Luminocity
Newly Enlightened
I recently purchased and received a Photon Fusion and happily for me, got invited on a night fishing trip the very next week! I have to admit I was pretty excited about
combining two of my favorite activites,
night fishing and playing around with an LED lighting device.
As soon as it got dark, I started using the light. This was my first experience with any kind of headlight and for this particular application, I found it to be many times better than dealing with a handheld flashlight. Didn't matter where I looked, there was always plenty of light!
I was VERY impressed with the utility and performance of this light. I kept it on for many hours, using the lowest brightness setting for baiting up and actual fishing. Each time I caught a fish, I would switch the unit into "Hyperbright" mode so that there would be plenty of light to reel the fish in, net it, get it into the boat, unhook it and toss it into the ice chest. Then when things calmed down again, I would switch it back into the dim mode. The switching back and forth from Hyperbright to standard run mode was made easy by the fact that when leaving Hyperbright mode, the unit remembers what standard run mode setting you have previously selected. I found this to be an indispensable capability when you are having a good fishing night!
When fighting and reeling in a fish, it was so cool to have this brilliant light source right where I needed it, and still have the use of both hands to deal with my fish. The Hyperbright mode also came in handy for threading hooks when re-rigging my line.
Another useful aspect of this light was the fact that it proved helpful to others on the boat. If they needed some light, all they had to do was tell me, and I would quickly reach up and switch the unit into Hyperbright mode and continue with my fishing. The unit saw a lot of time in Hyperbright mode because we were catching a lot of fish and frequently tangling up with each other (at times, all three of us were each reeling in a fish at the same time).
The color balance of this light vs. an incandescent model was great. We were catching Speckled Trout which are an awesome very shiny metallic silver color. It was really cool to see them rendered in the color balanced light of the fusion. They looked like you were viewing them in regular daylight, which enabled me to really appreciate the beauty of these fish.
The other useful attribute of this light is it's LED configuration / light pattern. The combination of 4 wide angle LED's and 2 narrow angle LED's provides an excellent and very useful pattern of light. You get a nice wide swath of light that illuminates your surroundings (fishing gear, other people, boat seats, ice chest, etc.) so that you don't trip or run into things. You also get a narrow focused point of light for seeing detailed objects (tackle, bait, fish, etc.) that you are directly working with.
As far as comfort goes, I found the light to be very comfortable to wear, even for 7 continuous hours. Of course that is a subjective issue, so your mileage may vary.
I found the battery life to be more than ample. For the fishing trip, I used a set of GP NIMH 1800's. These batts were brand new and had only been cycled one or two times at the most, which means they had not even been fully broken in yet. Total run time that night was nearly 7 hours! During this time I ran the unit continuously. A lot of time was spent in the lowest brightness mode. But due to the large amount of fish we were catching, frequent tangle ups, and frequent general requests for light from my companions, the unit also saw a lot of time in Hyperbright mode. This same set of batteries had been used the night before on a camping trip (the light came in handy when I had to get up in the middle of the night to attach the rain fly). Even though I brought 2 extra sets of batteries along, I never had to use them and the light levels never seemed to drop. A set of Lithium's should provide even longer run times.
I had another opportunity to use this light a few days after my fishing trip. I had to go up into the attic for a few minutes to check on my A/C units. It was great to be able to walk around up there and not have to hold a flashlight. When walking around in an attic, I like to have both hands free to hold onto rafters, maintain my balance, carry tools and supplies, etc.
The only real issue I have with the light is the brittle battery lid latch. Mine is starting to crack, but I don't see this as a big deal since LRI is shipping me the new and improved replacement battery compartment (at no charge) at this time. Just have to live on a newly charged and recently installed set of batteries until that replacement battery compartment arrives!
I have not tried any other headlamps (LED or incandescent), but based on my own personal experiences so far, I would have to say this is a great light. I would recommend shopping around for it however as it can be had for much lower prices than the MSRP of $81.95. I got mine at Botach Tactical on sale for 44.95 + 7.95 shipping. At the time, I was not aware that others on this forum had problems with this company, but as it turned out everything went OK with my order, so I guess I was lucky. I purchased 2 more (as Father's Day presents for my dad and father-in-law) from a seller on EBay for $49.95 each plus $7.00 total shipping charges.
