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Peanut

Peanut

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Didn't find a recent thread on this topic so...

What do you have and why? I need a new head lamp for my day pack. I keep headlamps on 2 boonie hats, one of those in my pack. The other on my home hat rack, in case I need to check on cows or the dogs after dark. One needs to be replaced, the elastic band is toast. I just cleaned it up, put in fresh batteries. It’ll do in a pinch while I look for an upgrade.

I have a couple of the new flexible led band type lamps that charge via usb. Great around the house or shop but not for permanent storage in a day pack. A light that needs to be charged is useless in an emergency.

I need a lamp that uses regular AAA batteries. Something I can put in a small freezer bag along with 3 batteries and stuff in my pack. Standard 3a batteries can be stored for a couple years and be ready instantly.

Does anyone have such a light? Pros/Cons?
 
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Peanut the headlamp i been using daily since before c-19 is a $25 walmart hyper tough...it has lithium battery and its fantastic light....i didnt like the fact i couldnt dump fresh batteries in it...but its saved on batteries so much its caused me to change my mind about it.

I just dont think aaa batteries last long enough in anything anymore for whatever reason...and you cant find headlamps taking aa's any longer...i found an old one while cleaning other day and it was like finding treasure to me i had forgotten about...


 
I have an older Black Diamond, has both white and red options. My wife has one we found at a trailhead, I don't know the make, but works well. Then we have a bunch of $1 ones we got at Walmart. They do surprisingly well, about 150 lumen. I keep them in the cars for looking in engines. In both my trauma kits, a couple in the kitchen drawer. The newer ones don't seem as nice.

I also like those clip on cap lights.
 
UserNameTaken said:
I have an older Black Diamond, has both white and red options. My wife has one we found at a trailhead, I don't know the make, but works well. Then we have a bunch of $1 ones we got at Walmart. They do surprisingly well, about 150 lumen. I keep them in the cars for looking in engines. In both my trauma kits, a couple in the kitchen drawer. The newer ones don't seem as nice.

I also like those clip on cap lights.
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I'm about the same. I have tons of them all over the place. I don't buy the real good ones as like many other things that size, they get misplaced.

Don't forget to pile up on CR-2032 (or whatever size) batteries!
 
I've been using Petzel headlamps since the early 80s. BLACK diamond is another high quality light.
I always was digging thru backpacking type stores, but now days there are likely many more brands out there.
Features I look for are having a red or green light setting, multi power, a zoom feature is nice. Of course batteries, some are rechargeable, some need aaa batteries. Most all will have a power usage guide to check out.
 
Streamlight Pro-Tac HL Headlamp is my go to. It has multiple modes for brightness from 20-600+ lumens, from 2-36 hours of run time, is extremely durable and IPX4 rated.

I also have a few cheaper Princeton Tec Byte Tacticals, which have less features but are also a good headlamp.



This is the Pro-Tac:


streamlight.jpg
 
d_marsh said:
Streamlight Pro-Tac HL Headlamp is my go to. It has multiple modes for brightness from 20-600+ lumens, from 2-36 hours of run time, is extremely durable and IPX4 rated.

I also have a few cheaper Princeton Tec Byte Tacticals, which have less features but are also a good headlamp.



This is the Pro-Tac:


View attachment 160910
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Funny, the lamp I'm going to replace is a Streamlight Argo. I've had it at least a decade, probably longer. It's been a great light and the light assy still works. The elastic strap wore out and it won't stay on my boonie hat unless I use safety pins.

20240830_152444a.jpg
 
Not a head lamp but a while back my wife bought a rechargeable 1,000 lumens light ( at Aldi's. It was so BRIGHT that I thought that it was kind of unusable. Boy was I wrong!!!! I use that sucker every single morning to make sure there are no critters in my back yard when I let the little one's out. I can CLEARLY see all the way across our yard, check out the fence & well I could read a newspaper with it at 10 ft. It is blinding!! We love it so much that we bought another (for 7 dollars more) & also one for our neighbor.
 
I have the cheap stuff, one in the house & one in the truck, I give them as gifts to person whom I think can & will use them.
None to my son, he only uses Milwaukee brand.
 
I purchase the above Streamlight so long ago I honestly didn’t remember much about it. That said I don’t usually buy bargain basement products… the old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ holds true most of the time. I avoid buying junk when possible. And this light has been a good one for more than a decade.

Well, thanks to @d_marsh I now know Streamlight is still in business. Just went looking through their website. I can actually purchase a replacement elastic strap for my old Argo for $4.60. Given the current financial climate it’ll probably cost $20 to ship it. Well, that’d put me halfway to the cost of a new Pro-Tac HL. Sort of like putting new tires on an old car. The tires might outlast the car.

I think I'll just upgrade to a new, bigger, better light. Probably a wise choice. But if I can get a new elastic strap shipped for less than $10 total I’ll get one of those as well, have a good spare. I'll call them up monday and check the total cost of a new strap.

Edit to add... about Streamlight, they've been in business since 1973. Old and established, the kind of company I like doing business with. I'm sure I researched this before the first purchase. Something I normally do but it was so long ago... I forgot.

Streamlight.jpg
 
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Pearl said:
I have many head lamps! The LED band type are nice because they light all around you! All are nice during power outages because your hands are free!
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I want to get me one of that type too. But I think they are only for when you are alone. A friend of mine bought one to use when he takes his black powder pistol to the indoor range - the extra light helps him do all the stuff you need to do to get a black powder gun ready to fire. While the light helps him, it drives everyone else on the range away from him. You can't get anywhere near him - front, side ... anywhere - without a really annoying light being directed into your face. Would be good for when you're by yourself though. The wide angle of lighting would be very useful (but only for the one wearing it!) You can blind someone with a regular headlamp too. But you have to be looking at them to do it. The LED bands are equal opportunity blinders ... they get everyone equally.
 
Haertig said:
I want to get me one of that type too. But I think they are only for when you are alone. A friend of mine bought one to use when he takes his black powder pistol to the indoor range - the extra light helps him do all the stuff you need to do to get a black powder gun ready to fire. While the light helps him, it drives everyone else on the range away from him. You can't get anywhere near him - front, side ... anywhere - without a really annoying light being directed into your face. Would be good for when you're by yourself though. The wide angle of lighting would be very useful (but only for the one wearing it!) You can blind someone with a regular headlamp too. But you have to be looking at them to do it. The LED bands are equal opportunity blinders ... they get everyone equally.
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I saw a guy wearing one who replaced the pto seal on the tractor last summer. Yes, annoying for everyone else, but... lots of light in a wide fan.

Dad and I built this house in '74 on a budget. Proper lighting for each room wasn't a consideration. The band type are great in my house when I need to find something. I use one almost daily. I keep two hanging by the kitchen light switch at all times. I also keep several usb cables plugged into my desktop so keeping the lights charged is easy.

I bought two as a package deal, still less than $20. Thinking I might order a couple more. I consider them 'consumables' for my budget.
 
Haertig said:
I want to get me one of that type too. But I think they are only for when you are alone. A friend of mine bought one to use when he takes his black powder pistol to the indoor range - the extra light helps him do all the stuff you need to do to get a black powder gun ready to fire. While the light helps him, it drives everyone else on the range away from him. You can't get anywhere near him - front, side ... anywhere - without a really annoying light being directed into your face. Would be good for when you're by yourself though. The wide angle of lighting would be very useful (but only for the one wearing it!) You can blind someone with a regular headlamp too. But you have to be looking at them to do it. The LED bands are equal opportunity blinders ... they get everyone equally.
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I find the LED bands type are great for walking a trail, walking the dog, or working under the hood of my car. Mine are rechargeable and I keep two near the dog leash. When one gets down below the halfway mark I switch to the other and take the one down to be recharged. While I’ve never seen the neighbourhood bear when I was outside I count the strobe option as an option to drive off the bear.
 
I had a pretzel ..great quality lamp. The black diamond was a score!

I love being hands free when I need light..I have a bunch of cheap ones everywhere..

I do have two that are rechargeable..they are bright and last a long time on one charge..I keep one on me at work always..
I'll have to look at the brand. They wernt very expensive and turned out to be really great..
 
Not what you asked for (it's rechargeable) but my brother in law gave me a Milwaukee for Christmas one year and it blows away every other headlamp I've ever seen.
71r+OMacODL._AC_SX679_.jpg



About wanting to use AA batteries...I'm not sure you are thinking straight.
In an emergency where are you going to buy more AA batteries when they are all dead? If you have a solar panel and a rechargeable headlamp, you won't need to buy batteries for it. Buy a couple of extra rechargeable batteries and you're good to go for years to come.
 
DrHenley said:
Not what you asked for (it's rechargeable) but my brother in law gave me a Milwaukee for Christmas one year and it blows away every other headlamp I've ever seen.
71r+OMacODL._AC_SX679_.jpg



About wanting to use AA batteries...I'm not sure you are thinking straight.
In an emergency where are you going to buy more AA batteries when they are all dead? If you have a solar panel and a rechargeable headlamp, you won't need to buy batteries for it. Buy a couple of extra rechargeable batteries and you're good to go for years to come.
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I'm not talking about a shtf emergency, the stores will still open the next day. I'm speaking solely to getting caught after dark, maybe injured in a creek somewhere and trying to get out of the woods or get immediate help that night. Every week I go alone to remote places while hunting medicinal plants. At my age anything can happen.

I already keep such a lamp in my day pack along with batteries in a water proof box since I have a tendency to fall into creeks (even keep dry clothes in the truck). This pack stays in my truck, months may pass before I actually need any of the contents. In such a situation alkaline batteries are superior to rechargeable batteries. I only check the alkalines once every 3 or 4 months. Making sure I have a charge every time I leave home is a waste of my time. I've tried them before, doesn't work in this application.
 
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DrHenley said:
In an emergency where are you going to buy more AA batteries when they are all dead? If you have a solar panel and a rechargeable headlamp, you won't need to buy batteries for it. Buy a couple of extra rechargeable batteries and you're good to go for years to come.
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As long as your solar panel continues to function. And your headlamp continues to function. I consider that a big "if" - given that all this consumer electronic stuff is made in China now.

What is the shelf life of (unused) quality alkaline batteries these days? Ten years maybe? Primary lithium (not rechargeable) are even longer. I'm not sure the devices that use these batteries, or charge Li-Ion batteries, are going to last that long. Maybe.

I do my best to buy flashlights that will run on alkalines, rechargeable NiMH, primary lithium, and rechargeable Li-Ion if at all possible. Flashlights do exist that accept this wide range of voltages, typically using AA or AAA sized batteries. Headlamps - I don't know. I haven't been in the headlamp market for many years (because mine still work fine!) so I don't know what technology has been implemented in those.
 
One thing that bothers me about a lot of flashlights and headlamps ... many of them do all kinds of silly flashy modes. I see zero need for a headlamp sitting on top of your head flashing SOS. Is there really a need for that? I can see in some very specialized circumstances where you might want a slow strobe. Say, falling off a boat in the middle of the ocean at 2:00am. A slow strobing headlamp might be handy in that case. Provided you were wearing it when you fell off the boat. And it was fully waterproof. But I can't imagine 99% of the people out there needing a strobing headlamp. Those flashy features just make the user interface more cumbersome IMHO. Personally, I just want OFF-LOW-HIGH in a rotating sequence of a single button press for an everyday use flashlight or headlamp. Specialized uses may need more modes than this, and for that, my preference is for an ON-OFF tailcap button with a separate MODE button. Headlamps are different - I think they should only have only one button, and the simplest user interface possible. No push-and-hold, no double-click, no timing dependent button presses. If all the different modes require that kind of user interface nonsense, think up a better design with fewer useless modes. Like OFF-LOW-HIGH. A three position slider switch is great for this - if they could make one that was long term reliable, usable by feel only, while wearing gloves, and waterproof/dustproof. There are so many cheap garbage slider switches these days that I think people have forgotten that they can be quite useful - again, if they are designed right (which means "not cheap").
 
Here is the cheap but decent rechargeable headlamp I use almost daily..

It's really lightweight too..

The one I have on my hardhat was a bit more in price but it's only advantage Is I can focas the light beam. The down side is it is heavy..to the point I don't like wearing my hardhat and it will burn through batteries fairly quick.

I'm kicking myself for ruining my petzel..it was a great headlamp. I might have to get another but they cost money..
 

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The nice thing about batteries is spares can be brought along and the light can be "recharged" so to speak quickly. I have found myself with a rechargeable that went dead at a inopportune time. I have both though,battery and rechargeable.
 
I have Petzl headlamps. And I am happy with all of them. But all of them are older models. Like 20 years old. I do have one newer one that is probably getting close to ten years old now. I do not know how Petzl's newer offerings hold up against the standards that my older headlamps set.

In the 20 year old range, I have the Petzl Tikka and Petzl Zipka. Both are solid lights that run on three AAA batteries. In the seven to ten year old range (?) I have the Petzl Tikkina. This one also runs on three AAA batteries. The Tikkina is the cheapest of the bunch. And is the one I would buy again if the newer versions are as good as my older version. I am not knocking the Tikka or Zipka by saying that I would buy the Tikkina now instead. Those are great lights too, but they cost more, and for my needs I don't need what they offer for that additional cost (higher brightness, retractable cord headband, etc.)

My Tikkina is from back in the day when they were made using three simpler LEDs. Nowadays, I think many headlamps just use one much brighter LED. I made my older Tikkina even better than it was out of the box by putting a strip of frosted Scotch Tape across the lens. This acts as a diffuser and makes the beam more even and smooth than it was originally, without dimming it to any noticeable amount.

My wife has bought several headlamps from Costco over the years. Without fail, these seem to come in three packs (it IS Costco, after all). And they look big and kind of clunky. I don't know how well any of her purchases work because I have never used them. I don't think she has either. Such is the life of a Costco impulse buy.
 
I have a small packable solar panel that I keep in a window and so every weekend I charge up my rechargeable light on Friday when I get home. It still has plenty of charge in it even after I use it all week but I top it off anyways.
But I have both battery and the two rechargeable ones..and I like that I can charge it off my tiny solar panel..
 
Peanut said:
I'm not talking about a shtf emergency, the stores will still open the next day. I'm speaking solely to getting caught after dark, maybe injured in a creek somewhere and trying to get out of the woods or get immediate help that night. Every week I go alone to remote places while hunting medicinal plants. At my age anything can happen.

I already keep such a lamp in my day pack along with batteries in a water proof box since I have a tendency to fall into creeks (even keep dry clothes in the truck). This pack stays in my truck, months may pass before I actually need any of the contents. In such a situation alkaline batteries are superior to rechargeable batteries. I only check the alkalines once every 3 or 4 months. Making sure I have a charge every time I leave home is a waste of my time. I've tried them before, doesn't work in this application.
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Thanks for clarifying.
 
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