Energizer LED Head Beam

I bought this on clearance from Target for $9.08 -



Discussed in this thread:
on Clearance at Target

I like the light enough that this is actually the second one I bought (first one bought in July/2003).

Here are the beamshots on the LED Head Beam on its own - showing the somewhat odd side-spill - especially for the Red LED.



In the course of the other thread I said I like the LED Head Beam becuase of its ability to use Red or white LEDs.

Also a point that I've been trying to make for a long-long time is that brighter is not always better.

Often it's the right amount of light for the purpose that's "better" - of course that can vary for circumstance to circumstance and from person to person.

I like this Energizer LED Head Beam's white because it gives just about the right amount of light so that my eyes still can see the stuff in the unlit areas outdoors - ie: it's not too bright to cause my pupils to close so that the unlit dark areas can no longer be easily viewed.

Now this may seem inconsistent since I found the Dorcy 1AAA just about right too (please see: Dorcy 1AAA Outdoors) - and the Dorcy 1AAA is not quite as bright - so am I just praising everything and making up real-life conditions to suit the product?.....

well, maybe, but think on this the LED Head Beam sit on the forehead so it is a few feet further away from the ground in front of us when walking - whereas the Dorcy 1AAA is normally held at about hip-height - so it is quite a bit closer to the ground to be illuminated. Even so the LED Head Beam is still noticably brighter - but not so bright as to dazzle my eyes -

PLUS I think that the (relatively for white LEDs) somewhat warmer yellow/brown'ish tint helps reduce the dazzle and suits my eyes better.

Another thing is that strange side-spill is actually very useful indoors and I am not bothered by the funky pattern - because being a headlamp the side-spill is really more in the peripheral vision. This is hard to explain - but to me the whole point of a headlamp is that hotspot follows where one is looking - almost a deliberate "tunnel vision" so the side-spill tends to be peripheral vision despite the fact I know I can move my eye-balls.


So here are some comparison beamshots with the Dorcy 1AAA



Another light that's worth comparing is the eternaLight Ergo 3 Red/White option with red and white selectable LEDs with adjustable light levels - I found that about 66% level was comparable with the LED Head Beam -



The Red comparison was also about the 66% eternaLight level - but the beamshot is kind of "psychedelic" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif


Comparison of my earlier Energizer LED Head Beam with CMG Ultra-G -
Energizer LED Headlamp

and
eternaLight Ergo 3 Red/White

I bought one a year ago and thought it was a great buy for the $. Think I'll be stopping at Target on the way to work tomorrow to pick a couple up (if I'm lucky and they still have a couple).

I didn't look at the other thread, thanks for the post VT!

Mark

[ QUOTE ]
Niteowl said: I bought one a year ago and thought it was a great buy for the $.

[/ QUOTE ]

For a light that doesn't get mentioned much - it seems that there are some that really like it.

It's compact and light enough so that it can ride in the pocket - albeit with the head-band - which for me acts like a lanyard. In hand use it is not the most comfortable and convenient - but still very usable.

On the head, where it's intended, it is comfortable thanks to the high density foam pad and light weight, and very practical due to the tiltable head.

The major flaw for some could be the fact that it does not claim any water-resistance, and this could be very important for some uses.

At $12.99 (the regular price) it was great value -
at $9.08 the Target clearance price - it's a bargain.

This was my first headlight, just got it a couple weeks ago..I like it..

This is a great little light that hasn't gotten the respect it deserves. For the price, it's a a "best buy." I like the fact that there is no separate battery pack with wires.

I had to try two local Targets, but got another one for me and two for friends. They certainly are under-rated despite the lack of "water resistance".

alberto, nice avatar! Smokin' light, eh?

Mark

[ QUOTE ]
Niteowl said: I had to try two local Targets, but got another one for me and two for friends. They certainly are under-rated despite the lack of "water resistance".

[/ QUOTE ]

Cool! Glad you managed to get more.

