What are the top three headlamp type LED lights?

I love my Petzl E-lite. It's a tiny little thing that I got as a back-up light, but it performs well enough that I use it as a primary one much of the time.
 
I picked up a Princeton Tec Scout. It is super light because of the watch batteries it uses.
If you only need 16 lumans or less, and want something super light, it is very good.
I haven't confirmed it, but it says 80 hours runtime. The CR2032 batteries are easy to find too.
I have them laying around because I use them in a red-dot and an illuminated scope I have.

However, if you need more lumans and something more solid, I would recommend a Zebralight too.

Not sure about top 3, but it's all opinions anyway.

Scout
 
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Over 40 replies and only one person mentioned Zebralight? They're unbeatable for short-range area lighting around camp, and are decent for night time hikes on trails. Wide floody beam with no hotspot, lightweight yet solid construction, not much bigger than the battery, and available in a couple of battery types and LED tints to make everybody happy.

I really don't like the new Petzl lineup, with the exception of the Myo RXP. In general, while they have newer LEDs than the old ones, they have fewer output levels and have the same lack of waterproofness of all the old non-caving-rated lights.
 
Zebralight has been mentioned 3 times man. I will add my support for the Zebralight.

Don, I have two and if you want to borrow one to try it out, let me know.
 
If you want to use the thing, just remember that 1 AA battery has a similar capacity to 3 AAA batteries.

That advertised runtime is usually off by a factor of 30 or so, because they often count the entire time you can see light coming from the LED, not the time that it is putting out useful light.

See if they are compatible with lithium disposables or Ni-mh, as many are not.

If they are regulated for brightness, they will typically not last as long on batteries as one that is unregulated, though sometimes they must be regulated, ie; single battery models.

See if they are waterproof, many are not.

Look at the switch type for your uses, the Petzl Tikka has a slide switch that won't come on accidently, but the PT (can't remember the model) is waterproof and Lithium compatible.

Personally, I don't worry about interface or which mode comes on first, or how much light it can put out, as I normally put it on my head on low at night, or high in the daytime, and leave it that way. If I need more light, I have a flashlight that is easier to adjust.

Battery life IS important. Ideally, you want to be able to go 8 hrs or so with good brightness. When I am working in less bright areas, I put mine on high, and it runs for 4-5 hrs on Eneloops, which is not too bad. On low, it is nice when you can just leave the light on whenever you need it, and go a couple days without worrying about battery changes, as they usually happen in the dark. :D

I have the midline Princeton Tec with the single LED, that is blue and says H2O 1M on the front, I can't remember the model. It is 50 Lumens, with good runtime, rechargeable and lithium compatible, has a fairly wide beam, is rugged and fairly light, and the switch isn't likely to get pushed on accidently. Though with difficulty, it can be operated with gloves on.

If I had to get another one, I would probably start looking at some of the new 4Sevens lights with a headband, for insane battery life, small size, and redundancy. Or just get another Princeton Tec light.
 
I consider the Petzl Zipka Plus a superior led headlamp all around. It's cheap, has a built-in retractable strap, light weight, plenty of light, different modes, battery life is forever. OK, it's not really forever, but I haven't replaced the battery in 3 or more years.

If you want a real strap, then the the Petzl Tikka.
 
I looked at a lot of them and tried them out (in the store) and found the Petzl Tikka to definitely be the best combination of brightness, weight, comfort, etc. I have an older model that my wife stole because she liked it so much, and a new one that I bought for myself to replace it. ;) The batteries last forever and the turbo mode is really nice. Give 'em a try.

- Mark
 
Snow said:
Zebralight has been mentioned 3 times man. I will add my support for the Zebralight.
Click to expand...

I think if more of the people posting here had Zebralights then more would be recommending them.

I have the H501 - kinda wished I had hunted around and found someone selling the H501w, the warmer tint is more pleasing on the eyes and works better in the wilderness than the blueish tint (more browns and green in the wild and a yellower light shows up better).

I also have the H60w - I love that light! It is a bit bigger and heavier but the 16850 battery holds a LOT of power - great runtime for whatever output you choose! It has a total of 6 levels of light so you can have a minimal output to see around the tent or for a call of nature when your eyes are adjusted to the dark and a bright light isn't needed or wanted, you can also have a pretty strong floody light to clearly see around you when you want to - and several options in between.

I recommended the H501w because apart from being a great light and nice and small - the 1 x AA format is very easy on the budget for ongoing costs. If you bought a 4 pack of Sanyo Eneloops and charged them all up then you would have enough battery power for a lot of use, you could then charge them all up again for the next camping trip - all the batteries you need for a few years!
 
U-oh... I feel more money spending coming on...that Princeton Tec EOS with Rebel LED is looking pretty good...and I've always wanted to try out a zebralight, though that might take a bit longer to save up for :D
 
That's what I was trying to remember! I have the EOS, with the Rebel LED, mentioned in my earlier post.

I also have a Tikka, and it is good for all the reasons mentioned, but the Princeton Tec Quad is the same thing, only better. I do like the Tikka though for the sliding switch, and unregulated output, which is very efficient.
 
I love my Princeton Tec Corona. It has great a great output range from very low to very bright flood. The best part is that it runs on 4xAA batteries, so I can keep almost everything electronic with the same AA batteries.
For convenience the Petzl Zipka is hard to beat...that thing is compact.
I really want to get the 1xAA Zebralight since I hear so much good things about it, but I am having a hard time spending $70 or so on ANOTHER light.
 
Another one of my favorites is the old Black Diamond Super Nova. With Lithium primaries and the back-up cell, it will run for over 1000 hours on the lowest LED setting. They were later sold with a rechargeable pack that would run for 2000 hours. The recharge model would take AAs if needed. This was a hybrid machine, having both incan and LED.
 
I'm not sure how this compares price wise, but I have both the fenix LD20 and the fenix LD10, both AA, the 20 takes 2, the 10 takes 1.
waterproofness, multiple modes including sos and lots of great addons, like red light filters.

I bought a headband to go with it and I think it rocks. So now I have 2 flashlights, that fit on a headband at the same time with the option to just use them standalone. That's unbeatable in my perspective.

that's me really needing both hands to get under my tarp
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and that's me skinning something as a demo, need my hands there too
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My top two are Princeton-Tec’s APEX and the Zebra headlamps. The Apex is great at both selecting flood and distance…the four batteries in the back balance it out and it has great run time depending on your uses. It’s also a very secure head harness and batteries are easy to change out, you just need a coin or flat-tip to twist it off. My last APEX corroded when I was deployed and even after I explained to Princeton-Tec, they send me a whole new light…excellent customer service!!!!

My all time favorite are the Zebra headlamp series. These are by far the most versatile, compact, lightweight and durable. The simple, single battery versions are easy to change batteries. The multi-mode output is simple to use and when the battery power is low, it will just default to low output mode, letting you know you need to change the battery without just turning off with no notice.

I use the Zebra headlamps for backpacking, deployments and around the house. By far the best headlamp I’ve used. It’s bright enough to hike a trail at night as well.

ROCK6
 
Anyone used the Surefire Saint?

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It's a bit pricey, but I like that it will take AA and CR123 batteries, and that brightness is dialed in from 0 to 100 lumens. I wonder how it compares to the Fenix HL20/HP10 (besides 3-4 times the price).

(BTW... I've been using Petzl for years, I've got two of the original ZOOMs, a Tikka, Tikka+, TacTikka XP, and E+. The TacTikka XP is my favourite so far, I've been using this with my Fenix L2D for night searches and it's proven to be a decent combo).
 
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