Guys finished up a day early and so I got some feedback from the crew chief. Seems the other two assistants really like the two flood-to-throw zoom lights I lent him (my W-878 & my Zuesray - both direct-drive on high and cool white, completely stock). Chief wasn’t certain why they preferred those two, but they definitely did. The Zuesray was preferred due to it’s thinner size making it easier to pocket carry. Holster would be very tough to wear due to the fact that they are already wearing very thick mine belts (think WWE wrestling championship belts) making it tough to access their pockets or pants belt.
Some more observations/feedback:
1) Nobody commented on cool-white vs. neutral white. Don’t care which they get, just so they are bright.
2) Flashlight does NOT need to run 6 hours. They were using my zoom lights on a single cell and they always lasted the full day. (They are only using the handheld flashlights for a couple minutes at a time to light up the rod when the instrument person is taking sights.)
3) Headlamp needs to last 10 hours runtime. This is their worst-case scenario. Current headlamps are meeting this requirement and nobody is complaining about either the pencil beam cap lamps or the Princeton Tec Apex.
4) My Mule Headlamp was way too floody and not enough output, even for the instrument guy lighting up just his immediate area. Each crew members desires some throw with bright spill, although none of them are complaining about the current pencil beam cap lamps. We may pursue just flashlights for now (4 of them), and maybe 1 headlamp to try out.
5) Cabling on a headlamp is not a big deal so long as it’s clipped down. It has not been an issue on the Princeton Apex light.
6) Headlamp for assistants need to be mounted rock solid. Headlamps with headbands (like the Apex) tend to fall off the hard hat while swinging a pick or sledgehammer. (I threw out the possibility of using velcro to hold the band in place better.) Current cap lamps clip in and withstand the thrashing they get while swinging tools. If we get new headlamps they may need some sort of “clip mount” fashioned. OR - can the rubber mounting like the Xtar Warboy H3 has be attached to the hardhat’s current clip point fairly permanently?
7) Like the FastTech flashlight clamps, though unsure how long they’ll take abuse. (And I see they are discontinued now!)
8) Nitecore i4 charger charging 4 cells (375mA) was WAY too slow.
Output & Modes Desired for 4 lights (3 carried on each person, 1 left at instrument tripod on a mount of some sort like the flashlight clamp):
NOTE: Gauged output based on my Convoy S2, XM-L T6 4C @ 2.1A 3-mode 5% (110mA) -> 40% (870mA) -> 100% (2,100mA) (I just confirmed these #’s)
1) For the 3 lights carried: Two modes, no memory, always starts in high. No “turbo-timer” wanted.
2) For the 1 light used at the instrument tripod: Two modes, no memory, always starts in low. No “turbo-timer” wanted. The “high” will be more of a “medium”, the max level which can be ran continuous for 8 hours (i.e. get a full day of actual use in case instrument guy never bothers to drop it to low to conserve battery, same reason no “high” mode - no accidental running the battery down too quick). Instrument light should be easily distinguishable from the other lights since it has different output.
3) “Low” should be a little higher than my S2’s “low”, but a little lower than my S2’s “medium” - somewhere in the middle.
4) “High” should be “max” (for the 3 hand carried lights, see #2 above for instrument light). I figure it should be toned down to a level the light’s heatsinking can handle reasonably well. So definitely not “direct-drive”, not 4.0A, but perhaps 2.8A or 2.1A etc . . .
Observations about the use of the Apex headlamp:
- High (the maxbright setting) of 275 lumens has only been used for checking roof quality, but really isn’t bright enough.
- Typical all-day setting of this light is the 5mm LEDs on their low setting. Too bright a setting causes too much glare. (I would have expected my Mule to be pretty good here, but it wasn’t liked.)
- Apex’s “5mm low” looks like a similar level to my S2 on low (side by side on the wall).
Thoughts:
I could go back to AA options, maybe and forget lithium ion entirely, especially since we threw out the need for 6hr runtime on the handheld lights. Max brightness would likely come down a little from what they experienced though.
If I go lithium-ion, I’d need a good safe reliable inexpensive 4 bay charger that charges at least at 500mA, 1000mA preferred. I’d get them whatever is the best bang for the buck protected 3000mAh+ 18650’s - likely the LG M1’s or NCR18650GA’s, although the 3400mAh Panny’s have come way down in price too.
Since they really like the zoom lights, which zoom light is a good solid reliable choice (easily modded with driver / emitter combo desired)? I mentioned I might just change to the Convoy S2, perhaps with diffusion film on the lens, since I can buy they ready to go without any modding needed by me. I lean toward the S2.
Might give 1 Xtar Warboy H3 a try since it has some throw to it.
-Garry
