Head lamps

If there's one thinhg that seems to let me down more than any other product. it's been headlamps. I recall that after the third led lenser gave up with stupid faults, I might have even emailed the3 company and told them to stick their torches where the sun don't shine. But sadly the last couple of other brands have not been much better.

However I can't do without a decent headlamp, so looking for ideas on what works for people, how many lumens if Im not trying to spot animals, just get off the hill etc.

Nz made glow worm

I have found Nitecore good so far but probably haven't really put them through any rigorous work yet. Reasonably priced too.

Not sure which other brands you have tried.

Petzl especially the reactive light ones that adjust how much light you need saving battery life, in my opinion having used both, these are way better than Ledlenser

https://www.liteshop.com.au/content/...-led-headlamp/

What's the pros and cons of rechargeable, with it looks like, their own internal battery, and standard AA or AAA battery packs? Too my mind it seems easier on a long trip too have a torch that you can easily replace batteries on the hill? Or is there something about the system im not aware of?

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Originally Posted by whanahuia

What's the pros and cons of rechargeable, with it looks like, their own internal battery, and standard AA or AAA battery packs? Too my mind it seems easier on a long trip too have a torch that you can easily replace batteries on the hill? Or is there something about the system im not aware of?

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My Nitecore is rechargeable but on a med setting they have about a 20hr use, I take a battery bank as a back up which is not a bad option but they are reasonably heavy.

Definitely have a look at these:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006116003272.html

Buy a good 18650 (Nightcore/Samsung) and you have got a pretty solid torch that lasts a few days. I have 3-4 floating round, and take 2 away with me - one as effectively a battery holder, but always handy when your buddy forgets theirs (all too frequent)

Focus is pretty basic but works, good to prob 50-60m. USB-C charging. You can get similar double ones with red lights too. For about $16-17 delivered, you can't go too far wrong. I don't expect them to last for ever, but they've currently outlasted anything branded at 3-5x the price. Two are 3-4 years old without failure.

My Ledlenser head torches have lasted over 10yrs no problemo, they've only been used for setting up camp, cooking and topping up the bourbons during the night. I still carry them in the Safari. I have a few from our vendor on here that I havent tried yet which I'm sure will be pretty damn good.
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My first Maxtoch headlamp is still going strong, 6 years and a zillion step step whoops crash fall over get up, repeat. My second lies out in a vast sea of tussock. Seeing as they no longer make them, it would be good to stumble over it one day.

The nitecore ones look decent. The ones where all the battery and guts are in the same container seem to last better. I did in multiple led lensers, they just always shat themselves for me. eventually the dealer stopped replacing them on warranty, despite them being less than a year old

Both my lenser headlands that have failed or partially failed have been the ones with the battery at the back and a cable around to it. In both cases it was the cable, to be far the second one was my fault as it got caught under the seat rails in my Ute and got sliced, still works but sometimes its a bit sensitive.
My last (and current) one was an MH series with the battery built into the lamp. Much less to break but not so well ballanced on your head.

Also try
https://www.piercingthedarkness.co.nz/headlamps
Z

Yeah My first two were definitely the cable. The last one they went to a brittle material for the battery cover and that broke.

Cheers guys, some interesting brands Ive never heard of coming through.

Have a look at Fenix, well made and big range to look at, simple though to more industrial.

Another vote for the Fenix. Had 3 of the large Lensers....all of them stuffed up and managed to make one good one out of all the parts....which stuffed up after 6 months..... The Fenix Te Rei linked to is my 'go to' headlamp and has lasted over 18mths so far without a problem. Bought a spare battery when I got it and havent used it yet. Its used for hunting, pest destruction and as my headlamp for working on the charter boat amongst other activities.......

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Originally Posted by whanahuia

Yeah My first two were definitely the cable. The last one they went to a brittle material for the battery cover and that broke.

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Same experience here with the Led Lensers

I've got a black diamond storm. Runs on 4 AAs. A few years old now and still going well.

Red and white light armytec.
18650 battery. tuff as fuck, plenty of life.quite a few people have bought them after seeing mine.
Not cheap but quality

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Originally Posted by RUMPY

I've got a black diamond storm. Runs on 4 AAs. A few years old now and still going well.

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For about 15 years I had a black diamond. From the days when a head torch still used a halogen bulb and one of the first L.E.Ds that was pretty weak. It was great. But I bought a Cosmos a couple of years ago and it started to play up some time back. I know its a less than 100 dollar torch, but really for what they are, I kind of expect more than 2 years as fair use from something like this.

Yep Fenix are solid. Led lenser are garbage

Used a Black Diamond for many years and very reliable, but a year or two back got a Fenix HM65R so i didn't have to buy batteries all the time, and its been brilliant ,battery lasts a week easy on lowest settings which are ok for around camp or walking along a track. 400 lumen flood light and 1000 lumen spot light.

It all depends what you are after, and then how premium you want to go.

For lumens I like <1 for moving around a dark hut, 20 for a night hike on a trail, and 200+ when I want to see something further away.

