We do have a lot of Lumen Freaks and CRI Babies around here, but we also have a lot of members that just want the best possible mix of usability, carry-ability, nice UI, and run-time. It would be a worthy challenge to make a BLF headlamp that can pull in the best of every headlamp feature (not necessarily flashlight features). …
My thoughts exactly, I think if BLF made a headlamp a lot more people would suddenly need one.
There aren’t too many 1x AA/14500 headlamps out there with a decent buck/boost driver and high cri LED that are light weight and mod-able. Plenty 18650 though.
—
Idiot proofing something only creates improved idiots.
Do you really want a FET controlled hot rod running on unprotected batteries strapped to your forehead? Plenty of good headlamp options out there!
Yes. Emisar should make a right-angle Nichia triple, with an option for the elliptical Carclos so the beam is wider than it is tall when used as a headlamp. Until then, Acebeam, Imalent and Thrunite have options for those of us who don’t fear exploding death, with the upcoming TH30 having a claimed output of 3300 lumens.
But on a serious note, I’ve never heard of an 18650 exploding in a single-cell flashlight, nor any 18650 that wasn’t one of the Chinese YourhouseisonFire brands exploding in any flashlight. Obviously, these should be handled with due care, but FET triples aren’t pipe bombs as long as appropriate batteries are used.
It is matter of time.
The load in usual flashlight is not very hi, but people wants more and more. If we take a look at e cigarettes we will see what happens with 18650 at heavy loads https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44149281
Do you really want a FET controlled hot rod running on unprotected batteries strapped to your forehead? Plenty of good headlamp options out there!
Yes. Emisar should make a right-angle Nichia triple, with an option for the elliptical Carclos so the beam is wider than it is tall when used as a headlamp. Until then, Acebeam, Imalent and Thrunite have options for those of us who don’t fear exploding death, with the upcoming TH30 having a claimed output of 3300 lumens.
But on a serious note, I’ve never heard of an 18650 exploding in a single-cell flashlight, nor any 18650 that wasn’t one of the Chinese YourhouseisonFire brands exploding in any flashlight. Obviously, these should be handled with due care, but FET triples aren’t pipe bombs as long as appropriate batteries are used.
It is matter of time.
The load in usual flashlight is not very hi, but people wants more and more. If we take a look at e cigarettes we will see what happens with 18650 at heavy loads https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44149281
The article you linked said it was a mechanical mod that exploded. But what cell was used? They don’t say. Nobody here is claiming that there aren’t any dangerous cells. Any cells made by the top four brands should be safe, even in mech mods and FET driven flashlights.
EDIT: In case it isn’t obvious enough, let me clarify my position: the cell was most likely to blame for all Li-Ion explosions. Most experts agree with me. Where we differ is that I believe there are some cells that won’t explode without extreme abuse.
—
The Cycle of Goodness: “No one prospers without rendering benefit to others”
- The YKK Philosophy
Eh… we’ve had not-very-clever people who want the brightest flashlight that could possibly fit in their pocket buying Emisar D4s for the past year. They regularly burn holes in their pockets, but nobody’s managed to make one go boom.
But I’m also talking about what I would do myself, not what might happen if a novice does something dumb. I wouldn’t be concerned about putting a FET driver light made my Emisar, running a firmware by Toykeeper, and powered by a Sony VTC6 I bought from Illumn on my head.I would caution people about the potential risks just as I do when discussing the D4.
—
Ceilingbounce – flashlight testing and runtime graphs for Android
I love my Zebralight H600Fd III headlamp. It’s got just a bit under 1000 lumens but I’ve never felt that it was underpowered on any of my backpacking trips. The head strap holds it in place and I don’t feel that it’s too heavy even with an 18650.
I use it in conjunction with a throwier 18650 light that I can use to see something a bit farther off, but it most often stays in the pocket of my pack.
I chose High CRI and neutral white and it looks so nice. It’s expensive in comparison to most of my other lights, but it keeps a steady amount of light for a good long time.
Now if it would only come with some sort of insect repellent, it’d be even better!
I don’t talk/type about this light because it seems that most threads aren’t about headlamps and nearly all of the new lights I’m interested in don’t come in this form. I’m not going to put a D4 in a head band either. Too hot to tell the truth. I’ll have to reserve judgement for my FW3A when it arrives. The small size will be wonderful (one of the things I like about my Zebralights) but I don’t know how it’ll shed heat being so small.
