Ive got the following, Petzl e-Lite, Petzl Tikka Plus and a Princeton Tec Apex. Theyre all great in their own way. I highly recommend both Petzl and Princeton Tec.
What headtorch
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SimonM
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I have 2 head torches; an Alpkit Gamma and a LED Lensor. Both are great but completely different beasts.
The LED Lensor has a long (ish) range beam, that dims and adjusts from spot to flood. Great for looking for run away pupils on residentials, or on the moors at night.
The Alpkt Gamma is great for short distance work, cooking, reading etc and with the advantage of red light to the rear for group walking.
HTH,
Simon
The LED Lensor has a long (ish) range beam, that dims and adjusts from spot to flood. Great for looking for run away pupils on residentials, or on the moors at night.
The Alpkt Gamma is great for short distance work, cooking, reading etc and with the advantage of red light to the rear for group walking.
HTH,
Simon
Simon, don't you rate the long range beam on the Alpkit Gamma? Seems pretty awesome to me...
SimonM
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
It's ok for, I'd say up, to 10m or so, but the LED Lensor is good for about 100m usable light - completely different beasts that get used accordingly.
Simon
I have had a Fenix HP10 for a while and went with this type as it has multi settings from 7 lumens to 225 lumens. I like having a choice between bright with loads of throw and dim to with loads and loads of run-time with just a push of a button.
I have used mine camping and fishing and also use it at work a lot when I have the power off and got my head in a dark fuseboard!
I run mine on 4 Eneloops.
Steve.
I have used mine camping and fishing and also use it at work a lot when I have the power off and got my head in a dark fuseboard!
I run mine on 4 Eneloops.
Steve.
I have been using an Ansmann HD3. I chose this one as it is primarily for cycling, and it has a red flashing LED at the rear, just like a bike light.
I have been very pleased with its performance, it puts out 100 lumens and the instructions suggest a beam length of 500m, which I would agree with although haven't actually measured
It cam e with 3 AAA Ansmann rechargeable batteries which seem to last forever.
I had no previous knowledge of Ansmann and really stumbled across this one. I am very happy with it though.
It should have been £23.99 but I picked it up on special for £12.00.
Highly recommended.
I have been very pleased with its performance, it puts out 100 lumens and the instructions suggest a beam length of 500m, which I would agree with although haven't actually measured
It cam e with 3 AAA Ansmann rechargeable batteries which seem to last forever.
I had no previous knowledge of Ansmann and really stumbled across this one. I am very happy with it though.
It should have been £23.99 but I picked it up on special for £12.00.
Highly recommended.
I have the following: -
Black Diamond Spot or comsos ( can't remember the name). It is the one with one very bright and lensed main beam and three bright beams for a wider and less intense light. The three LEDs are probably slightly better than the mulit LED petzls on their own. The main beam is 70 lumens and more direct. The torch was a lot cheaper than the equivalent Petzl and better IMHO at the time I got it. Better performance and battery life. GReat head torch. It gets used every day and has lasted months on one set of batteries. If you only have one torch this would be my best recommendation for any use you might have for one.
I also have a Primus racelite AC. It is a 140 lumens head torch with a separate battery pack that allows you to stash it on the back of the band or in a pocket to keep the batteries warm and thus longer lived in the cold. If is supposed to be good enough for 125m visibility but I have actually used it to check out the other side of a stream gully / valley. That was about 500m plus according to the map. It was light enough to pick out features for navigation. I first used it on a long walk where I was shattered, where it was invaluable to post stiles on the other side of quite large fields. This meant we could cross the field directly and not have to bear off and handrail back to the stile. When you are very tired after battling a 17 mile walk through snow and over iced up hills and very rough terrain any reduction in walking distance helps. Also it was only about £50 for a torch that was comparable to a £270 Petzl torch!! I kid you not!!!
