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:
Quote:
Originally Posted by lemon boy
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
Unless you're using a green lamp. Try one; You keep your peripheral and night vision, and also don't bugger every one else's. Furthermore, your partner can barely even see your stream of light unless you're staring right in his face.Quote:
Originally Posted by Conundrum
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.
Seconded. Good mix of long lasting and bright when you need it. And you can get the 09 model for less than 30 bucks now.Quote:
Originally Posted by PNWbrit
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
Interesting, a lot of votes for the icon. I don't think I'm going to go with BD this time - not too enamored with the BD lamp I already have, and I can't proform BD in winter. That's a big reason for the attraction to princeton tec, along with the waterproof rating and battery compatibility.
It seems like the market features a number of LED only lamps, and a few with other varieties of bulbs. I was planning on keeping it an LED only lamp, mostly due to the convenience- harder to break, and a more-or-less unlimited lifetime. I know bulbs have been brighter in the past, but it seems like the LED technology has caught up- is this still the case? Any other arguments for LED vs. Bulb?
Thanks for the feedback on a fairly nitpicky question. But that's why I'm here. I like details.
A current sucking incandescent bulb? Are you kidding?
hence, the skepticism over the BD Icon Rec's.Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Steve
AFAICT, functionally, the brightest high output LED's are as bright as or brighter than the brightest incandescent headlamp bulbs, so I see no advantage, and plenty of disadvantage, re incandescents. I used a Petzl Myo 5 (5 small LED's + a bright xenon-halogen incandescent bulb) for awhile and the X-H was bright as I ever needed. It worked fine but, wow, the X-H bulb sucked batteries (4 hour battery life in X-H, 40 lumens per Petzl specs). I've still got it -- it's for sale for cheap. I switched to the Petzl Myo XP (which is the best headlamp I've ever used) and it's brighter on high beam (85 lumens per Petzl spec, 150 lumens on "boost" mode) than the Myo 5 in X-H mode, but with many times greater battery life (80 hours on high beam per Petzl spec), no worries about bulbs burning out and nice pure white light. If someone claims that an incandescent headlamp had any advantage over the new high output LED headlamps (e.g., Myo XP, Myo RXP), I'd be interested to hear their reasoning.
BD Spot.
I had a princeton tec that was shit. Not bright at all. Had a Petzl Tikka plus I didn't like that much either.
I like the BD spot because you can use the one brighter beam for distance and the three smaller LEDs for close, less bright applications. Plus 3 brightness setting for each light, though to be honest I almost never use this feature.
Anyone use the Fenix HP10 225 Lumen Headlamp. It says it only runs 2.5 hours at 225 lumens, anyone verify this from personal use? Just trying to get some info before I pro deal one. Thanks
The new Spot that BD just released appears to be a significant improvement over the old. My old (right after it first came out) Spot was given to my dad because the dimmer function stopped working a long time ago.
I used to recommend the Tikka XP2 over the Spot for a non-overhead-strap lamp, but I may be back to recommending the Spot.
These days I have an Icon, with an e-lite for backup/ultralight.
BD headlamps suck ass. Yes, I have owned them and they are cheap chinese POS's. Petzl and PT make better products and although they all have their malfunctions, they are more reliable than BD. If you want to stay in the mass produced range, look at Brunton or Mammut. For dawn patrols get something with a spot capacity and at least 80 lumens. Use lithium batteries.
For a little more coin and versatility, check out Ay-Up or Lupine's ultra light setups. If you got some tech savvy get a Magicshine light head and make your own battery pack....as big as you want/need. They cost $45 and run at 600 lumens (900 claimed). That's 1.5X brighter and 90% less expensive than Petzl's flagship. :eek:
Bumping because I need a headlamp and most of the comments are now outdated. Looking for less than 4 oz, bright (50 lumens+), and lasts a long time, like its a headlamp.
Big Steve - You still recommending the Petzl Myo XP? I thought 6.35oz was a little heavy. Then again, it is 3 oz we're talking about.
Myo XP is awesome. You can cut the weight-on-head by getting the version with the external battery pack. (Batteries stay warmer and last longer inside your backpack, too.)
BD Icon..... Love having the option of the big LED in the middle when I want to see far, and running the 4 outer LED's for regular lighting
People are overthinking this. These days there are numerous LED headlamps which will work fine. I prefer Petzl lamps (having had bad experiences with BD and Princeton) but that's merely my personal experience.
neufox47, the Myo XP has been bomber and 100% reliable for me with hundreds of uses, including stratovolcano climbs, nighttime ski descents, trail runs, etc. But, as I state above, there are other lamps that would work fine. FWIW, I use NiMH Eneloop rechargeable cells.
I really like my Mammut Lucido TX1
The high intensity spot is really bright. Throws a beam that is useful out to about 70 meters or so. Good battery life, and well designed. I've used mine for several years, and have had no problems with it.
I just got a BD Ikon (I think, can't remember for sure, big LED in middle, smaller around the outside and a red mode) recently to add to my Petzl that I had for years. No complaints on the BD product, and I like the versatility a lot. The red did a great job preserving night vision on recent camping trip.
I've been using the BD storm. Its brighter than the spot and waterproof. Feels much higher quality as well.