Wondering what a good headlamp is for early morning skiing? anyone use any good ones?
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Wondering what a good headlamp is for early morning skiing? anyone use any good ones?
Streamlight Green Trident.
Green light maintains your night vision. Comes with 3 light settings: the green LED, two white LEDs, and a super bright white xenon light. Dirt cheap too. http://www.botac.com/streamtrid.html
BD Icon, best headlamp ever but pricey. Use your REI discount
2nd the Icon, Zenix also works well, doesnt throw as much light as far though.
Got a good deal ~$21.50 on a BD headlamp on SAC. I've see it return several times on SAC.
A little research on backcountry.com and I found the name of it...
Black Diamond Zenix IQ Headlamp
http://www.backcountry.com?asdf/stor...-Headlamp.html
As I heard that LEDs didn't "throw" light very far, I was a holdout going to a LED/non-incandescent light source, but I'm very pleased.
BD's Icon thirded, has been really great. Survives all of the times I drop it and has good battery life I've gone 200+ hours with the original batteries.
If I might interject (and I do have a nice BD LED headlamp):
Almost any old POS lamp will be perfectly fine b/c you only need them for very brief "work" periods, reading maps, getting crap out of the pack etc…it kills me to see people hiking with the fucking things on :nonono2:
Yes
Buy a cheap one if this is all you'll use it for. I bought a cheap Princetec LED for $12 and it works fine for what I need it for.
Part of the coolness of dp's is skinning in the dark and watching it get lighter. You don't get that when you are using a light.
2nd the BD zenix... reasonably priced and throws enough light for most uses, certainly any early morning skiing. it's also pretty bomber and battery life is great, especially with the lower brightness setting
I've been happy with my BD Moonlight Pro. 5 bright LED's with 3 brightness levels. Available for ~$20.
...reviving this old thread...i know there is some new tech out there since 07...looking for the most badass headlamp for some late night skiing.
most anything will work for skinning, unless you go to weirdo orienteering lamps not much is bright enough/wideenough light pattern for skiing on a dark night (if it's a big moon and open country no need for a headlamp)
BD Icon, maybe the Petzl Myo XP.
I'm intrigued by the Surefire Saint and Saint Minimis. I'm sure they're super durable... and super pricey.
Edit: I was thinking more for skiing, and trail navigation in the dark. For skinning if you know where you're going, most anything will work, as HC said. The new Petzl Tikka XP2s are pretty rad if you don't need quite as much light.
Go to walmart, grab an energizer-branded lamp for like $12. It's got red LEDs which don't destroy your night vision (or those around you), it's cheap, and it works well.
Has anybody used Fenix lighting products? I'm looking at their HP10 headlamp to replace my less-powerful/marginally-functional BD lamp. I'm also looking at the Princeton Tec Apex, but the Fenix is lighter, cheaper and slightly more powerful near as I can tell. The PTec will take almost any kind of battery, which I see as a bonus. Seems like the consensus on this thread is go cheap, but having used a cheap (ish), low power lamp a fair amount, I'm ready for something brighter. We don't get clear nights in SE AK all that often, and they're only getting longer for now....
IME Petzl have been trouble free. I've had voltage leaks with two Princetons, although I heard somewhere that they worked out that bug. I had bad luck with a BD lamp.
like many have said before, the bd icon is the way to go. best headlamp i've ever owned. a tad bulky, but very powerful and well balanced.
BD Spot.
After owning various POS headlamps for 10 years I finally stepped up and bought the icon. Best headlamp ever. It's amazing I can actually see now, I do like to ski and hike at night so I need to be able to see, not just read maps, etc.
I have the Mammut Lucido TX1 headlamp. Extremely bright beam, compact, light, great battery life, especially with lithiums, and you can rotate the headlamp when not in use, so the strap protects the lens.
I've got a petzl tikka plus. Was around 30-40 bucks I can't remember. The batteries last forever so when I leave it in my pack for months at a time it still shines bright with the led bulb. As others have stated it really doesn't matter a whole lot. Unless your doing some crazy technical route, but for skinning I'd say buy something cheap.
I love my Petzl Myo Belt. The battery pack can be kept warm and it is powerful without a lot of weight on my head. Long beam and boost is good for route finding.
another for bd icon