Turn any 90° headlight into a neck light.
There are many times when a headlight is not practical.
When you are wearing various types of hats whether it be a baseball ,rain, helmet, or even some sort of a winter hat and a hood. The brim of a hat interferes with the light being cast down towards the ground close in front of you.
When it is raining, snowing or foggy and the light is within 2 inches of your eyes the reflection from that moisture in the air is problematic.
Moving the light 9 inches or more away from your eyeballs reduces that reflection significantly.
I had a few ideas that worked well but they were bulky and impossible to pack.
I’ve got at least 4 hours of testing in various scenarios with these current designs.
Walking, working while standing or sitting. The light rests pretty stable on your chest. If you have to bend over the light aims itself slightly downward as it comes off of your chest. Running or fast moving activities are not advised.
You really need a light with a wide beam because the light is not following your head movements.
Edit. 5/8 in heavy duty, see the next post for more information.
The materials used is a 5/8 inch heater hose (auto) 3/4 heater hose may work just as well. Or a 3/4 inch reinforced PVC hose. Also sometimes called a reinforced vinyl hose.
For lights smaller or larger than an 18650 you might need to go down a size or larger.
The white and black cord is actually a bungee cord that is slightly smaller than the black 550 paracord. The length is just barely long enough to comfortably go over the head or a little bit looser where it hangs a few inches farther down.
Where I have the cords the light is pretty well balanced and not trying to tip to one side. The heater hose grips a lot tighter but the clear reinforced hose grips enough where the light is not trying to rotate but you can turn it to adjust easily enough. Either one works with or without a clip.
In the first picture the light is hanging.
This is not necessarily always better than a headlight but at times it is better.
The heater hose can be bought by the foot at any auto parts store. The reinforced PVC or vinyl hose can often be bought in a 2 ft length at Home Depot or Lowe’s and by the foot at marine stores.
I purchased 1 ft of 3/4 inch heater hose the other day and quickly realized that there are many different types of heater hoses.
It works, however if the light gets jerked around a lot it deforms and opens up and the light can come out. This is off of the neck jerking it around testing like a yo-yo.
The 5/8 that I have pictured above is made by Gates. Green Stripe heavy duty.
Don’t get 5/8 or 3/4 inch normal heater hose and expect it to work with an 18650 light.
3/4 works ok for a 14500 size light.
I’m going to try to find some 3/4 heavy duty heater hose and or other types of pipes or hoses, possibly hydraulic hose. I see there is 3/4 inch silicone heater hose available but it’s expensive and I can’t find any place local that has it by the foot. I have not done any extreme cold or hot testing at this point.
I’m happy with what I’ve got pictured above but I think 3/4 heavy duty heater hose might be the best for all types of lights and extreme conditions.
Unless we’re talking about 21700 lights then I think you need 1 inch.
The light on the right is the C2 pro Max 21700 with 1 inch reinforced PVC or vinyl hose.
After researching various hoses available (3/4 inch) I purchased 1 foot of the red one in the pictures from Napa Auto parts. They call it multi-use hose 3/4“x 1 3/32“ X 50 ft. 315psi, 1 braid. Part H1716. $10.50 per foot. Much more expensive than heater hose. Not all NAPA auto parts stores will have this in stock.
Other places where you might find similar hose would be places that specialize in making up hydraulic hoses. Some other auto parts stores may list it but again it won’t be a stock item.
It appears to be made by Gates hose and rubber. Although Gates list the rating as 325 psi. It is designed for water or air or oil and industrial sprayers. Nitrile tube and cover. Gates products are available in 30 countries around the world.
Some places call it multipurpose hose. You can find other similar brands with PSI ratings from 200,250, 300.
The one I got has a very thick wall and it is very stiff. It works very well even with a length under 2 inches. The hose comes on a real so it tends to be slightly oval shaped from being coiled. I make the cut on one flat side of the oval so the cord sits in one of the sharper bends of the oval.
The pictures show some other designs or attempts along the way in creating this neck light. I also considered but did not pursue a chest Mount type thing used for GoPro cameras.
Ultimately I wanted something that would be relatively cheap, easy and most importantly compact where it could be carried on or with the light in any pocket. And I wanted it to work in summertime or winter time with a heavy coat and scarf, hats etc.
