A poll for headlamp users

I have been itching to try out this polling function. This is a poll for members that regularly use headlamps. This poll is to express your preference for one of two features if you are only allowed to have one. The choice is between being able to easily select [say by push of a button] between power levels or beam widths.

Doug,

I'd rather have the brightness levels. There are ways to compromise beam profiles so that you can get something that will work well (although not ideally) at close and medium range, or at medium and long range. The beam adjustability is desirable, but for me it doesn't come before brightness levels (and runtimes).

Isn't it funny. For decades we had only adjustment for the beam angle, sometimes, but less common there were two bulbs to switch in between.
Modern lights are just the other way round....
Doug, you probably used a Petzl Zoom (or the Laser and Duo) and observed people or yourself using the focus as some 'higher brightness level' to look at more distant objects.
So these two options may replce each other a little bit....

I prefer brightness level. Nice to have bright when needed, but scale it down to keep your eyes from getting too tired and also preserve batteries.

My headlamp of choice is the Black Diamond Moonlight with 3 brightness levels.

Until now, I haven't been able to choose anything but on or off with my headlamps. I now have a PT Corona that allows me to choose brightness level. I like that feature, I can dim the output to match the task at hand, saving battery power for longer runtime.

If I need to change the beam angle, I will switch to incandescent headlamps I already have.

Why making the life so difficulut to choose since light manufacturers are designing light toward both goals. Albeit they're not perfect for the moment, but pretty close I think.

Alan

I have a modded Rayovac headlamp. This thing has 3 switch settings which I have wired to produce both power levels and effective focus.

1. 3 white leds at 30ma.
2. Luxeon Star HD at 130ma
3. Same Luxeon at direct drive on the 3AAAs.

The luxeon has a pretty tight focus and can light up a target at 50 yards pretty well.

Actually, the idea of of changing a luxeon from a flood to a spot sounds like a pretty good idea also- especially with a current regulator circuit. Maybe I will try and build one? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

It seems to me that there are a lot of headlamps that have different brightness levels as well as different beam shapes combined. Most of the hybrid LED/xenon or newer LED/Luxeons for example fit this description. You get a low, wide beam for up close and a bright, tight beam for distance. Seems like the best of both worlds, although I have found that I personally never use the spotlight mode.

I intend to build my next headlight using three power levels. My last one was infinitly adjustable, but in actual use I really just use three levels.

Well, I had voted for the two beam angles... But now that I think about it, in a headlamp with an ideal beam there would already be a nice smooth flood and a bright, far-reaching spot (your ideal beam may be different from mine, of course). So in my hypothetical ideal headlamp, multiple power levels would be the better option.

Oh, I like the idea of three power levels. I think any more than that would be pointless (or just confusing).

Uh. Your percentages on the poll don't make sense. How do you manage to get 33% and 11%? That totals only 44% and the total should add up to 100%.

@rfdancer
these are 33 and 11 votes, 75% and 25%

Thank you to all that took time to view and vote. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif