Help picking a headlamp

[Disciple]

I really like this: https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Headlamps/IKO-CORE

Super light weight, can use core rechargable battery or 3x AAA, and fits on a helmet well. It replaced a ~6-8 year old Petzl thats switch finally gave out.

This does not appeal. It requires a proprietary battery or expensive-for-capacity AAAs (a single L91 AA has as much capacity as three L92 AAAs), has shitty IPX4 weather resistance, and wires to snag or break without any real benefit--unlike large headlamps with a heavy battery pack.

[militarymoron]

Take a look at some of the Coast headlamps. I have Petzl, Olight and some others, and use a Coast quite often in my garage when working on my car: https://coastportland.com/collection...roducts/xph25r

I like being able to focus the beam from flood to spot; something my Olights can't do. Also, the USB charging and CR123 compatibility are convenient. Some other models also have red lights.

[Hank6046]

Take a look at some of the Coast headlamps. I have Petzl, Olight and some others, and use a Coast quite often in my garage when working on my car: https://coastportland.com/collection...roducts/xph25r

I like being able to focus the beam from flood to spot; something my Olights can't do. Also, the USB charging and CR123 compatibility are convenient. Some other models also have red lights.

Slightly off topic, but have you tried any other of the Coast flashlights? As my son is starting to hunting and camping with me I want to get him something decent but cheap enough to not cringe when he drops one in the river on the way to the duck blind.

[hi-wayman]

Slightly off topic, but have you tried any other of the Coast flashlights? As my son is starting to hunting and camping with me I want to get him something decent but cheap enough to not cringe when he drops one in the river on the way to the duck blind.

I would be more concerned about having a dependable flashlight than the monetary cost of losing it. A lot of flashlights come with wrist lanyards, and if they don't, aftermarket lanyards are dirt cheap. One could also opt for a neck lanyard or a retractable lanyard. Pair any of these with a pocket clip to control it when not using it.

I've had too many flashlights fail in just weeks or months. There are too many good options and brands now to even think about the disposable checkout counter lights.

[militarymoron]

Slightly off topic, but have you tried any other of the Coast flashlights? As my son is starting to hunting and camping with me I want to get him something decent but cheap enough to not cringe when he drops one in the river on the way to the duck blind.

I haven't tried any of the Coast flashlights. Can't hurt to try them out. As a rule of thumb, I always bring multiple lights and especially headlamps whenever I was out camping.

[flenna]

I lost my 25 year old Black Diamond headlamp and needed something new so I picked up a Black Diamond 400 R. It is 400 lumens at max output, not the 500 you want but really don’t think you will know the difference. It has high, low, red and strobe, is rechargeable and waterproof to 1 meter. I have been very impressed and hope it lasts as long as my other Black Diamond headlamp. As a side note, I found my old headlamp after buying my new one.


https://www.blackdiamondequipment.co...ct/spot-400-r/

[Hank6046]

I would be more concerned about having a dependable flashlight than the monetary cost of losing it. A lot of flashlights come with wrist lanyards, and if they don't, aftermarket lanyards are dirt cheap. One could also opt for a neck lanyard or a retractable lanyard. Pair any of these with a pocket clip to control it when not using it.

I've had too many flashlights fail in just weeks or months. There are too many good options and brands now to even think about the disposable checkout counter lights.

That's a really great idea, I guess I didn't think of that.

[One More Time]

Slightly off topic, but have you tried any other of the Coast flashlights? As my son is starting to hunting and camping with me I want to get him something decent but cheap enough to not cringe when he drops one in the river on the way to the duck blind.

I went to Coast lights several years ago and have about a dozen of various types.
Local company and the Mac tool guy carries them.
Vortex like warranty but the only issue I've had was a torn rubber end cap, I got a new light.

I only buy the rechargeable dual power ones now.
I have small ones in my cars, large ones in the house and pocket ones for work and such.
I've used this headlamp every day, all day at work for a few years now.
https://coastportland.com/collection...roducts/xph30r
It goes for days on a charge and charges pretty quick.
I bought a spare battery but rarely need to swap it out.
First press of the switch is setting two then high and low.
After a few seconds, one press to turn it off, you don't have to cycle through the settings.

They have one with red and green lights as well.
https://coastportland.com/collection...roducts/wph34r
https://coastportland.com/products/w...pr_seq=uniform

[Hank6046]

I went to Coast lights several years ago and have about a dozen of various types.
Local company and the Mac tool guy carries them.
Vortex like warranty but the only issue I've had was a torn rubber end cap, I got a new light.

I only buy the rechargeable dual power ones now.
I have small ones in my cars, large ones in the house and pocket ones for work and such.
I've used this headlamp every day, all day at work for a few years now.
https://coastportland.com/collection...roducts/xph30r
It goes for days on a charge and charges pretty quick.
I bought a spare battery but rarely need to swap it out.
First press of the switch is setting two then high and low.
After a few seconds, one press to turn it off, you don't have to cycle through the settings.

They have one with red and green lights as well.
https://coastportland.com/collection...roducts/wph34r
https://coastportland.com/products/w...pr_seq=uniform

Thanks for info, I really appreciate it

[Bluto]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I really didn't factor weight so much but after reading around and wearing my el-cheap-o home depot headlamp for a few hours I definitely felt the weight aspect. I went ahead and ordered the nitecore NU43. The NU50 I was originally considering is about an ounce heavier with a very minimal difference in performance. 11 hours vs 10 hours for an extra ounce isn't really worth it and even with the thermal stepdown the runtime is a worthwhile tradeoff. Will try it out and go from there.

Thanks again!

Thought I'd drop a quick update... thanks to Amazon I had this thing the next day. At first glance, it's really nice but there is one flaw that is a deal killer...

The "turbo" mode lasts for a couple of minutes and then steps down but the other modes, including high, are really impressive. Honestly I was expecting a lot of stepping down but it maintains the high level for at least the 5 hours I left it on and only used half the battery life. I'm sure medium and low would be equally impressive. I also really like the extra wide headband and the ratcheting system they use to angle the light. Really solid on the head without noticing the weight. Super comfortable. I could easily wear this all night and not complain.

The only drawback is that it has this stupid proximity sensor that automatically lowers the output significantly when you have something directly in front of you. I used the headset to switch some cables behind a wall mounted TV and it constantly dimmed right when I needed the most light. There is no way to disable this "feature". It doesn't matter what level you are currently using it in when it dims. Turbo, high, medium; all dim to low. I could it as a benefit if it were smarter. For example not blinding someone on your team if you inadvertently stare them in the face or when you switch from hiking to reading a map, but it's too inconsistent and slow to work like that in real life.

That being said, it's going back and the search continues. I have the Black Diamond Storm 500-R on order and will see how that one goes...