'd have to get them recharged or find some regular cr123s.

coors

 

[strat1080]

mdocod, is your Argo HP modified at all, in regards to the LED? I'm thinking of going the rechargable route as well. I'm currently using primaries in it. How has the headlamp held up for you so far? I really think its very ergonomic and easy to use. With other headlamps I spend more time trying to get it pointed right at to the right brightness than doing what I set out to do.

I'm thinking that modding the LED like others have will take away the usefullness of the light. It seems that the beam gets quite narrow and the brightness on low will probably be too bright for doing things around camp(inside a tent). I also don't want to compromise the reliability of the unit. :sick2:

Strat: I totally agree with you on the HP, it's just got great utility value, great size/weight, great regulation, great beam that's plenty bright. It has some of the flattest regulation of any headlamp out there. (I bet it uses the same driver as the Pro-Polys?? maybe?).

-------------------------------------

Interesting question about it running on 2xRCR123s..

it *might* but there is no logical reason to do so, as a 17670 has about 50+% more energy than 2xRCR123s, not to mention, since the V-in on the regulator is very close to the V-out to the LED when running a single cell, the regulator is operating in a very efficient state. on 2xRCR123s it would not be operating nearly as efficient.... so in the end, a 17670 may actually provide near double the runtime as a pair of RCR123s in this light....

if you really wanted to do it, I would suggest emailing Streamlight with that question.... maybe they can give us some more detailed information about the driver...

-----------------------------------

 

[mdocod]

I haven't modded it in any way, just started dropping in 17670s for around the house usage, I took it caving and ran it on some CR123s, but brought a spare set of CR123s, and 4 full charged 17670s, (and a ton of other lights)


I am also concerned about what will happen to the beam with a SSC mod. Once you get past the artifacts, it's hard to let go of the stock beam, which has amazing throw but a wide splotch at the same time.... I want to upgrade to an SSC because the output would be about triple. Being able to run in low, and get the same brightness as it is in high now will mean that you can get 20+ hours out of one 17670 just as bright.

I'm thinking I'll probably end up sputtering the reflector with some clear spray paint stuff. Or replacing the reflector with something else more heavily textured.

If I could have the beam shape of my Nuwai ALX-253L (luxV, huge wide hotspot) or my LM301(SSC-heavy texture wide soft spot) on a headlamp, I'd be very happy.

 

[strat1080]

mdocod, do you know where I could get a different reflector for the Argo HP. Do you know if anything is an exact fit? I think a reflector that is textured all the way up would get rid of the artifacts and create a cleaner beam. Overall I like the stock beam, if it was just cleaner it would be perfect. It lights up a huge area, yet throws pretty well.

 

[mdocod]

no clue, PM me if you find one, LOL. I want something more textured for when I drop an SSC in there.