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head lamp

I have had this Petzel E-lite for a couple of years and have been very happy. It is small, light, and bright.

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I had been considering the Petzl Tactikka several months back. I just checked and it now looks like you can get them for around $35. I was almost certain they were like $50 a few months back. Might have to get one now.
 
I have a 3 Black Diamond Moonlights, a Petzel Tikka XP, a Princeton Tec Corona and a Pelican Headsup 1 watt.

I like them all for difft reasons.

I think I like the Black Diamond and the Pelican the most for the way their beam goes out. I think it has to do with the light setting a bit farther off my head.

I think the Petzl is really versitile but the lack of the band going over the top of the head makes it a little less stable.

The Princeton Tec seems the brightest and has the best adjustments.

The Pelican and the Black Diamond have the easiest to use buttons.

The Petzl and the Black Diamond are the lightest.
 
I have the zebra and like it a lot. Love the 80 degrees flood light. It's low is enough in pitch black to do whatever you like. Highly recommend it.
 
To answer your question, I don't believe there is a "better" headlamp with AA or AAA batteries. I have both the Zebralight H50w and H30-Q5. The H50w is my personal favorite. Warm tint, Great levels with enough light and runtime, and uses common AA batteries. The H30 uses CR123As, which some dislike, but it can use rechargeable cells so that is not a problem for me.

I also have the e+lite as pictured above. It is tiny and lightweight, so mine lives in my daily carry bag for just-in-case scenarios.
 
Thank you for all the advice.

I forgot to mention what I would use the light for, basically it would be for hiking/hunting at the 7000-9000 foot elevation. two miles walk thru rough terrain (loose lava rock, 2 miles maximum distance). In the past I have used a mini mag lite (2 hour run time died during my walk out) I also carry a sure fire 6p (short run time)

I have seen the energizer headlamps at walmart. (I almost bought it 16.00)

I would need a lamp with a decent throw to see the terrain, and a option to go low power to do light work in camp. unfortunately I have no experience in head lamps and back in the day when sure fire 6 P was the latest and greatest light was the last time I got a good light.

The reason for the headlamp would be that holding a flashlight while walking with a pole is quite a task in loose lava rock.
 
It sounds like the Princeton Tec EOS tactical would be a good fit. One nice thing about the EOS is that it can take rechargable, alkaline, or lithium batteries. The lithium batteries will cost more but they will get you more run time, lighter weight, a much broader range of operating temperatures.
 
I have several of the older Princetontec products that work great. The Aurora is very reliable and gets a lot of burn time out of batteries. I expect the newer models continue that tradition.

DancesWithKnives
 
I have a Princeton tec aurora & EOS - both work great. I also have a Zebralight h50 - uses a single AA battery - also works great.

You could also use a headband like the Jakstrap & use pretty much any small diameter light as a headlamp.
 
takao said:
I would need a lamp with a decent throw to see the terrain, and a option to go low power to do light work in camp. unfortunately I have no experience in head lamps and back in the day when sure fire 6 P was the latest and greatest light was the last time I got a good light.

The reason for the headlamp would be that holding a flashlight while walking with a pole is quite a task in loose lava rock.
Click to expand...

You'll want to stay away from ZebraLight if you want something with throw. They have no reflectors, so the light is pure flood. I think that is perfect for a headlamp and carry a flashlight for throw, but I can understand why you would want both in one unit.

The Fenix HP10 would probably work well for you. It has a nice reflector, so it will throw the beam pretty far. It also has multiple modes so you can switch down to a lower brightness in camp.
 
Another vote for Tikka plus here. Lightweight and works for very long time, specially if you use lower light output levels when you don't need much light ...let's say if you want to find something in the tent or backpack.

Nothing really special about it actually but when mine first Tikka Plus (I bought it years ago) disappeared somehow I went and bought another the next day ..this one is yellow and has yellow-tiger-like-or-something strap but whatever... I also saw my friends Tikka working under water for about 10 minutes after a funny accident with a canoe and it was working :thumbup:

Me using a tikka plus, starting fire and trying to stay in the canoe at night :o
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For traveling light, the Petzl Tikka is hard to beat. I have the original model and it's seen a lot of hard use and is still going strong.

For more output and a choice of spot or flood lighting, I really like my Black Diamond Icon. It has a high-powered LED spot light in the center and two LED floods on each side. You can set the flood at three different output levels, plus S.O.S. It has a built-in battery life indicator. It remembers your last setting. The run times are great and the light is tough. I use this more than any other light.

I also like to use my NiteCore Smart PD D10 in an elastic headband. This light is incredible!



Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
Niterider makes some truly waterproof (dive rated) and BRIGHT headlamps with long runtimes, as does DINOTTE.
 
Petzl make some good models, mine is very old but still running well, Surefire have just released some whick look pretty amazing, if a little on the steep side.
Two things to consider with headlamps, use and shape. The one that have a long life (lots of batteries) usually have a batter holder located at the back of the headlamp, this creats good balance and is very comfortable for most things EXCEPT lying on your back and reading, the other type has the battery in the front and this type does not have as a good a blance I find but is much better for reading, i now have two my big one for all regualar stuff and a Tiny Black diamond one for reading and emergency, reccomend going this route!
 
Did Petzyl finally start putting gaskets on their headlamps for waterproofing?

It's standard on Princeton Tecs.
 
I'm throwing in the ring the Remington 4 AA head lamp. I bought mine a few weeks ago at lowes (40$), very impressive. This light has runtime,throw,flood, red and blue leds along with a dual level main beam. If you are not a fan of rear mounted battery packs this could change your mind as it is very well balanced.
Here is the CPF thread on it http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=216245
 
Fenix just came out with a AA light that looks absolutely cool as beans. Has anyone got it? I love my Petzl, but the idea of being able to carry all lithium AA batteries for everything is romantic.
 
SureFire Saint LED Headlamp
Dual-fuel battery pack utilizes one, two, or three 123A lithium or two AA alkaline batteries
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