Looking for a low profile headlamp for mechanical work.

I dont even know where to start with this. I took a gander here and didnt see much that pertained to my situation. I need a headlamp for mechanical work. I need it to be floody and small to fit on my bump cap. Id like it to run on AAA batteries, since my work supplies them free.I also receive free AA batteries too. Also I would like to have the batteries inside of the light. I dont want the pack on the side or back of my head.. I'd also like it more natural white color toned too if possible, and really only need one mode. Or just low and high. I also dont want to spend much, say 30-45 dollars? Thanks!

Many around here (including me) feel that the Zebralight H501 (cool white) or the H501w (neutral tint) has served as one of the very best flood headllamps around. It runs on a single AA, and the light is not much bigger than a AA battery.

The H501 is on the top 10 Flashaholic's "Must Have" List for some pretty good reasons. I have lots of headlights, and none of em are as good as the H501w in my opinion for close up tasks. On max it produces 80 lumens which is plenty for your type of work, but Zebralight is about to come out with a new brighter version of this light which you may want to wait for. It's called a H502 (300 lumens max) & they will also make a neutral tint version called the H502w.

Here's a link to Zebralights upcoming lights - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...Fc0FfUDFVSHVNS1E&hl=en&authkey=CNqP6KIC#gid=0
You'll notice that the H502 was planned for release this month, but it has been delayed.

Personally, if I'm getting something for work purposes and feel like I'm going to be using it regularly, I'd bring the budget up a bit and get something of better quality than $20-$25 will probably allow. Outdoorsman5 has a good suggestion in the neutral tint H501w by ZebraLight, but for that you'd need to be willing to spend about $60. It's very small and light weight (smaller than you might imagine for an AA light) and is a great flood for close-up work.

it would help to know the kind of work you do (by mechanical do you mean HVAC?), the light conditions of your work space, and your runtime requirement.

as the others have mentioned, you may have to raise your budget a little.

If your dealing with colored wires definitely go for a neutral or warm version

Im working under trains. Its mechanics work. Grease and grime work.

I can up the price, but what about the DX version of the zebra?

Coast HL7. 196 lumens, with variable brightness control and adjustable spot-to-flood focus. Runs on 3xAAA. $43 at Amazon.

I'm testing one of these right now for Coast, and it's a boss player. The flood setting is freaking wide. Love it for working underneath my pickup.

MrOneEyedBoh said:

Im working under trains. Its mechanics work. Grease and grime work.

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what light are you using now? will the headlamp have to compete with ambient light? what kind of hours are we talking about?

GulfCoastToad said:

Coast HL7. 196 lumens, with variable brightness control and adjustable spot-to-flood focus. Runs on 3xAAA. $43 at Amazon.

I'm testing one of these right now for Coast, and it's a boss player. The flood setting is freaking wide. Love it for working underneath my pickup.

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Hey GCT, my son had the Coast HL7, but it broke. The tilting mechanism is too flimsy. He was able to exchange it at Lowes for a Coast H7R. My impressions is that it is nicer than I expected, but still has that flimsy tilt mechanism. The flood to spot is very nice, but that is where my possitive comments end regarding coast headlights. I find that it is overly bulky, and the 3 AAA batteries at the back of my head is not comfortable over long periods of time. I like the single AA headlights out there better (like Zebralight) because they're smaller, more comfortable, better UI, & more durable for not that much more money. Also, a single AA battery has almost the same amount of energy as 3 AAA batteries.

Robo,
IM now using a hand held light and setting it up under the train while Im working, yes a PITA. Hours, not a big deal. As I said I do get free AAA and free AA batteries at my work for our lights. Sure they are alkaline, but free.

Also,
Id like to have the batteries all contained in the light if possible.

robostudent5000 said:

will the headlamp have to compete with ambient light?

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Good point, especially in relation to the ZebraLight H501 and H501w suggestions. Given the great flood but relatively lower output of the H501, competing with higher ambient light during the day (if that's when we're talking about) could cause some problems (maybe, maybe not). But if competing with ambient/filtered sunlight, a brighter light might be a better suggestion.

