Manker E03H. Mine is a Cool White. Even though it's got a slight greenish tint, I still prefer it to anything "Nichia" (also because of the reduced output you get with those). Obviously, you can get one in "Neutral White", if that's your thing.
So, the reflector produces a bit of a hot spot but it is just what you need for the kind of (relatively) short throw you get with this light. The beam is very easy on the eye for walking around, doing camping stuff and even reading but the best part about that is the diffusers.
Yes, with this model you get the choice of 3 different diffusers: Red, Green and White. What this means for you is that you can get 4(!) levels of brightness of red light. Better still, the output in the Moonlight mode is customizable (via "Engineering mode").
*The diffusers themselves are very strong and once you clip one on it'll stay on there, even if you don't take good care of your headlamp. The flip side to that is that they are very hard to detach. Trying to switch between the diffusers out in the field you are liable to lose or break one and/or injure yourself in the process. For me it was hard enough to do on my workbench, with some proper tools. So, basically, even though you get 3 diffusers, they aren't really "interchangeable". You pretty much have to commit to just one (or none at all).
BTW: The White diffuser is awesome but the Red and Green are not so much. They aren't opaque enough for me but then, I'm not even sure that those were designed to "diffuse" the light at all. So, what happens is that you do not get truly "Red" light with this thing, out of the box anyway. To do something about it I simply took a scrap of fine-grade sand paper to the Red diffuser and now it's much closer to what I need it to be. I'm sure those pieces of plastic can be modded in all sorts of different ways. (Save yourself some time though and skip the acetone, I've already tried it)
Anyway, check out the specs, they're pretty impressive. I've done some testing and the driver on this baby is awesome. It runs flawlessly with any type of cells (nothing above 2V though). Constant output throughout, no PWM to speak of, not much heat, Turbo output for when you need it. Awesome threads on the tail end and the cap's rotation is very snug, which provides very effective lock-out. *There is also a very awkward "lock out" mode in the interface, which I never bother with.
No headlamp is perfect but seriously, if I could take only one flashlight with me into the unknown, this one would be it. It is ultra-functional and from what I can tell so far, very reliable. I doubt there's anything else like it out there, not in the price range anyway.
PS: If you ain't too happy with the stock headband, you can always buy a "proper" one like this, for example:
https://flashlight.nitecore.com/product/hb02 *Just a "heads-up": if your head is any bigger than "average", this particular product will be too small for ya. BTW, the ones they sell on AliExpress are really big enough only for kids.
PPS: Manker also makes a very similar light in the AAA variety. The E02 is quite bulky for a AAA size, there are no attachable diffusers but there's a choice of different body colors and even 2 flavors of titanium bodies. The interface is identical to the E03, though the max output is not as high. I have one E03 in "red" and am about to receive another one.
In case you didn't know, there are AAA to AA battery adapters. If you have any AAA cells with you out camping, having such an adapter can come in real handy. The E03, for example, runs on AAA's with no problem. With a primary lithium Energizer AAA (w. adapter) I get 87 minutes of runtime in the HIGH mode (not Turbo), which I find to be quite impressive.
So, the reflector produces a bit of a hot spot but it is just what you need for the kind of (relatively) short throw you get with this light. The beam is very easy on the eye for walking around, doing camping stuff and even reading but the best part about that is the diffusers.
Yes, with this model you get the choice of 3 different diffusers: Red, Green and White. What this means for you is that you can get 4(!) levels of brightness of red light. Better still, the output in the Moonlight mode is customizable (via "Engineering mode").
*The diffusers themselves are very strong and once you clip one on it'll stay on there, even if you don't take good care of your headlamp. The flip side to that is that they are very hard to detach. Trying to switch between the diffusers out in the field you are liable to lose or break one and/or injure yourself in the process. For me it was hard enough to do on my workbench, with some proper tools. So, basically, even though you get 3 diffusers, they aren't really "interchangeable". You pretty much have to commit to just one (or none at all).
BTW: The White diffuser is awesome but the Red and Green are not so much. They aren't opaque enough for me but then, I'm not even sure that those were designed to "diffuse" the light at all. So, what happens is that you do not get truly "Red" light with this thing, out of the box anyway. To do something about it I simply took a scrap of fine-grade sand paper to the Red diffuser and now it's much closer to what I need it to be. I'm sure those pieces of plastic can be modded in all sorts of different ways. (Save yourself some time though and skip the acetone, I've already tried it)
Anyway, check out the specs, they're pretty impressive. I've done some testing and the driver on this baby is awesome. It runs flawlessly with any type of cells (nothing above 2V though). Constant output throughout, no PWM to speak of, not much heat, Turbo output for when you need it. Awesome threads on the tail end and the cap's rotation is very snug, which provides very effective lock-out. *There is also a very awkward "lock out" mode in the interface, which I never bother with.
No headlamp is perfect but seriously, if I could take only one flashlight with me into the unknown, this one would be it. It is ultra-functional and from what I can tell so far, very reliable. I doubt there's anything else like it out there, not in the price range anyway.
PS: If you ain't too happy with the stock headband, you can always buy a "proper" one like this, for example:
https://flashlight.nitecore.com/product/hb02 *Just a "heads-up": if your head is any bigger than "average", this particular product will be too small for ya. BTW, the ones they sell on AliExpress are really big enough only for kids.
PPS: Manker also makes a very similar light in the AAA variety. The E02 is quite bulky for a AAA size, there are no attachable diffusers but there's a choice of different body colors and even 2 flavors of titanium bodies. The interface is identical to the E03, though the max output is not as high. I have one E03 in "red" and am about to receive another one.
In case you didn't know, there are AAA to AA battery adapters. If you have any AAA cells with you out camping, having such an adapter can come in real handy. The E03, for example, runs on AAA's with no problem. With a primary lithium Energizer AAA (w. adapter) I get 87 minutes of runtime in the HIGH mode (not Turbo), which I find to be quite impressive.
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