For a budget light, I’d like to see something in a different form factor. A box instead of a tube? Easy ramping button? Dual LED (HI and HD side by side)? I like the idea of lighting the front of my pack or sternum strap but when you hear something to the side, it wouldn’t be as effective. I like that my Zebralight can be used outside of the headband. I tied a section of paracord around the neck of it to hang from my neck that’s come in handy at times.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’d be interested in a BLF headlamp and I’d probably outfit my hiking partners with one if it’s in the $20-$30 price range. Bring forth the ideas!
(snip)
But what does everyone wants to see in a headlamp? (snip)
And so it begins….. .
.
I’d be interested to know what you have now thijsco19. If it is on par with your other designs you may already have a winner…..
—
You never know how a horse will pull until you hook him up to a heavy load./"Bear" Bryant
.................................. "Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast" ...................................
But what does everyone wants to see in a headlamp?
More Nichia. Nobody’s mass-producing an 18650-powered Nichia headlamp right now, and that should be a thing. Armytek keeps saying they will, but I’ll believe it when there’s a product page showing it in stock. The Samsung LH351 series could also be good. High-CRI Cree stuff has been mostly disappointing.
—
Ceilingbounce – flashlight testing and runtime graphs for Android
This is something I have been looking for since the driver in my H03 went poof.
Hoping to find something in the H03 size and format but with a nichia triple and a nice ramping driver. I guess it would be the illegitimate offspring of an H03 and an Emissar D4.
I actually think that original buck driver is more interesting than fet/linear.
I am waiting for Lexel boost drivers, it allow to have better stabilization and efficiency.
(snip)
But what does everyone wants to see in a headlamp? (snip)
And so it begins….. .
.
I’d be interested to know what you have now thijsco19. If it is on par with your other designs you may already have a winner…..
Haha thanks.
I don’t want to go in too much detail but it will be ‘on par with my other designs’.
zak.wilson wrote:
thijsco19 wrote:
But what does everyone wants to see in a headlamp?
More Nichia. Nobody’s mass-producing an 18650-powered Nichia headlamp right now, and that should be a thing. Armytek keeps saying they will, but I’ll believe it when there’s a product page showing it in stock. The Samsung LH351 series could also be good. High-CRI Cree stuff has been mostly disappointing.
Nichia or high cri is definitely something I have in my mind.
Finding the right LEDs is a small challenge as we want both high cri and high performance.
“Should be safe”
Are you ready to entrust this statement your life and health? Me not. Cells could be old, could be damaged…
Yeah, funny you should ask. A while back a friend of mine changed the cells out for me in a modded SRK light and put one cell in backwards. It scared me to think of a high-energy cell getting reverse charged by the other cells. But, nothing really happened. These were old generation laptop pull cells. I think they’re LG. No problem whatsoever. I was using the light right next to my head. The only way I found out was the light starting blinking a low-voltage warning too soon, so I opened it up and found it that way. I had used it for a few minutes on high with a reversed cell! When I took them out, they were warm, but not really warmer than they usually would be after running on high in a SRK. I put those back in the charger and put other cells in the light, and went back to work. (after telling my friend all about how we could have died gruesome deaths) So, I guess I’m saying yes… I would trust the top four brands of Li-Ion cells in a headlamp, on my head, with a high-drain FET driver blasting a wall of light in front of me, lighting up everything I’m looking at.
—
The Cycle of Goodness: “No one prospers without rendering benefit to others”
- The YKK Philosophy
(snip)
But what does everyone wants to see in a headlamp? (snip)
And so it begins….. .
.
I’d be interested to know what you have now thijsco19. If it is on par with your other designs you may already have a winner…..
Haha thanks.
I don’t want to go in too much detail but it will be ‘on par with my other designs’.
Your welcome! I understand you don’t want to divulge much right now, but when the time comes I’ll be interested to see it. I have a feeling it will be a winner!
—
You never know how a horse will pull until you hook him up to a heavy load./"Bear" Bryant
.................................. "Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast" ...................................
I was designing one the other day i was thinking about starting a thread. It was going to be based a triple setup with optics. Triple setup will get the best mix between longer run times on lower levels and high output when needed.
We could also run the headlamp from an external power source like a USB battery bank or two 18650 cells that sit on the back of your head?
I normally use a headlight when hiking so it would be awesome if it had multiple uses and light weight. I would love
High Cri. (great for up close work)
Low levels (stops you losing your night vision for quick checks ect)
Single 18650 or 2170 for light weight and run times.
Close to 1000lm burst mode for a min or two.
Flood rather then spot.
Power bank function! There is some good quality 18650’s flashlights out there with this, but I am yet to find a good quality lightweight single cell headlamp with this. This would reduce one carry item and you could just carry as many cells as you needed for the hike.
I'd like to see a small clip on your shirt light ,like a throat light .about the size of a nitecore tip with the beam coming out of the flat part of the light ,
I’d like to see a small clip on your shirt light ,like a throat light .about the size of a nitecore tip with the beam coming out of the flat part of the light ,
Honestly, existing headlamps do everything I need them to do, so I’m really not sure what demand a BLF headlamp would fill.
The only thing that would get me to buy another headlamp at this point is if the headlamp was an IPX8 rated aluminum tube light that had both a main reflector/TIR emitter and an additional full power mule emitter on it.
My thoughts exactly, I think if BLF made a headlamp a lot more people would suddenly need one.
There aren’t too many 1x AA/14500 headlamps out there with a decent buck/boost driver and high cri LED that are light weight and mod-able. Plenty 18650 though.
Idiot proofing something only creates improved idiots.
It is matter of time.
The load in usual flashlight is not very hi, but people wants more and more. If we take a look at e cigarettes we will see what happens with 18650 at heavy loads
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44149281
Here ya’ go…. .
You never know how a horse will pull until you hook him up to a heavy load./"Bear" Bryant
.................................. "Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast" ...................................
Texas Lumens Flashlights / M4D M4X Deals : sign up - save $$$$
Rudeness Level _ mΩ _ {width:70%} _ LightWiki _ LED Tint Chart
Xlamp size chart _ BatteryU _ Flashaholic? Need Professional Help??? TheOriginal _ TAB _ LightSearch _ BatterySearch _ 14500's _ DiCal
The article you linked said it was a mechanical mod that exploded. But what cell was used? They don’t say. Nobody here is claiming that there aren’t any dangerous cells. Any cells made by the top four brands should be safe, even in mech mods and FET driven flashlights.
EDIT: In case it isn’t obvious enough, let me clarify my position: the cell was most likely to blame for all Li-Ion explosions. Most experts agree with me. Where we differ is that I believe there are some cells that won’t explode without extreme abuse.
The Cycle of Goodness: “No one prospers without rendering benefit to others”
- The YKK Philosophy
Eh… we’ve had not-very-clever people who want the brightest flashlight that could possibly fit in their pocket buying Emisar D4s for the past year. They regularly burn holes in their pockets, but nobody’s managed to make one go boom.
But I’m also talking about what I would do myself, not what might happen if a novice does something dumb. I wouldn’t be concerned about putting a FET driver light made my Emisar, running a firmware by Toykeeper, and powered by a Sony VTC6 I bought from Illumn on my head.I would caution people about the potential risks just as I do when discussing the D4.
Ceilingbounce – flashlight testing and runtime graphs for Android
I’m currently working on a headlamp.
There are already some ‘balls rolling around’, but nothing serious yet.
But what does everyone wants to see in a headlamp?
This design I have right now might not be what everyone likes but will definitely be an awesome BLF style headlamp.
I love my Zebralight H600Fd III headlamp. It’s got just a bit under 1000 lumens but I’ve never felt that it was underpowered on any of my backpacking trips. The head strap holds it in place and I don’t feel that it’s too heavy even with an 18650.
I use it in conjunction with a throwier 18650 light that I can use to see something a bit farther off, but it most often stays in the pocket of my pack.
I chose High CRI and neutral white and it looks so nice. It’s expensive in comparison to most of my other lights, but it keeps a steady amount of light for a good long time.
Now if it would only come with some sort of insect repellent, it’d be even better!
I don’t talk/type about this light because it seems that most threads aren’t about headlamps and nearly all of the new lights I’m interested in don’t come in this form. I’m not going to put a D4 in a head band either. Too hot to tell the truth. I’ll have to reserve judgement for my FW3A when it arrives. The small size will be wonderful (one of the things I like about my Zebralights) but I don’t know how it’ll shed heat being so small.
For a budget light, I’d like to see something in a different form factor. A box instead of a tube? Easy ramping button? Dual LED (HI and HD side by side)? I like the idea of lighting the front of my pack or sternum strap but when you hear something to the side, it wouldn’t be as effective. I like that my Zebralight can be used outside of the headband. I tied a section of paracord around the neck of it to hang from my neck that’s come in handy at times.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’d be interested in a BLF headlamp and I’d probably outfit my hiking partners with one if it’s in the $20-$30 price range. Bring forth the ideas!
“Should be safe”
Are you ready to entrust this statement your life and health? Me not. Cells could be old, could be damaged…
.
I’d be interested to know what you have now thijsco19. If it is on par with your other designs you may already have a winner…..
You never know how a horse will pull until you hook him up to a heavy load./"Bear" Bryant
.................................. "Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast" ...................................
