I can put a LSD NiMH inside the light and forget about it until the moment it is needed - same can’t be said about Li-ion
18650 headlamps are bulkier and heavier. Smaller Li-ion form factors have little advantage compared to AA.
AA batteries are readily available and most of us already have plenty of spares. In an emergency, I can always go to a supermarket and get some alkalines.
So you need an emergency headlamp which will be used very rarely. So weight and CRI its not matter at all then.
You can put inside Li-on but not tighten tail cap fully. Li-ion rechargeable batteries have a self-discharge rate typically stated by manufacturers to be 1.5–2% per month ;))
Why not? Li-ion have lower self discharge than LSD NiMH and while their lifetime might be shortened by storing them fully charged, in practice it’s not that much.
edit: Maybe I was wrong about self discharge, but in practice the difference is probably not noticeable.
14500 Li-ion have the same size. And they make more lights possible.
Good luck finding alkalines in an emergency situation after everyone else bought everything that is available. Get a solar panel and recharge your Li-ion batteries.
With AA/AAA support there’s only the Manker E02 II WW / E03H II WW. Good luck finding one, they are not in production anymore, only the ugly CW version.
When I need to work on something where a good quality light is required
When I go camping for a week, with no electrical power available
So getting a Li-ion headlamp implies getting multiple batteries in a form factor which I do not already have, and maintaining them. I see no advantage in doing that, compared to using what I already have.
Yes, weight matters when I need to use the headlamp for a whole hour in my head. CRI also matters when I need to distinguish the color of two cables, or solder, or some other technical work. CRI also matters if I am camping, specially if I am cooking. I know my needs and what matters to me, so please do not be so condescending and assume I know no better.
Emergency situation for me, not end of the world scenario. I do not want to carry a solar panel + charger while camping, when I can simply carry 8xAA batteries.
According to Manker they are indeed in production as of a month ago, I asked them. Apparently they were going to be available soon, but we will see.
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Thanks to everyone, it looks like there is no great option at the moment.
Simon or Manker seem like the best candidates for something viable in the future.
and use an AA light of your choice, but i’m not sure how well the angles would work as the light would be in the side of your head without any vertical angle adjustment, and you may need to pad the light out for the larger diameter of the loops.
I have one somewhere, if i can find it i’ll see what it’s like in use.
If the Manker E03H II comes back, and especially if there is a deal offered, I will most likely get at least one. The E02 II is my most used light because no other light I have tried is better at what I want from a flashlight most of the time. Not 100% certain but would like to test if the AA is still as versatile and unobtrusive as the AAA. I can clip or magnet the E02 II virtually anywhere and the weight is almost undetectable. My TH20 is into 18650 territory for weight, the Fenix clip I have for it is lacking, and of course the stock emitter / reflector are not even close to the excellent TIR and SST 20 high CRI.
No 18650 / 27100 light is ever going to be able to do what the EO2 II can do. The EO3 II just might. If it isn’t too large / heavy the extra battery capacity would be quite nice. As it is now most of the time I just swap batteries before I go out at night so usually it is not a problem.
The TS21 has the same LED (x3) great beam pattern and phenomenal battery life. Too heavy to be usefully clipped to a hat. Too bulky and wrong configuration for using the magnet as effectively in a server closet. It does fit well in a jeans pocket and is nearly always with me because sometimes I actually want / need more light than a AAA is capable of. Small percentage of what I use a flashlight for but also really fun to be able to put out more serious lumen.
Have you tried looking at brands aimed at hiking/ camping like Princeton Tec and Black Diamond? They’ll definitely fit the AAA/ AA criteria, but most likely not CRI or possibly the budget.
I’ve got an older 4 x AAA Black Diamond head lamp and recently picked up an 18650 Sofirn D25L , the Sofirn puts out a much wider, brighter beam and is far more comfortable to wear.
It has certainly fallen out of fashion, but there are a hundred ways you can attach any AA to the side of your head. The key is to give it at least a few degrees of downward aim somehow.
I don’t understand why everyone hating either… I’m also looking for similar. For me 14500 and AA compatibility and thermal Stepdown (which the Manker doesn’t have) would be brilliant
It’s statements like this that make people question your knowledge of lithium-ion and and your refusal to get on board.
And I don’t really believe that anybody here thinks that taking eight AA batteries on a week-long camping trip to feed your main light is a reasonable choice. That is indefensible.
Acebeam H40 and Thrunite TH20 are the first to come to mind. Both are very good headlamps in my experience. Easy easy to swap emitters in the TH20 (probably the H40 as well).
(Or any other of the small AA flash lights with dual clips.)