What an attitude!

PrincetonTec Attitude that is.

What a great little light! Picked one up yesterday at Campmor (NJ store) for $19. They had them in white, black, red, yellow and blue housings. I chose the blue.

Compared the beam to my Turtlelite II and it is definitely brighter with its 3 LEDs than the T2 is with its 2. Otherwise the beams are similar. Finally, I get the brightness I want in a pocketable size. Of course the price you pay is shorter runtime. There's no magic in these lights, so when you consider that you've added an extra LED and reduced the power source from 4AA to 4AAA you know it ain't gonna last as nearly as long.

The T2 will remain my trusty workhorse. The light that runs almost endlessly w/o concern for batteries. But the Attitude will be the one I grab more often because it's brighter and easier to carry.

The Attitude will definitely make a major impact on bringing LED flashlights into the mainstream. Perhaps even more so than the Brinkman.

I'm still in the usage test phase of my review, but I think overall the light will receive pretty high marks when I'm done.

Like you, I also reach for the Attitude more often then just about anything else, except perhaps for the Arc LS prototype which is also still in a testing stage. They've both been getting fairly equal usage in the grand scheme of things.

Because the Attitude is all plastic, I use it for working inside my Satan's Hollow upright. Less chance of getting zapped while poking around the monitor or PSU.
A Turtlelite II would work fine in this position too, but it's a bit large around the head to get into some spaces inside the game's cabinet.

I have two PT Attitudes - the newer 30lm ones. I have been using them for the last 6 months as backup caving lights (wife uses one). To be honest the amount of light for the size is not great when you compare with a ZL or something like that but is more than adequate to get out of a cave on. The main advantage is the robustness and water resistance. I tend to leave this light in my oversuit inner pocket and that means it spends a lot of its life wet.

I used to have the light strapped to the side of my helmet but it got in the way and the polycarbonate lens marks easily. However, of all my lights I think this is the one that is least likely to let me down so I like to have it with me. Also, it was cheaper than almost all the other waterproof torches I could find.

I would be happier if it was 2 x AA but small gripe really.

Also, had to order from eBay in the US as difficult to get in the UK.

BogMonster

Holy revival!

Is 10 years a record so far?

(pardon the OT)

lol, good catch; I was reading this thinking "why are they so excited about a $20 plastic four cell light.."

yikes, we really have come a long way in headlamp technology in a short 10 years. While our lives weren't much different only 10 years ago, the tech has certainly changed with lights and PCs. Looking back on this light, it gives off a very 80's vibe. That said, there are companies still living in the past, while innovators are blazing a new trail and I salute them (Zebralight and ICON IRIX to name a couple).

Zeruel said:

Holy revival!

Is 10 years a record so far?

(pardon the OT)

Click to expand...

What gave it away to me was how The LED Museum mentioned playing with the arc LS prototype. My family has gone through many PT Attitudes that we used for camping and backpacking and such. Definitely better stuff out there now, but it is still quite usable.

oh my. wrong forum, wrong decade. :laughing:

but yeah, PT Attitudes were great little handhelds. I still have one of the original models that was like 10 lumens. it still runs, still waterproof. just will not break.

When I look at the PrincetonTec webpage I just can confirm that these are really cool lights! I like the design and colors of them.

Well, put it like this. If I had to take a single light down a cave on my own I would be more confident with the Attitude over my new Zebralight and my Oldham (Custom LED conversions). Also I would take it over the Petzl Duo (with Custom Duo modules). I would certainly take it over my Spelio Technics Headlite - very unreliable that one. In fact all my lights have let me down in a cave save this one.

I don't have high end stuff like a Scurion but I also would think the Attitude would be more reliable.

Of course there is better bang for buck, much brighter lights etc. But actually there is still a place for a polycabonate light that is waterproof to 500 ft with a long runtime that is small enough to cable tie to a helmet. Ultimately I think the polycarbonate lights are more robust than the aluminium ones. There is also little in the way of fancy electronics to go wrong in this one. And it is dirt cheap.

Now I don't go caving with a single light (well, not often anyway) but rather than carry multiple backups I feel quite comfortable with one of these in my oversuit pocket with a couple of cable ties. In many ways the backup light is much more important than the primary.

If the trip was going to involve a lot of rope work I would have the backup on my helmet to start with.

If anybody can recommend a cheaper, more robust, longer runtime, more waterproof and smaller, flood profile light I am all ears - there are some good dive lights but are all much more expensive and often too big or have the wrong beam profile. Notice that high lumens, multiple modes, aesthetics and fashion are not important considerations for a backup caving light - the light just has to work when you need it to. When I looked a few months ago this old dinosaur fitted my needs better than anything else I could find on the market and I would not hesitate to recommend to people who depend on a basic reliable light.

In fact, if it were not for the bulk and pollution then carbide is hard to beat. Carbide lamps are certainly durable and the technology is over 100 years old - just because stuff is old it does not mean it is of no use...

However, apologies for resurrecting such an old thread.

can one of the mods please close this thread and/or move it out of the Headlamps sub-forum? that would be much appreciated.

By all means move the thread, not sure why it is under headlamps - didn't start the thread so can't comment. However, why close it?

Of course I do use the light as a headlamp as I cable tie it to my helmet but that is a bit of a technicality and I would be equally happy if the thread was in one of led hand-held light categories.

bogmonster said:

By all means move the thread, not sure why it is under headlamps - didn't start the thread so can't comment. However, why close it?

Of course I do use the light as a headlamp as I cable tie it to my helmet but that is a bit of a technicality and I would be equally happy if the thread was in one of led hand-held light categories.

Click to expand...

you have enough posts to start a new thread, so if you're serious about looking for better alternatives to the PT Attitude, you would be better off starting a new thread in the appropriate forum.

I need a headlight but have accepted a hand held as it can be used as a headlight if cable tied to a helmet. I may have bought a dedicated headlight if I had found one that met my needs. Indeed I bought a ZL with that in mind but quickly realized I had made a mistake.

At the moment I am not looking for a better alternative for the PT Attitude. As per my first post I am very very happy with the product and would recommend it for the purposes I have stated - hence my first post. A number of other people have taken it upon themselves to tell me I am wrong and that there are products that would better suit my needs. That's fine and I am happy to accept I am wrong but not just because somebody says so. I would like some evidence and I don't accept that becasue something is a few years old so it is no good. This is a weak argument.

I would agree that if your requirements are for the brightest light or a small form factor or the longest runtime or the most pleasing looking light then there are better options - there is no doubt about this. For example ZL was mentioned as a better option and I have a ZL and am aware of the rest of the range. These lights have complex citcuits, many have fragile clicky switches, they are difficult to dry out if they get wet inside and are not particularly waterproof in the first place. I like my H51 and I do use it caving but would not trust it as my main backup whereas I would use the PT Attitude in this role. My ZL does get moisture inside and I anticipate that this will kill it soon. It does not mean the ZL is no good, just maybe not the best backup caving light. I really don't understand why this view has caused so much ridicule and apparent offence?

I am not saying there isn't a better option. The best alternatives I found where other PT lights, Underwater Kinetics eLED, Pelican, Streamlight etc and none of these met my needs as well. I failed to find any of the lights with the latest technology that meet my base requirements.

bogmonster said:

A number of other people have taken it upon themselves to tell me I am wrong and that there are products that would better suit my needs. That's fine and I am happy to accept I am wrong but not just because somebody says so. I would like some evidence and I don't accept that becasue something is a few years old so it is no good.

Click to expand...

you're free to defend your choices and your views as passionately as you want. but you should know that no one was really disagreeing with you.

if you re-read the responses to your first post, you'll see that the general consensus is that the light is old, but is still useful.* only one person actually said that there are better options out there and even that person said that the light was "still quite usable".

*out of the six responses to your first post, the first two aren't even talking about your opinions about the Attitude, and the third only refers to it tangentially. the next three posts, including mine, say either that the light is useful or cool.

i admire your fighting spirit, but unfortunately, you're fighting the air on this one.

The Attitude was maybe my second LED light. And, it continues to be one of my car lights. This also reminds me I better check the batteries for leakage.

Geoff

Well, I will go on record as still using an Attitude with headband. Yes, its typically a backup. But, it is a very robust, lightweight, and a simple, reliable resister-base design that can be submerged to depth and has over 100 hours of decreasing intensity, no surprises. Hard to find another sub $20 light that will match the Attitude; hence, it lives on an unsung hero. It's in my SAR equipment stash!