Yeah, I was considering the HP10, I think it is the most powerful at 225 lumens. My Fenix LD20 is only 180 lumens. After the bad review I read, it made me think about it.
J.L. I just posted a bunch of pictures in the Gallery:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/browseimages.php?c=697
Look at that hinge. It's basically a piano hinge. There's not much you can do to make that hinge stronger except to make it entirely out of metal.
I believe the HP10 is the brightest headlamp you can get that runs on AA/AAA batteries. There may be some brighter lights, but I think they're all for cycling and use a larger lithium battery that would be mounted on the bike.
Wow, Those are great pics!Originally Posted by leaftye
And as powerful as it is you could probably blind a 747 pilot just by looking up at the sky as he flys overhead. It looks pretty well made, Even the plastic componenets look fairly substantial.
So you are happy with it?
If you lost it would you buy the HP10 again?
Haha, I've thought about the signal thing before. It does get pretty bright.
Yeah, I'm really happy with it. It seems to fit well under a beanie, which I also wear all night. I believe my head helmet size is 58 cm if that helps. If I simply lost it, I'd buy another one. If I switched to something else, it's because I wanted to truly go ultralight by switching to a coinlight....but I have much better places to drop weight, like my waist, and pack. I'm definitely carrying it for the first thousand miles of the PCT this year.
One thing I may do is put in good lithium batteries because those weigh about 2/3rd the weight of other batteries, and there are lithiums that are supposed to work well with low discharge devices like this headlamp.
Thanks Leaftye,
I measured my head and I am at 57cm, Just about the same size.
I think I may go with the HP10, It seems to be a good compromise between the other powerhouse headlamps. Decent battery life, Best lumens, Brighter than the HL 20, Mammut is only 80 lumens, And the Princeton Tec Apex is so heavy at 10 ounces. And at 65 bucks I could still afford to buy a 1 or 2 ounce ultralight headlamp if I want, 1 or 2 ounces more in my pack would be un-noticable.
I just got a Black Diamond I saw on SAC for $12. It's worked great for a couple of night hikes, and is still too bright to read with. My first set of batteries has lasted a year.
Con men understand that their job is not to use facts to convince skeptics but to use words to help the gullible to believe what they want to believe - Thomas Sowell
For the AT you can do just fine with an Everready 3 AAA battery 2 LED headlamp 1 clear light brightness and 1 red night vision light. I got mine at Wally World for $9.88. The plastic tab that holds the battery cover on can break if you force it. Wally World has given me a new one free of charge twice in the last 5 yrs. It's not WP. The lithium batteries I put in it last a long time for me. It's certainly bright enough night hiking. I have 3 headlamps. I continually reach for this cheap simple no frills model brand amd model time and again for 3 season thru-hiking in the states.
Brightness levels are often overhyped for night hiking. If you only buy one headlamp than by all means get a good one, but it seems you are starting a collection.
Unless I was spelunking, hiking Mt Everest, or in some remote area like S America, Canada, or backwoods Alaska and ABSOLUTELY NEEDED additional features or headlamp characteristics I find it is not needed to drop $40 or more on a headlamp.
I hear ya,
I will probably pick one of the cheapies up, A buddy of mine has one and he used it up on the Job site for inspections.
All of my hiking this year will be done fairly close to home. I am fortunate enough to live in an A.T. Trail town and I can pretty much see the trail from my kitchen window. I have been told and have read that the White Mountains are the toughest ones on the whole A.T. I have purchased only favorably reviewed top quality gear, Not because I am wealthy but because I don't like to skimp on anything that could mean the difference between life and death. People die regularly on Mount Washington it seems and I feel with the right gear, I will live to hike another day!!
I am not a AT thru hiker,but hike for extended days at a time, and have section hiked most of New England.
I carry the cheapest Princeton Tec model, and have hardly ever used it. The mountains that I cover out west are usually 8000-10,000 ft and I'm usually so freakin tired at night that I'm asleep either at or before sundown. Many freinds of mine have hiked the AT or the PCT and like me, stick the headlamp in their pack pocket and forget it, or use it to read or dig around the tent at night.
I use this one. I got a hard rainstorm hiking at night at Land Between the Lakes, and my headlamp crapped out. Waterproof/resistance is important to me in a headlamp now.
http://www.pelican.com/lights_detail.php?recordID=2610
Haven't used this one in a rainstorm yet, but it is good so far. I use lithium batteries in it.
Eggzakly. Tree Banger stopped at my tent about midnight one time and shared some of his hiking wine with me as we chatted. I guess that routine didn't work for him. I heard he gave up night hiking / night drinking. Hiking all day was enough for me. The only thing I need a light for is to go out to pee. I carried a little one bulb photon light. I'm going to put a new battery in it and carry the same light on this thru hike.
Have you found that 180 lumens isn't enough? I have used the predecessor of the LD10 (half the power) and never had a problem. Even when way finding cross country I found that 100 lumen bulb with a reasonable reflector was plenty of light for night hiking. When I am on a trail I typically need much less light.
The HP10 is one of the brightest headlights that uses AA batteries. There are headlights that are brighter with custom belt packs like the Petzl Ultra Belt Headlamp, or handheld flashlights that use standard AA batteries that put out 700 lumens like the iTP A6. But these are overkill for backpacking.
--Mark
Yeah, that's the thing. If you're not going to be nighthiking, most headlamps seem to be overkill. Buy a photon or the lightest thing you can get that will strap to your head or cap.
Despite the possibility that it may be true that "brightness levels are often overhyped for night hiking," I prefer a bright light that can throw it a distance. It's nice to hike on full moons without a headlamp (and I do). And while on the Long Trail, Funkee and I used to play a game where we'd see how far into the night we could go without taking out our headlamps. Sooner or later, in the woods of Vermont, we would. I carry a bright light because I don't want conditions to dictate overmuch what I can and can't do, just like in the daytime.
It is not in my plans to hike at night, May have to from time to time since things don't always go as planned. I would most likely use it for the night time bathroom break and reading before bed. My motto has always been "I would rather have more than I need and not need it than need it and not have it. I may only use high lumens once or twice but if I buy the more powerful light, I have it whether or not I need it.
You all give great advise and that is why I posted this and why I seem to spend my whole day reading the posts on this site. I have learned a lot and feel much better prepared thanks to all of you. I have returned gear because it was to heavy thanks to this site and every piece of gear I buy I do my best to buy the lightest I can regardless of price. I still however make choices from time to time that I know would get me bashed here by the Ultralight crowd. I respect the Ultralight method, But you really have to know what you are doing to carry a 5 or 10 pound total pack weight.
I may get there some day but for now I purchased every thing that caught my eye and I will shake it down once winter breaks up here. We are getting hit pretty good today with snow in the Berlin/Gorham area. Once again though, I thank everyone for your help and opinions, And if I actually make it on my Thru-Hike of the A.T. next year it will be because of all of you!!! Much Respect!!!
Nope. It'll be because of your attitude. You've got it down.
Yeah, sometimes the moon will allow night hiking without additional lighting. Unfortunately there will be little to no moon when I expect to do my longest night hike. That's something I checked before making my decision to buy such a bright headlamp. The hike is also in the desert, so there's a chance there may be snakes and you can damn well bet if I hear one rattle that night, my headlamp will be on or near max power for the rest of the night hike.
I have a collection of head lamps and they all work. My old favorite was a 2 head lamps + batterys I got at home depot. Then I found this on the ground....
http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/tact...es/tactikka-xp
small
light
3AAA
colored LED that tells you battery level
spot light/wide angle
The lamp will blink when batteries are getting low
99% of the time I keep it on low lite/ wide angle
But the feature that makes this lamp for me is that even with gloves on in 1 second you can switch to spot light and hit the second botton (boost mode). This is great for finding blazes on trees well over 100 feet away.
YMMV
I looked at that one, just wasn't sure about keeping track of those little plastic lenses.
Well it has a clip on the side, I kept the red on in there. I never bothered with any other color. Then after a while just left that at home too. I never bother changing the colors.
Its all about the spot lite and boost function great for finding things in the dark like white blazes that are old faded and far apart. A lot of the other stuff is just gimmicks like different colors, color coated battery lever led, flashing the lite itself when battery gets low.
Also mine has a black strap and red body so you can get them in different color.
I have at least 8 or 10 different head lamps for backpacking at mountain bike racing. This is by far my favorite for hiking but my second choice was a 2 pack with battery's from home depot for 5 bucks.
I have noticed that many head lamps solve the problem of wide angle vs spot light by using multiple LEDs and it works and I always thought it was fine, i never knew any better. I would compare that to driving down a country road at night in the rain and wanting to see better. The multi LED Head lamps are like turning on the fog lights. The focused lenser is like turning the brights/ high beams on. Yea the regular light work and the fogs help you see a little better but turning on the brights just helps you see A LOT better.
you can test this out at the store even in the day light by shinning different head lamps at something reflective from far away.
I mean They all work but this is my favorite that Ive tried. Good luck.
I may take a closer look at that Petzyl as a backup.
I already ordered a Fenix HP10, Attracted to the 225 Lumens.
Was thinking about a lighter unit for around camp and reading.
I bought a good tent and don't plan on using shelters.
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