Head lamp

[duece71]

Should I go for broke and spend the $$$ on a nice Surefire saint or minimus or save the $$$ and get a Streamlight. Lamp will be used for camping, hiking, SHTF, power outage.
Thanks.

[Aegis]

I've used Petzls overseas and camping. Never had a single problem with them. The best place I've found to look at them is REI. You can really figure out what features you need, how easy they are to utilize before dropping the coin.

[deadlyfire]

I've used Petzls overseas and camping. Never had a single problem with them. The best place I've found to look at them is REI. You can really figure out what features you need, how easy they are to utilize before dropping the coin.

+1 for petzl. Suits all your NEEDS while you figure out just how you want to indulge (surefire).

[duece71]

All,
Petzl looks nice and is probably more of what I need. Resonable prices as well. Thanks for the replies.

[wlptpd3]

Check your local Dick's Sporting Goods the stores locally here carry both Petzl and Princeton Tec, I believe you can get into either light for less than $ 25.00 bucks.

[Aegis]

No worries,

I'm sure it will fit your needs without spending undue ammo funds!!

I've used the following in black:
http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/tikka-zipka-series/tikka

[AFGuy1227]

Petzl is the way to go. And get a second just in case you break one.

[Jaysop]

I got a streamlight one day when someone stole my flashlight out of my work truck. It was $17. I didn't expect it to last very long but I used it everyday for about 4 months on the low and high setting and im still on the same set of AAA batteries. Its been beat up and soaked, hot and cold.

Its not the strongest plastic but I wouldn't hesitate to buy another ever.

[pmarc]

Energizer brand has some small light headlamps. Nice to have around.

I had one in my car, that just went dead when the car battery went dead saturday night.
My wife was in my in-laws place, so, my BIL lent a hand to jumpstart the car.

The event just reminded me of the importance to CHECK the stuff I buy for emergencies.

[Wake27]

Princeton Tec, I'm pretty sure they're made in the USA. The Remix Pro MPLS has 75 lumens and a variety of mounting options.

[duece71]

All,
Thank you for the options. To those of you whom have mentioned the different options, have any of you got a preference for an over head top strap?
I have a Dicks near me, I will definately check it out.

[Wake27]

All,
Thank you for the options. To those of you whom have mentioned the different options, have any of you got a preference for an over head top strap?
I have a Dicks near me, I will definately check it out.

I was curious how the ones without the strap would do, and have been pleasantly surprised. I've only used 2 headlamps, both Princeton Tec, but neither left me wanting an over the head strap. They have been very secure without being annoyingly tight. I've put them to decent use too, through various FTX's and night land nav courses.

[Spiffums]

We always ran the Petzl Duo when we were caving. The Cave Rescue Team all ran Duos with the carbide lights on the Explorer helmets. Kinda like the Surefire Tact lights now low output and high output.

[pmarc]

I was curious how the ones without the strap would do, and have been pleasantly surprised. I've only used 2 headlamps, both Princeton Tec, but neither left me wanting an over the head strap. They have been very secure without being annoyingly tight.

That has been my experience too.
I guess missing the top strap decreases bulk while in storage/pocket.

If the straps were well designed, you might remove temporarily and reattach later if you miss it.

I had a Petzl Duo that made possible to remove straps and reattach later. Nice lamp, albeit a bit expensive in the other side of the Equator.

[DWood]

Zebra Light H51. It is an angled light that uses one AA battery and has low, medium, and high (200 lumens). It comes with a head band or can be used alone. The user interface is stupid simple and I use it all the time. moving around the house at night with the low setting, taking the puppy out at 4 am using the medium or high. learn about Eneloop rechargeables and Zebra Light and your lighting horizons will be greatly expamded.

http://www.zebralight.com/H51-Headlamp-AA-200Lm_p_37.html

[M4Fundi]

I use the Petzl Duo. I have two and used to wear one every night for 8+ months out of the year. They are fantastic!

[mkmckinley]

Zebra Light H51. It is an angled light that uses one AA battery and has low, medium, and high (200 lumens). It comes with a head band or can be used alone. The user interface is stupid simple and I use it all the time. moving around the house at night with the low setting, taking the puppy out at 4 am using the medium or high. learn about Eneloop rechargeables and Zebra Light and your lighting horizons will be greatly expamded.

http://www.zebralight.com/H51-Headlamp-AA-200Lm_p_37.html

Zebralights are awesome.

[mpardun]

Then decided to do a bunch of 14'ers 2 summers ago. A few require a 3 am start in the dark to allow for same day summit and return.

I was sketchy about hiking treacherous rocky conditions in the dark, so I broke down and bought the SureFire Saint (minimums with an extra battery pack). I am VERY pleased...as with most SF products. Runs marathons around all other headlamps.

PROS:
Variable light output
Directional
Quality Al construction
Sips batteries
Run time (6 hours at highest output)
Brightness: rated at 100 lumens, reality is twice that
Can turn into a Minimus by removing pack

CONS:
Price
Weight of battery pack
Replaced in 2012 by the Maximus: variable 500 lumen monster

No regrets... buy once and enjoy

[duece71]

Zebra Light H51. It is an angled light that uses one AA battery and has low, medium, and high (200 lumens). It comes with a head band or can be used alone. The user interface is stupid simple and I use it all the time. moving around the house at night with the low setting, taking the puppy out at 4 am using the medium or high. learn about Eneloop rechargeables and Zebra Light and your lighting horizons will be greatly expamded.

http://www.zebralight.com/H51-Headlamp-AA-200Lm_p_37.html

I like this. Looking at the pictures on the link that you provided, the light can be clipped to a shoulder strap on a backpack or the shoulder strap on a chest rig. Looks good, I will have to pick one up. In the interim, I wandered into a gun shop during my travels for work and got a small streamlight for $18. I really like the head lamp. It has an over the head strap and has the 2 intensity settings. Hands free illumination is really nice. Thank you for all of your replies.

