Headlamps

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by gordwedman

The only issue I have had is that because of the weight it will fall off if you are more or less upside down.

Which brings up the suggestion of installing a lanyard on them. Had a crew member lose his while working on deck one night. And mine came off but was able to retrieve it before it went over the side.

[Greg4cocokai]

Originally Posted by Jubilee39

Moisture gets in, not particularly water engress and the electrics give up. I found petzel too bulky in their past models. The eveready is a nice size and the three light selection is good but annoying to toggle through. The diamond from REI would come on at the last selected level but fell apart and no customer support for a pricey item. So far my best option is to buy enough everready and vacum bag spares for when they are not available in my travels

Hi Joe, We've had the same problems over the years. Everytime we go home I just go to Home Depot and buy another 5. Have used Princeton, Eveready, etc.. The one I'm using now has been the best, lightest and has been working a full year! Says PTEC on the band and Byte on the casing. One red and 1 superbright LED and only 2-AAA batteries.
Heading home Sunday for 6 weeks to pick up some more. Leaving here in Jan for Cape Town and Brazil.

Cheers, Say Hi to Dubis!

[DeepFrz]

That is Princeton Tec - Byte model.

[chuckr]

we get ours at hardware stores where ever we are when the old one quits -- oh and we keep one in spare all the time - costs a few dollars each so if they quit so what -- we got one somewhere in panama that lasted 2 years - the current one we got in the azores --- we use rechargable batteries --
on a cost/benefit ratio we think this is the best way to go --

just our thoughts and opinion
chuck patty and svsoulmates
in port yasmine hammamet tunisia for the winter

[hellosailor]

I've got two. The older one is actually tungsten and powered by 2xAA cells and I dropped in an LED "conversion" bulb, because I prefer AA cells to the ubiquitous AAA cells which cost the same thing but have about 1/4 the life. I think that's a Princeton, while the newer is a damned AAA from LLBean, probably a Petzl. Damned if I remember the brand on either one.

But LLBean has this wonderful policy of lifetime satisfaction guarantees. If you can't find a headlamp with a strong guarantee from the manufacturer, consider buying one from someplace like LLBean, where you'll pay a little more but they'll happy replace it with a new one, again and again, if it fails on you.

I've also learned to be generous with silicon grease (aka brake grease, high temperature dielectric grease, or light bulb grease) in all the little electronics and lights that may be exposed to damp air. Ends the corrosion problems before they start. Cheapest as "brake grease" in the large tubes.

[chuckr]

[QUOTE=hellosailor;1389523]

But LLBean has this wonderful policy of lifetime satisfaction guarantees. If you can't find a headlamp with a strong guarantee from the manufacturer, consider buying one from someplace like LLBean, where you'll pay a little more but they'll happy replace it with a new one, again and again, if it fails on you.


as long as you are someplace where you can send it back at a reasonable price - once out cruising a bit expensive to send back from say colombia, or fiji or tunisia --

just our thoughts and opinions
chuck patty and svsoulmates
in port yasmine hammamet tunisia for the winter

[noelex 77]

If you want the best get a Stenlight.

They are originally designed for cave exploration so are designed to mount on hard hat. They sell a headband conversion but its not well designed so I made my own out of some scrap aluminium (see photo)
It will run off a wide range of voltages so you can make up any battery pack you like. Shown is a Nicad battery pack, but I now use lithium.
Stenlight sell a suitable lithium battery pack if you want, but its a bit large and expensive.

[Maine Sail]

I use head lamps everyday for working on boats. We also use them on-board. A red night mode is important to us and headlamps with this feature can be harder to find.. I own a Princenton Tec, a Black Diamond and a pile of older Petzl's none of which have red night mode..

The head lamps I use most often, and the ones that get beat on day after day in my tool bag, are the Energizer Brilliant Beam Headlight.

I have about six of them, maybe more now because I grab a new one at Wal*Mart or Home Depot every time I forget mine, and have yet to kill one.

I keep a few on the boat, a few in my tool bags, one in each car etc. etc... They are comfortable, inexpensive, and bright. They also have a red night mode.

