Headlamps - advice needed

Hello everyone, this is my first post ,

I would like to get some advice about head lamps. But first some info about me and my uses for the headlamps. I spend quite allot of time walking in the hills and mountains of the UK, Often at night. I also cycle quite a bit in the evening and night, and walk the dog early morning and evening times. With the days getting shorter and the dark evenings getting longer it has made me think about getting a decent headlamp.

Whilst doing my research I drawn up a shortlist:
Petzl myo rxp
BD ICON
Princeton Tec Apex
LED LENser h7r

cOuld you give me your opinions and recommendations on my list? And are there any other headlamps you think I should consider

there are more up-to-date headlamps out there for similar prices. i'd look at Zebralight and Spark headlamps. those are the most advanced headlamps that you can find under $100 US these days.

the Myo RXP and the Apex have their fans, but are both old designs and have had some reliability issues over the years. if i had to choose between the two, i'd probably choose the Myo. the best thing about the Apex is it's iron clad warranty for US owners, but since you're in the UK the warranty isn't as good and also kind of meaningless since you would have to pay to ship it back to the US when it breaks.

i think you can cross the Black Diamond Icon and the LED Lenser off your list all together. i think you'll want something that can take some rain, and neither of those are close to being waterproof. plus both of them are really old.

check out the Zebras and Sparks.

how about the petzl tikka2 with rechargable Core

Regarding the Myo RXP, I've got one and am very happy with it. I like that it's regulated and flips between flood and throw. Not sure what 'reliability issues' robostudent is referring to... mine has been entirely reliable for years. At the moment, in the UK, there's an ebay seller that always has RXPs on auction... they tend to go for around 50-55 quid, which isn't bad considering competing online prices. (You won't have a hard time finding the seller.)

borrower said:

Regarding the Myo RXP, I've got one and am very happy with it. I like that it's regulated and flips between flood and throw. Not sure what 'reliability issues' robostudent is referring to... mine has been entirely reliable for years.(You won't have a hard time finding the seller.)

Click to expand...

some older units had cable issues.

Good link, robostudent -- thanks. I think mine is one that's referred to as faulty, but I've had no problems.

In my experience with gear and wear and tear from use and outside use. Metal kills plastic in durability. Glass lenses don't scratch as easy as plastic. Plastics tend to get brittle or warp over time that is the reason I'll +1 ROBO in the Zebras and sparks.

I still have my very first Mini mag(20 years). Don't have that old plastic hand held though!

I have the Apex and can certainly recommend it. Not sure which version you are looking at, but I have the "extreme" version that has an external battery pack that holds eight AA cells. The pack can be worn on your belt or tucked inside your coat in the winter to keep the batteries warm. Run times are quite long too. Like you, I also cycle at night. The apex can be affixed to my helmet using a Velcro strap and is plenty bright.

I have had none of the aforementioned reliability issues.

PT's warranty is indeed iron clad here in the US, but I would think they would honor it in the UK too. Just a matter of shipping. But if that concerns you, just drop them an e-mail and ask.

Personally I'm not really a huge fan of the corded headlamps. They are bulky and heavy and impossible to put in your pocket when you are done with them. Unless you really need the high output I'd consider the smaller Princeton Tec EOS, Petzl Tikka XP2, and Black Diamond Storm/Spot first. Or Zebralight or Spark for the matter.

I have a few headlamps, but if I were to use one for biking, right now it would probably be my Princeton Tex Remix Pro... Plenty of throw and ultra light weight means no shifting around on your head when riding over rough terrain... I'd be too afraid of my Zebra's switch failing after rolling over a rock too hard or something... I can't say anything about Petzl or Spark because I've never owned one...

My 10 year old son has a LED Lenser H7R. He had a H7, but it broke (the adjustment that allows the light to face up or down...very flimsy and has been a chronic problem with this light.) Lowes let him exchange it for the H7R which is very similar. I am not a LED Lenser fan, but I have to admit that the beam quality of the new H7R is exceptionally good. The flood setting looks as good as my Zebralight H501 (but brighter,) and the spot setting is quite nice with some useable spill (unlike its predicessors.) It also has a very useful variable adjustment switch which allows the light to go from dim to bright. The major drawbacks for the H7R are that it's still very flimsy, has a 3 AAA battery pack that uncomfortably rides on the back of your head, is bulky & heavy, not as bright as a zebra or a spark, and worse of all is that it's in the same price range as zebras and sparks.

My favorite headlight right now is my Zebralight H51 which runs on a single AA producing 200 lumens if using an eneloop or an energizer lithium AA battery. Alkalines work fine in it, but cannot achieve the brightest setting....just not enough power in an alkaline.

I'm pretty sure that the new Zebralight H600 (which runs on an 18650 Li-ion rechargeable) will soon be my favorite headlamp. It's available for pre-order at the moment, but this light requires an investment into Li-ion battery & charger (which aint cheap when buying the recommended brands like the AW brand.)