Headlamp Trouble with Parka

So, Wednesday night I went out on a limited tactical mission (garbage cart retrieval) - and like all good CPFers I left it till after dark so I could wear my headlamp. I grabbed my coat and headlamp, and of course needed every last one of 2300 lumens to navigate the 40 feet down the driveway and back. During the mission, my parka hood slipped over my forehead and blocked the headlamp - so I had to flick it back up.

On returning to base, I noted a hot plastic smell. Checked the parka hood and headlamp and found a quarter-size hole in the lining of the parka hood, and a small smutz of congealed synthetic fabric residue in the middle of the headlamp lens.

I've e-mailed to Canada Goose on how to repair the hood; they've even suggested a warranty claim but this is pretty clearly not a manufacturer's defect. On the other hand, my Nova H2R now has a couple of the plastic nubs melted off the lens - though this doesn't seem to affect the pattern too badly.

And that, children, is why they print "HOT" on the business of modern LED illumination tools.

Could have worn my $3.99 gas station "block heater" to keep my ears warm, but oh, no, I had to wear my good parka hood instead. This is why I can't have anything nice.


Bill

So sorry. I use iron-on patches for that sort of damage - to the parka.

Canada Goose parka for a garbage run? Dang.

Yikes. The new Perun got a lot of flak for dimming down when the headlamp is getting blocked but it would have saved your jacket here. More and more important to think about collateral damage as our lights get more powerful and capable of burning/melting through stuff.

For your jacket, if Canada Goose is unable to resolve the issue (I would still make a warranty claim if I were you as it is built into their margins and they even suggested you do it), a piece of black or silver Gear Aid Tenacious Tape will cover it nicely (and permanently) and protect it from any further damage.

I didn't think this was a common problem, but then I saw this article on Iditarod musher and electrical engineer Lev Shvarts, who designed his own headlamp (and carbon fiber ladle):

He's designed a new arctic-duty headlamp unit that "crushes" the battery life of current options and, he says, is highly unlikely to set your parka on fire, unlike some of the market's top-end headlamps.

https://www.adn.com/outdoors-advent...t-accessory-is-a-carbon-fiber-dog-food-ladle/

He has his headlamp riveted to a ball cap:

https://www.ktva.com/story/41882362/night-time-is-light-time-for-one-iditarod-musher