Need Headlamp: 18650 or AA powered, Mechanical Clicky Switch, LED hi, lo

Hello CPF members:

My favorite very old and cheap plastic AAx2 headlamp just broke. I need to replace it.

I would like:
1) 18650 or AA battery power (AA batteries are plentiful, and in a general power outage solar rechargers work best for AA)
2) Mechanical clicky switch to avoid parasitic drain.
3) Output: max lumens 100 – 200 lumens is fine - PLUS low mode(s) for battery conservation .

Thank you all in advance for your suggestions.

A long time ago Black Diamond made a 4 LED (5mm LEDs) powered by 3 - 4 AA batteries - would love to get a used one if available.

Re: Need Headlamp: AA powered, Mechanical Clicky Switch, LED hi, lo

Zebralight. Any AA model. The led is personal preference.

Re: Need Headlamp: AA powered, Mechanical Clicky Switch, LED hi, lo

Thrunite makes a nice AA headlamp. Hard to beat for the price and good UI.

If you want something a bit more lightweight the Fenix HL10 is quite small and comfortable; AAA and 80 lumens (most reviews tested it closer to 100). Usually my go to headlamp when I don't need some massive light strapped to my head.

Re: Need Headlamp: AA powered, Mechanical Clicky Switch, LED hi, lo

JimIslander said:

Zebralight. Any AA model. The led is personal preference.

Click to expand...

Agreed and the current quality E-Switch lights have what can be considered no practical parasitic drain.

If you get the H53 model yo can set the levels to basically anything you like from the selection of levels offered.
Pretty slick.

Re: Need Headlamp: AA powered, Mechanical Clicky Switch, LED hi, lo

1) AA battery power (AA batteries are plentiful, and in a general power outage solar rechargers work best for AA)

I agree with AA batteries being common but for solar I would go with lithium ion 18650. For 1XAA I like the Armytek Tiara (pro it can also use lithium ion 14500) and the Fenix HL50 (Pro it can use 1XCR123 or AA)

Re: Need Headlamp: AA powered, Mechanical Clicky Switch, LED hi, lo

I too am looking for a headband light for walking but as newbe should I get the floody one...the cool white one or the neutral white one??? Too many decisions!

Re: Need Headlamp: AA powered, Mechanical Clicky Switch, LED hi, lo

I think the advantages of AA (plentiful) is canceled out by the power of 18650s in that it takes 3-5 AAs to match an 18650 so having a half dozen 18650s as backup means 2 dozen AAs don't have to be messed with.... especially leakalines. Since I've gone to 18650 in a headlamp and in flashlights my pile of AA L91s and Duraloops mostly sit idle. I used to go through 6 AA nimh batteries a day using my old 1AA Rayovac headlamp now I use a single 18650 for 2 days before swapping batteries in one headlamp and plugging a micro usb to charge the battery in the other. I couldn't find a 1-2 AA headlamp that would last me a day at decent output (50 lumens) as I go from 6-10 hours sometimes using one, now with 18650 I get 10-15 hours at 100 lumens and that includes using the high and turbo modes for short times at 400/800 lumens and a fall back low at about 25 lumens with moonlight at around 1 lumen (not very useful unless in a power outage IMO).
I may someday decide to get an HL50 or Zebralight 1AA for when I know it will suffice for output/runtime but until I have some disposable income my Wowtac A2S and Fenix HL60 can easily handle anything thrown at them I could probably last a week in an outage just using the 2 batteries in the 2 headlamps never touching my pile of 18650s I got for next to nothing from scavenging laptop and tool battery packs.

Re: Need Headlamp: AA powered, Mechanical Clicky Switch, LED hi, lo

Woods Walker said:

I agree with AA batteries being common but for solar I would go with lithium ion 18650.

Click to expand...

ok so you and Lynx-Arc have maybe changed my mind about AA - maybe I should go to an 18650 instead.
I assume the general consensus is that Li-ON is not just more powerful than NiMH but more efficient in terms of size and charging times.

More Questions:

1) For solar panel charging, why 18650? Won't it take too long to charge for a basic portable 2 to 4 solar panel setup ?

2) Which charger should I use for solar panel compatibility? Is any USB compatible charger considered ok since solar panels most commonly use mini-USB connectors? Do I need to consider more than just 'USB connector compatibility' ?

3) Which solar-panel compatible charger will work with CR2? (many scopes and laser sights use CR2). Or maybe I just use my small magnetic charger jumper cables if the spring-loaded battery connectors on the charger don't reach out to the small CR2.

Thank you.

Re: Need Headlamp: AA powered, Mechanical Clicky Switch, LED hi, lo

BrightestBulb said:

I too am looking for a headband light for walking but as newbe should I get the floody one...the cool white one or the neutral white one??? Too many decisions!

Click to expand...

Cool white is brighter (in lumens) that neutral white but my advice is if you have the option go for neutral over cool.
As for floody or not a floody light has less throw so that you need more lumens if you are trying to light things up at distances over a few feet. The advantage in floody is if you are mostly using the headlamp for working on things within reach you are less likely to blind yourself with a hot spot hitting something white or shiny. In other words with a floody headlamp you will need a separate flashlight for walking etc.
Personally I prefer a headlamp with a hot spot that isn't pronounced but fades somewhat evenly to a wide area spot as you get some throw with it but are less likely to be blinded up close and if you have 300+ lumens you can throw some to perhaps 50 feet or so.

Re: Need Headlamp: AA powered, Mechanical Clicky Switch, LED hi, lo

I'm on the same boat with regards to AA. I've streamlined all my emergency gear to run off 14500/AA so that I can use easily found AA in an emergency. Easily scavenged too.

My current 2 headlamps run on AA - an older Fenix HL21 and a newer Klarus H1A Titanium. Klarus has more features and has 3 LEDs (cool white main, 4k flood secondary, red) but its switches protrude more so its electronic lockout must be activated.
I like the switch of the Fenix HL21 better and its 1xAA battery compartment can be mechanically locked out. It's cool white but not too cool so it's still pretty comfortable on the eyes.

For CR2 charging, or any charging for that matter, it depends if the charger restarts after voltage input drops. This is 1 issue with solar - where if it suddenly becomes cloudy and charging stops then it becomes sunny again, the charger you choose should restart.
Most of the simple Xtar single bay chargers restart.

For a headlamp, I'm still considering the Fenix HL30.

Re: Need Headlamp: AA powered, Mechanical Clicky Switch, LED hi, lo

BL - thanks for the info. I'm looking at these chargers which claim to be compatible with solar panels:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079D3QWXX/?tag=cpf0b6-20

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GGX447K/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Re: Need Headlamp: AA powered, Mechanical Clicky Switch, LED hi, lo

I'm not too knowledgeable when it comes to chargers and I depend greatly on HJK's reviews.
I am pickin up the single bay of that Liitokala charger though. The Lii-100.

My chargers currently are:
Xtar VP2 (charges upto 4.3V for 3.7V batteries).
Olight UC, Xtar XP1 & Goal Zero Guide 10+ for my bugout gear.
Olight UC & (soon) Liitokala Lii-100 in my travel bag.