Gear Review Headlamp roundup

I believe the size difference and the need for 3 cells is the main reason they maintain 3 AAA. The package is much more compact with 3 AAAs.

 

If you want a real review then read this. It explains a lot of reasons why Revolt is better and the main reason is that most folks that head out to Trek carry communications with back up batteries to charge their cell phones via USB plug.

This allows a large capacity source for the light. Yes I have such a battery.
Black Diamond ReVolt: Waterproof Rechargeable Headlamp | Backpackers.com

And of course you can use your computer to charge the ReVolt.

 

I have several kinds of lights ,but the most important aspect is using AA batteries .
I store enloupes , but i use alkaline normally.
I have a pouch on my belt for my knife phone and flashlight , in my gear i have a head band that my flashlight adapts to .
I go through batteries every 3-4 months depending on the time of year .
It is an enercell that has a focus beam and water proof enough to deal with all I do. and it has a simple on /off switch.
I have found that the more complex the switching the more prone to failure . all it takes is one failed (leaked) battery and the whole thing is done . I think gasses that escape the failed battery ruin the switching .
I also found a piece of red plastic I made a lens for the light as well works well too .
I can appreciate head lamps , used them a lot working on boats and other equipment, but i never set aside my regular flashlight.
I have even used safety glasses with LED lights for time to time but the engineering for holding the batteries was stupid and didn't last. how can people do so well engineering one thing and ignore the other ?
One of my first head lamps had a D cell battery pack you wore on your belt loupe and weighed a Lb or more and a wire to the head light . The was long before LED came along 1984 .
Now , if I were to create something for An apocalyptical event it might be similar .
An incandescent bulb is impervious to EMP , many here seem to forget.
Having replacement LED bulbs is valuable asset. And i have them .I get for the local surplus store.
Aluminum film canisters are good faraday cage for these .
Older incandescent automotive bulbs will be valued till the LEDs can safely be brought back out .

 

I think my first headlamp had a pouch with one of the old huge 6V batteries and a 3" bulb. Spotlight hunting sure was different in that time

 

The only thing that bugs me about the Black Diamond ReVolt is it is only 300 lumens. I mean, that's a lot but would have thought something brighter given LEDs these days...something around 500 lumens. And, the Boruit doesn't even tell one how many lumens so I got to dig that basic information out for myself. Disappointing...

EDIT: Is the Boruit suppose to be 18,000 lumens?

 

Already in the article, thanks

 

The ability to use rechargeable or disposable was a big criteria. The ReVolt does both, and all of the "top contenders" listed in the roundup do too. But the ReVolt was a more complete package than the Spot.

 

Don't know what the 18000 is suposed to mean, maybe candle power?
The Boruit puts out 650 Lumens on the main lamp, and 520 on the aux lamps! This sucker is plenty bright and the nice thing is it can also clip to hard hats/brain buckets! On lithium batteries, charge life is about 3 hours continuous, and on standard batteries, about 1 hour at full bright. It will eat regular batteries quickly, and you need to be careful with any high output LED light, they will draw higher output then the batteries cam discharge! Also, they run pretty warm around the lamp!

 

I suspect they tried to balance lumens to a 8 hour night rescue/hike through rough trails.

 

And the remote charger pack can accomplish that.

 

@Ura-Ki "The Boruit puts out 650 Lumens on the main lamp, and 520 on the aux lamps! ...On lithium batteries, charge life is about 3 hours continuous"
650+520, that is bright! And, I am surprised they get 3 hours even with lithium.

@HK_User "I suspect they tried to balance lumens to a 8 hour night rescue/hike through rough trails."
I also think they are trading run-time for brightness and I like that but would prefer it a tad brighter and less run-time. It does appear that they are the best out there at this time and I really like that they can use standard or rechargeable batteries and lots of options to recharge with. Like you, my wife has these backup batteries for her phone which would be super handy when on the trail (or anywhere!) to recharge one's headlamp.

Currently, I don't have a rechargeable headlamp but I definitely see one in my near future.