"Water-resistance" is really dependent on one's usage - I'm a plain civilian and urbanite - so although water-resist doesn't hurt, it is not that critical for my usage. I can't see how the light can be harmed by some ingress of water.

But if I were caving or had to work out in heavy rain then I probably would not want to depend on this light - I may keep it in my pocket for a backup - but it probably would not be my primary light.

BTW - there was a question of the Target clearance price in the other thread - was yours the same price as mine - $9.08?

I have went to 3 local Targets with no luck. However i did see an older energizer headlamp that takes 2AA batts and i believe a minimag type bulb. I am tempted to buy and put a MJLED in it. It is advertised as being water proof and seems to be contructed pretty good.

In another post, i posted that i used the energizer head lamp in question in mountains in the nite and it was great.

I wonder if some one could figure out how to water proof the energizer head lamp.

[ QUOTE ]
UnknownVT said:
[ QUOTE ]
Niteowl said: I had to try two local Targets, but got another one for me and two for friends. They certainly are under-rated despite the lack of "water resistance".

[/ QUOTE ]

Cool! Glad you managed to get more.

"Water-resistance" is really dependent on one's usage - I'm a plain civilian and urbanite - so although water-resist doesn't hurt, it is not that critical for my usage. I can't see how the light can be harmed by some ingress of water.

But if I were caving or had to work out in heavy rain then I probably would not want to depend on this light - I may keep it in my pocket for a backup - but it probably would not be my primary light.

BTW - there was a question of the Target clearance price in the other thread - was yours the same price as mine - $9.08?

[/ QUOTE ]

I came across some of the headlamps for about $6.50 each at one store but at the other stores they were all the $9 price. My bet is they mispriced them at one store to cheaply as I have seen several differing prices on several clearance items in different stores. They had the prodigy II lanterns (pushbutton) for about $6.50 also at one store and the other it was closer to $10 if I remember correctly. If I didn't already have 2 cheapo 3led 3AAA headlights, a clipon $7 walmart headlight and a 12x26kmcd modded rayovac *clone* 2AA headlamp I would have bought one of the $6.50 energizer ones. I was hoping to find a dorcy 1AA light for well under $10, perhaps $6-7 but no luck on that.
The 3LED headlamps I got are a clone design seen around often that looks like it could have 5LEDs in it also. I paid $2.50 ea for 3 of them at a christmas clearance and they are nice lights, although it is hard to change batteries on them.

Also forgot to mention that the US Mil compass/first aid poches work great as a pouch for the energizer head lamp. Thats what i use to carry my energizer headlamp.

I just got some uncut mj led's

they are 5mm high power(100 MA AT 3.6 VOLTS or so)white led's

stock with new alk's the current to the 2 white led's is 68 ma or 34 ma each.(red led 31 ma) the stock led's are overdriven a little bit.

I will change the resistors to the white led's to get 200 ma - should be bright.

I think I will replace the red led with a white mj led driven at 100 ma that way I will have low power flood and high beam spot.

I ran a mj led at 100 ma for quite a while - barely got warm.

the uncut mj led's I have are very bright and white.

I like mine. It is a great light that you don't worry about losing because it is so cheap.

[ QUOTE ]
UnknownVT said:
BTW - there was a question of the Target clearance price in the other thread - was yours the same price as mine - $9.08?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes indeed..

Mark

I think the 6.48 price I saw was a second markdown of the clearance price. seems the second markdown equates to about 50% off while the first markdown is about 30%. I recently purchased a prodigy II rayovac 4AA lantern for $3.24 and at another store it was 6.48. I believe different stores are marking down again at different times.

Mine was the last one in the Champaign, IL store for $9.08. It was great in my unlit shed tonight. Much more light with the two white LEDs than the one LED in the Rayovac head lamp (also has 2 red LEDs and an incan) that that I bought last Christmas. I walked around the car with it also and it appars to be a great light for changing tires or other work on the car.