Head lamp suggestions?

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SheriMonk
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Head lamp suggestions?

Post by SheriMonk »

I'm preparing for my Arizona excursion and the last item I really need is a new head lamp.
It has to of course, be bright, have at least a couple of settings, and also be long-lived. A rechargeable battery pack is preferred, but I can deal with standard batteries too.
Price isn't an issue – I don't mind paying a little more for something of high quality, but let's say not higher than... $150 or so.
And, if you can find something that will simultaneously allow me to retain my female charm without looking like a total geek, that would just be a bonus. :D

(Also, I did perform a search, but did not find any especially relevant thread. Apologies if this has been brought up again.)

I would certainly love to hear what everyone is using in the field, and whether they would recommend it.

Thanks!
J-Miz
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by J-Miz »

I bought one before last year's amphibian migration, and it was among my best purchases I've ever made. It cost me less than $30 from amazon.com and I believe this is it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Petzl-E93-PS-Tikk ... 319&sr=8-1

It has three settings: one is very bright, one is just a dim light, and the last is an emergency mode in which the light flashes. Of course, that last mode was designed in case you needed to alert distant herpers of a cool find, such as a Thornscrub Hooknose. I don't know anything about changing the batteries, though, as I haven't had to do that yet.
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SheriMonk
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by SheriMonk »

Wow, sounds promising!
I'll check it out. Thanks!

J-Miz wrote:I bought one before last year's amphibian migration, and it was among my best purchases I've ever made. It cost me less than $30 from amazon.com and I believe this is it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Petzl-E93-PS-Tikk ... 319&sr=8-1

It has three settings: one is very bright, one is just a dim light, and the last is an emergency mode in which the light flashes. Of course, that last mode was designed in case you needed to alert distant herpers of a cool find, such as a Thornscrub Hooknose. I don't know anything about changing the batteries, though, as I haven't had to do that yet.
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Tim Borski
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Tim Borski »

40 Lumens isn't all that bright.

The Fenix HP 10 puts out 225.
I had some wear and tear issues with my first one after about 6 months of nightly use but they replaced it, no Q's asked. $60

Tim
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Josh Holbrook »

Ironically, I just finished posting in my blog about the flashlight Tim mentioned. It's a blog specifically about herps/nature watching with equipment reviews/etc.

Here's the review of the HP10:
http://fieldventures.wordpress.com/2011 ... enix-hp10/
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SheriMonk
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by SheriMonk »

Wow, that was timely! Thanks Josh, and very nice blog. I've bookmarked it.

Certainly, I will look into that one. :)

Thanks to Tim as well.
dthor68
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by dthor68 »

I would agree with Tim and Josh. Fenix makes the best flashlaights, period. I have no experiances with this light but I can not imagine it being anything but awesome. I don't think a headlight is going to ruin your appearance much, and geek is the new SEXY!
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SheriMonk
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by SheriMonk »

That's true these days, isn't it?
I distinctly remember feeling quite geekish the first time I put one on. Of course, I'd probably wear a flamingo suit with a peanut butter jar on my head if it resulted in more successful herping. ;)
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keown
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by keown »

The Fenix HP10 is reviewed by New Mexico herper/flashlight reviewer Damon Salceies:

Damon knows his stuff when it comes to lights. Here is the link:

http://southwesternherp.com/cgi-bin/yab ... 1257008063

-Gerald
Tamara D. McConnell
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Tamara D. McConnell »

I love my Fenix HP10.
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

I agree. If there's any better, more durable, and longer-lasting (battery-wise) headlamp than the Fenix HP10, the guys in Area 51 are keeping it for themselves.
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BillMcGighan
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by BillMcGighan »

Based on Damon's thread 2 or 3 years ago, I also got the Fenix HP 10.
This has been the best all around for me.

It takes AAs, so you can get rechargables and a charger in most areas, and go to non-rechargables in a pinch.
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Josh Holbrook »

BillMcGighan wrote:It takes AAs, so you can get rechargables and a charger in most areas, and go to non-rechargables in a pinch.
Chris Gillette also alerted me to a car and wall charger that they sell that will charge 4 AAs to full power in 15 minutes. Now that's a charger!
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withalligators
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by withalligators »

I use the Black Diamond Icon. You lose some lumens compared to the Fenix but you can get a model specific rechargeable battery pack (called NRG) that works with the headlamp. This lasts far longer, in my experience, then regular rechargeables. To me, rechargability (and the money and pollution costs saved on batteries) is worth the loss of lumens. Now, if only I could afford a Petzl Ultra!
r.edwards
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by r.edwards »

the fenix is awesome! You could also consider a coast H7 with a focusing beam that burns about 170 lumens, these lights will run about $50 online or sometimes lowes and home depot carry them. Another thing to consider, if you wanna go cheap, a head lamp with a cree bulb (lamp brand name is river rock). I have 10 of these that I bought at Target for $7.95 and $11.95 on clearance. They are cheaply made but provide a lumen that exceeds 200....you can't find a better bargain in a head lamp. These lamps provide a wide beam and will light up an oak tree 40 feet tall.
Another thing you may think about is beam spread, you want a wide bright beam.

good luck

r.edwards
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

I wonder why nobody's mentioned the Lupine brand yet. Might be the $1000 price tag :-)
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Tim Borski
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Tim Borski »

Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote:I wonder why nobody's mentioned the Lupine brand yet. Might be the $1000 price tag :-)
I'll let you know how it works when it arrives...Father's day right around the corner. :mrgreen:
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Tim Borski wrote:
Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote:I wonder why nobody's mentioned the Lupine brand yet. Might be the $1000 price tag :-)
I'll let you know how it works when it arrives...Father's day right around the corner. :mrgreen:
I wish Son's Day was, too. My Dad has one of those Lupine Betty monsters and promised me to bequeath it unto me after he retires from mountain biking. He's 76 now and has been saying that for three years now :-)

I'd love to experience herping at 1860 lumens!!
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Josh Young
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Josh Young »

The HP 20 is garbage. I got it this past Christmas and it no longer works properly, or even hardly at all. Something with the wiring is screwed, looked up reviews and I'm not the only one to have the problem. And the TK 45 isn't holding up to well for me either.
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Josh Young wrote: And the TK 45 isn't holding up to well for me either.
How is that?
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Josh Young
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Josh Young »

I guess that I've used it quite extensively already and the buttons aren't working right for the switching through beam outputs. Either it takes a couple of presses for it to change or it skips a beam mode or two. I've had issues turning it on as well on a few occasions to where it takes a few presses to turn it on or off. May just be mine, I don't know. I have a bad history with flashlights and headlamps, seems I get the bad egg or something. I've yet to find a light I didn't have to replace in less than a year.
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Sorry to hear that...but thanks for the warning!
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Josh Young
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Josh Young »

They're great lights, especially the LEDs and the lumen output available, but they have their flaws here and there. Hopefully I can get my headlamp replaced and see if the problem happens again. If so I may just go for the HP10. I like the HP20 for the fact the battery pack is separated from the head piece and it's much less weight on my head. The Olight brand seems to have some pretty nice and bright flashlights available that I recently saw at the recent gun show here a week or two ago. Might be looking into one of those. They have a 2k lumen model!!!
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withalligators
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by withalligators »

oooohhh, that lupine does look nice. I'll take one please.
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Josh Holbrook »

Josh Young wrote:They're great lights, especially the LEDs and the lumen output available, but they have their flaws here and there. Hopefully I can get my headlamp replaced and see if the problem happens again. If so I may just go for the HP10. I like the HP20 for the fact the battery pack is separated from the head piece and it's much less weight on my head. The Olight brand seems to have some pretty nice and bright flashlights available that I recently saw at the recent gun show here a week or two ago. Might be looking into one of those. They have a 2k lumen model!!!

Josh - Contact Fenix and send them both back. I had problems with both the hp10 and tk40 originally, and sent them both back in - they sent me brand new ones that haven't had problems. Their lights sometimes have issues, but they usually have them right away and Fenix will gladly fix or replace them.

Or wait a couple weeks for the HP11 :-D
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Josh Young
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Re: Head lamp suggestions?

Post by Josh Young »

Is there any specific info I need when I call them?
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