Quantcast

Inexpensive headlamp

ICEBALL585

ICEBALL585

Bacontard
Sep 8, 2009
6,817
2,078
.:585:.
Hey monkeys, got a question for ya.

I'm looking for a fairly inexpensive headlamp for hiking, biking, and other night time shenanigans. Doesn't have to be too fancy. Any recommendations? Any special features I should be looking for? I'm hoping to spend under $50 if at all possible. Thanks!
 
SloMoJo

SloMoJo

Monkey
Dec 17, 2002
379
1
New England
imo
Basic LED headlamps are fine for most adventures.

Not enough light for real night trail riding.
Real trail light is too much light for most other activities.

I have various LED headlamps for fishing\camping\hiking.
My fav is a basic Princeton Tec
And Magicshine for biking.

Splat has resources on the China knock off of Magicshine.
 
M

MarkDH

Monkey
Sep 23, 2004
351
0
Scotland
Hard to go massively wrong these days with the robustness and efficiency of LEDs. I have an Alpkit Gamma which is a steal at £12.50, but they are a Superstar style company and won't have any in until March, if they even deliver to the US. I have seen it in slightly different guises under different brands though. http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16345&category_id=253

I just recently got an Energizer Trailfinder Micro: http://www.energizer.com/lighting-products/outdoor/outdoor/Pages/micro-led-headlight.aspx
Very bright for the weight and price; I got mine for £25 in the UK so I imagine you can get it for about $3... Runs on 1xAA for two hours at 60 lumens, ages more when you dim the power.

Petzl used to be the bomb but I'm not sure on them now. Not very bright for the price although fairly robust. I'd probably get something by Black Diamond (Storm probably) if I was spending a decent amount of cash.
 
B

bean

Turbo Monkey
Feb 16, 2004
1,335
0
Boulder
I have liked all of my headlamps from Petzl and PrincetonTec. I have not liked the Black Diamond ones I've had.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,671
6,888
borcester rhymes
I got a petzl myo XP belt which is pretty nice, but haven't taken it on many adventures. My experience with the myo is that it's a pretty good headlamp, and i wanted the belt in order to keep the batteries off my head and warm for better life.

I previously had a black diamond which was really really nice, but I lost it somewhere. It was a similar three band setup with the pack on back. I wonder if I left it at monkeyfest....
 
-BB-

-BB-

I broke all the rules, but somehow still became mo
Sep 6, 2001
4,254
28
Livin it up in the O.C.
I've been rockin DealExtreme lights for a long time (3-4 years).

In my opinion, the best lights are the flashlights with an appropriate mount.

Right now, the best things going are these:

HELMET light - http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-c6-t60-xm-lt6-5-mode-1200-lumen-white-led-flashlight-with-strap-black-1-x-18650-100161

For the bar, I use a flood style that is a bit bigger:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/aurora-ak-p7-4-ha-iii-ssc-p7-c-5-mode-900-lumen-led-flashlight-1-18650-15740


the battery for these are only about $5 each, and there are tons of mounts you can use.
Will send links for that after lunch. gotta run...
Bc it is so small, so bright, only run this one when you are moving at a real good clip. LED's can overheat and lose brightness over the course of a season. ALL of them. Then again, they are so cheap it isn't that big a deal. Still better than that big light on your head (bouncing around) and a cord to your pack. NEVER again for me.
 
Montana rider

Montana rider

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2005
1,905
2,512
-BB- said:
I've been rockin DealExtreme lights for a long time (3-4 years).

In my opinion, the best lights are the flashlights with an appropriate mount.

Right now, the best things going are these:

HELMET light - http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-c6-t60-xm-lt6-5-mode-1200-lumen-white-led-flashlight-with-strap-black-1-x-18650-100161

For the bar, I use a flood style that is a bit bigger:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/aurora-ak-p7-4-ha-iii-ssc-p7-c-5-mode-900-lumen-led-flashlight-1-18650-15740


the battery for these are only about $5 each, and there are tons of mounts you can use.
Will send links for that after lunch. gotta run...
Bc it is so small, so bright, only run this one when you are moving at a real good clip. LED's can overheat and lose brightness over the course of a season. ALL of them. Then again, they are so cheap it isn't that big a deal. Still better than that big light on your head (bouncing around) and a cord to your pack. NEVER again for me.
Click to expand...
Hey BB,

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger for some commuting lights (though in theory I might like to use them at the end of rides in our shorter light autumn shoulder season...) and saw you recommended two of those "stick" flashlights, as opposed to the magicshine copy (i.e. bike mount with battery pack)

Do you prefer to keep the weight off your bike, or like the easy replacement/battery backup of the "stick" lights over the other style, or why do you like those types which remind me of the mini-mags with headband technique from back in the day...

I expect to be commuting about 1 hour in the AM, and shouldn't need lights on the way home.

I'm on a bit of a budget so hoping to get the most lumens for the bucks (i.e. deal extreme), and wasn't sure if there was anything else (new) to consider?

Thanks in advance!
 
-BB-

-BB-

I broke all the rules, but somehow still became mo
Sep 6, 2001
4,254
28
Livin it up in the O.C.
Montana rider said:
Hey BB,

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger for some commuting lights (though in theory I might like to use them at the end of rides in our shorter light autumn shoulder season...) and saw you recommended two of those "stick" flashlights, as opposed to the magicshine copy (i.e. bike mount with battery pack)

Do you prefer to keep the weight off your bike, or like the easy replacement/battery backup of the "stick" lights over the other style, or why do you like those types which remind me of the mini-mags with headband technique from back in the day...

I expect to be commuting about 1 hour in the AM, and shouldn't need lights on the way home.

I'm on a bit of a budget so hoping to get the most lumens for the bucks (i.e. deal extreme), and wasn't sure if there was anything else (new) to consider?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Few different reasons:

1) I like the light on the helmet so you can see around corners where your handlebars might not be pointing.
2) If on the head, I hate cords
3) Batteries are CHEAP. I have about 10 of them. So if I forget to charge when I get home on Monday, I can just put in a different one. Then when I start to run low, just charge them all up in one day, or over a few nights. Dual batter chargers are only about $7
4) I can also use these for camping, or I have even used them on a trip down to Mexico to do some night time snorkling.
 
Montana rider

Montana rider

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2005
1,905
2,512
are those two lights still the best combo for handlebar, helmet combo?

looks like dealextreme has 600+ cree flashlights that take the 18650 battery...

hard to tell what's the difference and which one's come with mountain brackets.
 
Montana rider

Montana rider

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2005
1,905
2,512
Hey BB,

Where do I find the helmet / handlebar mounts?

The "brighter" stick light of the two you suggested seems to have longer run time than the helmet one?

Anything else to consider in terms of alternatives besides the two you suggested?

Extra batteries & chargers -- is there any real difference between batteries of same output/volts/etc...
 
dante

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
We got one of those Magic Shine knock offs and it's *amazing* for commuting. Stupidly bright, comes with a rechargeable Li-Ion battery, shipped from the US warehouse almost immediately and the grand total was $45, free shipping.

We also picked up a similar one (not the P7, but...... crap, can't think of it offhand) that had a silver "crown" on the lamp and it was not great. There was a loose connection between the lamp and the battery, so you almost have to make sure that there's some other way to hold the two of them together. It's definitely not as good.

I like the idea of the "small flashlight with a handlebar mount", but I'll wait till I can get one with a rechargeable battery. I'm already burning through 12 AA batteries at a shot with my wheel-lights (between my wife's bike and mine).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom