AA headlamp for hiking?

I'm looking at the Princeton Tec APEX

http://www.princetontec.com/products/index.php?id=2&type=1&use=0

What other lights in this class should I compare?

I want something that uses AA's and has good flood/spill. A far reaching spotlight is not that helpful at the velocity I walk. I want something that will keep me from breaking my leg when I step in a hole with serious weight in my pack at night. In the summer time, I want to avoid rattlesnakes too!

A long run time and graceful degradation are important to me.

Something that could double on my Mountain bike (mounted) would be nice. If a separate bicycle light is better and not price prohibitive, suggestions for where to start looking at those would be appreciated.

Thanks!

sidpost said:

What other lights in this class should I compare?

I want something that uses AA's and has good flood/spill. A far reaching spotlight is not that helpful at the velocity I walk.

Click to expand...

Have you looked at the PT Corona? It has a great spill beam, and can be had for less money than the Apex.

Lots of good choices out there regarding dbA headlamps. How about the Princeton Tec EOS? Maybe too much of a hotspot eh? Just curious, does it have to be AA powered?

Welcome to CPF!

Can't remember other LuxIII headlamps right now. The Black Diamond Zenix IQ has a LuxI + 2x5mm LED, is fully regulated in all modes, and uses 2xAA batts. Not up to speed to what Petzl is up to these days.

Personally I don't like to use headlamps while biking. I prefer a 2x123 lithium light. My current bike setup is a Pila GL3 and/or a SF U2 + twofish lockblocks, coupled with a helmet-mounted minimag+NG500 sammie (oh, yeah, and a couple of LED flashers)

sidpost said:

I'm looking at the Princeton Tec APEX

http://www.princetontec.com/products/index.php?id=2&type=1&use=0

What other lights in this class should I compare?

I want something that uses AA's and has good flood/spill. A far reaching spotlight is not that helpful at the velocity I walk. I want something that will keep me from breaking my leg when I step in a hole with serious weight in my pack at night. In the summer time, I want to avoid rattlesnakes too!

A long run time and graceful degradation are important to me.

Something that could double on my Mountain bike (mounted) would be nice. If a separate bicycle light is better and not price prohibitive, suggestions for where to start looking at those would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I'll second the Zenix IQ as an AA headlamp option with good performance at reasonable weight. The Apex is dazzling but at ten ounces is ridiculously heavy for non-technical nighttime travel (and represents more than half a pound of dead pack weight during the day). The MYO XP would be a nice mid-ground choice between the other two.

If your hiking away from good paths or in mountains you really want something like the Apex. It's the best headlamp I've ever had and since I'm ex-infantry the few grams extra are no problem at all. I usually carry 60-85 pounds in my pack when hiking... The low setting on the Luxeon is usually enough light for walking, the high is very bright and very nice in difficult terrain. The Nichas are great for setting up camp, cooking and other short distance work.

4AAs makes this a medium sized headlamp, but it's nicely balanced on your head and doesn't feel heavy when worn. It will run best on NiMH or lithiums, but will work OK on alkalines (short runtime on high).

The battery indicator is a nice touch and it will dim very slowly as the battery wears out giving good time to find a fresh set.

On a path or for shorter hikes a PT EOS would probably be the best alternative.

Sverre

Exactly what NoFair said, I've got a couple of good headlamps and I've put all but the Apex in a dark cabinet to help me conduct dust experiments on them to see how much dust can collect on a headlamp in an undetermined amount of time.

do yourself a favor and get the Apex you wont be sorry!! yes it is that good IMO

*** edit ***
I would get the black or cammo I've heard of cracking in the orange case below the heatsink. However PT has replaced all the headlamps from the people that have contacted them about this issue. As far as I know

doug

NoFair said:

If your hiking away from good paths or in mountains you really want something like the Apex. It's the best headlamp I've ever had and since I'm ex-infantry the few grams extra are no problem at all. I usually carry 60-85 pounds in my pack when hiking... The low setting on the Luxeon is usually enough light for walking, the high is very bright and very nice in difficult terrain. The Nichas are great for setting up camp, cooking and other short distance work.

4AAs makes this a medium sized headlamp, but it's nicely balanced on your head and doesn't feel heavy when worn. It will run best on NiMH or lithiums, but will work OK on alkalines (short runtime on high).

The battery indicator is a nice touch and it will dim very slowly as the battery wears out giving good time to find a fresh set.

On a path or for shorter hikes a PT EOS would probably be the best alternative.

Sverre

Click to expand...

The cracking cases problem was tracked down to the screws being too tight during assembly (wrong torque setting during assembly) and was independent of casing color. They've since fixed this. In any case, they're also replacing cracked lights, so you shouldn't worry at all. The info about the cracks and the torque is in another thread - too lazy to look for it right now.

I think the Petzl MyoLite 3 is an excellent value. $44 at IMO.
http://www.caves.org/imo/lamps.htm

This is different than the Myo3, It uses only 3AA batteries so its lighter. It has one of the best beam adjusters for the halogen bulb. Way better than a maglight at least, although textured Write-rite on the halogen lens still helps alot. Make sure you get a new one with the 80% brighter LED's. Its not regulated, but that doesn't seem to matter in real life. I have a Myo5, but I never use the 3 brightness levels on the LEDs and the 4AA hardshell battery pack makes it much heavier.

Also shop AA headlamps at www.brightguy.com they have a nice serch engine.
I did it for you:
http://tinyurl.com/9lxvu
Not affilited just a satisfied customer.

