Keep in mind, this post is from one who is unenlightened and unforunately doesn't contain any beamshots. I just wanted to share my experience and observations while hiking. What follows is my just my opinions.
Went for a night hike tonight on some trails near my house. Typical hilly, rocky New England with stream crossings and lots of wildlife. Thick cloud cover blocking a 3/4 moon, so not very bright out and no lights from homes or cars. Certainly not pitch black though.
For hiking, I prefer a light that has flood and spot. Flood for general walking, and spot for finding trail markers or illuminating wildlife.
I brought a MagLed 3aa, a TaskForce 2c 3watt from Lowes, and the Heliotek. I have only used the Heliotek on the trails previously, so it is my reference light.
The Magled 3aa 3watt: Overall, I was very impressed. The length did not bother me as it is very light, and I thought the holster worked very well. The flood beam was really wide and lit up the sides and front of the trails brilliantly, making it easy to traverse streams or rock gardens where you have to watch your step. The spot I found to be about as good as the TaskForce but with better spill. Spot was not as tight and the throw was not as far as the Heliotek, but the flood beam was brighter and much wider. I found I used the flood more often on the Mag as it was just bright enough to see markers up ahead. There were times when I needed the spot though. I wish the Mag head had a left/right two click switch instead of full variability - I want one click for the best flood, and one click for the tightest spot. Then add a clicky style switch in the tailcap for on/off and I'd be thrilled with the interface. Then again, I'm kind of a binary person.
The TaskForce 2c 3watt: My least favorite of the three for this endeavor. More of a spot beam, but I thought it diffused quite a bit more than the Heliotek at the same distance, making it a marginal spot beam to me. Since there wasn't a flood option, this light made traversing the tricky areas much more difficult than the Mag because you had to point the light directly at the rock or log you were trying to jump on. I found that disorienting. Back on the road, as an inspection light, it did very well illuminating a power transformer up on a pole, but the Magled was just as good. Beam not as smooth as the other two when pointed at my ceiling, but it was not noticable on the trail. Heavier than the other two given the C cells. The Cells rattle in the housing - Boooo.
The Heliotek: Smoothest, most even flood with the diffuser on, but not as bright as the Magled flood. Flood is bright enough to hike by and did a suitable job of lighting the sides and front of the trail, but does not carry very far. With the diffuser on, it is my fave of the three lights to read a trailmap or do up close work. With the diffuser off, this light threw better than the others even though it is only a 1watt Led. If I was having trouble finding a trail marker in the distance, I grabbed this light. Best of the three for spotting wildlife due to the very tight spot and longer throw. Because the beam is so tight, your eyes don't get distracted by the foreground branches and it appears to cut through the woods. Navigating stream crossings was servicable with the diffuser on. The flood is smoother and softer than the Mag, and I found I used it sparingly. I would imagine with the tripod it would do a great job of softly illuminating my backpacking tent. I'll soon find out. I found the holster to be a pain to operate with one hand in the dark due to the velcro straps. It is very secure though once buttoned up, unlike the Mag which offers no protection to the head, nor straps to hold it securely.
For the task of night hiking, and using the Heliotek as the reference light, I was really impressed with the Magled, and dissapointed in the TaskForce. I think the Magled did everything the TaskForce did and more while being lighter and more pleasurable to use. I'm going to take back the TaskForce and get some rechargable NiMH's for the Magled to improve the runtime. 4+ hours of runtime will make me much more comfortable on a longer hike, even though I will always bring a backup light (either the Heliotek or Princeton Tec Aurora until my Jetbeam C-LE comes in).
Given that the Mag is $25 and the Heliotek is $99, I think the Mag made a good showing. It isn't waterproof, doesn't float, doesn't have the regulation, throw, or ruggedness of the Heliotek, but it was excellent on the trail and throws more overall light. If the SHTF, the mag might not survive, but that's why we carry backups - right? By contrast, if I had a second set of Batteries on me (I do), I would trust the Heliotek with no backup (or maybe just my Inova Microlight).
Sorry for the lack of beamshots, but I really didn't plan on posting anything when I went out. Perhaps next time I will hike my camera and tripod into the woods to do beam shots and bring the Aurora. My camera and Tripod are a heavy setup though.
