Looking for a lighter headlamp than the Skilhunt H03.
Which headlamp using 1xAA / 14500 has the longest runtime at a medium-ish setting (around 20-30 lumens)?
Zebralight?
Looking up a few specs if anyone else is interested:
18650 baseline:
skilhunt h03 - 18650 @ 20lumens = 75hrs
AA options:*
- Skilhunt h15 - AA @ 50 lumens = 8.5hrs (3 lumens @ 80hrs)
- Fenix HL16 = 30 lumens / 7hrs
- fenix hl23 = AA @ 45 lumens = 5.5hrs
- Manker E30H AA = 50 lumens / 1.5hrs or 12 lumens / 30hrs
- TH20 = ? ramp 1.4 lumens / 21hrs, no medium mode listed
- Zebralight h502c: M1 36 Lm (7.5 hrs) or M2 18 Lm (12 hrs) / 9 Lm (27 hrs)
so on the lower range it looks like 12-18 lumens can get me ~ 12-30 hours.
on the middle range maybe 7 hours around 30 lumens
pretty long ways away from an 18650 that can do 75hrs at 20 lumens! (would need to find a 30 lumen 18650 runtime, but you get the idea).
The skilhunt h15 is by far away the best listed if you can trust the numbers.
I find most AA lights have very similar efficiency on medium modes. They tend to differ on high modes, and moonlight modes.
So, you should probably concentrate on other aspects (user interface, robustness, etc). Assume that run times will be similar on all decent AA lights that use a Cree LED.
You can always use a AA Eneloop Pro, if you need longer run times. That will give you 25% longer than a regular Eneloop. Or, use a lithium primary if you really need maximum run time.
But, a regular Eneloop will give you enough light for all night. FWIW, my Zebralight gets 11 hours at 28 lumens, on a regular Eneloop (my own measurements for output and run time). Expect most lights to be around that level of efficiency (though I find that my Zebralights are all more efficient than my other brands, but not by a large amount).
As a rough guide, a AA cell has about 25% the energy as an 18650 cell. So, yes, you’re going to see much less run time than you’ll get from an 18650 light.