I use the corona bike light and I have an headband that I use when I want to use it as a headlamp. The light is no HID but it does a good enough job for me to ride single-track trails through the trees. The extra run time and long cord are big pluses for winter use as I can just put the battery pack in my inside coat pocket and the run time is insane!
Here is where I bought mine:
http://www.brightguy.com/detail_int.php?Sku=PRICBKhttp://www.brightguy.com/detail_int.php?Sku=PRICBK
Good luck!

Edited:
Just to keep from putting out bad or misleading info: I must confess, I just bought an APEX as well for camping. Now for camping I use my Aurora, Corona, or APEX (see a trend here?).
Each has it's own merit:
Aurora-Small, light, very reliable (I've had it for close to 4 years with no problems at all). Primary use: jogging on city streets and car camping.
Corona-Larger but still fairly light weight since I do not have battery pack on the headband. the battery pack can be placed in a pocket or attached to belt or pack w/the velcro straps on it's nylon case. Primary use: Cold weather hiking, some general hiking, night time outdoor activities like fishing and kayaking, and as a bike-or-helmet mounted light (I just bought the DiNotte Lux V for my helmet). Now it will probably just remain on my bike since I bought the APEX unless I need an additional light for a friend.
APEX-too soon to say but I suspect it will take the place of the other two. Since it combines the best qualities of both of the other lights and adds a third dimension of providing a light with decent throw.

NoFair said:

I usually carry 60-85 pounds in my pack when hiking...

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60 to 85 pounds... OUCH. What do you bring to get to 60 to 85 pounds of weight? I commend you on your ability to tolerate severe pain on the hike so that you can camp in lavish comfort. Where do you hike at?

All that being said, I did not even know that there was such a thing as a PT APEX. Now I have to get one!

My wife has got to hate this forum... It costs so much for a free website. :naughty:

-Goatee

I like my Myo XP - Takes three AAs (Lithiums to reduce weight) 3 light levels and ability to switch from throw to flood using lens for each brightness level. Boost option is very bright.

Take the Streamlight Enduro, best Headlamp for this price i ever seen.

Very Great Product in my opinion

Maxilux

FYI
Streamlight Enduro is the same light as the River Rock 2aaa headlamp available at Target.

cave dave said:

FYI
Streamlight Enduro is the same light as the River Rock 2aaa headlamp available at Target.

Click to expand...

Yes it looks like the same, but all people say the light is very blue, my Streamlight Enduro is not very blue, looks as same as Tl2 or other lights.
Can it be, there different Led´s in it ?

I just got the Apex and it works great. I am really thinking about the corona. But I am trying to hold out for the HDS headlamp instead. The Apex is now the headlamp I will use on hikes. It's huge (comparing to the Aurora/EOS but the features make it worth it for me). I was actually looking for something in the EOS size but due to all the features of Apex, I got it instead. I love that it's waterproof to 1 meter and regulated. And four AA make it nice so I won't have to change the batteries out in the woods as much. Plus when I bought it I told myself that I will leave some flashlights home to make up for the size! :laughing: Like that would happen.

I also have the Myo XP but it is not regulated so it dims over time. Which in use doesn't mean much other than I have to change batteries before their life is really over. And it only really applies to alkalines. I usually use lithium or nickel metal hydride. About the Myo XP, I do wonder if I will break the diffuser lense someday though.

I am really impressed with the Apex. But either headlamp is nice.

Good luck.
rob

I also just got the Apex and really like it. I'm not an Ultralight fanatic so I'm not too worried about the extra weight.

I can't compare it to other headlights as this is the first really nice one I've owned.

One thing I noticed that really impressed me, I thought that I would not likely use the 4 non-Lux LEDs much except for really close work. They are *much* brighter than I expected them to be on the high level and based on how they light up a large dark room in my house I think would light up a camp site very nicely.

Check out the Photon Freedom Fusion. The White model has six 5mm white LEDs and two 5mm red ones. It runs on 3AA (alkaline, NiMH, Lithium, whatever), has variable brightness for both white and red, and can be detached from the headstrap and reconfigured to serve as either a handheld light, a table light, a belt light, or even a bike light, depending on which (if any) accessory you screw onto it.

It also comes in Blue/Red and Red/Yellow LED configurations.

Oh, yeah... did I mention the GITD switch?

Apex:

I have recently purchased the Apex and I am very impressed with it. I too take my headlamps hiking and backpacking and I have determined that non-luxeon lights simply do not have the ability to reach out far enough. The Apex has both flood capability and spot capability and the spot beam is beautiful. The light from the smaller LED's is predictably more "bluish". The purported reglulated output using Lithium batteries is excellent. It feels a little less comfortable on my head than my other, smaller headlamps.

Corona:

I would not purchase this light again unless I only intended to "walk" around with it. Unless the new Corona's have brighter LED's, it is not much brighter on it's 8 LED setting than the Apex with 4. Real long runtimes but I am not real impressed.

EOS:

This may fit the bill for what you are wanting as long as you change out the lens for a reflector. A minimag reflector will work fine. I really like this light after the reflector switch. It throws well enough and now has a decent spill beam.

Petzl Myo XP:

I really love this light and the only concern that I have is it's ability to function in the rain. The batteries are not sealed very well. Overall I have used this light for all kinds of tasks from hiking to splicing telephone cables at night and it it perfect. I highly recommend it.

It's been about a month ... i'm Wondering what sidpost got...

I'd like to echo the suggestion of the ZENIX IQ, but i do want to caution you on the battery life. Medium setting on the single LED is plenty for hiking... A piece of scotch tape will help diffuse the beam it the spot is to narrow.

My first choice for night hiking with the battery parameter would probably be
the Corona or the Apex, because of runtime.

My guess is if you're packing that kind of weight, you won't mind two extra batteries, and two extra LED's. If a couple extra LED's means the difference betwen a good hike and a spiral fracture i'd choose the extra weight, and stay away from the single LED units.