PT matrix 2 or EOS for caving?

Stanley

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Just wondering, for you owners of either or both the mentioned headlamps above, do you find either sufficient for caving? Not so much to see that far ahead, but more for short to medium distance lighting.

Reason I ask is I've got my eye on the EOS now and am waiting for the local supplier to bring it in to M'sia. But this Friday I have a caving trip, and I don't think my Pelican 3Led headlamp will be sufficient (for lighting and waterproofness). Also, the next available light i can get my hands on from the supplier right now is the Matrix 2. Hence the comparison btwn the 2. Should I jsut go with the Matrix 2 for now, and is it sufficient for caving? Or should I just bring another light for the trip instead and wait for the EOS to reach our shores here?

TIA for your suggestions/replies.
 

SilverFox

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Hello Stanley,

I have not gone caving, so I can only relate my camping experiences...

I have moved my Matrix 2 to a stand by back up place. I now grab the EOS for my primary head lamp.

The only modification that I have made to my EOS is to place two layers of waxed paper over it held in place with a rubber band. This is for reading a book in my tent at night. The normal EOS beam was a bit too focused for close up work, and the slightly diffused beam works great.

Tom
 

Stanley

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Thanks Tom,
Judging from the reviews I've gone thru, thats why I've decided on the EOS... the brightness seems to stand out among lights in its class. Just that I should've just gone ahead and bought it earlier online instead of waiting for the local supplier to bring it in... Now I need one in 3 days time... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Well, I think I might hold out and just wait for it instead of spending more $$ on the Matrix 2... I'll just keep my fingers crossed that my Pelican 3 Led holds up well enough after a couple of dunks!! Cheers!
 

detenebrator

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I have been very pleased with the EOS for caving use. The only time I want more light would be in large, scenic rooms (which we are well blessed with here in Tennessee)or for higher-risk vertical work (i.e. rapelling in waterfalls, etc.) Your mileage may vary. ALWAYS have backup. And backup backup. And ...

Where is "KL, MY"? Is that Kuala Lampur??? How's the caving over there?
 

Stanley

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Hi Detenebrator,
Thanks for your input... I did my first 'supposed' cave yesterday, and found my Pelican Headsup 3Led to be lacking. I say 'supposed' cave, because I was expecting caves with huge caverns, etc.. Turns out it was actually more 'rock and river' caving. We were at this river where there were lots and lots of boulders covering the river most of the way. And we were squeezing thru and under little gaps in between the river and boulders which resulted in many scratches and bumps and bruises. Overall it was fun, and the highlight of the trip was at the end, where we had to crawl through a 3 metre long tunnel about half a metre wide, and was partly filled with water. At the end of the tunnel was a wall. We then had to submerge and swim under the 1 metre thick wall to resurface on the other side. That was pretty cool!!

Anyway, as I was saying, I had my UKE 2L as my distance spotting light, and that got a lot of use instead. All the while I was thinking to myself that the EOS would've been just right for this task... Of course I had backups... Ultra G, Splashlite Led and my Eternalight! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Would I be a flashaholic otherwise? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

Yuppers, I'm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From what little I know about caving, there are some very nice caves here, for example the 'Mulu Caves' in East Malaysia is probably the most famous and scenic one. Then there's 'Gua Tempurung', which is in West M'sia and is the 2nd most famous cave here in M'sia. Apart from these 2, there are a few others which my friend tells me are very challenging and fun too. You can do a search on Google on the 2 above names to see what I mean...

EOS, you're wanted next on my list.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

Beaker

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Hey Stanley, wow, some really nice caves there! I am jealous. Here in CA we have slim pickings, at least around the Bay Area.

Anyway, the EOS looks like a nice backup light, but it doesn't have enough battery life to make me happy... I just got a Pelican 2630 (1W Luxeon, 3AA cells) which I haven't yet had the opportunity to take into a cave, but will soon, and it looks very promising as a main light, especially since it seems to run just fine on NiMH cells in my in-the-house testing.

Depending on the nature of the cave, non-Lux LED lights might be OK, but now that Lux lights are affordable, they're starting to really take over with cavers.