 

I have a ton of headlamps. Started with Petzl. Wifee started with an Energizer (cheap but buky). Then I got Fenix and Nitecore. Wifee liked my Fenix and started using it. Has a red light and will go 300 lumens. She was on a night run and somehow, it didn't light up an obstacle and she fell and got bloddied. So I went searching for something brighter and floodier. Flood is better on a headlamp anyway, IMHO. Went with Armytek. Think hers was the Wizard Pro XM2 or something like that. 1,000+ lumens on turbo. You wouldn't want to run turbo all the way, it will get hot. But the lower settings are plenty bright too. The other thing I liked about it was it had a really low setting that lasts a crazy amount of time. Some folks do not like the 18650 battery. I am ok with that. I also have a USB charger that will handle 18650 down to AAA.

I also got the family Thrunite headlamps that use a single AA or 14500. Those are smaller and lighter to throw in the EDC bag.

But after all that, my favorite is the Armytek. Liked wifee's so much that I got one too. Got the Wizard Pro V3. like this one, but older. Super bright headlamps Mine does not hav the charger. Really bright. Really long lasting battery life. Only bummer is no red light. But the low levels are low enough to not overly affect night vision. And I can mount it not just on me head. It goes nicely on a pack strap too. Or clips to stuff or stands on its own.

In a power outage, it will light up a room. And I think it has the biggest consistent flood around making for a very good field of view.

 

I went into a thrift store and picked up a head light and as I suspected the switching was junk but the light was good. so I removed the junk and wired it permanently on, and simply interrupted the battery with a piece of plastic I would do any way while not in use. The light has the means to go for wide to narrow beam ,and being only 3AAA s it's not likely more than 100 lumes which is fine as well. I'm not impressed yet with fancy electronics switching , ,it's good to know that with some things you can by pass it and still get service to of it.

 

Beam shots from my Armytek Wizard Pro v3. This was on a battery that was nearly drained. Indicator was going red.

Control with light off. Left ambiant light coming down the staircase otherwise it would just look black. This hallway is about 20 feet long. And as I was changing the settings, the dog came to investigate and help.

C0EA9C9E-78E7-467D-A337-71D3442A797F by Hanzo posted Aug 27, 2018 at 20:09

0D634F66-5104-44DF-BA9A-EB44E9FA9F42 by Hanzo posted Aug 27, 2018 at 20:09

855F4E35-545C-4679-85B1-F35E00C9CA9F by Hanzo posted Aug 27, 2018 at 20:09

098323F3-0E2E-4A9D-929A-0C6DD69771AA by Hanzo posted Aug 27, 2018 at 20:09

0FEF026C-6B29-4A60-8647-DABDDFD6F9CC by Hanzo posted Aug 27, 2018 at 20:09

385FFF12-E4E0-4985-A1FA-F4FCB1C67D66 by Hanzo posted Aug 27, 2018 at 20:09

208DFC8E-5791-4085-B0CB-6FADC4CBF512 by Hanzo posted Aug 27, 2018 at 20:09

20E133B4-F15A-4272-A00E-6363949E3922 by Hanzo posted Aug 27, 2018 at 20:09

E463E623-59D3-45A0-BEAC-A54F57EDB2C2 by Hanzo posted Aug 27, 2018 at 20:09

I suspect the brighter settings would be a little brighter with a fresh battery.

So when I take my lights, I usually pair by battery type. So my 18650 combo would be the Armytek along with a Fenix PD35.

 

My AA/14500 pairing is a ThruNite TH20 headlamp with an Eagletac D25A Ti Clicky. AA will drive the TH20 to 250 lumens and 520 with 14500.

ThruNite TH20 high output and light weight AA battery LED headlamp

 

Long term follow up.

Thrunite is small and light, but not as reliable as other brands. Wifee's TH20 stopped cycling light modes and is pretty much stuck on low. And battery life not that great.

The Armytek is still going strong and reliable. Fenix is still reliable as is Petzl. Never had any issues with those brands. Wifee uses my different lights and I don't know where they are anymore. Maybe only she does.

I usually use my Armytek clipped to my pack and not on my head. The flood is really good. And I ordered a couple of new Fenix headlamps to try on our larger property and trails. Red light is a must for wifee. The older Petzl, Fenix and Armytek have a red light option as does the newly ordered ones. Will do a review after we get them and use them a bit.

 

I have used the Visus 180 LED headlamp and really enjoyed its light weight, low and high settings, spot light and red light along with ipx4 water proof rating. It even has a hand waving feature that works pretty good but can set off the light inadvertently. It also charges via usb cable and lasts a pretty good while.