New Headlamp and Flashlight -- Reccomendations?

I'm looking to upgrade my headlamp and flashlight. I currently have a Petzl MYO Zoom and a MiniMagLite (2xAA).

I'm looking for products which run on AAs (I use Lithium Energizers, generally), are RUGGED, and waterproof (water resistant is OK-- but ideally I want to be able to dive with them). Looking to spend around $150 for each.

Main use is hiking-- I've done lots of overnight hikes and the headlamp needs to last ideally 12-16 hours. The Petzl Ultra looks great but I can't afford it-- good standard for the headlamp though. The MYO is too heavy. The other light needs to be there for looking into a pack, EDC stuff, so on. Runtime doesn't have to be as long as the headlamp. Surefire had some good offerings but they don't seem to be waterproof.

Any advice? To be honest, I didn't realize the tech out there was so good until I accidentally bumped into some threads looking for info about the TAD Gear Fastpack. Damn, I didn't know flashlights could be so cool.

Headlamp, I'm not too sure, check the headlamps section.

Preferred price range?
How much throw do you want?
How low would you like the light to have?
2AA or 1AA?
Size?

Surefires are at least water resistant but none of them use AA batteries.

As for flashlights, there are the Fenix L series, the Nitecore lights, the Olights, the Eagletacs, the Jetbeams, the Litefluxes, and probably a few more.

The Fenix LD20/L2D-CE Q5's low more is around/brighter then the Minimag(but less throw due to the wider hotspot) but run for over 50 hours. Some of the other lights can go even lower and run even longer.

:welcome:

:welcome:

Hello


Flashlights / headlights can get very, very, technical.

I'm sure you like both of your lights ( Zoom and Mag) but both have been improved upon in a big way.
I have both lights you mentioned.

Foget the Mag lite brand.... there are many many better lights out there (both brighter and longer lasting) for roughly the same price.
Headlights ........... we are having a disscussion over there about the various merits so .... I just read.

Enjoy the forum

S

Gunner12 said:

........

As for flashlights, check the Fenix L series(check the L2D-CE Q5, the LD20, and the TK20), the Nitecore lights(check the D10, D20, and Defender Infinity), the Olights(check the T15 and T25), the Eagletacs(check the P10A and P10A2), the Jetbeams (check the Jet-I and Jet I EX), the Liteflux(LF5 and LF5X), and probably a few more........

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Please Gunner !lol ..your great but this person is NEW !! they don't need 15 choices . just some gentle advice ? no ?

Looking for something dive rated is going to be hard, I can't think of any that's in your price range and battery choice. However if you are willing to settle with dunkable then there are a lot of choices.

12 to 16 hours is also unrealistic especially even 3AA MYO is too heavy for you, unless you are okay with very low output.

Check out the headlamp section of CPF. As for the flashlight I find the Fenix L2D Q5 near perfect for hikes as it has both throw and flood.

Awesome. Thanks to everyone for the info and the warm welcome.

Revising a few things with your feedback in mind--

AA is a must. 1, 2, 3, whatever, but I don't want to have the hassle of carrying another type of battery (camera, GPS, etcetera all use AA).

If not diveable, dunkable. I can settle for that. Or anything that take a quick drip and survive real downpours.

If 12-16 is no can, then the longer the better. I.e. if it means replacing two AAs for an overnight rather than 4, that's preferred.

I'll take a look at the headlamp section, though, as well as the recomendations.

Here's my setup.
Headlamp: Princeton Tec APEX; the old model with an upgraded Seoul LED. Has 4 AA and 4 useful modes: 4 small 5 mm LED on low or high and 1 3W thrower on low or high. For hiking on a decent trail usually I get along with the 4 small LED on high. Here you should get close to the runtime you would like. I only use the high beam if the trail is really bad and I need to look ahead freqently (e.g. to identify a drop off).
The headlamp is great, very comfortable decent amount of light and rainproof. Problematic is, that after 2 years the plastic has some tension cracks from the screws. Not too happy about that.

Handheld: Nightcore D10, Single cell AA light with variable output. To scan the area or sporadic look ahead. Very decent high and good low and everything in between with corresponding runtime. If you need to scare away evil beasts you might want to go with something with more punch...

Spare: Infinity ultra (5 mm LED, single AA, with 70 h runtime) around my neck and 2 fauxtons on my zipper and on the pull string of the backpack.

dwrz said:

Awesome. Thanks to everyone for the info and the warm welcome.

Revising a few things with your feedback in mind--

AA is a must. 1, 2, 3, whatever, but I don't want to have the hassle of carrying another type of battery (camera, GPS, etcetera all use AA).

If not diveable, dunkable. I can settle for that. Or anything that take a quick drip and survive real downpours.

If 12-16 is no can, then the longer the better. I.e. if it means replacing two AAs for an overnight rather than 4, that's preferred.

I'll take a look at the headlamp section, though, as well as the recomendations.

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Now that makes it a lot easier, pretty much any brand name flashlight can take any sort of downpour without problem. Any of the offerings from fenix, nitecore, olight etc. will work, just find one with the UI you like, look through review forum for ideas.

As for headlight, are you willing to settle for battery pack on either belt or backpack? Princeton tec apex comes in a belt version with 8 AA battery pack, and with 8 lithiums it can probably do 8 hours on high (130 lumens) and at least 12 hours on low (still very bright) no problem. This would leave you with very little weight on head.

Again, thanks for all the advice.

First of all, a few questions. What's the difference between, say,a Fenix and a Surefire?

What's the difference between a Fenix LD2Q5 and an LD20? (Took a look at these Fenixes).

What's the difference between a $50 and a $150 flashlight? I can tell the difference between an Petzl Ultra and a MYO, but not so much with other stuff.

I've been looking at the Zebralight H60-- is it AA or just something that looks a lot like it? The Princeton Tec Quad Tactical looks pretty good, too.

I need to figure out what the brightness (lumens?) is on my lights, though, so I can figure out what these ones can do, comparatively.

By the way, I realized just now that I actually would be _fine_ with a battery back on my headlamp. I can only think of one as a huge pain carrying it alone, but I just realized I could probably stuff one in a MOLLE pouch one the side of one of my packs, which would make it infinitely more bearable. (Edit: I just realized specifically stated this, jzmtl-- sorry, a tad underslept).

I'll check out the other suggestions. Again, thanks.

dwrz said:

First of all, a few questions. What's the difference between, say,a Fenix and a Surefire?

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The easiest answer based on your request is: There are no AA Surefires out here. The other large difference: Surefire has a proven and tested track record in harshest conditions - not to mention the larger selection of models.

dwrz said:

What's the difference between a Fenix LD2Q5 and an LD20? (Took a look at these Fenixes).

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I guess you mean LD2Q5 and E20? The latter only has a simpler user interface and a less efficient LED. Somebody might chime in with some additional insights.

dwrz said:

What's the difference between a $50 and a $150 flashlight? I can tell the difference between an Petzl Ultra and a MYO, but not so much with other stuff.

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Very philosophical question - I am passing here. The most frequent sentence you here in the board is: You get what you pay....

dwrz said:

I've been looking at the Zebralight H60-- is it AA or just something that looks a lot like it?

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The H60 is not AA - the battery is a rechargable LiIon. I am still waiting for the H501 model with AA batteries and a more narrow beam then the H50. If it actually will be sold (this month?) then this would be a great hiking light.

Thanks.

What I meant was, why is it that a Surefire of similar capability costs more? Is it just brand name, or something else?

No, I mean the LD20:
http://fenixgear.com/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=37#catalog/img/2-ld20.jpg

"You get what you pay for"-- sure. I believe that in a more or less functional free market. But what is it that you get that's more?

For example-- I know the difference between a Chinese built car and a Japanese one. The difference between a Honda and a Mercedes, well, it's hard to say which might be better, really. But I can tell the difference between a Honda, a Mercedes, and a Ferrari. I can also tell the difference between an Aston, a Bentley, a Lambo, and a Ferrari. As well as the difference between a Ferrari Gran Turismo type car and a Formula 1 car. How does it work with flashlights? I know this is a big question, but I'm just looking for a rough idea right now.

Good to know about the Zebralight!

dwrz said:

Thanks.

What I meant was, why is it that a Surefire of similar capability costs more? Is it just brand name, or something else?

No, I mean the LD20:
http://fenixgear.com/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=37#catalog/img/2-ld20.jpg

"You get what you pay for"-- sure. I believe that in a more or less functional free market. But what is it that you get that's more?

For example-- I know the difference between a Chinese built car and a Japanese one. The difference between a Honda and a Mercedes, well, it's hard to say which might be better, really. But I can tell the difference between a Honda, a Mercedes, and a Ferrari. I can also tell the difference between an Aston, a Bentley, a Lambo, and a Ferrari. As well as the difference between a Ferrari Gran Turismo type car and a Formula 1 car. How does it work with flashlights? I know this is a big question, but I'm just looking for a rough idea right now.

Good to know about the Zebralight!

