Compact hunting headlamp

why D25s? cheap electronic low cri leds no stabilization and quit heavy . Better get D10 In D10 you can swap led in d25 impossible

I’m pretty new to all this so I don’t know much about the different models yet. I would definitely consider the d10 too. How much lighter is it over the d25s and how are the electronics better? I’m a little nervous about buying from aliexpress. Not sure I want to give them my card info and it doesn’t look like they offer paying through paypal. Is there another place to buy one?

You should be nervous. You haven’t done nearly enough research. Do the lights you’re looking at have a moonlight mode? If the answer is no, then keep looking. Watch some YouTube videos of some armytek headlamps and any other light you’re going to consider. And spend some more time reading slightly older posts here in the headlight section.

Boruit Headlamp Review D10 (aka. EHL0628) - King of the Budget Headlamps? and D25 have same driver , only D10 is more modding friendly, you can swap led , optics and driver
WUBEN H1 for 30$ looks good too

I think the Sofirn D25S, Boruit D25, and Boruit D10 are all good budget lights. I like the ratchet style holder. It’s easier to adjust the angle on this type of holder versus the rubber ring style. Used my D25S twice this week to blow snow at 4:00 am before heading to work. Lights up the whole driveway.

I think buying a cheap headlamp is a bad idea.

You go hunting once per year. Great planning and expense. High cost and great reward. Why cheap out?

Did you buy a 50 dollar rifle and 10 dollar scope? Did you buy 12 dollar boots? How about used pawnshop clothes?

Get my point? Buy once cry once. Buy the best you can afford!

My favorite 2 lights are the armytek wr and the fenix 61r headlamps. Forget tiny lights. They wont run long enough. Get a nice 18650 light. Zebralights have long run times also. But for me the tir optics in the wr along with red and magnetic charging make it my favorite.

I hunt year round and often at night. I’ve used many headlamps over the years from AAA to Koehler Wheat Lights. (mining lights) I have several D10’s and D25’s and always recommend them. Don’t let the price bother you. They’re bullet proof. I have many higher priced lights, but the Boruit/Sofirns get the most use by far. I like the light in the center. They’re light weight and cheap enough to have several around, lend out or give away. No matter what you choose, get a D10 to check out too. I buy on Ali and the other Chinese sights with Paypal.

Sorry but that light reminds me of ccc (cheap chinese crap). It also weighs 120g. Like a brick strapped to your head. I prefer quality over junk.

He’s mentioned he’s new to all this so he isn’t going to start modding anything

The Sofirn D25S has poor waterproofing since there’s no gasket to seal it. It’s great but not sure if it can take a heavy downpour, not to mention surviving submersion.

I highly recommend the Skilhunt H04 RC full size, it’s lightweight and has a great headband mount you can swivel the angle easily.

The Sofirn SP40 has very stiff rubber loops on the headband making it very stiff to alter the angle, you’ll need two hands to do it.

My D25 has stood up to some pretty rough treatment and still works great. I didn’t abuse it but it didn’t get babied either.

Reminds you? Have you tried one? Where are your quality lights made? They’re good lights. Don’t take my word for it even though I’ve spent nights in the woods all over the country (including many in Idaho) in every weather possible. Here’s a quote from Jasonww who has 12788 posts here on the BUDGET LIGHT FORUM and forgotten way more than I’ll ever know:
“Are people hatin on the boruit? Don’t do that. This is like the best bargain headlight on the market. If somebody wants to hate, they can go hate on all the the truly crappy headlights out there.”
The OP’s going hunting for deer, not musk ox. I hope he gets a Zebralight and a D10/D25s

I agree, the D25S is quite light, not sure why he thinks it’s like a brick.

Lightweight often means cheap, not quality. These headlamps are affordable and work well, if you want top quality then you’ll be paying for it.

The Boruit D10 is really nice, especially for the price.

My headlight of choice is the Lumintop HL3A.

It's kinda pricey, but I like stepless ramping and the neutral white tint is very good as well.

120g is including everything though, so it’s actually very light

D25S = 56g
Headband = 22g
Battery = 44g

Total = 122g

Get one-a these…

The headband even says “LED HEADLIGHT” in case you forget.

(Neckbrace not included.)

Thanks for the laugh.

I really don’t know if I’ll ever even want to mod to be honest. I’m going to give both the d10 and d25 a shot. I’ll use the one I like better and keep the other as a backup. Can’t really beat the price of $25ish for both of them. This will at least get my feet wet. I can’t imagine my ozark trail headlamp was waterproof and I never had an issue with it. So I’m not too worried about it. Who knows, maybe I’ll be ready to buy a good light in 5 to 10 years after I finish reading all of the threads, lol. I will definitely be looking into the more expensive options in the future. Looking on aliexpress there are a few different boruit stores to chose from as well as the fastdeng store. The boruit stores state theirs has an XML L2 led, has an ipx4 rating and also has the option between cold white and yellow light. The fastdeng says it has a T6 led and has an ipx6 rating. It only says theirs is a white light though. Which one would you guys go with?

The Sofirn version of the D25S is what you’re after, it has a nicer UI and updated SST40 leds. We aren’t talking about the original version.

Type in Sofirn D25S or visit Sofirn’s store sofirnlight.com

I’m tempted to do a Sofirn D25S with Quadrupel driver and swap the LEDs. I know he said it’s impossible, but I don’t see a reason Arctic Alumina and/or pressure from swapping a TIR in can’t hold a pair of Noctigons in there. And it’d be easy enough to wire the second one parallel from the first.