I also have a Petzl e-lite. I would say this is good for lightweight backpacking where you walk from daybreak to sunset and cook up in the dark before turning in. Or even any walking where you know you can just pitch up to spend the night so the head torch is only for close work. If only I could leave the other headtorches behind and trust it. The e-lite has strong and weak white light, flashing white and red lights and a red permanent light too. It has off switches between red and white LEDS too as a good little feature. The flashing red LEDs are not good fro doing anything with only strobes for visibility by others. The solid LEDS are bright enough to do something but hardly good fro walking. The strong white LEDS are just about good enough for walking at night with. All at 28g WITH the batteries.
Out of these my favourite is the e-lite but only because it is sooo cute and neat design. The BD torch is a better overall one to own. IMHO if you only have money for one torch get a BD headtorch. Their models are cheaper for what you get than a petzl. BTW a good multi-use headtorch will always be more useable than a separate handheld torch. By mult-use I mean one that can do finely focussed distance beam and wider close-up beams. This is really only achievable with a lensed main beam and separate LED set (more than one so they can be set at different angles to widen the beam).
Do check out which batteries can be used with your torch. Some won't take lithium or rechargeable ones I think. Also a regulated torch is better on battery life and better for a useable beam in that the beam doesn't fade throughout the battery life but stays at the same level until closer to the end of the battery's power.
Black Diamond Spot or comsos ( can't remember the name). It is the one with one very bright and lensed main beam and three bright beams for a wider and less intense light. The three LEDs are probably slightly better than the mulit LED petzls on their own. The main beam is 70 lumens and more direct. The torch was a lot cheaper than the equivalent Petzl and better IMHO at the time I got it. Better performance and battery life. GReat head torch. It gets used every day and has lasted months on one set of batteries. If you only have one torch this would be my best recommendation for any use you might have for one.
I also have a Primus racelite AC. It is a 140 lumens head torch with a separate battery pack that allows you to stash it on the back of the band or in a pocket to keep the batteries warm and thus longer lived in the cold. If is supposed to be good enough for 125m visibility but I have actually used it to check out the other side of a stream gully / valley. That was about 500m plus according to the map. It was light enough to pick out features for navigation. I first used it on a long walk where I was shattered, where it was invaluable to post stiles on the other side of quite large fields. This meant we could cross the field directly and not have to bear off and handrail back to the stile. When you are very tired after battling a 17 mile walk through snow and over iced up hills and very rough terrain any reduction in walking distance helps. Also it was only about £50 for a torch that was comparable to a £270 Petzl torch!! I kid you not!!!
I also have a Petzl e-lite. I would say this is good for lightweight backpacking where you walk from daybreak to sunset and cook up in the dark before turning in. Or even any walking where you know you can just pitch up to spend the night so the head torch is only for close work. If only I could leave the other headtorches behind and trust it. The e-lite has strong and weak white light, flashing white and red lights and a red permanent light too. It has off switches between red and white LEDS too as a good little feature. The flashing red LEDs are not good fro doing anything with only strobes for visibility by others. The solid LEDS are bright enough to do something but hardly good fro walking. The strong white LEDS are just about good enough for walking at night with. All at 28g WITH the batteries.
Out of these my favourite is the e-lite but only because it is sooo cute and neat design. The BD torch is a better overall one to own. IMHO if you only have money for one torch get a BD headtorch. Their models are cheaper for what you get than a petzl. BTW a good multi-use headtorch will always be more useable than a separate handheld torch. By mult-use I mean one that can do finely focussed distance beam and wider close-up beams. This is really only achievable with a lensed main beam and separate LED set (more than one so they can be set at different angles to widen the beam).
Do check out which batteries can be used with your torch. Some won't take lithium or rechargeable ones I think. Also a regulated torch is better on battery life and better for a useable beam in that the beam doesn't fade throughout the battery life but stays at the same level until closer to the end of the battery's power.
I've got a petzl tac tikka from about 5 years ago (it has a sliding diffuser) which is quite good, but the alpkit gamma is amazing for the money, i bought my wifes grand dad an energiser head torch for Christmas last year (paid about 12 quid for it) and the gamma puts it to shame.
For what it's worth I picked up the Alpkit Gamma, and took it out on Friday night for some night walking and wild camping. Really really impressed, as was the other guy with his Petzl!
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