What headlamp do you recommend?

I am looking to buy a headlamp for my wife so she can read at night without the light on.It would need to be comfortable to wear and not to fiddly to use. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif

PT Aurora maybe. Should run for several hours on AAA rechargeables.

I've done that. PT Aurora, Maha 750 NiMHs. The flicker in the low beam is more pronounced with the NiMHs than with alkaline, but the light is not overly bright on full power.

The Aurora is also lightweight and pivots vertically, so it can be placed according to comfort, not needed beam angle.

Might want to also think about putting a yellow CMG Infinity on a reading lamp-style articulated arm.

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daz said:
I am looking to buy a headlamp for my wife so she can read at night without the light on.It would need to be comfortable to wear and not to fiddly to use. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif

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Get the Streamlight Clip-Mate. 3 white led's, comfortable head-band included. You can take it off the headband and it has a clip that she could actually probably clip onto the book. Not to mention you can take the clip off too and use it for a small flashlight around the house. It takes 3 aaa batteries(included), has lifetime warranty, and only costs $15 from brightguy.com or if you have an Ace Hardware nearby you can go pick one up for $20.

I love mine, I've used it a couple of times in headlight mode and it's very comfortable. Oh yeah, it can be rotated and pivoted so that she won't have to bend her neck as much to get the light pointed at the book.

Electrol;emens has a fairly inexpensive LED headlight. Or,you could also get a $5.00 Itty Bitty Booklight (thats its name) that clips to the back of the book at most bookstores.

How about a Petzl Tikka. I love mine, light weight comfortable to wear, reasonably priced, readily available in the UK and for reading in bed your looking at 100 hours plus run time.

A second vote for the Tikka.
It's small, extremely comfortable and not too bright to wake anyone up.
We keep one hanging off the bedstead for that very purpose.

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daz said:
I am looking to buy a headlamp for my wife so she can read at night without the light on.It would need to be comfortable to wear and not to fiddly to use. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif

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I solved this same problem by getting my wife a Light Voyager Booklight which she loves:

http://www.technoscout.com/general/product/product.asp?product=1803

The big advantage is that it gives a nice, bright "flood" of light which covers the whole page at a time, so she doesn't have to keep moving the light around to read. Uses common AA's. Folds up into a nice, compact size. Note, however, that it is not LED, but rather cold cathode fluorescent (CCFL).

I have the same problem. I tried two clip on book lights. The first, had a screw in bulb, wasn't real bright, and required 4 C batteries. The second used a minimag style bulb, and took 4 AA's - it was very bright, almost two bright, but the batteries were part of the unit which made it heavy.

The PT Aurora works great, is light, has long batt life (so far) and the flicker on low mode isn't noticeable to me - I can't see it. It's just enough light to see the whole book, with little left over. It also works with papers, magazines, and other things the clip-on lights won't clip on to. Another plus is that when you look away from the book, say, to take a drink or get a kleenex or something, the light goes with you.

My favorite, though, is putting the book in e-book format on my Sony T665 palm - great screen, auto scroll, built in dictionary, and, of course, the backlight.

I think the PT Aurora would be good also. Small, and so light is is barely noticable.

I have a Petzl Tikka, and I don't particularly recommend it.

With very little usage, the switch has already begun to fail. Sometimes it doesn't turn the light on, and when it does the light flickers.

If you want something not too bright, I suggest one of the dimmable headlights, like the Princeton Tec Aurora. For me, the Tikka seems to always be too bright or too dim (usually the latter).

I like the PT Matrix best for reading in bed. With the Aurora, because its so close to your forehead, it reflects a little in my glasses when it is tilted down far enough for reading.

If anybody wants to do an intermediate mod, the Eveready is not a bad choice. I put in a Luxeon high-dome. Also, replaced the 2 red leds with 2 white ones. It now has 3 settings.

1.Low is 3 white leds. Functional for most situations.

2.Medium is Luxeon at 125ma. Nice spot but slightly green.

3.High is Luxeon at full current~330ma. Same tight spot but fairly white.

Thanks guys for all your recommendations.I`m swinging towards either the PT Aurora or the Petzl Tikka.
I saw on Richard L Hess flashlight site that the PT Aurora
has "an annoying flick flick that makes it less than ideal as a reading light".

Have any of you noticed this? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Petl Zipka

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daz said:
I saw on Richard L Hess flashlight site that the PT Aurora
has "an annoying flick flick that makes it less than ideal as a reading light". Have any of you noticed this? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif


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I had an Aurora (now lost /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mecry.gif ) I never noticed the flicker. I got a strobe effect by moving it fast, you see several lights as opposed to one line. However several have reported the flicker so it may be luck of the draw.
I recomend the Aurora strongly /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

The stream light headlamps have improved recently with textured reflectors,might want to look @ those.

My Aurora doesn't flicker on any mode, and I've used it as a reading light from time to time.

I like the Zipka's little retractable headstrap system -- beyond use as a reading light, the retractable headstrap would make the light easier to carry and make it more versatile as a handlight. The big question I'd have is comfort ... I don't know how comfortable the thin elastic straps would be, and it seems like the blue plastic piece at the back (which would be at the back of your head) would be grinding into both your head and the pillow if used as a reading light. If that's not the case, then I'd go with the Zipka if I had it to do over again, but I can't see how you can avoid the plastic piece becoming uncomfortable against the pillow (the Aurora just has a soft strap all the way around).

Joe

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daz said:
I am looking to buy a headlamp for my wife so she can read at night without the light on.It would need to be comfortable to wear and not to fiddly to use. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif

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I didn't like my Tikka for backpacking. If you hike for any length of time in the dark you need to make sure you start the trip with a fresh set of AAAs--seemed wasteful to me. I never had a good use for the old partly charged AAAs.

That said, I think it would be a good choice for the stated purpose. It is comfortable to wear (moreso than the Zipka), not as fiddly to use as the Aurora and uses common AAAs unlike the Black Diamond Ion.

I have a Zipka and on me it fits comfortable in spite of the thin strap. As a matter of fact I have forgotten it a few times when it has been switched off