Thanks Huny74! Sounds good.
-Garry
You're welcome :)
i understand some of your concerns about the Apex. if you want a beam that's wider than 40 degrees and don't want to use 5mm for flood, then the Apex might not be for you.
but the Amazon reviews? the Apex has an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars. the only bad reviews are about condensation in the head, and PT probably replaced those lights (in my experience, this usually takes 1 to 2 weeks from the time they receive the defective light from you, and they usually replace it with a brand new light; people sometimes have problems with PT warranty service but those guys either didn't follow directions or were being unreasonably impatient).
the Fenix HP11 actually has more bad reviews on Amazon - 25% of all reviewers gave it 1 star mostly for it being unreliable - and i think that's kind of exacerbated by Fenix warranty service not being that great. it doesn't come close to approaching Princeton Tec's if you live in the US.
Another vote for the PT Apex. Mine is a few yrs old now, but I've changed the LED three times: from the stock Luxeon to a Seoul P4, to a Cree XP-G, and finally to a Cree XM-L. I have sitting right here on my desk a neutral-white XM-L that will go into the Apex when I find the time to file down the MCPCB.
Like robostud said, customer service is awesome. I'm in Canada, and they sent me a free replacement when mine malfunctioned after being in the rain. Old models didn't seal well. The replacement has been trouble-free.
Also like robostud said, the beam is very nice. One thing I dislike about some handheld lights but especially headlamps is the step change between hotspot and spill. With a headlamp, I find that when I want to see far, I aim the hotspot there and it's good, but when I want to see something close up and a little to the side, it's distracting to use the spill, because the hotspot is just a few feet away, so my natural tendency is to move my head to re-aim the headlamp so I'm using the hotspot again. The net effect is that I'm almost always using the hotspot, and since the hotspot is often rather small, I'm often "painting" the spot around, which I really don't like doing with a headlamp.
The Apex's beam is not a 100% floody beam like a Zebralight or Ultrafire non-reflectored headlamp; it does have some throw, but because it uses a well-designed TIR collimator, the beam doesn't have that step change between spot and spill.
About the 5mm LEDs: that's about my only small dislike. I wish the 5mm LEDs were more efficient and less blue, but my Apex is a few yrs old (maybe 5?) so by now, the new ones might have better 5mm LEDs.
Having said all that, there could be better headlamps around now, since I haven't researched them in a few yrs. :) It would be great if you could test them side-by-side, along with others, but I don't know if any stores sell both.
peteybaby, Thanks for your input! But are your experiences based on modded headlamps or as they came stock? I don't want to do any mods (unless it's to an inexpensive budget headlamp to make it suit our needs). I did see that it listed a Luxeon Rebel LED which I thought was a little dated.
We'd be looking to buy at least 3, so maybe we could buy 1 of each at first.
Thanks,
Garry
current models of the Apex come stock with an XP-G.
Mine came stock with a Luxeon III or something like that (definitely older than the Rebel), and the beam was perfect, as you'd expect since the collimator was designed for that LED. When I swapped it to the Seoul P4, the beam continued to be close to perfect, but with much more output. When I swapped it to the XP-G, the beam was ringy and had other artifacts, but I think it was partly because I accidentally burnt a spot on the XP-G's dome with my soldering iron. Now with the XM-L, the beam is smooth again, and I think it's wider than it was originally, which is still fine with me. I just didn't want it narrow and ringy like it was with my damaged XP-G. If the current models come with an XP-G, I'm sure the collimator has been redesigned to match its characteristics.
Someone just posted a picture that shows exactly what I meant when I wrote "it's distracting to use the spill, because the hotspot is just a few feet away, so my natural tendency is to move my head to re-aim the headlamp so I'm using the hotspot again":
post #31, upper picture. I know that's not a headlamp, but some headlamps (not sure about the HP11) have beams like that.
Even if it's hard to compare I can confirm that the HP11's beam is quite similar to the picture you linked. That's why I almost always use it with the diffuser on.
Re PT Apex: I was looking very hard at this light, too, before getting the Fenix because it seems to be a very decent headlamp and mostly because of its modability, but prices here in Sweden are ridiculous high (see here for a "discounted" price example), I could buy two HP11s and still save some money. And ordering directly from the US with shipping, tull and taxes + handling fee of SEK 100 was not really an alternative.
Well, THIS is bit funny but can be good candidate, unfortunately only 3xAA. It has XP-E, but I've moded it to XP-G and changed 5mm leds with better ones. It was one of my first modes at the addiction beginning ;-). Sealing still missing. Included charger and batteries are the worst I've ever seen. Garry, I can take some pictures if I find it still working and if you are interested.
Hmm. . . If it could be modded to XM-L with existing driver and made floody then perhaps it would be a candidate. I really want something that doesn’t need modded. I want something my employer can just order and give to my co-workers ready to use.
Thanks for the link & info though - bookmarked it. I think I ran across that one some time ago and couldn't find it again.
-Garry
Well, it could be moded with XM-L I think, but the hole in the plastic reflector migh be to tight. Otherwise there is just 20mm star used as a heatsink and it runs at 0.6-0.7A. Not the best for your purposes, but take a look pictures and reviews at DX. On the other hand is small, lightweight, independed switches for 5mm leds and separate for XP-E. With some difusor (or tape) you might get it much floodier and no need to modify - depends on lumens you need (or wish). Price is bit to high nowadays, but I tink you can get some $ back if you complain to DX about useless batteries and charger. Mine is moded, but still not far away from stock one. I can make some video if you like.
PS. Fenix HP11 is much better for shure, but price is high 
Update on this. A crew member bought a Princeton Tec Apex and (4) 2300mAh LSD Energizer AA's (I tested my own 2300 Energizers to actually have 2300mAh). He says that even on "low" he's only getting 1/2 day out of the batteries. He says the light output is a good balance of flood-throw. He's really just disappointed with the lack of runtime. Now the other issue is that he's lost the wall wart for his battery charger (it's a Tenergy 10 bank or 8 bank "smart" charger) so he's been unable to recharge the batteries to try them again. He's been using Alkalines since (which apparently give the same 1/2 day runtime).
Something seems fishy to me, as this headlamp on "Maxbright low" is spec'd to run 8 hours.
I wonder if he should have just gone ahead with the Fenix. Maybe even the LED Lenser headlamp H14R which I own a clone of.
-Garry
I don't have the HP11, but I have the HP10. Assuming they're very similar, I think the HP11 would be a great light. The main reason I don't use it much more is because it weighs so much. I've slept several nights with it on my head, so I think the wiring is durable enough. The diffuser is a great option too. If the head is the same size as the HP10, I can tell you that the diffuser for the Xeno e03 works too. It looks silly, but it makes the headlamp into a great lantern for everyone. The battery life is what I love most about this light.
For the price the Spark spark sx5 seems like a much better choice. It’s IPX8 and has a lot of different battery configurations that you can use.
Can anuone tell me if you can zoom the fenix hp11 277 lumens headlamp
Can you zoom the fenix hp11277 lumens headlamp
Please can anyone telle me if you can zoom the hp11 headlamp
No you can’t. There is a diffuser included with the lamp.
Thnx JH