SOME HEAD LAMPS
For walking in well-marked trails at night, I used to use (like everyone else) a head lamp.
The Peltz Tikka with the three LED’s was good for well-marked trails, as was the Princeton Tec Aurora.
The Tikka with the red filter I use for taking notes while wildlife observing, as the animals will not detect a red spectrum of light. Also, when camping out and walking to the latrine, in consideration to my fellow campers that dislike been shined in the face.
I am using the Tikka now for reading in bed, so as not to disturb my wife’s sleep.
For going cross-country in the woods and when doing compass and map games, we needed something with more throw for the alignment of the next mark. In that case, I used the Princeton Tec Predator pro, with almost 8 hours of duration on the batteries and 28 lumens with good throw.
I like to use rechargeable NIMH batteries, because after the initial cost of batteries and charger, they are almost free to use, as the electricity used to recharge them is negligible.
And a fringe benefit is that I will not pollute another landfill with the alkaline batteries.
But I don’t think I will ever buy another head light. I like the idea of sticking one of the Fenix lights with Velcro tape on top of my cap more; it liberates me from the feeling of the constricting head band, and the new Fenix L1D has multiple power and functions.
The 9 lumen (25 hours) first setting is plenty for most trail walking. A soft touch in the switch pad will access the second setting of 40 lumens (5 hours), and with another soft press on the switch, the 80 lumens will come out (2 hours). One more time will SOS the light in 80 lumens.
A twist on the head will access the 90 lumen mode (1 ½ hours) and a press in the switch and the strobe will be on, which is great for disco dancing.
This little light will do most of the chores that were reserved for bigger, heavier lights, and I predict we will be seeing many of them in the trails.
Kind regards,
Watchmaker