Hope you enjoyed the "opinion only" commentary from an unenlightened one.
Peace.
Went for a night hike tonight on some trails near my house. Typical hilly, rocky New England with stream crossings and lots of wildlife. Thick cloud cover blocking a 3/4 moon, so not very bright out and no lights from homes or cars. Certainly not pitch black though.
For hiking, I prefer a light that has flood and spot. Flood for general walking, and spot for finding trail markers or illuminating wildlife.
I brought a MagLed 3aa, a TaskForce 2c 3watt from Lowes, and the Heliotek. I have only used the Heliotek on the trails previously, so it is my reference light.
The Magled 3aa 3watt: Overall, I was very impressed. The length did not bother me as it is very light, and I thought the holster worked very well. The flood beam was really wide and lit up the sides and front of the trails brilliantly, making it easy to traverse streams or rock gardens where you have to watch your step. The spot I found to be about as good as the TaskForce but with better spill. Spot was not as tight and the throw was not as far as the Heliotek, but the flood beam was brighter and much wider. I found I used the flood more often on the Mag as it was just bright enough to see markers up ahead. There were times when I needed the spot though. I wish the Mag head had a left/right two click switch instead of full variability - I want one click for the best flood, and one click for the tightest spot. Then add a clicky style switch in the tailcap for on/off and I'd be thrilled with the interface. Then again, I'm kind of a binary person.
The TaskForce 2c 3watt: My least favorite of the three for this endeavor. More of a spot beam, but I thought it diffused quite a bit more than the Heliotek at the same distance, making it a marginal spot beam to me. Since there wasn't a flood option, this light made traversing the tricky areas much more difficult than the Mag because you had to point the light directly at the rock or log you were trying to jump on. I found that disorienting. Back on the road, as an inspection light, it did very well illuminating a power transformer up on a pole, but the Magled was just as good. Beam not as smooth as the other two when pointed at my ceiling, but it was not noticable on the trail. Heavier than the other two given the C cells. The Cells rattle in the housing - Boooo.
The Heliotek: Smoothest, most even flood with the diffuser on, but not as bright as the Magled flood. Flood is bright enough to hike by and did a suitable job of lighting the sides and front of the trail, but does not carry very far. With the diffuser on, it is my fave of the three lights to read a trailmap or do up close work. With the diffuser off, this light threw better than the others even though it is only a 1watt Led. If I was having trouble finding a trail marker in the distance, I grabbed this light. Best of the three for spotting wildlife due to the very tight spot and longer throw. Because the beam is so tight, your eyes don't get distracted by the foreground branches and it appears to cut through the woods. Navigating stream crossings was servicable with the diffuser on. The flood is smoother and softer than the Mag, and I found I used it sparingly. I would imagine with the tripod it would do a great job of softly illuminating my backpacking tent. I'll soon find out. I found the holster to be a pain to operate with one hand in the dark due to the velcro straps. It is very secure though once buttoned up, unlike the Mag which offers no protection to the head, nor straps to hold it securely.
For the task of night hiking, and using the Heliotek as the reference light, I was really impressed with the Magled, and dissapointed in the TaskForce. I think the Magled did everything the TaskForce did and more while being lighter and more pleasurable to use. I'm going to take back the TaskForce and get some rechargable NiMH's for the Magled to improve the runtime. 4+ hours of runtime will make me much more comfortable on a longer hike, even though I will always bring a backup light (either the Heliotek or Princeton Tec Aurora until my Jetbeam C-LE comes in).
Given that the Mag is $25 and the Heliotek is $99, I think the Mag made a good showing. It isn't waterproof, doesn't float, doesn't have the regulation, throw, or ruggedness of the Heliotek, but it was excellent on the trail and throws more overall light. If the SHTF, the mag might not survive, but that's why we carry backups - right? By contrast, if I had a second set of Batteries on me (I do), I would trust the Heliotek with no backup (or maybe just my Inova Microlight).
Sorry for the lack of beamshots, but I really didn't plan on posting anything when I went out. Perhaps next time I will hike my camera and tripod into the woods to do beam shots and bring the Aurora. My camera and Tripod are a heavy setup though.
Hope you enjoyed the "opinion only" commentary from an unenlightened one.
Peace.
