ZL = $$$
skillhunt = $$
ultrafire = $
do a search for ultrafire headlamp, they have/had a whole line of headlamps.
uf h1
uf h2
uf h3
uf h4
uf h6
uf h7
you might find what you need.
Hi, the Silva tail runner 2 is 114 game including batteries. If you’re a little into modding you can replace the 3 AAA battery carrier with a lithium ion battery (phone battery). That way you can shed of quite some weight or gain a lot of capacity.
I got my Skilhunt H03R modded with a BLF A6 short tube
61,55g without magnet
106g with 3 strap headband magnet removed,
97.55g headband just the horizontal band
and cut the silicone holder for the 3. band should remove weigt even more
Thanks for the comments.
Silva Trail Runner both too heavy and too underpowered.
UF lights…nothing there ticking the boxes (one looks about right but isn’t easily available.)
TH20 too heavy.
The H03 with shorty tube is looking like the best option. I suspect that rather than butcher the headstrap I could probably use a Nitecore headband designed to accommodate normal lights, but weight is in the right sort of ball park. Still a touch heavier than I’d like (I’m being greedy here, but 70g would be about perfect) but still acceptable.
ETA:
The comments above got me thinking, and messing around trying to see what legos with what. I don’t have a short tube for the A6 but the long tube actually connects pretty well with the HC30, as does the HC30 tailcap with the A6 long tube. But it won’t switch on. I’ve tried stacking a few neodymium magnets on the back of the battery to see if it was reach in that respect but no joy. Any ideas if I could get this working (as a test of concept prior to ordering a short tube)?
I’m on the point of pulling the trigger on an H03R and short tube combo, but one last niggly concern:
The modes. It looks a little fiddly. All I think I really need is T1, H1 and H2. Bearing in mind I’ll likely need to change between those modes quickly, whilst running and possibly with gloves on how easy is am I likely to find it to get to the mode I want?
The switch is raised from the tube so easy to find
The double ckick for toggle H1 to H2 needs to be really click, so you can swap through the 4 modes in way less than a second without risking a double ckick
I would have a look at the Zebralight H52w. Even if it is pricey it is the best and lightest I have found. And you can use AA or 14500 cells.
The H52w is too low output (250 lumens max.) Best Zebralight option is the H32W (450 lumens.) It does look potentially lighter (74g inc battery and headstrap) but in exchange for an extra 25g with the H03R I can have double the output.
On CPF someone did the short tube with a zebralight headband below 80g
Any link?
http://www.zebralight.com/Headband-with-black-silicone-holder-for-H31-H32-H302_p_83.html
This one you can see the space between the holders is quite nice for short
I also consider this one
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-flashlight-headband-for-22-30mm-flashlight/1532841941.html?spm=2114.13010208.99999999.265.zJcwf8
Sorry, I wasn’t that clear - I meant a link to the CPF thread about the short tube on the Zebralight. Wondering which ZL and which short tube they used.
But by chance I came across that Convoy headband yesterday and ordered it, rather than butcher the one it comes with.
No I mean the H03 with short tube with ZL headband
The skilhunt headband is quite heavy, while for short tube a much lighter headband would be fine
Ordered an H03R which just arrived with the intention of short tubing it, but try as I might I can’t get the head to twist loose. With the side button position I’m trying not to put too much pressure through the switch but does it definitely come off?
Yes it does come off but it is glued.
Try heating it first and then clamp it in a vice with some protection.
You can drill a hole slightly smaller then the light in a piece of wood, saw the wood in half so that you have two half circles and use this to hold the light in the vice.
Thanks for that. It took a bit of work and my grips took a touch of finish off the head but I can live with that, it’s very much function over form. And I can confirm that the BLF A6 short tube does indeed fit perfectly. I’ve not looked at trying to remove the magnet as the whole tailcap is already light and it’s handy for storage but I may revisit that later. Coupled with a basic Convoy strap it’s all looking really good - I need some scales that weren’t designed for flour to get an exact figure, but definitely sub 100g with strap and battery.
The tube threads fit.
The Astrolux tube is 2mm longer than A6 so protected 18350 fit.
But there is some work to do to get the orings fit or you need other orings from a smaller diameter light which are thin enough.
I didn’t have any noticeable issues with the o-rings? All seems fine to my amateur eye. Took it out and used it for about 90 minutes - no issues. Not a testing environment but it stayed put through a long run and was comfortable (in fact I didn’t notice it, I kept it on once it had gotten light enough to be unnecessary.)
Some weights if anyone is interested:
Short tube H03R inc. magnet, battery and Convoy strap: 79.8g
Nitecore HC30 inc. battery and strap: 127.5g
LED Lenser H7.2 inc. batteries and strap: 176.8g
Nitecore NU20 inc. strap 49.2g
Nitecore T360 inc strap: 38.2g
And why not chuck into lumens/g figures, since that tells some of the story in the context of what I’m using the lights for - or provides a skewed data set to support my own belief of the best tool for the job:
H03R shortie: 15 l/g
HC30: 7.8 l/g
H7.2: 1.4 l/g
NU20: 7.3 l/g
T360: 1.2 l/g
Quick bump to this thread.
The H03R short mod was perfect and was used in action recently - I didn’t need the extra grunt of the higher modes, but I love the fact I’ve got them there. Unfortunately in my exhausted state I managed to misplace it at the end of my last race. And I’m struggling to stomach the £40 cost of a replacement light (plus strap & short tube.) GB appear to have discontinued them.
Does anyone know of a similar light that I can make this mod work with? The only caveat I have really is that I want that mix of flood and throw - the TIR on the standard H03 I fear takes away too much throw (about 20m according to the Skilhunt site.)