Bottom line: I believe that the Fusion is a great light to bring along for outdoor adventures and is also useful for any household work/maintenance that requires a light.
combining two of my favorite activites,
night fishing and playing around with an LED lighting device.
As soon as it got dark, I started using the light. This was my first experience with any kind of headlight and for this particular application, I found it to be many times better than dealing with a handheld flashlight. Didn't matter where I looked, there was always plenty of light!
I was VERY impressed with the utility and performance of this light. I kept it on for many hours, using the lowest brightness setting for baiting up and actual fishing. Each time I caught a fish, I would switch the unit into "Hyperbright" mode so that there would be plenty of light to reel the fish in, net it, get it into the boat, unhook it and toss it into the ice chest. Then when things calmed down again, I would switch it back into the dim mode. The switching back and forth from Hyperbright to standard run mode was made easy by the fact that when leaving Hyperbright mode, the unit remembers what standard run mode setting you have previously selected. I found this to be an indispensable capability when you are having a good fishing night!
When fighting and reeling in a fish, it was so cool to have this brilliant light source right where I needed it, and still have the use of both hands to deal with my fish. The Hyperbright mode also came in handy for threading hooks when re-rigging my line.
Another useful aspect of this light was the fact that it proved helpful to others on the boat. If they needed some light, all they had to do was tell me, and I would quickly reach up and switch the unit into Hyperbright mode and continue with my fishing. The unit saw a lot of time in Hyperbright mode because we were catching a lot of fish and frequently tangling up with each other (at times, all three of us were each reeling in a fish at the same time).
The color balance of this light vs. an incandescent model was great. We were catching Speckled Trout which are an awesome very shiny metallic silver color. It was really cool to see them rendered in the color balanced light of the fusion. They looked like you were viewing them in regular daylight, which enabled me to really appreciate the beauty of these fish.
The other useful attribute of this light is it's LED configuration / light pattern. The combination of 4 wide angle LED's and 2 narrow angle LED's provides an excellent and very useful pattern of light. You get a nice wide swath of light that illuminates your surroundings (fishing gear, other people, boat seats, ice chest, etc.) so that you don't trip or run into things. You also get a narrow focused point of light for seeing detailed objects (tackle, bait, fish, etc.) that you are directly working with.
As far as comfort goes, I found the light to be very comfortable to wear, even for 7 continuous hours. Of course that is a subjective issue, so your mileage may vary.
I found the battery life to be more than ample. For the fishing trip, I used a set of GP NIMH 1800's. These batts were brand new and had only been cycled one or two times at the most, which means they had not even been fully broken in yet. Total run time that night was nearly 7 hours! During this time I ran the unit continuously. A lot of time was spent in the lowest brightness mode. But due to the large amount of fish we were catching, frequent tangle ups, and frequent general requests for light from my companions, the unit also saw a lot of time in Hyperbright mode. This same set of batteries had been used the night before on a camping trip (the light came in handy when I had to get up in the middle of the night to attach the rain fly). Even though I brought 2 extra sets of batteries along, I never had to use them and the light levels never seemed to drop. A set of Lithium's should provide even longer run times.
I had another opportunity to use this light a few days after my fishing trip. I had to go up into the attic for a few minutes to check on my A/C units. It was great to be able to walk around up there and not have to hold a flashlight. When walking around in an attic, I like to have both hands free to hold onto rafters, maintain my balance, carry tools and supplies, etc.
The only real issue I have with the light is the brittle battery lid latch. Mine is starting to crack, but I don't see this as a big deal since LRI is shipping me the new and improved replacement battery compartment (at no charge) at this time. Just have to live on a newly charged and recently installed set of batteries until that replacement battery compartment arrives!
I have not tried any other headlamps (LED or incandescent), but based on my own personal experiences so far, I would have to say this is a great light. I would recommend shopping around for it however as it can be had for much lower prices than the MSRP of $81.95. I got mine at Botach Tactical on sale for 44.95 + 7.95 shipping. At the time, I was not aware that others on this forum had problems with this company, but as it turned out everything went OK with my order, so I guess I was lucky. I purchased 2 more (as Father's Day presents for my dad and father-in-law) from a seller on EBay for $49.95 each plus $7.00 total shipping charges.
Bottom line: I believe that the Fusion is a great light to bring along for outdoor adventures and is also useful for any household work/maintenance that requires a light.