MrOneEyedBoh said:

Robo,
IM now using a hand held light and setting it up under the train while Im working, yes a PITA. Hours, not a big deal. As I said I do get free AAA and free AA batteries at my work for our lights. Sure they are alkaline, but free.

Also,
Id like to have the batteries all contained in the light if possible.

Click to expand...

which hand held? if you tell us which light you are currently using, it'll give us a point of reference for brightness and beam type.

also, the other question i asked is important too - the one about ambient light. is there ambient light that the headlamp will have to compete with and how much of it is there? without this info, it's hard to give a good recommendation. the more info you provide, the better the recommendation will be.

This fits your budget, is floody, includes a rubber strap for hard hat use, but should work with a bump cap, and uses AAAs. I'm just not sure if it is low profile enough for you.

http://www.brightguy.com/Streamlight/Streamlight+Septor+LED+Headlamp

I'm blanking on the thread where this was discussed in the headlamps forum, but recently there was a post about headband clips for bump hats that kept the headbands from slipping upward on the sides of the cap (an issue for some bump caps as I understand it). There was some kind of inexpensive set of clips specifically designed to help with this. If I find the link, I'll post it (or maybe someone else will recall and post).

Edit: I'm pretty sure I'm thinking of the Petzl helmet clips (Petzl Crochlamp S clips), which should be pretty much universal for holding most headbands. They seem to run about $3 to $5 for a set of four from various vendors.

http://www.petzl.com/us/pro/hybrid-headlamps-0/crochlamp-s

Petzl makes them. Helmet clips, model number E04350. They're pretty inexpensive.

Outdoorsman5 said:

Hey GCT, my son had the Coast HL7, but it broke. The tilting mechanism is too flimsy. He was able to exchange it at Lowes for a Coast H7R. My impressions is that it is nicer than I expected, but still has that flimsy tilt mechanism. The flood to spot is very nice, but that is where my possitive comments end regarding coast headlights. I find that it is overly bulky, and the 3 AAA batteries at the back of my head is not comfortable over long periods of time. I like the single AA headlights out there better (like Zebralight) because they're smaller, more comfortable, better UI, & more durable for not that much more money. Also, a single AA battery has almost the same amount of energy as 3 AAA batteries.

Click to expand...

Agreed--it could be improved. It's nice to have the lifetime warranty for that.

GulfCoastToad said:

Agreed--it could be improved. It's nice to have the lifetime warranty for that.

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But for the MrOneEyedBoh's needs, I think durability would be a real issue. Even if the HL7 covered by warranty, there is loss of use while waiting for replacement...and I'd have to guess the warranty would cover only mechanical defects and not failure due to hard use.

For the OP's described use, it looks to me like he probably needs something that's built as well as possible to withstand a fairly harsh environment and keep functioning as reliably as can be reasonably expected. The Coast headlamp seems like it would have good light output qualities but relatively poor ability to keep working reliably through the daily grind -- but I'm just saying that based on the feedback in this thread and not from personal experience.

You know, I also think for bump cap use (depending on the cap), the mods talked about in this part of the ZebraLight Mods thread would work:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...raLight-Mods&p=3760263&viewfull=1#post3760263

I fixed that holder to work on a standard baseball cap visor, but it also fits the visor on my bike helmet, which should be very similar to a bump cap visor. I don't actually use it on the helmet, but it does fit. If also fit with a neodymium magnet as shown, the entire holder can be easily slipped off the hat and attached to any metal surface. For work in a mechanical/train environment, this might work really well (the dual ability to keep it on the bump cap or to attach it to another surface when a different lighting angle is needed).

Here are some shots, most of which (except for the first image) are not shown in the ZebraLight Mods thread as linked above. The linked thread discussed this in more detail.

That magnet setup looks great. I've also heard of zebralight owners putting magnets inside the light so that the light itself is magnetic on the tailcap.

I have a Zebralight H51F and I love it. The H501(w) is probably better for really close work though (arms length and closer). If your looking to spend a little less the Princeton tec EOS is a very popular light

That ZebraLight really does look Badd-A. I might have to pick one of those up with some of this Christmas cash I have burning a hole in my pocket.