Due to health problems I find myself needing better light at work. I’ve borrowed a nice headlight which has a strip of LED’s across the front which works well enough, but the built-in battery sucks. I still have a supply of 18650’s which I want to use for the power source. Priorities are:
1- 18650 powered, no exceptions.
2- At least 90 degree beam with smooth flood profile; wider OK, can be spot w/ good spill
3- Estimated ~400 lumens necessary on high with lower range(s) (yes I know how bright that is based on experience with single emitters.
4- Good CRI would be nice
Even if there’s a perfect light out there I have to go cheap even if it means less of what I want other than brightness.
This is a good Headlight and it’s cheap ---- I have a bunch of different ones, lots of the ones mentioned above – This light has a nice smooth beam, no noticeable hotspot-- The main 3 LEDs are around 5700k and the 2 that they say are yellow , they’re around 3500k
In the Q&A it says this:
Q: Is it possible to buy additional batteries?
A: Yes it uses18650 batteries
By VanParker in the United States on November 9, 2022See full answer
Now this is not a recommendation. No clue about this light… But read the reviews. Some complaints about charging and longevity of the light. Personally, I would not buy it.
Thanks- I did miss that. Learned long ago to not trust cheap cells and chargers. That’s why I came here to find recommended lights instead of sorting through the tons of junk lights myself.
Although Zebralight comes to mind for quality, efficiency, and high CRI options, I have not tried them yet.
Personally, I’ve had good experience with Coast lights. They are affordable, so I don’t mind if they get tossed around or dirty, the zoomie style head offers an evenly distributed flood for close up work, and a decent spot when you need to see further out… as well as adjusting between the two. I’ve used them for working on the house and property outside when I have to do work at night. The 16340 and 18650 versions also take CR123’s and have a charging port in the headlamp if I need to recharge while driving between locations or if I need to recharge a battery from another flashlight in a pinch.
I started using the 3xAAA versions 15 years ago for property maintenance and repairs and now use the 16340 version when I need to finish up some landscaping at night. Downsides I can report: 1. I wouldn’t use it in the rain (haven’t tested it though) 2. its not high CRI. I’m pretty sure Coast model xph30r takes 18650’s and has a charging port. I doubt it will work with the flat button batteries though. Check out the specs at Coast’s website. They are usually available locally, like at HD. This might also make it easier to return if it doesn’t work with your requirements.
I’ve got a Sofirn D25L that I recently used when repairing wall holes and repainting a room. I found it excellent and didn’t really notice it was on my head- even after a couple of hours.
Just don’t try using the on board charging, as it’s so slow it’s ridiculous (something like 200mA charge rate!)
Specification:
Bright & Nice Beam: With dual LH351D LED 5000K 90 High CRI, the headlamp delivers 1000 lumens with a comfortable nice beam. Featuring 5 different modes: Low, Medium 1, Medium 2, High, Turbo.
H1 gets my vote too. I use the hs20 outdoors but the H1 if I’m going to be working on something up close for awhile.
With the H1s I use a 3 strap headband though, borrowed off sofirns. My two favourite are a 4500k 219b and a dedomed 5700k 519a. If one of them didn’t have a gold spring I literally wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. Tint is almost identical. Dome on is obviously better for all practical purposes but I can’t resist
Screw the beam, but get the light that has everything else you want, like a comfortable headband (loop-only, or with over-the-head 3rd strap), good UI, good brightness, good cell life, onboard usb charging, good color-temp and CRI, etc.
Then slap on some diffusion film. Even if it’s a spotlight with pencil-beam, diffusion film will smooth it out to buttery goodness, eliminate all crappy artifacts like a ringy beam, a fried-egg beam, weird hotspot, etc., and give you a nice even beam that’s smooth across the center and only gradually fades as you go to the periphery.
