I am only allowed two lights, help!

Okay, so I'm determined to have only two flashlights/headlamps, as I'm somewhat of a minimalist when it comes to worldly possessions. I'd really appreciate your suggestions.

I've grown partial to the idea of getting two 1xAA neutral light Zebralights. Both would come with me on trips outdoors, and at least one needs to be a headlamp. It seems that my options are pretty much H501W, H51FW, H51W, SC51W, and SC51FW. This is where I get stuck.

Almost all of my outdoors activities include camping and climbing. Rarely will I be on a climb when dark, so ignore that use case. But, we often pack up as it turns dark and need to scramble back to the tent/car at low speed with a lot of weight in the dark. This can involve boulder fields and sketchy footwork. It seemed like the H51FW was perfect for this. I thought that it would be floody enough for camp as well, and that I could simply bring along a SC51FW as a backup. If I needed decent throw I just reach into my pocket and pull it out.

But, I may have fallen into the cult of flood worshipers after seeing some H501W beamshots and videos. This messes everything up. If I went with the H501W (or waited for its prodigy), what would my second light be? The H501W wouldn't work on the trails and the H51 or SC51 seem way to spotty for the delicate footwork I need. I worry about being left without throw, but maybe the H51FW would be enough.

So... what is the best mix for my purpose? How practical are Zebralight headlamps as the occasional handheld device, assuming that my backup would be in my pocket while outside and would be on my nightstand when at home.

I have a H51F. It's great light but a little more flood would be nice. I'm waiting for the H502w to come out. Also for your pocket light I would look for something with a hotspot. I went caving a little while ago with my H51F and I was glad that I had my Fenix LD10 as a backup for a little more throw.

how about a floody headlamp and a throwy 1xAA? i think thats a good combo

AaronG mentioned the H502w, and and i would agree, cause my H501w is only about 80 lumens, and its not very bright on max, and it gets hot after awhile. but who knows when ZL will release it.

Spark makes a single AA headlamp with neutral XM-L, it also comes with a clear, and frosted lens.
but i think a H51Fw would be nice too.

my AA pocket thrower is a Quark AA Turbo with a single AA body.

the Zebralights with XP-G dont have great throw, the hotspot is quite wide.
the older XP-E versions have better range. but arent as bright

but both will light your path well enough for the trails

it's kind of hard to hike difficult terrain with a pure flood headlamp because the beam doesn't throw far enough to really light up the ground like you need it to. it takes like 100+ lumens of pure flood to light up the ground the same way like 30 lumens of reflectored semi flood (like the H51F) can. but at the same time, for working around camp, especially when you have a lot of gear to deal with, there's just no substitute for pure flood.

if you can't carry three lights (pure flood, semi flood, and a bright thrower) you'll need to compromise somewhere.

I do the kind of things that you do and I use the H51f. I personally don't have a need for anything that is even more floody.

I also have the H51 but I didn't like that effect so I put a piece of tape over the lens. Now it throws a bit further than the H51f but is still diffused. I also use this as a backup.

If I had it to do over I probably wouldn't have gotten the H51. The H51f is perfect however for most things.

I pair that with a single AA flashlight with a XR-E emitter (it's an Ultrafire BJO8A). I put a forward clicky in it and a DX TIR lens in place of the reflector and am thinking about trying an aspheric if I can find one with a short enough focal length.

I'm going to run it on a 14500 li-ion. The idea was to use the H51f most of the time and have a small dedicated thrower in my pocket.

I also keep a ITP A3 around my neck. I kind of like the minimalist approach as well. I own more lights but these are the three I actually use.

