head torch?

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ex-member Raikey

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 4, 2010
2,971
3
just wondered, is everyones head torch considered the no1 light source when around camp?

i have a cheap Karrimor job, and have just realised how much i use it.

i also have in my bag a Surefire D2 which ,if i,m honest i rarely use, due to short burn time and expensive batteries.

(i have a quick scout around the site before i get in the hammock)

anyway,....

the Karrimor cheapo has broken:( and,..

i,m very tempted to spend more on the head torch and get a decent one, a Petzl E+lite probably

even thought about swapping the Surefire for one at one point.

how many other members, if we're honest are of the same thinking??
 
I have a couple of head torches I use, first one is my alpkit gamma which is a great torch but recently I have been using my energizer £5 from tesco one which is bright and lightweight and perfect for mooching around camp. If I need more light I generally have a cree torch about my person.
 

sirex

Forager
Nov 20, 2008
224
0
bournemouth
when we started camping / hiking i got 2 petzl headtorchs, one for me and one for the wife. Still use them every time, and we got them a good few years ago now. They were expensive, but id buy anouther immediately if one broke. Only thing i wish they had was a red bulb or filter... There might be one on the market actually, as i think the plastic shield comes off so maybe it can be replaced.

hmmmmmm.... got me interested now !
 

iamasmith

Forager
Aug 12, 2009
128
1
London
Petlz Tikka, very light weight and bright... but I put on the green filter myself because I found that it wrecked my vision when I was walking at night on the moors.
 

sirex

Forager
Nov 20, 2008
224
0
bournemouth
Petlz Tikka, very light weight and bright... but I put on the green filter myself because I found that it wrecked my vision when I was walking at night on the moors.

did that come with it ? im pretty sure its the tikka we got, altough i think the new one has a yellow push button, ours have yellow slide buttons ? Pretty sure there wasnt any other filters with it :(
 

iamasmith

Forager
Aug 12, 2009
128
1
London
did that come with it ? im pretty sure its the tikka we got, altough i think the new one has a yellow push button, ours have yellow slide buttons ? Pretty sure there wasnt any other filters with it :(

No, you can get a pack of covers 3 in a pack. Spare Clear, Red and Green.
 

ex-member Raikey

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 4, 2010
2,971
3
i know the rule normally to do what works for you,

but i hear about the proud owners of 150 quid surefires etc, but never is the head torch glamourised or droolled over,

for me the balance between asthetics and practicality is shifting
 

knifefan

Full Member
Nov 11, 2008
1,048
3
61
Lincolnshire
Lots of 5,6,7,8 & 10 led headlamps on evil-bay!! for less than £6 squid - they even come with batteries. The ones that fit on the peak of a baseball cap (£1.99) are good. As usual, the more u pay - the more u pay for the "Brand" not for the performance :D
 

Shewie

Mod
Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,259
24
48
Yorkshire
Petzl Tikka for me too, I think it's the army version with the red flip down lens. Got the tiny little e+lite too which is great for sticking in a pocket at night for emergencies. Also got a Fenix which is superb but I prefer to have my hands free most of the time.

Never heard a bad word about the Gammas either, if/when my Petzl packs in I'll probably give one a go.
 

Col_M

Full Member
Jun 17, 2010
212
0
London and Devon
I have a Princeton Tec Aurora, Black Diamond of some type, I can't remember the name and a Alpkit gamma, so far I like the Gamma the most :) Although I'm very tempted by the Zebralights ;)
 

TinkyPete

Full Member
Sep 4, 2009
1,966
191
uk mainly in the Midlands though
I have a fair few torches (easily over 30) :)

The main head torches I use are my Petzl myo xp (AA battery)
an Petzl elite + great small head torch and works off two cr2032 batteries which are extremely light weight and last ages

main torches I use now would be my cree Hugsby P2 which will work off AA or CR123's but only work it off AA at present which is an extrremely bright light and for less then $15 delivered is not bad:).
gerber recon torch for work, small amount of light but then I don't want to give the game away most times.

I have torches which work from square cell 12V batteries through from D cell to AAA, and the small watch like batteries too, I mainly use AA cause
1. they are cheep if you have to buy them, which you can buy almost anywhere including Kenyan flea markets.
2. I can get them through work for free in any warzone we might be, where as AAA are almost impossible.
3. Rechargeables are easy to get and most places you can find a charger if yours breaks or gets lost or forgotten (done that a couple of times)
4. Are light enough to carry without weighing to much.
 

Harvestman

Bushcrafter through and through
May 11, 2007
8,656
26
55
Pontypool, Wales, Uk
Just paid £2 in Asda for a basic 9 LED torch, plus a further £1 for enough batteries for 2 torches. It throws out lots of light, and at that price I don't much care if it is robust, or weatherproof, or whatever.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
I got a Petzl Myo XP off a Magikelly group buy a few years ago. Its an older model than the current one but works really well. So much so that a mate who borrowed it to complete the "death march" (100km in 24 hrs) ended up looking like the engine of a train as others with feeble torches fell in behind. He thought it so superior to el cheapo torches that he borrowed it again this year.

I use it regularly for fetching in logs, walking at night over broken country and all sorts.

Have to disagree that you pay for the "brand" - I have a few cheapies that live in the car etc. and they don't measure up in terms of flexibility (flood to beam), performance (light output), design (ability to angle the beam where you want it) and ease of use (having to cycle through bloody silly things like strobe functions etc.)

Red
 

Nat

Full Member
Sep 4, 2007
1,476
0
York, North Yorkshire
Petzl Tikka with a red lense, been used and abused and squished into the mud by a tank. Alpkit Gamma is my usual on normal trips, underpriced and bloody brilliant piece of kit.
 

ged

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 16, 2009
4,976
13
In the woods if possible.
Yes, a head torch is the first torch that goes in my pack. Others go in as backups, for convenience of hanging, for a big light patch (like a lantern), and for more power. I don't want an excessively powerful beam on a head torch because it's mostly used for close up work, but I want long battery life because it gets used a lot. Fortunately that's one of the rare occasions when two requirements don't conflict. :)

I agree with Pete about the advantages of the AA size, but I use rechargeable AAA for several torches. I carry a few spares and if I have several torches which use AAA it saves a bit of space and weight. It wouldn't save weight if I were away for long enough to run all my batteries down, but unfortunately my trips rarely outlast my batteries. :( As I have several torches using the same batteries, the batteries can back each other up as well as the torches. AAA are as easily available where I'm likely to be as AA but if I went anywhere off the beaten track like Pete does I'd rethink the entire thing.

I don't give a monkeys about branding, in fact I tend to shy away from big brands and go for something cheap that does the job and has the right features. Number one on my list for a torch is that the danged thing must NOT switch itself on in my pack. It's nice to have a low-intensity beam to save the battery. Most designers don't seem to have thought that one through very well, I have a torch with three LEDs and the low intensity setting switches on two of them which is downright daft.
 

GoatBoy666

Tenderfoot
Jul 27, 2005
96
3
53
West London
Have the petzl tikka plus and alpkit gamma, have to say I prefer the gamma. You get 2 gammas for the price of the tikka, its a no brainer...

HTH

goat
 

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