Headlamp recommendations

I want to get by bro-in-law a headlamp as a gift. He canoes/fishes at night and he is not a flashaholic so I think the headlamp will be a nice handy surprise to free up his hands while playing.

here are the requirements:
waterproof, in case its dropped into the drink,
resistant to saltwater,
use AA's (prefer 2, but 4 may do)
enough run time to last a few hours of an outing,
secure, will not fall off while rattling around in the canoe,
adjustable lighting angle,
LED or incan, no preference,
bright enough to navigate through mangroves and for baiting hooks, finding the cooler full of beers, etc.
price range $25 and under

Come to think of it, perhaps some reccomendations for light(s) to use on the canoe while navigating through the mangroves behind his house, use applicable specs from above.
....geez...might even make hanging with him enjoyable (read that tolerable):laughing:

Check headlamps

Under $25 kinda limits the options. For $30, you can get him a Princeton Tec EOS. It's a great 1watt Luxeon unit that uses 3 AAA cells. Plenty of runtime to cover several hours, and 3 different light output settings. For $20, you can get a Princeton Tec Aurora which uses three 5mm LED's.

I used to be stuck on the AA requirement. I settled with AAA's. I second the PrincetonTec EOS. Great headlamp. Bright, 3-levels of lighting, plus strobe. It's also a regulated luxeon LED.

R.E.I. has the Princeton Tec Matrix 2 on Closeout for $14.93 http://www.rei.com/outlet/product/47868789.htm?vcat=OUTLET_SSHP_CAMPING_HIKING_SA

Here's Quickbeam's review of the Matrix 2 http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/princetontec_matrix2.htm

This headlamp was $40 at suggested retail and it's waterproof.

Another vote for the Princeton Tec EOS here.

I was pleasantly surprised by this little jewel. The reduced power levels can come in very handy when not a lot of light is required.

The fit on this thing is amazing! I couldn't even tell it was on my head and wore it for hours with no discomfort. If he will be doing head shaking physical outdoor work (ie. chopping wood) then he will appreciate the well designed harness.

I've no experience with any other headlamps though than this one and chose it solely based on the excellent headlamp reviews here.
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews_index/reviews_index_headlamps.htm

Go to Target and get one of those River Rock led headlamps!!!

My brother got one and it has good flood and decent throw, definatley enough to see around the boat, under 25 dollars too.

Waterproof??? I dunno....

-PSM

I like the Black Diamond "hybrid" models (incan+LED). The Gemini is a very basic model, with great features. They also make a LED+Lux combo now, The Zenix IQ. Looks cheap, but I was told (by BD CS when I asked) it actually holds very well.

PoliceScannerMan said:

Go to Target and get one of those River Rock led headlamps!!!

My brother got one and it has good flood and decent throw, definatley enough to see around the boat, under 25 dollars too.

Waterproof??? I dunno....

-PSM

Click to expand...

I was in Target today and bought one of the River Rock 2AAA LED headlamps. It was $14.99 - for that money, it's a great headlamp. The beam is a bit on the bluish side, but puts out a lot of light compared to other headlamps using 3 AAA batteries.

I would classify it as 'water-resistant'. It should handle getting rained on, but not a underwater dunk. The battery case has a rubber gasket with some silicone grease for some waterproofing.