A friend asked me for a headlamp with a lot of throw as the only requirement. What’s suitable?
You’ll get a lot of responses here telling you a throwy headlamp is “wrong” because tunnel vision, situational awareness, etc etc.
I would add a throwy headlamp to my collection if there was one on the market with the features I want… For open spaces or larger underground areas, or longer battery life, a throwier beam can be beneficial; obviously there are limits and I’m not suggesting one straps an LEP to their head.
Start by having a look at the thrunite thrower headlamp. Manufacturing Specs and the zeroair review rate the cool white version at 18-21cd/lumen.
Zebralight seem to have dropped all of their non-“F” (floody) models.
Skilhunt H04R (reflector) only does 3.2cd/lumen according to their specs, I’ve the H04 with the frosted TIR lens and it’s visually throwier than this so maybe they have a mistake.
The skilhunt H300R with CW Hi does 4.6cd/lumen.
Perhaps convoy has a solution, I don’t have any experience with the convoy headlamp options though.
From Zeroair review, the Wurkkos HD20 does 6.34cd/lm.
Added a few more, these are manufacturers specs so take with pinch of salt:
Sofirn SP40 3.85Cd/lm
Sofirn HS40 3.8Cd/lm
Fenix HP25R v2 (not budget): 13cd/lm
Fenix HP30R v2 (very not budget): 7.86cd/lm
All of these are just quick and dirty calculations for the turbo modes
1 Thank
Here is a budget find:
Not 100% sure what to believe, but it sports two SST40 in OP reflectors at 5000K and cd/lm seems to be around 10. Should do what my friend wants…
I saw the beam distance in yards and I come to same calculated result as you… (we are both assuming it’s to 0.25lux, as ANSI should be).
I’m sceptical of 10cd/lm however. There isn’t much hard data I could find, but this review by @tactical_grizzly puts the 5000k, single LHD351D at 1.18cd/lm…
Now I know these are different LEDs, but the reflector format is the same, I don’t have any lights with the LHD351D or the SST-40 so I honestly don’t know if an SST-40 could be 10x as throwy as the LHD351D? I’d be more confident to say the Wurkkos specs are wrong …
Incidentally, that review link has a beamshot of the Thrunite Thrower headlamp, it certainly does what it says on the tin!
Boruit D10
Khun @Weerapat_K has this video comparing headlamp beams. I need to watch it a few more times to have an opinion.
At around 1:42 there is the D25S with SST40 which Wurkkos says is the predecessor of H25S. Looks throwy enough on turbo…
Not a bad idea, I’d forgotten about those. Can’t find any data on the output though.
Reminds me of the Kaidomain HL-10 I’ve had my eye on for years but no reviews on the internet so would be buying blind, would also be looking to swap the LED, so not a turnkey solution.
1 Thank
Pick up a D10 a d swap it with a round die yinding led. You can get them in warm tints now amd they throw very well. Even in the OP reflector you’ll get excellent throw.
2 Thanks
What’s the original LED in D10 and how does it perform?
" It’s very floody with a hotspot that’s not too intense and blends nicely into the spill. Spill is quite wide."
Its typically been a xm-l2 clone, lile a Latticepower or Latticebright. Sofirn used the LH351D and sst40 in their versions also. I had one with a xp-g2 from Amazon.
The Boriut D10s on Aliexpress pretty much all have xm-l2 clones so 5050 size LEDs.
Performance depends on the battery. With a good battery your mileage may vary, but generally 500-800 Lumens max.
1 Thank