Just wanted to clarify. I would like more flood on my H51F. That being said it would still be my first choice out of any current production headlamp. I was just nitpicking. My only change would be that I would pick the H51Fw. The H51Fc seems like a good idea but that's a huge hit in lumens

dombomb said:

How practical are Zebralight headlamps as the occasional handheld device

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I've been considering a ZebraLight H51/H51w/H51c for my new primary EDC flashlight, actually, and I don't see why the angled head would make it less practical when held in the hand than other flashlights--it's much like pointing a handgun, I guess, which may be even more natural and ergonomic than using regular flashlights. I mean, at least you wouldn't be holding your arm up like with tail-switched flashlights or bending your wrist down at a pretty steep angle like with side-switched flashlights. The only issue I can think of would be intuitively finding the right orientation, but the clip and shape of the head should help with that.

AaronG said:

My only change would be that I would pick the H51Fw. The H51Fc seems like a good idea but that's a huge hit in lumens

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It's a big hit in lumens on the high modes, but curiously the opposite is true for the medium and low modes. :thinking: The Rebel has always been more efficient than Cree's offerings at lower drive currents when comparing emitters from similar flux bins, but I didn't expect the difference to be so pronounced that a lower-output, higher-CRI Rebel emitter could surpass an XP-G--it even beats the cool white version on some modes! oo:

Another thing I'm curious about is why the high-CRI ZebraLights apparently use a Rebel as opposed to a Rebel ES (correct me if I'm wrong, as I haven't gotten a close look at one yet). :thinking: According to Lumileds' data sheets, there is a Rebel ES emitter (LXW8-PW40) that has the exact same output spectrum but with 25% greater output (interestingly there is also a 5000K emitter with a CRI of 85). On the flip side, for those who are more interested in throw, a Rebel would out-throw it, and possibly even out-throw the brighter cool and neutral versions of the H51 (in theory, I haven't compared them directly).

This is a tough one, and one I've thought a lot about as well. I use my lights for camping, hiking, and running. I like the single AA battery setup the best. I really like throw for hiking & running, and I like flood lights for close up work. My solution has been to put a zebralight H501w on the same headband as my zebralight H51 when I go camping. One is on the front of my head while the other is on the back adding only a minimal amount of weight. When I need the other light I just rotate the headband around. This is a good solution, and very useful. If I could only have one of them though it'd be the H51. I use it way more than the H501w. I think the H51 is the best all around light for my uses, and I don't find the hotspot to be annoying for most tasks. For reading I use my zebralight H501w, and it is perfect for that use & other close up work. The H501 is not good for hiking or running though because it simply does not throw far enough. I doubt the soon to be released H502 will be adequate for hiking or running either since it will be a pure flood light as well. Still, I'd recommend getting both headlamps & use them on the same headband. Both lights are awesome, and are among my most used.

For pocket carry and for better throw in a single AA configuration I carry a Quark AA R5 using a 4.2v 14500 Li-ion rechargeable. The quark can use regular AA batteries, but runs much brighter on a Li-ion battery. In fact it is as bright as a 2x AA Quark producing over 200 ANSI lumens. The Quark AA is brighter and throws better than the zebralight H51 making it very useful on while hiking & running.

So, when I go hiking I take both zebralights on the same headband and my Quark AA rides in my pocket. Great lightweight set up.

GaAslamp said:

I've been considering a ZebraLight H51/H51w/H51c for my new primary EDC flashlight, actually, and I don't see why the angled head would make it less practical when held in the hand than other flashlights--it's much like pointing a handgun, I guess, which may be even more natural and ergonomic than using regular flashlights. I mean, at least you wouldn't be holding your arm up like with tail-switched flashlights or bending your wrist down at a pretty steep angle like with side-switched flashlights. The only issue I can think of would be intuitively finding the right orientation, but the clip and shape of the head should help with that.



It's a big hit in lumens on the high modes, but curiously the opposite is true for the medium and low modes. :thinking: The Rebel has always been more efficient than Cree's offerings at lower drive currents when comparing emitters from similar flux bins, but I didn't expect the difference to be so pronounced that a lower-output, higher-CRI Rebel emitter could surpass an XP-G--it even beats the cool white version on some modes! oo:

Another thing I'm curious about is why the high-CRI ZebraLights apparently use a Rebel as opposed to a Rebel ES (correct me if I'm wrong, as I haven't gotten a close look at one yet). :thinking: According to Lumileds' data sheets, there is a Rebel ES emitter (LXW8-PW40) that has the exact same output spectrum but with 25% greater output (interestingly there is also a 5000K emitter with a CRI of 85). On the flip side, for those who are more interested in throw, a Rebel would out-throw it, and possibly even out-throw the brighter cool and neutral versions of the H51 (in theory, I haven't compared them directly).

