vtunderground
Enlightened
My first headlamp was a Petzl Tikka, which I was very dissapointed with. I needed something brighter, and with a beam that could be adjusted up and down (not just pointing at my feet). So... I took what little money I had (I was in college) and bought myself a Princeton Tec Solo at the local camping store. At the time, this was a major purchase for me!
I was very happy with the Solo... despite the lack of runtime, it was bright enough, well designed, and built like a tank. I used it for a year or two, until I saved up enough money for a Princeton Tec Yukon HL. Until today, the Solo has rested sadly at the bottom of my flashlight box.
As I mentioned in this thread, recent experimentation showed me that (despite what I've heard to the contrary) lambertian LED drop-in modules work fine in the old-style PT reflectors - as long as the textured reflector is used! Only real issue is that the beam is so wide that the light given off by the LED seems much dimmer than it actually is. So, today I replaced the stock 1-watt Luxeon in a Dorcy LED drop-in with a new Seoul P4 emitter (bin USW0H). The result is very nice... it's roughly as bright as a SSC-modified & reflectored PT EOS on medium, but with a spill beam literally twice as wide! I'm very happy about that. No idea about runtime, though. I'll try to get beamshots at some point.
The Dorcy drop-in has a small heatsink, and runs the LED at such a low current that I'm not too worried about heat build-up.
I was very happy with the Solo... despite the lack of runtime, it was bright enough, well designed, and built like a tank. I used it for a year or two, until I saved up enough money for a Princeton Tec Yukon HL. Until today, the Solo has rested sadly at the bottom of my flashlight box.
As I mentioned in this thread, recent experimentation showed me that (despite what I've heard to the contrary) lambertian LED drop-in modules work fine in the old-style PT reflectors - as long as the textured reflector is used! Only real issue is that the beam is so wide that the light given off by the LED seems much dimmer than it actually is. So, today I replaced the stock 1-watt Luxeon in a Dorcy LED drop-in with a new Seoul P4 emitter (bin USW0H). The result is very nice... it's roughly as bright as a SSC-modified & reflectored PT EOS on medium, but with a spill beam literally twice as wide! I'm very happy about that. No idea about runtime, though. I'll try to get beamshots at some point.
The Dorcy drop-in has a small heatsink, and runs the LED at such a low current that I'm not too worried about heat build-up.
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