Recomendation for UK mechanic? 1w+

Having enjoyed a 50 led 3aa head torch for £4.99 on ebay, I'm after...

Something with a flood at about 1-3 metres, for walking or mainly head under the bonnet of a car. NO SPOT.

Something that's got some hours, at least 12hrs between charges.

Something that will run on rechargable nimh or similar, obviously this led one does but it's dim compared to the 4.5v from alkaline so I end up using alkaline.

Something that's either very small and light with no 'over the head' band, or something with a light on the front and battery pack on the back. Current one has over head pack and 3xAA in the front with the light, which is a bit heavy/sags on the forehead and falls off a lot.....

Oh - and it's got to be able to take a few bumps and be weather/oil mist etc proof, eg have some sort of sealing up of a basic nature to the lens etc.

Advice appreciated,
Greg.

I can think of very few headlamps that meet all of your requirements out of the box, but almost any "real" headlamp you get will be better than the £5 ebay torch. If you really want a bright lamp that has no hotspot, then you're restricted to lamps with diffuser lenses, or a handful of high-performance multi-5mm units. If you really want 12+ hours of reasonably bright runtime, then you're restricted to some lithium-powered lamps with the cells in the front or lamps with the cells in the back.

I think the Princeton Tec Corona would probably be your best bet, and the Quad could be ok. Both can run on alkaline, NiMH or lithium primaries, but the Quad will obviously be much dimmer if you want the 10 hr. runtime. The Petzel Myo XP would probably be good too, but I have no personal experience with Petzel products. Also look at Petzel's Tikka XP.

Both companies are known for making high-quality, durable products, and everything I listed is water-resistant.

If you really want the light weight and brightness and runtime, you should look into headlamps that have remote battery packs which you'd clip onto your belt. Lots of regular headlamps can be modded for a remote battery if you're handy. That said, wearing 4xAA on the back of your head isn't too bad.

Edit: I forgot Zebralight products. People on this forum seem to love them, but I haven't used them.

The low mode of the Energizer Hard Case Pro will function as you describe. Top strap is removable, so you can tinker with both using and not using it.
http://www.light-reviews.com/energizer_hcp_4led_headlight/

As a mechanic, you might even have a use for the green LED, which is advertised to detect various fluids easier.

Hands down. . . . you need a Zebralight.

The H60 will run at medium level (45 lumens) for 10 hours. That should be enough at a very decent output. You can go brighter or dimmer as necessary.

With an extra battery, you'd probably never run out of light in a day of work.

There are a lot of nice headlamps out there, but nothing else puts out a perfect flood beam like a zebralight.

I also really like my H50, but you'd need to carry some spare AA's with you each day, but with rechargeables, that is easy to do.

Thank you SO much guys. Well I'm in the UK and struggling to find some of these. I'm very temped by the H60 because it looks like it will take a knock (had experiences with clips/plastic breaking before and didn't like it, never broken a mag etc...) but I also found this which in a couple of reviews is supposed to be ace and focuses to a flood with a 1.25w and uses AA batteries so runtime would be good?

http://www.ledlenser.co.uk/Product_D_HeadFireRevFocus.asp

Question is, it's under half the price of the H60 and I'd have to get some kind of rechargable batteries/charger of good runtime/spares for the H6 (advice please) but currently I have a nimh charger.

HOWEVER, will the one I posted run properly on nimh? I can't find out. I know some have a driver/regulated, or will it run just fine, but a few lumens less?

If the H60 is by far the best/lightest/most robust etc then I think I'll go for that, I can get it in the uk.

But, if it's not much better and one previously posted or the one I posted will about do the job the same for half the price nd I can use nimh....

likeguy, I like the corona best I think from the ones you posted, but don't like the yellow in fact don't like the 'high tech' look of most of them. exposed wires will catch on hooks, yellow rubs on oily hoods etc.... if you see what I mean. I also can't find the corona in the uk? But it's spec looks good.

Marduke, looks good but it doesn't look like it's as powerful as the +1w/H60, unless I'm mistaken I think I read a review and while good it isn't in the same lumens league.

I guess I'm wanting simple, durable - I like the 2 mode on the Revolution Focusing, current one has 3 modes and that annoys me already. I only ever want off, low, or high.

Does my comments help narrow down at all?

Greg.

Yes, take a look at the zebralight. Its ultra wide flood is perfect for close up work and it's really small, light and durable.

If you want to, you can mod you headlamp with a 20mm 80 degree carclo reflector, a SSC P4 and a 7135 based driver. Costs about $15 and you will have a light with as good beam as the zebralight, and with higher output on full.
The zebralight is of course much smaller, lighter and goodlooking.

The Alpkit Gamma may be what you are looking for!

http://www.alpkit.com

Only £12.50 including delivery. My mate got one and it's looking pretty good. The only problem is that the middle connector in the battery pack won't accept a nimh. Alpkit kindly send me a replacement which I'm going to try out.

greg123 said:

Thank you SO much guys. Well I'm in the UK and struggling to find some of these.

Click to expand...

I would guess you're referring to Princeton Tec, 'cause Petzel is French, and definitely distributes internationally. I'm sad to hear that PT doesn't have (much of?) a UK presence. I've been a fan of theirs ever since I saw how outclassed my minimag was by their 4xAA dive lights. Oh well, you'll be happy with whatever you get.

I hope so! I have put the Zebra and the LedLenser focusing on my 'birthday list' so it will be one of them. It's pretty hard to pick between as where one is better, the other is better in other ways (eg not having to buy 18650's and charger + half the price for the LedLenser, 18g lighter & possibly slightly better light output from the H60).

Thanks again,
Greg.

If you dont want to import a Zebralight, try

Flashaholics co uk

or

thephotonshop co uk

Yeah, I can recommend Flashaholics or photon shop. Both are excellent. I really would go for the Zebralight, though. The light is just superb!

The trouble with LED LENSER torches I have had in the past, is that they are not regulated. Which means that they start to dim as soon as you start using them. The Zebralights are regulated, getting you the most consistent light output for the longest time your battery can support! Have you considered the H30 Zebra, which can run off rechargeable RCR123A batts? Very bright and tiny.

I really do urge you to get the Zebralight.



Happy Birthday soon anyhow ( It'll be mine in a couple of weeks...Hmmm...H60?)


Be lucky...