Texas Lumens Flashlights / M4D M4X Deals : sign up - save $$$$
Rudeness Level _ mΩ _ {width:70%} _ LightWiki _ LED Tint Chart
Xlamp size chart _ BatteryU _ Flashaholic? Need Professional Help??? TheOriginal _ TAB _ LightSearch _ BatterySearch _ 14500's _ DiCal
https://alexnld.com/product/convoy-flashlight-headband-headlight-band-fo...
More Nichia. Nobody’s mass-producing an 18650-powered Nichia headlamp right now, and that should be a thing. Armytek keeps saying they will, but I’ll believe it when there’s a product page showing it in stock. The Samsung LH351 series could also be good. High-CRI Cree stuff has been mostly disappointing.
Ceilingbounce – flashlight testing and runtime graphs for Android
Nitecore has a similar headband, the Nitecore HB02.
How to Post Images on BLF // Many knives for sale (USA only)
How to move a thread
This is something I have been looking for since the driver in my H03 went poof.
Hoping to find something in the H03 size and format but with a nichia triple and a nice ramping driver. I guess it would be the illegitimate offspring of an H03 and an Emissar D4.
Lexel has/had some drivers for the H03 with ramping….
Idiot proofing something only creates improved idiots.
Do you have a link to those drivers?
Lexels drivers
Idiot proofing something only creates improved idiots.
I actually think that original buck driver is more interesting than fet/linear.
I am waiting for Lexel boost drivers, it allow to have better stabilization and efficiency.
Haha thanks.
I don’t want to go in too much detail but it will be ‘on par with my other designs’.
Nichia or high cri is definitely something I have in my mind.
Finding the right LEDs is a small challenge as we want both high cri and high performance.
Yeah, funny you should ask. A while back a friend of mine changed the cells out for me in a modded SRK light and put one cell in backwards. It scared me to think of a high-energy cell getting reverse charged by the other cells. But, nothing really happened. These were old generation laptop pull cells. I think they’re LG. No problem whatsoever. I was using the light right next to my head. The only way I found out was the light starting blinking a low-voltage warning too soon, so I opened it up and found it that way. I had used it for a few minutes on high with a reversed cell! When I took them out, they were warm, but not really warmer than they usually would be after running on high in a SRK. I put those back in the charger and put other cells in the light, and went back to work. (after telling my friend all about how we could have died gruesome deaths) So, I guess I’m saying yes… I would trust the top four brands of Li-Ion cells in a headlamp, on my head, with a high-drain FET driver blasting a wall of light in front of me, lighting up everything I’m looking at.
The Cycle of Goodness: “No one prospers without rendering benefit to others”
- The YKK Philosophy
I’d really like to see a tripple nichia headlamp that accepts protected 18650.
Don’t need crazy amount of power, just good hcri beam and UI.
You never know how a horse will pull until you hook him up to a heavy load./"Bear" Bryant
.................................. "Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast" ...................................
Texas Lumens Flashlights / M4D M4X Deals : sign up - save $$$$
Rudeness Level _ mΩ _ {width:70%} _ LightWiki _ LED Tint Chart
Xlamp size chart _ BatteryU _ Flashaholic? Need Professional Help??? TheOriginal _ TAB _ LightSearch _ BatterySearch _ 14500's _ DiCal
I cannot wait to see the end result! I really need a BLF headlamp! lol
I was designing one the other day i was thinking about starting a thread. It was going to be based a triple setup with optics. Triple setup will get the best mix between longer run times on lower levels and high output when needed.
We could also run the headlamp from an external power source like a USB battery bank or two 18650 cells that sit on the back of your head?
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I normally use a headlight when hiking so it would be awesome if it had multiple uses and light weight. I would love
High Cri. (great for up close work)
Low levels (stops you losing your night vision for quick checks ect)
Single 18650 or 2170 for light weight and run times.
Close to 1000lm burst mode for a min or two.
Flood rather then spot.
Power bank function! There is some good quality 18650’s flashlights out there with this, but I am yet to find a good quality lightweight single cell headlamp with this. This would reduce one carry item and you could just carry as many cells as you needed for the hike.
I would buy one. Also a bike light.
I'd like to see a small clip on your shirt light ,like a throat light .about the size of a nitecore tip with the beam coming out of the flat part of the light ,
καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν
Dc-fix diffuser film >… http://budgetlightforum.com/node/42208
I like this idea
Good point
flashlight collector
Honestly, existing headlamps do everything I need them to do, so I’m really not sure what demand a BLF headlamp would fill.
The only thing that would get me to buy another headlamp at this point is if the headlamp was an IPX8 rated aluminum tube light that had both a main reflector/TIR emitter and an additional full power mule emitter on it.
Possible to put a GT on a headband?
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