Best Headlamp for my use

Hiya Guys,

I'm new to this thing and have been doing a fair bit of reading on these wonderful boards.

I'm after a Headlamp that is going to provide me with ample light to see imperfections in painted surfaces that I work on as a high-end car detailer, like this:





I have tried a few light sources and they all work fine but I know that I need a broad beam pattern and a fairly strong output.

What is your recommendation for me, I'm not too fussed what it costs -within reason. I'm not sure what type of light I should be using nor do I really care, but I think it'll most likely be LED.

My only requirements are:

- Use with Rechargable Batteries
- At least 6 hours use from a single charge
- Decent Build Quality

Was looking along the lines of this: http://www.brightguy.com/products/Petzl_Ultra_LED_Headlamp_Accu_2_E52AC.php
But again, not sure if it's the most suitable, so looking for advice.



Thanks in advance,

Damian.

My guess is, that you need the light mostly for close up inspections? Did you look into Zebralight? Really nice beampattern and very bright - excellent for close up work. Light and easy on your head.
I own the H50 and this light does most probably not fulfill your runtime requirement. Depending on the amount of light you need a battery lasts between 2 (on high) and lots of hours (on medium).

The latest model H60 is only promiseware and suppose to be delivered in December - this might actually fulfill all your needs.

You can check them out on 7777 webpage:
https://www.4sevens.com/index.php?cPath=89

Good luck

Not sure what kind of LEDs that headlamp uses I am guessing 6 x 0.5watt. What you probably need is a newer cree driven at about 1amp and a battery pack that will give you about 6Ahr that is external belt mounted or 2 3Ahr packs you could easily switch out. I am thinking multiple LEDs may not help with your detailing as it would make it harder to focus on scratches you may find a single point of light easier to concentrate on but diffused to a wider beam.

I wonder how a UV light would work for that purpose. I have never seen one in a headlamp but if the undercoat is white and the scratches are deep enough, then I believe that they would "Pop" really nicely. Even surface minor fine surface scratches could be much more visible.

Just a thought.

drmaxx said:

My guess is, that you need the light mostly for close up inspections? Did you look into Zebralight? Really nice beampattern and very bright - excellent for close up work. Light and easy on your head.
I own the H50 and this light does most probably not fulfill your runtime requirement. Depending on the amount of light you need a battery lasts between 2 (on high) and lots of hours (on medium).

The latest model H60 is only promiseware and suppose to be delivered in December - this might actually fulfill all your needs.

You can check them out on 7777 webpage:
https://www.4sevens.com/index.php?cPath=89

Good luck

Click to expand...

I did have a look at the Zebralights, but they use Alkaline batteries and, tbh, I will be irritated constantly paying for what I think will be approx 5+ batteries a week.

Shame as they look to be simple & light which is perfect.

Lynx_Arc said:

I am thinking multiple LEDs may not help with your detailing as it would make it harder to focus on scratches you may find a single point of light easier to concentrate on but diffused to a wider beam.

Click to expand...

Yes! That makes perfect sense. Multiple angles of the light source will probably fill the area and may not highlight the edges of the imperfections which is what I want.

saabgoblin said:

I wonder how a UV light would work for that purpose. I have never seen one in a headlamp but if the undercoat is white and the scratches are deep enough, then I believe that they would "Pop" really nicely. Even surface minor fine surface scratches could be much more visible.

Just a thought.

Click to expand...

You can usually easily see scratches that are through to undercoat, these aren't workable by detailers, we can only repair marks within the ClearCoat.
Your UV idea is very interesting though. I will try to get more info on that.


Thanks very much guys, a very informative and friendly forum!

Any idea on where to get a single LED 1 watt rechargable from?

Welcome to CPF, Damian.

One of the photos in your post #1 is much too big. Please resize it to no larger than 800 x 800 pixels.

I had a chance to check out the headlamp you reference. Petzl Ultra LED 350 Lumens. It is very bright, well made and has an excellent rechargeable lithium ion battery. Even on Low there is plenty of light and over 16 hours of battery life.

Only draw back I see is $364.00 Ouch!

Bill

Damian@FI said:

I did have a look at the Zebralights, but they use Alkaline batteries and, tbh, I will be irritated constantly paying for what I think will be approx 5+ batteries a week.

Shame as they look to be simple & light which is perfect.

Click to expand...

That's what rechargeable batteries are for.

Damian@FI said:

I did have a look at the Zebralights, but they use Alkaline batteries and, tbh, I will be irritated constantly paying for what I think will be approx 5+ batteries a week.

Shame as they look to be simple & light which is perfect.

Click to expand...

Here's the solution for your dilemma:
http://www.batteryjunction.com/eneloop-aa-4-pack-nimh-lsd.html
In the good deals section you'll find plenty of tips where to get good deals on rechargables.

Hitthespot said:

I had a chance to check out the headlamp you reference. Petzl Ultra LED 350 Lumens. It is very bright, well made and has an excellent rechargeable lithium ion battery. Even on Low there is plenty of light and over 16 hours of battery life.

Only draw back I see is $364.00 Ouch!

Bill

Click to expand...

I know, $700 Aussie. Very ouch

yowzer said:

That's what rechargeable batteries are for.

Click to expand...

I was told by a retailer in Aus that I couldn't use Rechargables in an Alkaline battery device as the betteries swell and become stuck in the cylinder rendering the device useless when the charge is gone...

Not true?

I have bought a Petzl: http://en.petzl.com//images/SousFamilles/SousFamille_46_2_1.jpg Not the Ultra and while it is good at showing me imperfections:




it's lacking the lumens that I want.





I may have to try the Ultra and just fork out the $.

Damian@FI said:

I was told by a retailer in Aus that I couldn't use Rechargables in an Alkaline battery device as the betteries swell and become stuck in the cylinder rendering the device useless when the charge is gone...

Not true?

Click to expand...

I have NEVER heard of anyone getting nimh batteries stuck in a flashlight using them charged or fully discharged... even leaking. I have had and have heard of MANY that have had alkalines LEAK and get stuck.
I say that guy is full of it.

Damian@FI said:

I have bought a Petzl: http://en.petzl.com//images/SousFamilles/SousFamille_46_2_1.jpg Not the Ultra and while it is good at showing me imperfections:


it's lacking the lumens that I want.





I may have to try the Ultra and just fork out the $.

Click to expand...

Which version did you buy? They just upgraded the emitter to double the output, seeing that you are in aus, it's possible that you got the older dimmer version.

Lynx_Arc said:

I have NEVER heard of anyone getting nimh batteries stuck in a flashlight using them charged or fully discharged... even leaking. I have had and have heard of MANY that have had alkalines LEAK and get stuck.
I say that guy is full of it.

Click to expand...

I'll try some Nimh batt I have then. Thanks!

jzmtl said:

Which version did you buy? They just upgraded the emitter to double the output, seeing that you are in aus, it's possible that you got the older dimmer version.

Click to expand...

I bought this version, the Myo XP.

The main problem of using NiMH in lights is, that they can get "sucked dry" and then be damaged. The voltage should not fall below 0.9 V to keep the battery happy and healthy. Some light do warn you early enough (Apex, Zebralight) others not.

Damian@FI said:

I bought this version, the Myo XP.

Click to expand...

Does your package specifically say "new led, 3x brighter" or something similar? It received upgrade a while ago and there are still some old stock around.