"light" 21700 headlamp?

This one looks promising too. Similar to shilhunt H03RC but only for 15$

Depends on the purpose of the headlamp right ? I mean if you are cave diving or an activity similar which leaves you basically stranded in a dark place for a long duration of time more capacity seems like a relatively low trade off.

I’m a big fan of the pl47 g2. I run it as high as the temperature limit will allow, set at 45C. I get about an hour and a half out of a samsung 50e

The weight doesn’t bother me, I’ve never given it a thought until now.

Normal people mount a flashlight to their gun. We here at BLF mount a gun to our flashlights.

“No such thing too big flashlight”
~Confucius (probably would have said that if he was wiser)

I like this one with a built in battery pack. It’s really a smart design and I like to use it for my backpacking trips.

I’ve actually been looking for a reasonably lightweight, efficient 21700 anduril light for months. ZL’s H600 is only 85 grams including the battery, and I bet their future 21700 versions will be within 30g of that. The difference between Olight’s 21700 Perun 2 and 18650 Perun 1 is only 40g, which is about the weight of the headlamp strap. If an 18650 light is light enough for you, I don’t think the ~40g difference should be a factor.

I use an H600fc for rock climbing, and it works better than anything else I’ve used (even better after smashing the frosted lens.) On more adventurous climbs where I’m more likely to need a light, I’m usually wearing a helmet anyway. With the headlamp mounted it seems weightless. If someone could somehow mod a Perun 2 with a Lume X1 and a 2700k high CRI led I’d buy it in a heartbeat. The runtimes of a 21700 are definitely worth the 20-40g difference for me. Unfortunately it seems too heavy/clunky to most people, so I’ll probably just get another ZL if they ever come out with one.

I work inside pipelines for a living, so headlamps are the order of the day, mounted to hard hats.
Having the external battery means you can put the light on the front and have the battery on the back as a counter balance, same as if you were wearing NVGs on a combat helmet. In truth, very necessary.

Let us know your thoughts!

Question and comment.

Q: When people say a single cell headlamp is too heavy, what do they mean? Too heavy for what? Your neck or the elastic strap?

Comment: If you have to think too hard about whether it’s necessary it isn’t. If a spare battery and stopping to change out the cell is an option for you, then Wh/kg differences between cell sizes really is a wash in practicality. It’s like the real world difference between 1100 and 1300 lumens… there kinda isn’t one unless you have a stopwatch or a lux meter.

Couldn’t agree more!

A 0.002 lumen moonlight mode would be nice too .

They feel a bit tiresome after a while of having it on your head and the headlamp being extra mass that’s unsecured and clunking against your head when you turn it.

There is a big difference in having a headlamp for a couple of minutes on your forehead then put in on the shelf for shelf queening.

And there is the actual use of a headlamp for a long time.

When you actuality need a headlamp for a long time weight matters a lot to the point you don’t want to use unless constantly repeating in your head that your purchase was such a great deal.

Try to run wearing H30 and H04 ;))

It is safe to say we can agree 100grams is very little weight compared to 200grams on your forehead, again unless you want something of shelf queen headlamp which is fine, many flashlights are shelf queens anyway but the logic is pretty different.

While you can buy a 1.2kg flashlight for being a queen shelf, try buying a 1.2kg headlamp for being a shelf queen, you simply won’t.

You never seen people doing casual jogging with such headlamps but most have the plastic 30 lumen headlamp when running.

Depends on the application also of course, running requires very light weight on the forehead.

If the light is unsecured and clunking around, is that not just because you haven’t fitted the headstrap properly? :stuck_out_tongue:

This is true and worth reiterating. We can “get used to” these relatively small differences in weight. There’s nothing wrong with striving for a lighter solution because there are objective advantages to going lighter, but realistically there is not a hard weight limit which separates useable and not useable. As you say it depends on your use and priorities.

This last season I ran trails with a wowtac A2 (which weighs 56g without cell) and it worked fine. With a properly set up strap with top strap bouncing is not really an issue. Now, if you for some reason really don’t want a top strap then you would have to go a bit lighter I think. Personally I think I will stick with 18650 headlamps because I think it is a sweet spot in terms of weight and energy/power.

By the way I found this 18650 headlamp that weighs 43g without cell. I will be posting a review soon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071ZVLNZL

Have you used a headlamp before? The straps are elastic and there will be movement unless you stretch them uncomfortably tight.

In my opinion, this shouldn’t happen with a well-designed headlamp, even an 18650 or 21700. I don’t have experience with the budget brands, but Petzl, Black Diamond, Zebralight H600’s & even Olight’s heavier 18650 right angles are secure enough for big, jerky climbing movements and unexpected 15+ ft whips into rock slabs.

I’m sure something like a Perun 2 or PL47 would be more comfortable and secure strapped to a helmet for that kind of movement. I probably wouldn’t use something that size for running, but I wear the H600 often without a helmet while climbing, and it’s perfectly comfortable. I cannot imagine the weight difference between a 21700 ZL & 18650 ZL being significant enough to make a difference, but that’s probably a testament to ZL’s design.

It all comes down to preference and use case, and mine doesn’t seem to be very representative of the BLF forum. For most people, using a smaller light and swapping batteries is probably ideal, like when camping, hiking or jogging. But in certain scenarios, a battery swap can be temporarily impossible or even dangerous. I know I’m being really specific to my own use, which probably seems niche here, but I’m sure it’s applicable for canyoneering, caving, SAR, etc.

I mentioned it in LoneOcean’s X1 thread, but I’d really like to see a Noctigon, FireFlies or Lumintop right angle with the new X1 driver and single emitter. Replicating ZL’s size, weight, durability and thermal efficiency would be unrealistic, but something even close with Anduril would be awesome.

Got a Perun, Mini and LD15R all with headbands. None of mine bounce and clunk around. I also have several other more industrial models that we get issued for work, which are primarily for helmet mounting but also come with pretty solid headbands.
Yes, if you actually reach your hand up and yank the light around like an arcade joystick, it will move… but most people don’t really do that.