While not "waterproof" they are very water resistant. We have hiked in pouring rain with them and I all too often take the dogs over to the islands in the pouring rain. My daughter dropped one in the ocean while getting in the dinghy one night and it was still on when I reached in the water to retrieve it.. It still works to this day.. We've never had a single Energizer Brilliant Beam Headlight fail us and because of the price we beat on them more than we probably should.. They have sealed buttons and an o-ring on the battery compartment. The one that went in the drink was dry inside when I got back to the boat and opened it up...

For the $19.00 they honestly can't be beat, and I do beat on them every single day of the week..... On one of them I have actually resorted to headlight restorer to polish the lens back from being beat & scratched by my tools. I literally just toss them in my soft sided tool bags with my wrenches, screw drivers, crimp tools etc.. The damn things still work. They also come with a set of Energizer batteries which makes them even less money than ones that don't...

Last winter I was almost laughed off the Presidential Range by my gear head buddies who were in shock that I chose my Wal*Mart head lamp over my gourmet gear head Black Diamond for a night hike into the range.

When they saw my red night mode, and how bright it was when hiking in, the laughing stopped. I simply loaded it with three Li AAA batteries and got an entire three day trip out of it. I was the only guy in camp at night with the head lamp on because I was not blinding everyone off the snow with my white LED on.........

It has survived Mt. Washington in the winter..


For the price I have had no need to even think about using any of my gourmet head lamps since discovering these inexpensive Energizers.....

[Tim R.]

I have always like the Princeton Tec models. Some are better than others though and some have a red light. I have 3 different models that I use between the boat and mountain biking at night.

I must say that I am biased though as I get these free from my brother who is a manufacturers rep for PT. However, if it does not work well I will not use it regardless of price. He has supplied me with duds in the past but their current line-up is very good.

[DeepFrz]

Maine Sail, is that the Pro 4?
Energizer Pro 4 LED Headlight | Walmart.ca

I only see the one listed for Wal Mart Canada, quite a few Energizer choices for Wal Mart US.

Thanks for another of your great write ups.

Edit: Oops, they do carry the Brilliant Beam for a few extra dollars.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by Tim R.

I have always like the Princeton Tec models. Some are better than others though and some have a red light. I have 3 different models that I use between the boat and mountain biking at night.

I must say that I am biased though as I get these free from my brother who is a manufacturers rep for PT. However, if it does not work well I will not use it regardless of price. He has supplied me with duds in the past but their current line-up is very good.

I find the build quality of the Princeton Tec stuff to be very good. Neither my Petzl or Black Diamond are nearly as robust.. The Energizer I find is on par, build wise, to my Petzl and BD but not my Princeton Tec. Problem is my PT does not do red and has a back of the head batt pack I find uncomfortable.. They do have a broad line up though... Now that I know your BL is the rep.......

[Eyeback]

I really like these stick lights

Nebo Larry Light 8 Led Work light with Magnetic clip

Instead of a headlamp, I just clip it on my front to see what I am doing. They are cheap, waterproof and they have a magnet on the clip so they will stick to metal. Great for working in the engine compartment where my headlamp often gets caught.

[noelex 77]

If you want a very small good quality head torch zebralight are worth a look.
They operate on a single AA (or lithium battery) with no battery pack. In fact they are not much bigger than a AA battery.
They give a very broad beam so are not suitable for illuminating objects at a great distance, but the beam pattern is ideal for say working on the engine. Very bright and efficient. It will operate for 19 days continuously on super low amazing from a single AA battery.

[Tim R.]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

I find the build quality of the Princeton Tec stuff to be very good. Neither my Petzl or Black Diamond are nearly as robust.. The Energizer I find is on par, build wise, to my Petzl and BD but not my Princeton Tec. Problem is my PT does not do red and has a back of the head batt pack I find uncomfortable.. They do have a broad line up though... Now that I know your BL is the rep.......

I will score you some "samples" over Christmas when I see him again.

BTW, my most used work lamp is my EOS that is about 4 years old. Does not have a red lamp but works great otherwise. I use a smaller lamp with the red for night sailing. I forget the model.

[DeepFrz]

I picked up my Energizer Brilliant Beam today thanks to Maine Sail's endorsement. I don't need one that is water proof to 1 meter but I do need one that will withstand rain and snow and cold. We shall see how it fares in the glove compartment in our often nasty winters.