I have a Petzl Tikka PLUS which is a fantastic little headtorch. I was looking for something a bit brighter for long winter nights so bought a Myo XP. This was very bright but I thought the Tikka XP would be nearly as good for a lot less weight so I swapped it for one. It turned out not to be, good though it is, it is not IMHO bright enough to replace a "proper" torch for range work which the Myo was and I actually prefer the Tikka PLUS. So I have flogged the tikka XP and have now ordered a Princeton TEC Apex which seems to offer all things to all people however it may be a bit heavy. Does anyone have one or has seen one in action. If not I will have to wait with baited breath. If it is no good I will be back to buying a Myo XP.
Princeton TEC Apex
- Thread starter philm4
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It's an LED light, isn't it? (If it is, don't bother reading the rest of this post)
Personally, I'm not a big fan of LED headlamps. Even when two or three bulbs are grouped together, they simply don't put out the same level of brightness that a halogen bulb lamp will. On the plus side, they don't have a blind spot where the incandesent bulb would be, and the battery life is phenomenal. (150+ hours on some models)
On the plus side of using an incandesent or halogen based headlamp, although the battery life simply doesn't compare, those types of bulbs are able to project a beam of much brighter proportions a much further distance. Ask any ice-climber worth his salt, he'll tell you he always uses halogen in the mountains.
Now what's REALLY neat are combination LED/Halogen lamps. You use the LED's for puttering around camp and to save your batteries, and when you have to go hump around at night, voila! Bust out the Halogen bulb with the flick of a switch!
Different tools for different jobs!
Adam
Personally, I'm not a big fan of LED headlamps. Even when two or three bulbs are grouped together, they simply don't put out the same level of brightness that a halogen bulb lamp will. On the plus side, they don't have a blind spot where the incandesent bulb would be, and the battery life is phenomenal. (150+ hours on some models)
On the plus side of using an incandesent or halogen based headlamp, although the battery life simply doesn't compare, those types of bulbs are able to project a beam of much brighter proportions a much further distance. Ask any ice-climber worth his salt, he'll tell you he always uses halogen in the mountains.
Now what's REALLY neat are combination LED/Halogen lamps. You use the LED's for puttering around camp and to save your batteries, and when you have to go hump around at night, voila! Bust out the Halogen bulb with the flick of a switch!
Different tools for different jobs!
Adam
These modern Luxeon LEDs are enough for most circumstances. I have a MYO XP, and it's good and powerful with the 3W luxeon led. The Princeton Tec Apex seems better to me because of it's regulated output, it doesn't dim gradually as the battery discharges.
Just got my Princeton Tec Apex through the post. Imorted from the US at a cost of £45 inc postage. I have to say this is a very impressive device. Looks and feels like it is a sustantial item. Once on the go it is a headtorch of two halves. The first is the 4 LED mode. On low this is comparable to a Petzl Tikka +. On high it puts out about 4-5 times as much (guess) light and is all the light you would ever need for walking or running and could just about cope for predictable trails mountain biking. Runtimes suggest 8-9 hours on this mode at constant brightness. There is then the single 3 watt LED. On low this is plenty bright enough for the above activities but the 4 led's give a wider spread so would always be my choice. On high light output there is a very impressive throw and the light is bright enough for mountain biking IMHO as long as it is not fast downhill. Only downside is there is a definite dark ring around the bright beam so the illuminated area is very definite and this mode goes through a set of 4 duracels in 1 hour before it drops out of regulation.
In short the best head torch I have seen.
In short the best head torch I have seen.
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