Two bright headlamp needed

Looking for

1) a really bright and good quality headlamp for relatively close distant work (1.5-2.5 feet) in an operating theatre.

2) a headlamp for teenager to bring to camping

They can be one of the same or two different headlamps.


What is my options?

Black Diamond ICON ?
Princeton Tec Apex ?
Silva L1 ?
Zebralight H30/H50 ?
Others ?????

I don't know anything about headlamp but is learning fast after reading a few threads here.

Please make suggestions and comments.

Thanks.

ZL for your close distance work - either H30 or H50 is fine, or a Petzl ZipkaPlus would work very well also.

of those you mentioned, the Apex would be fine for your teenager.

Definitely the zebralight for use in the theater. I'd go with the H50 since it takes a very common AA battery and can use rechargeables.

The Princeton Tec Apex is one of the best off-the-shelf headlamps, but you could certainly get something cheaper for a kid to take camping.

EOS for the kid.

Most headlamps will give off useful light so the questions of
1.how much light do I need? so-so, a lot! , supernova!!!
2.How cheap/available are the batteries?
3.Plastic is known to crack on Princeton Tech headlamps but
Petzl brands seem to be made of better stuff (so cost a bit more $)
but are not as pretty. Function over fashion - tough questions for a teen
camper! Good luck.

(and use an indelible marker to write name inside the battery compartment
to ease any question of ownership)

Thanks for the input so far!:laughing:

So look like PT EOS or maybe PT Quad would be ok for teenager on camp. Maybe PT Quad might be better because it has longer run time. Maybe Black Diamond ICON would be fine too because many posts indicate that it has long run time because of non regulation.

For me, here is the requirement.

The operation field is about 1/2 to one foot wide only. Within that field I need lots of lights. So a narrow beam would be fine and probably preferable.

There is already four 36W daylight flourescence tubes side by side on the 2.7metre high ceiling. Another four 36W fluoro tubes just a few feet away. All that is still not quite enough sometimes when doing fine work and hence this headlamp idea. The operating theater light (cost thousands of dollars) that we want is not available yet for some time.

Will Zebralight produce enough light on high setting?

If one started to squint because of the amount of light then it would be good enough for the above purpose. Put in another way, if one feel the need to wear sunglasses because of the amount of light reflected back from the operation field then that is the amount of light that we need. I can always dim it down a bit.

With all the talk about the new Zebralight H60 or H61 or whatever that uses 18650, I am keen to know how much light they produce and how wide is the angle.

Thanks.

How about the Coleman 3AAA Cree headlight from Walmart? 105 lumens for $25. It has high, low, and dimmer red l.e.d.s. It's not waterproof, but that shouldn't be a problem inside a theater. I'm a big fan of the P.T. Eos and Quad headlights, but they are seriously due for an l.e.d. update and stronger plastic that doesn't crack. I think they made an EOS 2 that uses a Luxeon Rebel, but it's about $50 and only has high and low. Out of the high end sub 4oz. headlights, the Eos and Quad are really the only ones that are waterproof and have regulation. Petzl Tikka and Zippa aren't that waterproof, have no regulation, and use P.W.M. for dimming (they can flicker at lower setting). B.D. Spot headlight isn't regulated, and it's claim of stormproof on the packaging is a joke (will function when lightly sprayed at all angles for 5 minutes). The Spot has been updated with a Cree l.e.d. though so it is brighter than it used to be. The Petzl Tikka XP is water resistant but isn't regulated. The P.T. regulated headlights are the only ones of these lights that can take lithium batteries. Take your pick. All of the current options could be better.

the H50 for the theater, and a RayoVac Sportman extreme 1xAA from walmart for the teen. Both running on the same cell type (AA). The rayovac is pretty good for it's price and is reasonably durable from what I have read, but if it's lost or busted it won't be a huge loss.

I've really grown to prefer the H30 lately but if AA batteries suit you best then you can't go wrong. Either would be the ideal light for close range work.

Hooked on Fenix said:

How about the Coleman 3AAA Cree headlight from Walmart? 105 lumens for $25. It has high, low, and dimmer red l.e.d.s.

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Thanks for the reply and suggestion.

Did some search, looks like it only has 55 lumens. http://www.sunnysports.com/Prod/CMN3ALHL.html
This is the 4AA one http://www.sunnysports.com/Prod/CMNE4AHL.html Not sure what is the lumens.
another two links here http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000YESERI/
http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=4347-704&categoryid=1116


add: just saw your post here https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/201822
I wish we have Walmat here

mdocod said:

a RayoVac Sportman extreme 1xAA from walmart for the teen.

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Did some search, http://edcreviews.blogspot.com/2007/07/rayovac-sportsman-xtreme-1-watt.html
Not bad...

kirby, - the RayoVac Sportman extreme 1xAA is a nice headlamp.
The diffusor is well engineered for reading in bed.
I did find out that on the red and blue led settings for this HL , that it radiates
alot of RF noise that my bedside AM radio picks up on all channels as a BUZZZZ. On the main 1watt white its Rf silent. Weird, but glad thats not strapped to my head inducing a tumor (maybe not) in that mode.
-hopkins

pobox1475 said:

EOS for the kid.

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+1