Like the guy above said, you must have backup lights. The standard about USA cavers is typically a minimum of 3 independent sources of light, per person.

(BTW, the NSS boards at www.caves.org are another good resource for people interested in cave-specific lights.)
 

vtunderground

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[ QUOTE ]
Beaker said:
I just got a Pelican 2630 (1W Luxeon, 3AA cells) which I haven't yet had the opportunity to take into a cave, but will soon, and it looks very promising as a main light, especially since it seems to run just fine on NiMH cells in my in-the-house testing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Where'd you buy it? I'm curious about this headlamp, but haven't seen it for sale anywhere. Also, and very importantly, how's the heatsinking for the Luxeon emitter?
 

Stanley

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Thanks Beaker, wish I could find more ppl here with interests in caving though... I wouldn't mind checking out those caves myself too!

By the way, how's the beam on the 2630 compared to the EOS? Is there more flood than spot or vice versa? It does look nice too, just that I don't quite fancy the separate battery pack on the back, always liked the all-in-one unit form factor like the EOS.
 

Beaker

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Once you have the light mounted on your helmet, you won't really notice the battery pack. In fact, it will keep things better balanced. (You *are* wearing a helmet, aren't you? If not, well, you should be... :)

Check out the NSS forums at www.caves.org for more cave-oriented discussion. It's mostly cavers in the USA, but there are folks on there who do caving trips in SE Asia...
 

MicroE

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I almost bought the EOS. The dealbreaker for me was the screw. The EOS needs a screwdriver to change the batteries. I just HATE that idea.
I bought the Streamlight Luxeon headlamp instead.
 

xcandrew

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You don't need a screwdriver to change the batteries. There is some knurling on the screw. It's hard to get your fingers all the way around, so I don't get tighten it down that much. Easier and just as convenient is to use the edge of the rectangular nylon ring on the headband as a screwdriver. It fits easily into the wide slot.

I use the same trick of using the nylon ring of the headband to pop the Aurora open, except with a wedging motion.
 

twentysixtwo

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Ditto that. The screw has a wide slot so a coin will also work. Since I don't use it in wet much I don't bother to tighten it all the way.
 

PeLu

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I do not have an EOS, but from Petzl and PrincetonTec I'm used that they incluse the tool in the lamp itself:
Usually one of the buckles could be used to unscrew the battery compartment.
There was a similar discussion about the Petzl Tikka/Zipka and nobody mentioned that they include their tool.
Seems like bad marketing
 

RobWV

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I just got an EOS this past week-end. I used for two days of caving. It is great. I also wore a MYO 5, but I never once turned it on. It might not be enough light if you are in real big rooms, but for anything under 15' high it is plenty.
 

Stanley

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Thanks guys, I now have an EOS on the way to me, thanks to a friend who's attending the SS in Vegas! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Can't wait for it to arrive!! Caving, here I come!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

PeLu

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[ QUOTE ]
RobWV said:It might not be enough light if you are in real big rooms,

[/ QUOTE ]

There is no such thing as enough light in real big rooms .-)
If you can see the opposit wall it is no real big room .-)

Seriously: The only possibility to get a good view of a big room is to go with a larger group with carbide lamps and distribute the people around.

And 'caving' is a pretty wide field. For some people a matrix 2 will be a good caving light, for others it wouldn't...
 

Stanley

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[/ QUOTE ]

There is no such thing as enough light in real big rooms .-)
If you can see the opposit wall it is no real big room .-)



[/ QUOTE ]
Hehe... that makes a lot of sense, actually... For me, the headlamp is more for seeing where I'm stepping, and one that's too dim might be a little dangerous especially if you can't see what's 3-5 steps ahead of you. For spotting further I always use my UKE2L, which does a great job in throwing, and especially with the 2-3 hr runtime, I can't ask for more!
 

PeLu

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[ QUOTE ]
Stanley said:For me, the headlamp is more for seeing where I'm stepping, and one that's too dim might be a little dangerous especially if you can't see what's 3-5 steps ahead of you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. And it is amazing how little light could accomplish that task.
I would even say that 2-3 steps is enough, but tastes differ.
And it should be an even beam with not too bright hotspot (if any).
 
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