Can I please have some suggestions on what to do for a headlamp please?

Other Types of Lights LED Headlamps
1

Hello,

I just found this forum and I'm glad I did since it's going to save me some money. I was looking to buy a Coast rechargeable headlamp from Amazon because I'd like a new headlamp to wear at work. The thing that always stopped me was the high price of $70 (even though it does go up and down, not enough). Thankfully though, I found this place which definitely looks like will get me the best bang for my buck and I should be able to get some really good information.

I'm an electrician and I'm constantly up above drop ceilings working in boxes, or working in areas with temporary lighting and I need to see what I'm working on better, or I need to look above ceilings where it's dark and try to find where a pipe run is headed, etc. I really prefer a headlamp so that my hands are free to use my tools. Although, I am also thinking of buying a handheld flashlight as well for when I am doing troubleshooting or tracing pipe runs, etc. A coworker of mine has a flashlight that says LED Sensor on the side (I don't know if that's the brand name though) but it is very bright and can shine a spot light on the wall from across the room. He paid $50 for that, I'd prefer not to.

I currently am using either a cheap Energizer light that simply isn't bright enough. (I don't know any ratings or know what model it is, I'm sorry.) The other lamp I use has 19 LEDs I think that is brighter than the other one, but doesn't last too long before it is too dim. Both lights take 3 AAA's.

The reason I was looking for a rechargeable headlamp was because I'm tired of buying batteries all of the time. I didn't know I could buy lithiums yet, which was nice to find out here. So I'm looking for a good headlamp, probably one that takes 18650 batteries from what I've read here so far. But, if what I've described tells you I need something else, I'm open to all suggestions.

I also need tips on what batteries to buy with charger. I saw in the deals section there are Panasonics for sale but come either protected or unprotected. I don't know the difference or how to decide what I need.

Are there headlamps that don't dim as the power of the batteries drain? Where the light simply stops working when the power is out. Or is this a matter of the type of battery used?

I hope I didn't type too much. I appreciate your help. And I know this is the headlamp section, but if you could point me in the direction of some good budget handheld flashlights (18650s since that would be the size batteries I buy for a headlamp), I'd appreciate that too.

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

Geo

2

Hi and welcome!

I have ordered 3 of these for outdoor/indoor use to my friends:

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/4936

So far, they have worked well with no flaws.

Price is not the lowest concerning your under 50$ budget but please note, that this set "includes it all".

Light, good battery (2200mAh ACTUAL cap!) and a charger.

Cons are, that the beam is not the widest possible.

You might also wan´t to check the UF-h3: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/997

Cons are, you need to get charger and battery, too. No zoom, if needed to throw further.

It seems to be on discount IF you dare to use DinoDirect. (mixed feedback).

Thats my 2 cents :)

3

i like the above poplite , seems well balanced for amount of light and comfort and being compact.

i have a UF-h2 and am not sure if the UF-H3 suffers the same issue but the main concern is the light frequency when dimmed. if you arent familiar with PWM (pulse wave modualtion ) control it can be a bit bothersome. lower settings may mean you see "trails" . Extremely bothersome for most people when things are happening within a short distance. also the tint neutral white is the way to go but you will notice most lights are cool white. its not a big deal if it doesnt bother you but why put up with it.

here are a few i found but cant vouch for personally but seem ok , only concern to add to the above is bulk

http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/yaxhitech-220-cree-xpg-r5-led-multifunction-memory-headlightbicycleligh-complete-box-set-18650-p-8241

notice the extra modes Hi > Mid > Lo > Energy saving > Strobe

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/xml-t60-1050lm-3-mode-white-led-bicycle-bike-light-4-x-18650-104287

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/t6-smooth-crown-waterproof-xml-t6-3-mode-1200-lumen-white-led-bike-light-with-battery-pack-set-82507

Let us see what you get

4

Ultrafire UF-H3 is your best bet on a budget. Flood beam, (no hot spot, just a wall of light) infinite brightness control, very efficient. If you carry this light with 2 freshly charged batteries, your shift will not last long enough to run out of light. Trustfire flame 18650s are a good bet and are inexpensive. The Panasonics on here right now are better cells, just more money, maybe as much as 1/3 more capacity. I've got a Zebralight H51 and the H3 Ultrafire is still my go-to light for any type of work. Zebra is for walking trails, with it's hotspot and greater reach.

5

there are some budget headlamps out there that aren't bad, but some of them really suck, and even the good ones all have one issue or other that stop them short of being truly good. so you have to be careful.

i think the best available solution for you would be to buy a Spark SD52-NW and buy a four pack of Eneloop AA batteries and a charger. it's an expensive headlamp, but it's powerful and it has the ideal beam shape and beam tint for the use that you described. you can get the Spark at SBFlashlights.com or GoingGear.com and the batteries and charger on Amazon.

if you are absolutely opposed to spending more than the bare minimum, this 3AA headlamp at Manafont actually isn't that bad. i got it for yardwork and working in the crawl space under my house and i like it. the low is useful for most things and the high is pretty bright, probably 150-ish lumens. it has a flood-to-zoom lens and the beam width is decent on full flood, but still kind of narrow, about 30 degrees wide. i would have liked it wider, it's barely wide enough for my use, but i can't complain for the price. the build quality is actually pretty good, for the price. the LED is properly heatsinked - something that you have to be careful with on budget headlamps, and the rest of the head feels pretty solid. the tilter is easy to manipulate and stays where you put it. it's not waterproof though, i would avoid getting it wet. it does have a couple issues. first, the cable connecting the lamp unit to the battery pack is kind of short. it has a coil in the middle to stretch out, but tension there can be a little uncomfortable. second, the straps that come with the headlamp are pretty flimsy. i ended up swapping mine out for better elastic. other than that, it's pretty good considering it costs $12 shipped. shipping time seems to take between 2-3 weeks. maybe longer around the holidays.

the Duracell Daylite 3AA headlamp isn't bad either. it's $17 at Amazon right now. that's the lamp i used to use for the yard and home repair until i got curious, took it apart, and broke it. the build quality is pretty impressive for the price. i'd put the build quality a full notch higher than the Manafont headlamp. it's even waterproof. it also has a flood to zoom lens that has a decent beam on full flood although, again, i would have liked it if it was wider. it only has one mode though - 80 lumens. that's good enough for most jobs, but can be a little too bright for up close work. otherwise, it's pretty good.

both the Manafont and Duracell headlamps are not regulated, but do a decent job of maintaining their output on Eneloops.

