I got a shiny new Lucifer Lights S2X about a month ago, and wanted to share a few initial impressions.
Backstory, I'm a runner (50-70 mpw when I'm in a training cycle; a little less when I'm not) and because of work, I have to do my runs in the morning at dark o'clock. I'm mostly on paved pathways, but some trail. I'm pairing any headlamp with a Kogalla RA mounted on my waist. Before the Lucifer, my headlamp was a Petzl MYO rxp. For better or worse, the front light/ back battery is the only combo that works for me when running.
So, out of the box, I was impressed. The head unit (racing red, in my case) is nicely machined with a very precisely fit lens assembly. (I got the 13/20 degree... more on that later.) It clicks into a mount that allows rotation within a good range. The cables are super-beefy (maybe overly so, but I'll put up with them) and the connector to the battery pack is solid and very likely to be waterproof. The battery case is solid (aluminum tube, plastic caps, nice threads) without being overly hefty. Weight-wise, the unit is 153 grams with an 18650 battery, which is about 30 grams lighter than the Petzl with 3-AA.
In use, the advanced interface takes a tiny bit to get used to (mostly learning click durations), but makes a ton of sense and keeps modes readily available. (I didn't use the simple interface, as it would click sequentially though all the brightness levels, and that's not really my cup of tea.) You can set it in one of two modes where you balance runtime versus brightness at the high settings. Being a dude, of course I chose brightness. And high and turbo are -- yea verily -- very bright. I expect to use them when I feel like I'm off the course and searching for markers. When running normally with the Kogalla on the waist (800 floody lumens), low mode (20 hours burn with 3450 mAh battery) is all I need. If I turn off the waist light, medium (10 h burn) is a little nicer. Super low is for wandering around the yard doing warmups and trying to ease into the day.
As noted, I got the 13/20 degree optics ("narrow/ medium"). I was a little torn trying to choose between 13/29, but given that I usually have the Kogalla flooding the ground in front of me, I think my choice was okay. (Brief digression: having a light mounted at the waist is pretty awesome for showing relief in the path ahead... I didn't really realize how good the effect would be.)
Personal preference would have me in slightly warmer leds -- this one is 4500K -- but it's a pretty minor tradeoff, tbh.
This headlamp isn't cheap. Shipped to California, it was about $175USD (extra battery tube, no charger, no batteries). Shipping was impressive, both in terms of how fast it got packaged and how fast it arrived in my hands... I ordered on a Sunday and it was in my hands 10 days later.
So, capsule summary: I'm super pleased. Long run time on an 18650, good balance on my head, nice and light, stupid bright when you want, well built. Pricey, but worth it to me. (Given my running affliction, this is equal to a pair of shoes that lasts 2-3 months.)
Questions? Comments? Ask me anything.
Backstory, I'm a runner (50-70 mpw when I'm in a training cycle; a little less when I'm not) and because of work, I have to do my runs in the morning at dark o'clock. I'm mostly on paved pathways, but some trail. I'm pairing any headlamp with a Kogalla RA mounted on my waist. Before the Lucifer, my headlamp was a Petzl MYO rxp. For better or worse, the front light/ back battery is the only combo that works for me when running.
So, out of the box, I was impressed. The head unit (racing red, in my case) is nicely machined with a very precisely fit lens assembly. (I got the 13/20 degree... more on that later.) It clicks into a mount that allows rotation within a good range. The cables are super-beefy (maybe overly so, but I'll put up with them) and the connector to the battery pack is solid and very likely to be waterproof. The battery case is solid (aluminum tube, plastic caps, nice threads) without being overly hefty. Weight-wise, the unit is 153 grams with an 18650 battery, which is about 30 grams lighter than the Petzl with 3-AA.
In use, the advanced interface takes a tiny bit to get used to (mostly learning click durations), but makes a ton of sense and keeps modes readily available. (I didn't use the simple interface, as it would click sequentially though all the brightness levels, and that's not really my cup of tea.) You can set it in one of two modes where you balance runtime versus brightness at the high settings. Being a dude, of course I chose brightness. And high and turbo are -- yea verily -- very bright. I expect to use them when I feel like I'm off the course and searching for markers. When running normally with the Kogalla on the waist (800 floody lumens), low mode (20 hours burn with 3450 mAh battery) is all I need. If I turn off the waist light, medium (10 h burn) is a little nicer. Super low is for wandering around the yard doing warmups and trying to ease into the day.
As noted, I got the 13/20 degree optics ("narrow/ medium"). I was a little torn trying to choose between 13/29, but given that I usually have the Kogalla flooding the ground in front of me, I think my choice was okay. (Brief digression: having a light mounted at the waist is pretty awesome for showing relief in the path ahead... I didn't really realize how good the effect would be.)
Personal preference would have me in slightly warmer leds -- this one is 4500K -- but it's a pretty minor tradeoff, tbh.
This headlamp isn't cheap. Shipped to California, it was about $175USD (extra battery tube, no charger, no batteries). Shipping was impressive, both in terms of how fast it got packaged and how fast it arrived in my hands... I ordered on a Sunday and it was in my hands 10 days later.
So, capsule summary: I'm super pleased. Long run time on an 18650, good balance on my head, nice and light, stupid bright when you want, well built. Pricey, but worth it to me. (Given my running affliction, this is equal to a pair of shoes that lasts 2-3 months.)
Questions? Comments? Ask me anything.
