Mini Headlamp Shootout with mod & Pix!!

Having some fun with 5 skullbeams. 4 using AAA's and 1 using coin cells. Here's the lineup with corresponding LUX readings.

Petzl Tac Tikka Plus (top left)
---- Three Levels 70/40/15 LUX @ 1m

Ultra light 5mm LED Headlamp emilionworkshop.com (top right)
---- LUX reading upcoming

RiverRock Headlamp (bottom right)
---- LUX readings upcoming

Energizer 35K mcd mod (bottom left)
---- 100 LUX @ 1m (48 LUX for original)

Petzl Tikka XP (center)
---- 235 LUX @ 1m (600 LUX with 30-second boost) 18 LUS for flood mode



Here are a few pictures of the mod. Unscrew the 3 screws on the back and snap the cover off.


Then remove the LED's and solder in a couple of new 35K mcd 5mm LED's from KevinL. Be sure to test the LED connection BEFORE you solder them, to make sure you have the positive and negative ends on correctly. I had to reverse mine after I soldered them since they didn't work. Also placing the LED's back in their slots is tricky to have both point in the same focal point. But not too tricky



Beamshots upcoming soon!

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Nice collection. I can see the XP is a standout for brightness. Which is your overall favorite?

Nice pics as always! Now I want to see a PT EOS against the new Black Diamond Spot.

Looks as if the energizer is loving the 35k's!

Hey! Thanks all I'll be putting up some beamshots and answering PM's in this thread soon. Stay tuned...

Here we go...

Using the Tikka XP as reference

Tikka XP vs Energizer 35k mcd mod


Tikka XP vs Energizer RED stock


Tikka XP vs UltraLight


Tikka XP vs River Rock


Tikka XP FLOOD vs TacTikka Plus


Tikka XP FLOOD vs TacTikka Plus RED


Tikka XP FLOOD on momentary boost (30 seconds max)


Tikka XP SPOT on momentary boost (30 second max)


A summary of these I'd say I like the River Rock the least because of the angry blue spot. The Tikka XP is the brightest but the boost is a pain because you have to hold the boost button as long as you need the boost up to 30 seconds or so.

The Energizer 35K mod is a bright but it is better for close up work because I seem to loose my night vision on a dark night and the artifacts at the periferial are distracting even more. The ultra light is very small and not as bright as the Energizer 35K but I will try to mod this one too just to see how it performs.

A smooth wide flood is very useful in these types of headlamps and the TacTikka Plus is my favorite because of the excellent design and comfort. It is very low profile and hugs your forehead making it easy to forget you're wearing this light. It has an excellent runtime on 3AAA batteries with three levels of brightness and a flasher just like the Tikka XP but it runs for 80/120/160 HOURS!! The flasher is good for walking or biking at night. You can use the built-in red lense cover and wear it facing behind you even.

The Tikka XP does have a more output and 235 LUX with a warm beam which makes a good flood with the built in diffuser but it is not as comfortable as the TacTikka PLUS. All the PLUS needs is a mod to 35K mcd LEDs and it will be even better, unbeatable. Light-weight, comfortable, 3-levels, long runtime, red lense, wide smooth flood. It would benefit from a mod. I'll see what I can do.

Oh almost forgot. I did buy a PT EOS once and returned it as I just couldn't get accustomed to the bright narrow spot. It gave me tunnel vision. I prefer a good short distance wide flood for easy maneuvering and a handheld thrower like the SL ProPoly 4AA Luxeon or better to pinpoint targets outside the zone. These two are a great match.

Oh, I've always wanted to try that triangle shaped 3-LED headlamp, I think it's called the Aurora but haven't gotten around to it. Seems like it would be nice.

I wolud be intrested in that Tac Tikka Plus Mod you metioned .
Let us know if you ever do one . Might even try it myself .

Kenny

Very helpful review! I'm anxious to see the tactikka plus mod as well. I agree on the river rock. I added a light diffuser to mine but it was still just a blue-spot machine, not great for close-up tasks (though it is an excellent light in other respects: price, regulation, weight.) Mines on ebay right now.

Another interesting mod would be to swap the led's in the Black Diamond Spot, Available on black diamonds site here: http://www.bdel.com/gear/spot.php (cough, cough, hint, hint)

Hehe, that BD headlamp looks nice but it is most definately a spot, probably like that aurora I was taking about and it has a 1w so no need for mod unless you do a 3w but then you have heat issues and small batteries to deal with.

As for the TacTikka Plus mod, I haven't been able to take it apart to get at the LEDs, so still working on it.

If anyone knows how, let me know too

I'm a bit confused, I was talking about replacing the 3x5mm led's below the 1 watt. Maybe that's what you were talking about, I'm a little slow

phatalbert said:

I'm a bit confused, I was talking about replacing the 3x5mm led's below the 1 watt. Maybe that's what you were talking about, I'm a little slow

Click to expand...

I went to that link of the Black Diamond headlamp. They have a bunch of videos of the headlamps but non with ANY beamshots. sheesh. I mean what's the most important part? Anyway, they said it was a 1watt so I thought you were thinking of wanting it modded to a 3w.

I'll be workin gon the TacTikka Plus this weekend. I'll either break it or mod it

CromagNet said:

I went to that link of the Black Diamond headlamp. They have a bunch of videos of the headlamps but non with ANY beamshots. sheesh.

Click to expand...

Haha, yeah, they've got like ten clips of it being removed from various storage places: pockets, backpacks, glove compartments. Everytime I'm like - "Wow, there it is again." :thinking: