led headlamps for backpacking

which headlamps are everyone using for b packing i checked out the black diamond and princeton tec fuel both look pretty descent but i want to but only once so any suggestions??

thanks
k smith

I love my BD Spot. I've had good luck with it.

BF

I've tried a number of them ("Look! Oooh, shiny; must buy.") including Petzl Zipka, several Princeton Tec models, and a Black Diamond model. For my needs (which are minimal), no one lamp jumps out as being "better."

However, I find that I take my Princeton Tec Scout most often, but not because of the brightness, battery life or size, or other technical factor. I take it because there's a little guard tab that covers the switch when it isn't swiveled out for use - I like that fact that the tab keeps it from accidentally switching on inside my pack.

I standardized the cell type that my camera, GPS, light, solar charger and water purifier use to AA. That way any cell works in any device, spares are universal, and one device's cells can serve as another's spares.

For my needs the best AA light I have found is the Zebralight H50 Q5.

I use the Energizer headlamps from Wal-Mart. They have 2-3 versions and cost 8-13.00 depending on which one you want.

They work a lot better than any of the expensive ones out there. Now they are a little heavier but not enough for me to worry about

Can you tell us more? In what way better -- durability? --functionality? or??

I standardized as well with CR-123's; Princeton Tec Apex Pro headlamp and a Zebralight H30. Other flashlights are CR-123A as well.

For AA folks, it would be hard to beat the newest Zebralight H501. 3.3 lumens for 3.5 days or 96 lumens for 2.5 hours, on a single AA, with a nice smooth flood pattern.

I use my H30 on the lowest setting (4 lumens, 3.7 days) as a tent light as well.

This subject would be good under ‘gadgets’.

My favorite for backpacking is the Zebralight H501. http://www.zebralight.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=186
On medium, it comfortably lights a whole picnic table--- enough for 8 to play cards. I like the strobe mode for daytime biking. I learned to turn the battery cover a quarter turn so it won’t accidentally turn on in my pack.

But I am a flashaholic . I love my powerful spotlight; especially for night hiking and spotting animals. So I ALSO bring a fenix. http://www.fenixlight.com/viewnproduct.asp?id=51 I usually clip this to my hat bill if my wife is using the zebralight. And the diffuser tip http://www.fenixlight.com/viewproduct.asp?id=53 makes it a nice lantern for low weight and long runtime. Also, for lantern mode, I’ve stuck a white styrofoam cup over the fenix. In fact, I wear this light on my belt every day of my life--- mainly because I use it every day. And I or my wife also uses it for biking. (I won’t go into the tools I also carry everyday¬—but leave home on backpacking trips )


And being a flashaholic, I ALSO bring the US Made AAA Arclight. http://www.arcflashlight.com/arc-aaa.shtml . I have had this for about 5 years in my pocket. Almost every single month, someone in our group forgets a light . This is the one I loan out.

I leave the Gerber Triode http://www.gerber-tools.com/Gerber-Triode-Headlamp-22-80005.htm in the car and loan it out also if someone forgets a light. It does very well in the backpacking field--- except to change the battery; that is a pain. The cap easily unscrews but the battery gets stuck. It takes some banging to loosen it. I get about 2 hours on high with an alkaline AAA.


As you can see, I love the single-cell lights. I don’t like 3 AA or 3 AAA lights . That’s an awkward battery number for purchasing, adds more weight, and requires more spares.

Good luck on your LIGHT choice . Don’t be satisfied with one do-it-all light .

-Barry

they aren't as fragile as some of the newer lights. I have dropped mine quite a few times without any damage. They have 2-3 settings of brighness,a red night light and its headswivels for reading.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10233058

After using several I settled on the Petzl Tikka XP, which has since been replaced with the XP2. I like its powerful pencil beam that can be diffused with a simple lens to give a nice wide beam in camp.

As you shop around you'll find hundreds to choose from. It's a pretty personal choice that revolves around price, features and weight.

Cheers,

Rick

I use a princeton tec Aurora, several years old. I like the swivel mount so I can aim it to read without holdiing my head in an odd position. I've looked at some lighter ones, but until I can get rechargeable batteries smaller than AAA I'll stick with my Aurora.
Ther are lots out there - I'd say that what matters is a good swivel, and a nice low setting to save batteries. I don't need it on high just to find things in the tent - I don't even usually use the highest setting to read. If you check the specs, you'll find that battery life varies from model to model - the ones that brag about how Bright they are usually have shorter battery life unless they have a nice low setting available.

My wife and I each have Auroras. They have worked fine for us. The newer of the two has a little whiter light and the older is bluer.

Just an observation about flashlight specs as far as brightness goes. The specs may be genuine, but the practical impact is much less so. Your eyes can almost magically adapt to varying levels of light such that over a certain range of brightness, you can see just as much as your eyes adapt. In some instances, you can actually see more with lower levels of light.

This is not to take away anything from the flashlight junkies who gain personal enjoyment from collecting various lights and comparing their specs. Just keep in mind that it's something like collecting and comparing baseball cards or knives: The objective criteria are there and an appreciation of the niceties is cultivated but much of it has little practical impact.

I have a Petzl e+light for summer backpacking. 1 ounce. On the lower setting, it has enough light for reading or for middle-of-the-night tent exits. In summer, I'm usually asleep by the time it gets dark. The batteries (CR2032 lithium, not cheap) aren't compatible with anything else I own except, oddly, my bathroom scale. For longer trips I start out with fresh batteries and don't bother with spares. When I change the batteries before a trip, the old ones (which still have some charge) are used for my scale, so I don't have to buy batteries for the latter. The e+light does need to be treated very gently, one of the penalties for its light weight, and must be sheltered from rain and sand (which gets under the rather weird wheel-like switch mechanism). If you get this light, practice turning it on in the dark quite a bit before your first trip--I didn't and had problems fumbling with it in the dark! I suspect that there are going to be better 1-ounce headlamps around in the near future. This one will be fine until it falls apart, which I expect it to do in a couple of years.

I also have a Princeton Tec; I think it is an Aurora. 3.3 oz. About 4 years old now. It has a regulator so can use lithium batteries (lighter, last longer, better in cold weather) and doesn't start dimming until the batteries are almost gone. It uses AAA batteries. I no longer use it for summer backpacking, but now that the days are shorter I carry the extra weight for the brighter light. I also use it around the house a lot--it's great when I clip my dog's claws! The headlamp is so much more convenient than a flashlight! I don't think I've ever used the brightest setting--it's just too bright! Again, I put a new set of batteries in it before a trip rather than carrying spares. The old ones (which always seem to have plenty of charge left in them) are carried as spares for dayhiking. It's also waterproof--my son has one he uses for surfing when he goes out just before dawn. It has been dropped a number of times with no ill effect.

I take one of those tiny photon LED lights for backup. It's on a cord around my neck along with my compass and whistle, so it goes everywhere with me. I rarely use it except for a couple of times when I haven't been able to find my headlamp in the dark.

The problem with most Petzl headlamps is that they don't have regulators. They therefore start dimming really soon in the battery life. They also can't use lithium batteries. The Petzl folks also warn against using rechargeable batteries. Evidently both are a fire hazard, not something you want to have on your forehead.

I also use the petzl e-light for most trips.

(Donning pedant's hat) The Aurora isn't regulated. Small regulated PT headlamps include the Eos and the Quad. They (PT) don't have any restrictions on lithium batteries across the range, like Petzl. Petzl is correcting this issue and all the new Tikkas take lithium.

I agree that in camp a minimal light is plenty. That said the last three or four years I've found myself hiking and navigating in the Sierra after dark and a "real" light is what I need, since high Sierra trails are often indistinct, rubble strewn and confusing. The e+lite, for example, is initially bright enough for hiking but the output plunges quickly, so I can only depend on it for perhaps 15 minutes before it's too dim.

My routine is to hike on low and just use high when I need to scout ahead or when the trail has disappeared or is splitting. This helps maintain night vision as much as possible. Last month my buddy and I had to navigate from sundown until about ten o'clock, and then had to find a campable site and clear water source, set up camp, cook dinner, etc. which took until midnight. Some years I can go an entire season without calling upon my light for more than midnight runs to the bushes but when I really need it, I have it.

Cheers,

FWIW, I have used alkaline, rechargeable (NiMH) and lithium batteries in both my Aurora and in my son's Tikka, with no problems.

I've had my E+Lite for years and also always thought it might be fragile. About a week ago I decided to take a shower with it (I take 45 min. showers) and it gave me no problems after that, so maybe some just aren't as carefully assembled as others. Batteries can be purchased on eBay, in bulk, for good prices. I use the E+Lite for reading, mostly, and my pretty new Princeton Tec EOSR for night navigation chores.

Maybe the Petzl e+light will last longer than I thought! It just looks so fragile! I still like having the bigger Princeton Tec light for longer hours of darkness.

My Princeton Tec headlamp is old enough that I don't remember what it is. It does have the single larger LED bulb, so maybe it's an EOS. The "Aurora" name sounds familar, but I may be wrong. I didn't keep the receipt from Campmor or the Princeton Tec paperwork, so I have no way of knowing. It was a closeout item back in 1996. All I know is, I really like it, even though it's on the heavy side. I suspect it does have a regulator because the light doesn't dim until the batteries are ready to die altogether.

I use these cheap Lithium CR2032 batteries in my e+light and in these Turtle Lights for both my bike and camping. I sleep with the little elastic cord of the Turtle Light over my finger - its always at hand throughout the night.

I've never much bothered to protect my e-lite from the rain, it's been soaked numerous times. - it's not like it's a 200 dollar headlamp that I'm worried about protecting. I take it mainly for convienince in camp, a bit of reading, and occasionally some night hiking with the red led. but realisticly on any trip none of those are *essential* so if it broke, oh well, I'd buy another when I got home.

This board always astonishes me with the number of petzl-haters out there, so I take some of the vitrol thrown the e-lite's way as pure propaganda, and file it in the same category of bovine scatology that I do "freedom fries". I've never personally had an issue with petzl lamps, they've served me well for years (even the old school big square battery jobs..) doing real stuff in the bush, not shining around in my backyard.

Hey rick, I use the MEC turtles on my bike, but never thought of the trick around the finger... hmmmm..

Oh, do you have a princess auto where you are? they sell big cards of lithium cr2032 batteries (I use them in the e-lite) for way less than MEC. The other place to look for cr2032's is computer stores - it's a common motherboard battery.

When ya gotta go........no time to fumble around in the dark. Just be careful which hand you use for which task.

I'll try Princess Auto - there is one down the road some 30km in London - thanks.

thanks for the info on the headlamps i ended up buying the
princeton tec fuel i got the 09 model with 4 led s in it
the old version only had three is what i was told
great little light but eventually ill probably get a black diamond light but for now the fuel will work great
k smith

For hiking at night it is nice to have the spot feature to help youlook ahead to find the trail or see blazes at some distance. Remember, too, when using a colored light, the beam will change the color of a blaze. A white blaze might look blue!

I second that. Ive been using my spot for about two years now and absolutly love it.