6

Welcome Geo,

You're definitely in the right place.

I highly recommend UF-H3. Many of us here got it from DD without issue. Correct me if I'm wrong, but all the issues were with other lights, batteries, etc., not this light. I use it working at an autoshop all the time, and I never have to change the battery over the course of a day. On high it runs 3 hours easily. On low some have run it over 160 hours. Well built. Comes with a magnet in the tail so you can stick it on anything metal if you don't use it as a headlamp (I don't). Right angle light seems more functional as a close quarters working light to me.

The PWM mentioned by others is a method of lowering apparent brightness by pulsing the light on and off (like a really fast strobe). This light does have slow PWM, but I only notice it if the light is set low and I'm looking at a radiator fan or something. On high it's unnoticeable.

If you really don't want to deal with possible DD antics, Manafont has it for around $32.

7

lights that are regulated will maintain brightness as the battery voltage drops regardless of the battery type used, but high drain lights don't work well with alkalines due to the high internal resistance of alkalines.

some regulated lights regulate better than others.

unregulated lights will dim in line with the voltage drop of the battery used. since Nimh and Lithium batteries maintain higher voltages longer than alkalines, they will maintain relatively high brightnesses longer than alkalines when used in unregulated lights.

8

I am an elevator guy from Indiana so I know what kind of work you do very well. I carry a flashlight as well as a headlamp.
I carry a Streamlight Stylus Pro 2 AAA penlight that is supposed to have 48 lumins. It has quickly become my favorite light due to the slim size and ease of pocket carry with it’s clip. It also puts out a lot of light and throws it light well enough to use in elevator shafts to see things at the top or bottom of the shaft. It is a great light that every electrician, elevator guy and mechanic should own.
As for my headlamp, it is in my tool bag in a case so I use my Streamlight for most quick tasks. If I need to repair something in the dark, it is far easier to just wear the headlamp and have use of both hands unencumbered.
It is a Princeton Tec EOS. It is too throwy to make a good headlamp work light. For our kind of work, we need a flood light for arms length working without a tight beam that requires us to chase the light around. The EOS is a better camping light than a work headlight. For camping, a bit of throw to help you see down the path is a good thing. For working, I need only to see what is right in front of me. If I need a spotlight, my hand held light is always clipped to my pants pocket.
In short, get a more throwy hand held light and a more floody headlamp. I went with Eneloopes in AAA and AAAA even though my company buys all the batteries I need. I just feel like it is a waste to throw batteries away after only a couple of hours of use even if it is not my money. It is terribly polluting and ridiculously wasteful considering the heavy metals that inevitably leak into our drinking water.

9

Maybe you would consider UF-H2 for headlight. Uses single AA and pure flood. If you use it for extended periods, you might consider the UF-H3 which uses 18650s. Good to hear you're doing the right thing with Eneloops. Maybe convince your company to stock Eneloops. It could save them lots of money.

10

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and help. There are lots of good suggestions and I may try a few of them at some point. Lots of good choices really. I took a chance and ordered a UF-H3 from DD. I haven't ordered batteries yet or a charger. From reading through here, I was thinking of going with the Trustfire Flames, but I'm not sure on the charger. I still can't believe how much there is to all of this! But I love researching this kind of thing so this site is great. :)

So the UF-H3 looks to be my work light, but I'm also looking for a headlamp and/or light to use while riding my bike at night. I'm going to check into the two df2dot suggested. I rode my bike last summer and was out later than I thought I'd be, but did have my headlamp with me. (It's a Petzel, I checked at work this morning. The other is Outback or something, but I digress.) It helped me get home without hitting a tree, but it could have been much better. I did like using the headlamp so I lit up where my head was turned, but would also like one on my bike. I'm assuming the UF-H3 won't be the best choice because of the flood, so again, I'll look into the suggestions about for this portion of my needs. :) And any other suggestions that may come too of course.

Speedsix, thanks for the suggestion on the penlight, going to check that out.

Thanks guys!

George

11

I was recently looking for a decent, but cheap headlamp to replace the stupid 5mm led 3aaa ones that I have. Someone on this forum recommended this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/250779304687?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_2902wt_1037

So I purchased two of them. Haven't gotten them in yet, should be soon. Will post my thoughts when I get it.

12

Hi guys,

Just wanted to give an update. I received my light two weeks ago, but didn't have my batteries until today. I bought the UF-H3 from DD and I really like it! This is going to be a great headlight for work. I'm assuming it's regulated because I ran it for over an hour and the light seemed as bright to me as when I first turned it on. The flood is great though for what I'll use it for. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

I also bought: Xtar WP2 charger and Trustfire Flame batteries.

Now I need to pick out a nice spot flashlight and get a couple of more batteries. :)

13

Have you received this light yet? If so is it a decent light and worth buying?

14

Don't forget that a digital camera can be stuck into places where your head can't fit or wouldn't want to if it could. I've used mine for tracing wiring at my old job. Just take a snap and review it on the display.

15

I do that all of the time with my phone . Works great