We do a lot of work on trimming and pruning Christmas trees (Noble firs to be specific) at night. Recommendations on the best headlamp that is:
Sustainable fairly bright for at least 4-5 hours.
A good even spread flood light. Bonus points if it has the ability to turn into a decent 40’-50’ beam for looking up unto the treetops to determine which trees to cut boughs from (or a small pocket flashlight with high cri that would work for spotting up the trees).
Must have highest quality color (cri?)…we absolutely need to be able to identify which boughs have red or brown needles, as well as how green or bluish green the needles are.
Ideally something that will diffuse or scatter the light around to minimize glare/shadows/blind spots or has multiple light sources ? The light won’t be helpful if we can’t see branches behind the ones in front.
Under $100 (maybe$150 if that’s the only way to get something that will work).
Don’t care if it’s lithium rechargeable or uses rechargeable other batteries that we can swap out as long as it’s easy to get multiple batteries or charges fast.
Since we’ll be wearing it for extended periods it needs to be somewhat light and comfortable. I hate headlamps that the band won’t stay any or i get painful indents on my forehead or it makes me sweat so much under the band that i get a rash from it. I don’t know about a separate battery pack from the headlamp, i can envision it getting snagged and tangled in branches as we work on trees and carry bundles of boughs.
Open to suggestions or improvements on any of my “requirements”!
Thank you
runtime is longer when output is lower, if the battery does not last long enough at your required brightness, plan on bringing spare batteries.
Top headlamp picks, with links to Amazon so you can buy and try, and return the ones you dont prefer
Armytek diffused beam, gets great owner satisfaction reports, and its potted for better drop resistance
Skilhunt diffused beam, be sure to choose the Nichia 144 LED, and buy With Battery has more cosmetic appeal, for me personally, and they both use the same LED, both have tailmagnets, and both have built in charging and similar beams
Skilhunt hotspot beam, be sure to choose the Nichia 144 LED, and buy With Battery. has a more throwy beam with traditiona hotspot and spill… I like #2 more a more consistent diffused brightness across the beam
Zebralight diffused beam a classic, highly regarded for durability, favored by cavers, no built in charging, no tailmagnet, potted for drop resistance. this is the Frosted lens to provide some diffusion.
Zebralight w hotspot beam this is a clear lens instead of frosted, if you want a hotspot and spill instead of an evenly diffused beam
I suggest you try #4 as it is a cult favorite for hard use. I would pick #2 because the User Interface is more to my liking.
Thank you! How is the color rendition with those? The ability to differentiate red, brown, green, and blue green is probably the most important thing of all.
The armytek wizard C2 pro nichia 4500k is probably the best option out there right now.
Unless killzone .com brings back their custom order of the same light with 3000K. They currently show it out of stock. The 3000K works better in fog,rain, snow, smoke etc. You do have to find a way to pad the head mount. Charging works good. Main 3 at 250 lumens will get you through your run time requirements. You can step it up occasionally to see farther.