Picked up a Gerber Meridian headlamp on a special deal for only $29.97 at sportsmansguide.com. At that price I just couldn't pass up trying this unusual looking headlamp.
Played with it for a little while tonite and was impressed by the very smooth beam of the 1W white LED. Only my Arc 4+ has a beam this nice. Color seemed good. Didn't notice any green or blue tint. The 5mm green and red LEDs were not nearly so even (typical). This was my first time using a green LED and it was amazing how much you can see at night with so little light. Red didn't even come close. Also liked that the 1W white had a separate switch from the green and red 5mm's, allowing you to quickly activate it w/o having to cycle thru other options.
My other headlamps (Aurora, Energizer, etc) are 3AAA types and I was kind of shocked by how much bulkier the Meridian was with its 3AA back of the head battery pack and topstrap. Still glad I got it since I want at least one headlamp that can run a 1W for a decent stretch.
I like that the Meridian is regulated but I don't like the lack of multiple brightness levels for the 1W. A compromise would have been to include a 5mm white in the mix. The lamp housing looks like it is very well sealed, so I doubt mods are possible w/o really trashing the thing.
For under $30, the Meridian was a nice way to scratch the LED itch which hasn't been scratched in a while. The site now shows it at $49.97, a price which I would have passed over for this headlamp.
Played with it for a little while tonite and was impressed by the very smooth beam of the 1W white LED. Only my Arc 4+ has a beam this nice. Color seemed good. Didn't notice any green or blue tint. The 5mm green and red LEDs were not nearly so even (typical). This was my first time using a green LED and it was amazing how much you can see at night with so little light. Red didn't even come close. Also liked that the 1W white had a separate switch from the green and red 5mm's, allowing you to quickly activate it w/o having to cycle thru other options.
My other headlamps (Aurora, Energizer, etc) are 3AAA types and I was kind of shocked by how much bulkier the Meridian was with its 3AA back of the head battery pack and topstrap. Still glad I got it since I want at least one headlamp that can run a 1W for a decent stretch.
I like that the Meridian is regulated but I don't like the lack of multiple brightness levels for the 1W. A compromise would have been to include a 5mm white in the mix. The lamp housing looks like it is very well sealed, so I doubt mods are possible w/o really trashing the thing.
For under $30, the Meridian was a nice way to scratch the LED itch which hasn't been scratched in a while. The site now shows it at $49.97, a price which I would have passed over for this headlamp.