Do you want your beam wide or focussed, or adjustable?
Do you care about the colour of the light? warm, neutral or cool
Do you care about how accurate the light renders colours? CRI index
How rugged?
How heavy?
How much battery life?


You wont beat cheap aliexpress for $$ to lumens ratio but you can be rolling the dice with quality and reliability.

Fenix is a good solid brand that has something decent at every point in the market. Nitecore are similar, maybe not quite as reliable.

For me I rate my Zebralight H600c MkIV. Small, light, rugged, fully potted, good colour temperature, good CRI, good interface, good sub-lumen modes, 1600lumen max if I ever need it.

If I wanted something with some more modes at the expense of some bulk I would be looking strongly at thishttps://www.piercingthedarkness.co.n...ge/sofirn-hs21

https://www.piercingthedarkness.co.nz/headlamps

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Originally Posted by XR500

My first Maxtoch headlamp is still going strong, 6 years and a zillion step step whoops crash fall over get up, repeat. My second lies out in a vast sea of tussock. Seeing as they no longer make them, it would be good to stumble over it one day.

The nitecore ones look decent. The ones where all the battery and guts are in the same container seem to last better. I did in multiple led lensers, they just always shat themselves for me. eventually the dealer stopped replacing them on warranty, despite them being less than a year old

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I have a Maxtoch headlamp as well but for what we hunt the Fenix is better. My son runs the model up from me with the 21700 battery.

Fenix HM65R

I’ve got a Nitecore hc35, which is a great light, albeit a little heavy and bulky for some folks. I also have a Petzl IKO, that I use for trail running. It is a weird looking contraption, but I really like it. Doesn’t move around at all while running, has plenty of light for running trails in the dark.


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I've had a Fenix HM65RT trail running head torch for 3 years. Not cheap but really good - bright, long lasting, rechargeable.

Nightcore, never go back to led lenser

Zebralight - period

https://youtu.be/5eI_3gmAXng?si=WCDbbU89WJaBtsSk

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Originally Posted by littlemorepork

Zebralight - period

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Looks pretty similar form to the armytech.
The one I have has a red light mode which is awesome for stealth mode when trying to get in position to shoot red skins!

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Originally Posted by yeah_na_missed

Definitely have a look at these:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006116003272.html

..always handy when your buddy forgets theirs (all too frequent)
..

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The brand (BORUiT ) says it all..

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Originally Posted by 6x47

The brand (BORUiT ) says it all..

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I have one of their older ones. The one with the 2x18650 holder at the back and a 50mm dia lens at the front. Too bulky as a dedicated headtorch, but fantastic as an additional headlight whilst riding the two wheeler in at night. Has worked flawlessly for the past 5 years.

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Originally Posted by ROKTOY

https://www.piercingthedarkness.co.nz/headlamps

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Stop it....everytime I go to that website I buy something, I've got about 5 head torches now plus the big battery charger lol.

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Originally Posted by andyanimal31

Looks pretty similar form to the armytech.
The one I have has a red light mode which is awesome for stealth mode when trying to get in position to shoot red skins!

Sent from my SM-A556E using Tapatalk

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I have a Zebralight since more than ten years now. Never had an issue and I use it very often (even several days per week in the workshop when I´m at the lathe or mill). Just recently I bought a backup and therefore had a closer look at the market.
It is the lightest headlamp on the market and it is the only lamp with no nonsense extras like a usb/c charger and so on.
A red light on a headlamp is certainly a good thing but I never felt the need for it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by andyanimal31

Looks pretty similar form to the armytech.
The one I have has a red light mode which is awesome for stealth mode when trying to get in position to shoot red skins!

Sent from my SM-A556E using Tapatalk

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I have a Zebralight since more than ten years now. Never had an issue and I use it very often (even several days per week in the workshop when I´m at the lathe or mill). Just recently I bought a backup and therefore had a closer look at the market. It is the lightest headlamp on the market and it is the only lamp with no nonsense extras like a usb/c charger and so on. A red light on a headlamp is certainly a good thing but I never felt the need for it.

Update time.

After reading everyones recommendations, I ended up getting a Petzl Actik for 70 bucks, and because it was well within my budget, I also took the chance to get a backup torch in the way of the Boruit for the crazy price of 16 dollars delivered.
Both working well so far, the Boruit is used daily for getting in cows so I can assess its abilities. so far so good.

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Originally Posted by XR500

My first Maxtoch headlamp is still going strong, 6 years and a zillion step step whoops crash fall over get up, repeat. My second lies out in a vast sea of tussock. Seeing as they no longer make them, it would be good to stumble over it one day.

The nitecore ones look decent. The ones where all the battery and guts are in the same container seem to last better. I did in multiple led lensers, they just always shat themselves for me. eventually the dealer stopped replacing them on warranty, despite them being less than a year old

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Had small thing happen lost two maxtoch. Just got a new one other day and have a couple of nitecore. Nitecore good as too

Ive had a led lenser for over 10 years was still going no probs until I lost it. Just been using a cheapie energizer one from bunnings the last couple of years, still going no probs. Some people are fukn rough cunts on gear tho...