Energizer vision headlamps

[blue indian]

My brand new Black Diamond spot headlamp grew legs and walked away. I liked it alright but always felt like it was overkill for my needs anyway...

Id rather not spend 40 bucks on another headlamp and came across the Energizer vision series. They are priced well for the features and are similar weights to the spot and similar lights. They get good reviews but none of them seem to be from backpackers.

Any thoughts or experience with these? Or suggestions for something with 100-150 lumens and a red light? I dont really need a bunch of features and buttons and modes. I just wanna turn the light on high or low and have a red light. I also dont need to illuminate the entire forest.

[TNhiker]

How quickly do ya need one?

if you wait a bit and watch---there's been some good closeout deals lately..

i got a black diamond ion for 6.50 off rei a couple of weeks ago and it has everything you are looking for...

[blue indian]

Leavin in about a month.

How did I not notice that one? Do you like yours?

You bought it for $6.50?? thats awesome

[blue indian]

Ive heard some not so great things about the ion

[JC13]

I have the prior version of the energizer but from what I can see in the pics, they still haven't stepped up to CREE leds yet... It does a decent job for what it is, you could night hike with it if needed. I opted to go lighter and more powerful with more options though.

[blue indian]

Actually, it looks like they got smart and redesigned the ion. They no longer have the finicky slide on/off system. Nice!

[JC13]

Bah, google image search failed me, just looked at these on Amazon and indeed they use CREE leds or so it seems. Not a bad deal for $18 and 4 oz.

[TNhiker]

Actually, it looks like they got smart and redesigned the ion. They no longer have the finicky slide on/off system. Nice!

yeah.....

the one i got has that slider thing........not really impressed by it......but hey, it was only 6.50


i havent used mine out in the woods just yet (and blowing off another perfectly good weather weekend.......did buy a charlotte D and C ticket today though) so not sure how it will hold up....

but, its nice and bright.....

and yeah......hadnt heard alot of good things about this one but its nice and lightweight and it was only 6.50 so figure i couldnt lose out that much......

[TNhiker]

i found the same model in the REI garage for just over 11 bucks...

https://www.rei.com/rei-garage/produ...hoCUeUQAvD_BwE

[blue indian]

Bah, google image search failed me, just looked at these on Amazon and indeed they use CREE leds or so it seems. Not a bad deal for $18 and 4 oz.

I was thinking the same thing....But for 6 more bucks I can get a black diamond with REI warranty. And its lighter...

[grubbster]

Any light with a 3xAAA format is a non-starter for me. I prefer either 1xAA or 2xAA. That seriously limits the field. IMHO two of the best in the AA format are the Thrunite TH20 and the Zebralight H53. Neither has a red mode but it is pretty easy to get one of the coin cell squeeze lights in red.

[grubbster]

Another plus to the two headlamps I mentioned above is you can get them in warm white. I am not a fan of the blue-white light that most LEDs produce, especially in the woods.

[Cheyou]

Another plus to the two headlamps I mentioned above is you can get them in warm white. I am not a fan of the blue-white light that most LEDs produce, especially in the woods.

for 3X the cost the OP wants to spend.

[blue indian]

I thought about the hand light with a clip but the more I thought about the more impractical it seemed to me.

Also price..

[grubbster]

for 3X the cost the OP wants to spend.

I didn't see where the OP said what he wanted to spend. Only saw what he didn't want to spend. The Thrunite is less.

[blw2]

I have had a couple of them over the years....not so much for backpacking but have used them camping a bit, knocking around in the truck, working around the house..... Not bad for cheap lights. They last a good while but eventually the switch will go or something will break...... I've had some for a long time though. My latest was something similar from Lowes, a different brand.....

[MtDoraDave]

To the original question, I use them. The simplicity of just having high/low and red is nice. The battery life is great, especially if I avoid using the high mode. I found out that (for me) the 100 lumen high mode isn't bright enough for some situations. Yes, it's bright enough to hike at night - but it's not bright enough to be able to identify the animals about 30' to 40' away... the ones that wouldn't run when I yelled at them... the ones that seemed to be about the size of bear cubs, but were probably hogs.

So I bought a Lowe's brand (Hi Lux) that boasts 210 lumens on high. I don't use high mode, but I like that its there if I need it. The down side to the Hi Lux is that it has been known to turn itself on in the lid of my pack.

[nsherry61]

I have both a couple Energizer headlights and several Black Diamond headlamps, and a couple Petzel headlamps. Petzels have lasted the longest and been the most reliable. The BD lights are the ones I use the most because they are brighter and more water proof than my older Petzels. I bought the Energizers as a cheap alternative for kids to borrow backpacking, and they weren't really any cheaper than the less expensive BD lights. The Energizers aren't as waterproof as the BD lights. And the switches and housing don't work as well as the BD or Petzel lights.

I own two BD Ion lights of the earlier swipe switch variety. The first one I owned (one of the first ones ever available) does fail intermittently on me for a few minutes before the switch starts behaving correctly again. BD replaced that light, shipped within 4 hours of my email, with no hassles and no questions when I emailed them about the problem - thus, I now have two working ions, one reliably, and one only mostly reliably. All my other BD lights have not had a hick-up.
By and large, I think you kinda get what you pay for. The Energizers work, but they don't work as well or as long, and frankly, they aren't all that much cheaper at this point, and certainly not cheaper in the long run. I have a Petzel light I still use that is well over 15 years old and it still works great except it's not as bright or versatile as the newer lights.

Finally, in all of this, nobody has discussed the lensing in these lights. The way the lensing works with smooth even light across your field of view vs. uneven lighting with dark and light patches, rings, or spots can make a huge difference in usability especially when trying to read or work close, and thus especially with the red light. Red light lensing on the earlier BD ion lights sucks. My Energizer lights don't have red. My BD Spot and Storm have better red lensing. I would recommend trying out the lights if you can and being able to read a map at night is important to you.

[Bronk]

I use the zipka by petzel. Any I've tried with an elastic head strap end up getting stretched out and flop around.

[blue indian]

After seeing that BD redesigned the ion for a button on/off system and at $25, its hard to beat. Ive good experience with BD products, so I will most likely spring for a new ion.