For outside use with your headlamp what is your "thrower"?

Many people have mentioned that when hiking or pretty much doing anything outside where they are using their headlamp that they also carry a "thrower" for those occasions where that's needed.

Presumably your "thrower" is fairly light weight.

What are some of the lights that you carry in this circumstance for throw?

I know Robo has just got a new one and I have a few possible alternatives coming in the mail.

Currently I sometimes use a light that is 150 mm long, with a body diameter of 22 mm and a head with a diameter of 40 mm using an aspheric (kind of home made/mod thus the measurements rather than the name).

It's great and not too big/heavy (one 18650) but the lights coming in the mail are all one AA form factor and smaller.

What do you use?

my headlamps consist of a H501w and H31wf...
so depending on which im using ill go with the same battery format...

i have a few dedicated throwers...

Catapult V1 modded with warm tint XM-L - way too heavy for extended carry.
high CRI XP-G Armytek Predator - my newest and favorite thrower atm. and is probably my "go to" thrower.
Quark AA turbo warm tint - AA thower, with optional single or 2xAA bodies.

semi-throwers :
E2DL - inop atm, waiting for XP-G mod.
Jetbeam III M - car duty.

My Fenix HL20 can toss a beam out there. If not that I take a 1XAA like an LD10/Olight T15. Sometimes use my TK20.

I have a Quark Mini S3 that throws good enough for me(a solid 50+yards). could be a few ounces lighter if I used the Aluminum model. If weight is not much of a concern I have my Quark Turbo or Fenix tk 15 these will spot to 100 yards on Turbo. The Quark has the awesome moon mode too.

I always bring an aspheric light using 14500 as I prefer lightweight now. Tandem it with my H51 headlamp.

Ian2381 said:

I always bring an aspheric light using 14500 as I prefer lightweight now. Tandem it with my H51 headlamp.

Click to expand...

What aspheric light are you using (or what light did you mod)?

When running or camping, my favorite is my Zebralight H51 on my head and my Quark Turbo X for when I need some throw. The turbo x is small enough to comfortably ride in my pocket when needed.

If on a hiking trip then ZL H51 on my head and my quark AA with a 14500 Li-ion for the extra output. The quark throws a good bit better and is brighter than the ZL H51. Both are AA, so I like this set up.

Surefire G2 in yellow Nitrolon, with a three-mode Solarforce XP-G drop-in. Usually stoked with an 18650, with a coupla CR123A's for emergencies. Very nice lumens/ounce ratio there.

Might change if I get that new Zebralight H502. My current go-to headlamp is a Petzl Tikka XP, so I have to carry two kinds of batteries; I'd like to standardize on AA/14500 to simplify things.

L2P with AHorton aspheric and MaSha 1.4a Q5 "NW" XR-E EZ900 direct soldered to
copper slug n pill.

Panasonic NCR 18650 with tape wrapped around it to keep it from jiggling.

I usually have my ST6 NW460 or H51
depending on the trip

the thrower THROWS!!

gcbryan said:

What aspheric light are you using (or what light did you mod)?

Click to expand...

Either of below.
Solarforce L2M R2 w/ aspheric lens moded to take 1xAA and 1x14500
Romisen RC29 nw
Romisen RC29 warm direct drive using 14500
Sipik SK68
Solarforce L2m w/ R5 and smooth reflector

Currently i'm rethinking my setup as which light is best for throw in a foggy night.

I'm into 24 hr cross-country racing and it's not unusual to do 100km on foot. So every bit of weight you can cut out helps. So I go for 18650/p60 sized throwers. Nice and small but plenty of punch. I have used 75, 66 and 50 and 44mm Aspheric throwers and they are lovely to use, but terrible to carry. Too big to fit in a pocket since I want to be able to run too. The P60 - 18650 size goes in a pocket easily and I don't notice it when I run.

I also need a few hours out of it so single AA/AAA lights with boost circuitry just are not an option. I really don't like stopping for a battery change during an event. and I'd need to 3 or more times with the best AA cells.

just for the record, my "thrower" isn't much of a thrower. it's just a basic compact 14500 XR-E with a 18mm LOP reflector, too small to do any real damage. it lights up 50 meters pretty easily but i don't think it reaches 100m with any real effectiveness. good thing for me 50m is all i really need.

Malkoff MD2/M60 or a Surefire L1 if I want to carry something smaller.

robostudent5000 said:

just for the record, my "thrower" isn't much of a thrower. it's just a basic compact 14500 XR-E with a 18mm LOP reflector, too small to do any real damage. it lights up 50 meters pretty easily but i don't think it reaches 100m with any real effectiveness. good thing for me 50m is all i really need.

Click to expand...

That's probably about all I'm looking for as well. It's more for how focused and bright it is for picking up details that the headlamp can illuminate but not well enough for the details.

I have a 14500 coming with a 23 mm head (XR-E) and I have a 22 mm aspheric coming as well so if I can put it all together it may have a bit more throw than the typical light in this size range.

Right now it's my Q123^2 XPE-Q4/5A head on an 18650 body. It's not a dedicated thrower by any means, but it does the job. Usually it's my Jet-3 Pro ST with a Q3/5A XRE in it, but it's out for warranty service right now.

On a side note, I did my first real caving experience this weekend with my son at Lava Beds National Monument, in the lava-tube caves they have there. Did a couple of the more challenging ones that required helmets, knee and elbow pads, etc. I found my ST5-190NW to be the best for headlamp needs like crawling through the tight spaces and fishing stuff out of my pack; I have it set up with the clear lens with DC-fix. For walking sections my SC50w+ held low was very helpful for viewing the surface ahead of me to help me plan my steps. There were times though, like when needing to see down a long tube or into a large chamber I needed a good thrower, and my Quark worked well for that, although if I'm going to do more of this stuff (which I would like to) I think a small dedicated thrower would be nice to have.

I go exploring in old mines so I generally want a flood style lamp when wandering around. I want a lamp with throw when I come to a shaft and want to see how deep it is. I have an Apex Pro 130 on one helmet and an Apex Pro 200 on the other. (no, I don't wear both helmets at the same time...I'm not that clumsy)

For my use it's a pretty decent light. I wouldn't mind a Sten, Scurion, or other custom lamp, but for now it meets my needs. I'm going to mod them both to run off of a 18650 x 3 battery pack so I'm not having to change batteries every day.

Joanne

Either my Surefire L1 or Maelstrom G5. Depends on how much throw I want or how much weight I feel like carrying.

I'll be heading off to summer camp this Sunday,and I'm pairing my Black Diamond Storm with my Preon 2. (Don't want something really bright like my TK40,since it doesn't get dark until 8:30PM or so..and I don't want to get into trouble strobing people with 630 lumens from my TK40.)

Also,having my lightweight Preon 2 vs my relatively heavy TK40 would make a difference when I'm out hiking.

Olight T10 is a great little thrower and wonderfully pocketable. Although I am soom to buy a Predator, as it looks the business.