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Surefire is an u.s. company that has higher operating cost and higher profit margin (they just bumped price up to 50% across the board a few months ago, with no change to any models), Fenix is a Chinese company that has lower cost and profit margin, pretty much as simple as that.

LD20 is the successor to L2DQ5, I believe the electronics are the same, just changed appearance.

As for what is the difference between a $50 and $150 light that's going to be hard to say. As between SF and Fenix the cost obviously, and how much "prestige" the brand has will also determine how much the mark up will be. Also functionality, some light use 1 emitter some use 5, but that comes back to cost. It's sorta like cars on how the price works, you'll figure things out soon.

Surefires are theoretically built to be really tough. They are made with military, law enforcement in mind.
Fenix are well built, but not likely to survive being smashed, dropped, and otherwise abused as well as a surefire.
For me, Fenix is a MUCH better deal, and I havent managed to break either one of mine, and I use them daily in an industrial environment.

If I were looking for a light for hiking, where weight tends to be important, I would be looking at the Nitecore D10. My roomate got one for Christmas, and I like it alot. Very bright on high, and low is low enough to not kill your nightvision, and has every level in between. Took me a few minutes to get used to the interface, ramping up/down the brightness, but after that, I prefer it over my Fenix.
https://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=93&products_id=502

For a headlamp, look at the Zebralight H50
https://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=89&products_id=434

First, try not to mention Surefire along with any other light company. It can spark a fierce debate and can end with the thread locked.

As for L2D-CE Q5 vs LD20, the LD20 is redesigned to have a more grippy body, anti-roll, and a slightly more throwy reflector. It also has different output settings on the circuit, the low, medium, and high are lower.

The Zebralights are flood lights from what I remember.

Look are more then lumen, also look at the lux figures(those you would have to find from reviews). Lumen is the total amount of light and lux is how much light per area(so how far it can throw). Companies also measure lumen differently so 100 lumen from one company might be 150 to another.

Also, it takes 4x the lumen for a light to seem 2x as bright as another.

The current gen LEDs are twice(or more) the efficiency of the last gen ones. Same power twice the output.

The Myo is probably around 60-70 lumen at 1200-1300 lux at 1 meter and the Minimag is around 9-10 lumen at 800-900 lux at 1 meter.

you might look at the Zebralight Z-50 headlamp and the Fenix range of AA flashlights LD10, LD20 (have the same head), E20 and Tk20

Indeed had I not invested in Taktikka and had other priorities I would go thsi route but with a custom AA flashlight I will be building...

Good luck, Kostas

drmaxx said:

The easiest answer based on your request is: There are no AA Surefires out here. The other large difference: Surefire has a proven and tested track record in harshest conditions - not to mention the larger selection of models.

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When Surefire actually releases their Saint headlamp, it will be possible to run it on 3 AA's. It is supposed to come out in the next couple of months (but it was also supposed to be released last fall).

When it comes out, it will easily be the most durable most waterproof off-the-shelf AA powered headlamp. . .

Yucca Patrol said:

When Surefire actually releases their Saint headlamp, it will be possible to run it on 3 AA's. It is supposed to come out in the next couple of months (but it was also supposed to be released last fall).

When it comes out, it will easily be the most durable most waterproof off-the-shelf AA powered headlamp. . .

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I believe it's 3 123a or 2 AA, and the AA feature is more for emergency backup. (Unless anybody has the guts to mod and add a custom battery pack.

Again, thanks to all.

I'm leaning towards the Fenix LD-20 and the Nitecore. For the headlamp I really like to Apex Extreme, except for the horrific orange color. Just wondering-- the Apex seems to last the longest, but is it also the most power efficient? In other words, is it possible that on a model where I might have to replace batteries more often, in the long term I would still be using less batteries?

Thanks also for all the other info-- very good to know. And my apologies for bringing up the Surefire thing-- it's just a recognizable brand name, and I wanted to know what the big deal was-- not trying to start anything off. Thanks for the head's up though.

dwrz said:

Again, thanks to all.

I'm leaning towards the Fenix LD-20 and the Nitecore. For the headlamp I really like to Apex Extreme, except for the horrific orange color. Just wondering-- the Apex seems to last the longest, but is it also the most power efficient? In other words, is it possible that on a model where I might have to replace batteries more often, in the long term I would still be using less batteries?

Thanks also for all the other info-- very good to know. And my apologies for bringing up the Surefire thing-- it's just a recognizable brand name, and I wanted to know what the big deal was-- not trying to start anything off. Thanks for the head's up though.

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Apex comes in black too, make sure you get the new 130 lumen version which has the efficent newest generation emitter.