[TCBA_Joe]

I love my Petzl Tactika. I've used it pretty heavily and it doesn't fail to disapoint.

I just got a Princeton Tech Remix Pro MPLS for Christmas and I hold high hopes for it. It mounts on MOLLE, headstrap, and an NVG mount. I really like the switch it has on it.

Go to your closest EMS and check out what they have for headlamps. Buy a Petzl or Princeton tech for between $20-50, and figure out for yourself if it meets your needs or not. I think you'd be surprised at how well these "lower priced" lights perform.

[duece71]

I love my Petzl Tactika. I've used it pretty heavily and it doesn't fail to disapoint.

I just got a Princeton Tech Remix Pro MPLS for Christmas and I hold high hopes for it. It mounts on MOLLE, headstrap, and an NVG mount. I really like the switch it has on it.

Go to your closest EMS and check out what they have for headlamps. Buy a Petzl or Princeton tech for between $20-50, and figure out for yourself if it meets your needs or not. I think you'd be surprised at how well these "lower priced" lights perform.

EMS is a great place. Unfortunately for me, it looks like online shopping for me. I'll have to wait until I head back east (during my work week maybe).
Thanks.

[Bimmer]

Lamp will be used for camping, hiking, SHTF, power outage.

I think you first need to decide how powerful a lamp you want.

For camping, hiking, navigation, etc., a low powered/low price headlamp is plenty.

I use a high powered Princeton for bicycling at night, because I need a lot of throw. It's as bright as my Fenix E21 (which claims 150+ lumens), and the battery life with 3 AAs is good. The only downside is toggling through the "low" setting, and that the low setting has a strong blue tint.

I crashed my bike last month and came down on the lamp, and it survived.

[DWood]

Here is a good review of the Zebra Light.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkhGGa857Gs

[duece71]

Dwood,
Thanks for the link, that was an excellent review and I am sold on the lamp. I like the fact that one can use it as a headlamp but with that clip, one could mount it to a chest rig (probably upside down) or a back pack strap.
Thanks again and I will pick one up soon.

[kid presentable]

my mother-in-law got me a streamlight sidewinder compact for christmas this year, i've just used it around the house and to work on computers at work, it works well for my needs.

[Vic303]

Petzl is one of the industry standards. Hard to go wrong with one. I have an ancient Zoom, and a Zipka I like. However, DH's MyoXP has the annoying feature of draining the batteies even when "off". It is apparently something to do with the way the light is regulated.

Another nice headlamp to consider, is the Spark Headlamp.
SPARK (http://www.sbflashlights.com/Spark-c22/)

I have the Spark SD52-NW, which is on the large side, but extremely nice. Well made, good heat dissapation, runs on 2xAA, has a comfortable headband (as in you can sleep in it comfy), and comes with a couple interesting screw-on accessories--a strong magnet to attache the light to steel, such as the side of your car, and a small brass fitting for attaching the light to a small tripod.

The light is capable of running on 2xIFR14500 rechargeable lithium ion batteries, though most folk will prefer primary Li-ions or alkalines, or NiMh rechargeables.

[trinydex]

I've used Petzls overseas and camping. Never had a single problem with them. The best place I've found to look at them is REI. You can really figure out what features you need, how easy they are to utilize before dropping the coin.

i use headlamps in almost every scenario that a person might usually dig for a flashlight.

i keep one in the car, keep one in the tool box, keep two in the hiking bag, keep one in the house. it's the best hands free lighting option for noncombat application. if you're going to use a flashlight for something other than combat, why not be hands free?

i use mostly the basic petzls because the battery life is really good and they use common alkaline cells. they're really cheap and they're the lightest (for ultralite hikers). the amount of light is "good enough," they do not have excellent throw, flood or beam spot and you wouldn't use them for anything besides chores, minor tasks etc. they're great for changing a tire in the dark by yourself, getting under a car without a gigantic shop light, soldering something without a gigantic bench light, walking around an unlit house after a power outage, hiking at night, cooking at night during camping etc.

if you are going through an area that might have anything besides stumbling hazards i would carry a nice handheld in addition to the headlamp. this also gives you multi-directional capability.

[TCBA_Joe]

Finally got around to using my Princeton Tech MPLS this weekend at drill. I have to say, it crushes it my Petzl Tactika in most areas.

It has the best switch I've ever used. It's bigger than the Petzl, and easier to manipulate. It starts on low red one more click puts it on high red. Hold it down and it switches to white on that intensity setting.

The petzl starts out on a high setting, and clicks through to medium and low. To use the red setting you flip down a red filter.

I'm much less worried about light discipline with the Princeton Tech. The red function is also actually red, whereas the Petzl is a red filter that's not truly red.

The MPLS has more mounting options, and more angle adjustment.

I found the Petzl slightly more comfortable wearing on a bare head.

Definitely the giving the Nod to the Princeton Tech, but it's also ~$30 more expensive.

[DCastro11B]

+1 for Petzl's. Reliable.