Flashlight / head lamp

[taz_gerstman]

Good morning experts. So i am about 3 months out until my elk hunt in NM and i am looking at my equipment list to see what i might need or might need two of. I of course do a lot of white tail hunting here in AL so i have several head lamps which give me the flexibility of hands free but i was thinking about adding a flashlight to my arsenal as a just in case, etc. I am looking for something that is compact, manageable and does produce quite a bit of light. So i wanted to see what everyone here thought and i might be looking to add yet another head lamp or two so what brands do you recommend and why? Thanks

 

[Atlas12]

Nebo Transcend headlamp.
Dirt cheap. Uses rechargeable 18650 cells.
Comes off the strap to use as a flashlight

Pair it with a Nitecore F4 battery bank/charger (uses 4x 18650 cells to power the bank) and you're good to go for all your electronics.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Look at a Nitecore P12. 1" diameter from lens to tail cap. No wide bell up front. One thousand lumens and very long throw. Great user interface and even has a way to tell how much battery charge you have. 18650 Batteries. I used mine every day for last 4 years on the job as an electrician. Retired 3 years and still going strong... the lite too.

For a headlamp, look at their HC33.

 

[Middleofnowhere]

I’m a buy America guy and highly recommend Princeton Tec. I like their “snap” light for versatility. I use their industrial “EOS” on my hard hat at work nightly. I carry their little dive lights in my vehicles and occasionally in the pack.

I have never had one of these quality US made lights fail and have often gone overnight with just a headlamp. I often carry two though. I am getting away from carrying a flashlight.

My back-up dive lights have been the “Impact XL” and even the older version before they had LEDs. They have enough battery life that I don’t worry about carrying spares. Because they are dive lights, impervious to any conditions you will find anywhere. I have a bunch of these around the house, in vehicles, etc. They are great reliable lights that you don’t have to think about when you might need them.

Impact XL | Princeton Tec

princetontec.com

They also make the “Torrent” and “League” lights that are brighter if that’s what you want.

The Snap light is versatile enough that I pretty much stopped carrying a flashlight in my pack.

Snap RGB | Product | Princeton Tec

princetontec.com

 

[Mike Islander]

Zebralight is brightest, most compact, most lumens per volt, most efficient (longest lasting per battery), and some nice high CRI LEDs.

 

[Rokbar]

Ill second Princeton Tec lights. I have a couple and they are bright and great.

 

[High Voltage]

Looking to order the Nitecore HC 65 1000 lumen. I boat across a lake to my hunting spot, and need some good output. Plus it has a red led mode that is strong enough to hike by.

 

[Mike Islander]

Looking to order the Nitecore HC 65 1000 lumen. I boat across a lake to my hunting spot, and need some good output. Plus it has a red led mode that is strong enough to hike by.

Candela is far more important than than lumens. Plus that 1000 lumens will last for less than 2 minutes, so it's nice to have tools to calculate throw. That light is decent, with 3200 candela/113 meters of throw for 1:37 (minute, 37 seconds). High will give you about 80 meters for 2.5 hours.

To illustrate why candela (CD or kcd) is what to look for, compare it to the Acebeam H30. Even though it has 4000 lumens, it only has 10,000 CD (10 kcd).

THROW: Why not just use the throw rating to compare lights? Throw is actually directly calculated from candela. But light companies often use a different standard (e.g. BS) to make their lights sound better. Candela gives you a number that you can compare exactly.

To calculate throw from candelas you just take the square root and multiply by 2. Then you can see who's honest with their specs.

There are reviews of run times with candela for virtually all popular lights. Just Google the name of the light/run time (or review)/and budgetlightforums.com or candlepowerforums.com.

 

[High Voltage]

Candela is far more important than than lumens. Plus that 1000 lumens will last for less than 2 minutes, so it's nice to have tools to calculate throw. That light is decent, with 3200 candela/113 meters of throw for 1:37 (minute, 37 seconds). High will give you about 80 meters for 2.5 hours.

To illustrate why candela (CD or kcd) is what to look for, compare it to the Acebeam H30. Even though it has 4000 lumens, it only has 10,000 CD (10 kcd).

THROW: Why not just use the throw rating to compare lights? Throw is actually directly calculated from candela. But light companies often use a different standard (e.g. BS) to make their lights sound better. Candela gives you a number that you can compare exactly.

To calculate throw from candelas you just take the square root and multiply by 2. Then you can see who's honest with their specs.

There are reviews of run times with candela for virtually all popular lights. Just Google the name of the light/run time (or review)/and budgetlightforums.com or candlepowerforums.com.

Well that is what their specs say.

• Turbo: 1000 lumen / 1h
• High: 550 lumen / 2h 45min
• Med: 280 lumen / 4h 45min
• Low: 80 lumen / 16h
• Ultralow: 1 lumen / 800h

 

[Ac338]

I just picked up a Fenix HM65R and so far I'm very happy with it. It has spot and flood capabilities, rechargeable with powerbank or outlet, and is an 18650 so runtimes are very good. Time will tell how it holds up but it feels well made.

 

[Whiskey_Fish]

Whatever you buy, get something that runs the same batteries in the hand torch as the headlamp. I like the Fenix HL50 123a headlamps and a Streamlight 1l-1aa fir a handheld. Neither are crazy expensive and they work great.

 

[Mike Islander]

Well that is what their specs say.

• Turbo: 1000 lumen / 1h
• High: 550 lumen / 2h 45min
• Med: 280 lumen / 4h 45min
• Low: 80 lumen / 16h
• Ultralow: 1 lumen / 800h

Yes, they have done a great job of documentation. My message was more for light comparison in general, as many times manufacturers aren't as open with their specs. Reach can be calculated many different ways, but reach calculated from candela is an exact number that can be used to compare lights.

 

[Phaseolus]

I have been using the Fenix UC35 for four years. I am very pleased with it.

 

[Confluentus]

I’ve been using the Fenix HL60R for a couple years now and I’m very impressed by it. Long battery life on lower powers and rechargeable, and fairly cheap. It is fairly heavy.


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[BluMtn]

I have posted this in other gear questions, but my Armytek has worked extremely well for me and I also use the 18560 batteries. You can adjust your lumans from .5 to 1200 lumans depending how much light you want. It has a headstrap or you can carry it in your hand. Mine has the 90 degree head on it and I carry it high on my pack shoulder strap.

 

[Hunt41]

I am happy with a Princeton that I have. It’s been at least 5 years and going strong!

 

[deziner75]

I picked up the Wowtac A2S on Amazon. Nice headlamp, similar to the Zebralight setup at a fraction of the cost. Runs on a rechargeable 18650 battery. Good runtime and brightness settings, solid reviews.

 

[Tarilok]

Flashlight / headlamp. Oh, how many flashlights I've seen in my entire life. Different looks and different glow attracts me in different ways. I have 4 flashlights at home for emergencies. Who is looking for flashlights I can only advise one, look at different sites where you can look for a flashlight. If you also want to purchase this item in no time, see if this item ships on Amazon. Perhaps, this site has it and you will not have to spend a lot of money on it or wait several years. There are many different products on Amazon. You can also rate them. Here is the site https://www.amazon.com/Vont-Flashlight-Flashlights-Water-resistant-Accessories/dp/B089T8HDBV

 

[eaglemountainman]

it's too high brightness

Not sure what that means. P12 has 4 switchable brightness levels. 1 lumen, 70 lumen, 240 lumen, 1000 lumen. Choose the level appropriate to the task.