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That's really interesting. I only looked at the max output and assumed it would be that way throughout the modes. I'll have to keep an eye on that when the H502 becomes available

I've had the cool versions of H501, H51F, H51 and SC51, and my suggestion is for the H501W and SC51W. That gives you the lovely even beam of the H501 (and I think it gives enough throw for slow, careful picking your way amongst boulders) plus the longer throw with a reasonable hot spot of the SC51W. I preferred the SC51 as a handheld light over the H51 (I just couldn't get a comfortable , natural way of holding it for walking along). I recently sold my H51F as I didn't use it much (my H501 and SC51 were getting all the run time).

Depending on your preferences and time frames the H502 may suit you better than the H501 (as mentioned by others already).

If you asked me to get rid of all but 2 of my lights, I would keep:

Zebralight H501W
Fenix TK20

Both of mine have always been rock solid. They run on the same AA fuel. They both have gorgeous neutral tints. One is a dedicated outdoor thrower and the other is a dedicated up-close floodlight. They're the lights I always recommend to any of my non-flashaholic acquaintances for their ease of use and durability.

Don't need 2 lights, only need one, which in a way, is 2 lights in one, Surefire A2.

I subscribe to the floody headlamp and kind of throwy handheld, both with multiple output levels. For AA I recommend a Regular Quark and a Zebra 501 headlamp. For 123 I like a Surefire Saint Minimus and a HDS EDC. I very seldom find an application that these pairs can't meet.

ebow86 said:

Don't need 2 lights, only need one, which in a way, is 2 lights in one, Surefire A2.

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I'd be interested to see your headlamp arrangement

This is BS. You don't need to be "allowed" anything. You're an adult and can buy as many flashlights as you want. It's perfectly legal and absolutely innocuous.

Just go get them. After the 20th you'll slow down and by 30 you'll be pretty much done, with the odd purchase afterwards when something really special comes up.

At $50 a pop on average, it's not even a bad deal at all, one week of skiing will trump that fer sure.

Nap. :devil:

Napalm said:

This is BS. You don't need to be "allowed" anything. You're an adult and can buy as many flashlights as you want.

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But he doesn't want to buy more than two....

Napalm said:

Just go get them. After the 20th you'll slow down and by 30 you'll be pretty much done, with the odd purchase afterwards when something really special comes up.

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Said the consumerist to the minimalist.

GaAslamp said:

But he doesn't want to buy more than two....

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That's just his story for now. If he bothered to create an account here he's hooked.

I say resistance is futile. The single good thing about being an adult is that you can satisfy your toy cravings without mommy and pop having to "allow" it first. So just do it. With no remorse. Enjoy life.

Nap. :devil:

Napalm said:

That's just his story for now. If he bothered to create an account here he's hooked.

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Perhaps...I can't speak for the OP, obviously, but I strive to keep things as minimal as possible myself. That's why I plan to use a ZebraLight H51 as a headlamp, task lamp, and hand-held flashlight. If I bought myself everything I wanted --and in this particular hobby I definitely could--then I doubt that I would appreciate what I have as much. I've managed to keep my purchases well under control in all of my other hobbies. My only concession to excess, which I freely albeit sheepishly admit, is that I have way too many hobbies. :laughing:

AaronG said:

I'd be interested to see your headlamp arrangement

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With a decent headband and the Aviators pocket clip I'm sure one could come up with something that works.

ebow86 said:

With a decent headband and the Aviators pocket clip I'm sure one could come up with something that works.

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Not to mention that tying a lithium pipe bomb to your head may win you a honorable mention here:

http://www.darwinawards.com/

Nap.