I have many flashlights but only one headlamp, it’s a Coast one that takes 3AAA batteries. I’ve used it for a few years and it’s pretty good but i need one with a longer runtime for working on stuff. Will one like the skilhunt offer much more? Each AAA cell is rated at 1000mah so in theory it should have the same capacity as a single 18650 unless my math is wrong.
Hello fellow Vancouverite. An 18650 has a nominal voltage of 3.6 volts, meanwhile AAA is 1.2 approximately. An 18650 has about three times the energy of 3 AAA batteries. So to answer your question, a skillhunt, or any headlamp that uses an 18650, all else equal, should last you three times longer.
Pretty common for the headlamps that take lithium cells to have a lot more light output on max, so take that into consideration.
Renton83 I have and use headlamps very often. I have 3 different Nitecores , a Fenix and several aaa types. I have and really like the Boruit that Lighbringer likes. All are fine lights. However I now grab and use the Sofirn 18650 more than any of the others. I can’t remember the model number and of course I don’t have it on me. I am not affiliated or getting anything for this. But for lessthan 30 bucks with a battery it is hard to beat.
Sofirn sp40
Usb charging, 18650 or 18350, can use as right angled light, its 30-40 cad including bat depending where you buy from
Its good light
Tint is important to me as I read a lot with my lights and want something that doesn’t strain my eyes.
Check out Zebralight h600fc and H600fd lights. One of the best build quality, efficiency and lightweight models. Fc has a 4000k high CRI which will probably provide less eye strain due to the warm white floody beam. The ‘d’ model is 5000k and will be neutral white.
I’m not very tint or PWM sensitive (unless the tint is an obnoxious green or blue) but one thing I found when reading with a headlamp is that most have too much throw to evenly illuminate a book a few feet in front of the light. I’ve been using a Wowtac A2, but I replaced the reflector / lens with a wide angle TIR. It evenly illuminates the book or computer screen / keyboard. I have and like the Sofirn SP40 and would use it instead, but have gotten used to the even light of the TIR and haven’t gotten around to ordering another lens.
An overlooked issue is: [Each AAA cell is rated at 1000mah].
- There are NO decent 1000mah AAA.
- NONE of them rated that high are LSD.
- If you’ve been using them for a ‘few years’, they are likely shot, or at least have notable capacity loss.
Mind you, I’m not discouraging an upgrade, but you ought to take a look at getting some decent AAA. I wouldn’t be surprised if you double your run time.
If you don’t have a good analyzing charger, it’s worth the expense.
Depending on the 3xAAA holder you may be able to simply swap in a 18650 or shorter with a spacer. Whether it’s an easy swap or worth it is another matter.
check out the Armytek Wizard Pro. WARM white. 3 moonlight modes, 3 main modes,2 Turbo modes. Comfortable strap. Comes with a clip and you can keep the clip-on and still put it in the strap if you put the clip down near the tail end. And apparently there’s going to be a Nichia led edition any day now. Edit. probably not a warm nichia but we can hope. If there is a warm option I’m in.
That’s true i just found a generic capacity rating online so it’s probably lower. I was using alkalines at first but switched to energizer NiMH so they are still pretty new. I’m torn between the Sofirn and the skilhunt. I like the zebralight but it’s over a $120 canadian which is out of my budget.
Skillhunt is a very nice light and worth every penny . Zebras are nice but not 3 times better than a Skillhunt h03.
The Skillhunt is moddable and modding a zebralight is like trying to date two super models .
There are a lot of good budget l-shaped headlamps popping out of the market. Skilhunt H03, FireFlies PL47, EagleEyes X1R, Sofirn SP40, Convoy H1. Skilhunt H03 is still a classic and a very good light especially if you want to mod it later on but Jaxman now sells the e1 (available in single reflector and triple optics version) as a host and might top the skilhunt as favorite here.
We need BLF headlamp
I upgraded from a cheap 3xaaa headlamp to an H03 (NW, TIR) a while back and it’s a world of difference. Very nice wide, even, floody beam with nice temp and tint. Not totally up to speed on the new H03 variants or the other options on the market, but I haven’t needed to be since the H03 has been great for what I needed. Have heard some durability concerns about the Skilhunt. Haven’t dropped mine yet and it works great, so I guess I’ll cross that bridge if/when I come to it. If a really great budget headlamp with a high cri option drops that also ticks all the boxes I might pick it up so I have two, but nothing has made me jump yet.
The actual difference is a lot bigger. In terms of energy output at a standard discharge rate, an AAA cell with 1000mAh and a nominal voltage of 1.2V will deliver an energy of V × C = 1.2V × 1.0Ah = 1.2Wh, whereas a 18650 cell with 3000mAh capacity and a nominal voltage of 3.6V delivers 3.6V × 3.0Ah = 10.8Wh.
According to the above, a decent 18650 cell has 9 times the energy of a Ni-MH AAA.
You can check further by taking a look at some battery charts in the Batteries and Chargers section @ lygte-info.dk. To directly compare the energy output of a 18650 versus an AAA, capacity versus discharge current (C-rate) needs to be considered, i.e. compare the energy output of a 3000mAh cell when discharged at 3A versus the output of a 1000mAh cell when discharged at 1A.
Thu, 10/31/2019 - 11:37
I’ve been a longtime Convoy fan, how does the quality compare to Sofirn? The Sofirn headlamp looks good but I’ve always had luck with Convoy and I see the H1 looks good. Too many choices lol
Aren’t we saying the same thing?
I mentioned 3x more energy than THREEE AAA batteries, which is the same as 9x the energy of 1xAaa .
Right I forgot about the voltage difference, the 18650 is putting out a much higher voltage. They also can have high amperage drawn without the voltage sag like the NiMH
I have the sofirn on my desk right now
The quality is good for a budget brand
Also sofirn seems to have actual customer service beyond “send you a driver to install yourself” 
The SP40 is a decent light
Is it a fenix? Well ill tell you in 5 years, which is how long my HL55s are going strong for now