Princeton Tec Byte headlamp review

[ROKIT88]

I'm curious about the runtime test on low. Given the PT stated criteria for runtime (0.2 lumens at 2 meters) it is hard to tell how that really translates.

I picked up four for the family today while browsing at Sports Chalet, they had them 25% off so 14.99 before tax. Played with it at the store and it seemed pretty solid and then read up here before opening the packages

These are the first headlamps I've bought since the PT Matrix back in 2002 so it will be quite a step up in smaller size and better features. Someday they'll have this size and price with better waterproofness and PWM...someday...

 

[turboBB]

ROKIT88, is your Join Date for real? If so, I think you have all lurkers beat with your 1st post in 8.5 yrs!! If not, then :welcome:

Anyways, I have updated my original post above to include the Low runtime along with revised details.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[ROKIT88]

It's fer real alright I probably joined just to get pm & email access to other members. I only drop in once in a while, mainly for research.

I remember when I first got into premium lights the Photon II was the bee's knees! SF hadn't crenelated anything yet and I was so excited when they hired Willie Hunt because I thought that meant led use and PWMs were imminent, but they just enacted their MAP pricing, raised prices across the board and didn't seem to innovate anything other than that vaporware HID that took forever to come to market. I gave out E2 lights for my wedding party that I bought for ~$45 each, and then 6 months later you couldn't get them for less than $80. Since then the only SF's I've bought have been x300s.

So 8.5 years to match the 8.5 hour runtime of the Byte on low ha ha ha, I guess that is about twice the runtime of the itp A3 on medium, which makes sense.

Does seem to be regulated in certain modes as well. I wonder if the inability to turnn off is a feature. When I tried the light at the store, I swapped in some low batteries it would just turn on and seemed to be flickering, I wonder if that is an undocumented low bat indicator mode?

ROKIT88, is your Join Date for real? If so, I think you have all lurkers beat with your 1st post in 8.5 yrs!! If not, then :welcome:

Anyways, I have updated my original post above to include the Low runtime along with revised details.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[ROKIT88]

one other thing, I wonder how much of the water seepage is via the battery door in tests and how much a little swipe of silicone sealant can improve that or if it is the rest of the body that is leaky?

Also, given the data we are seeing, anyone want to guesstimate the runtime of the red only?

 

[robostudent5000]

Anyways, I have updated my original post above to include the Low runtime along with revised details.

thanks for the update Tim.

i have a question. the literature on the Byte doesn't seem to say anything about it being regulated. so do you think the flat output curve is due to the discharge characteristics of the NimH cells or do you think that PT actually put in some regulation circuitry that keeps the output flat? or maybe a combination of the two?

 

[turboBB]

@ROKIT88: WOW, glad you finally decided to break the silence.:twothumbs That was a great price on the Byte and man I'd love to grab E2's at $45 each!! You know, now that you mentioned it, I really do wonder if the flashing was intentional. I've shot an email to PT re: the runtime, hopefully they'll read through this entire thread and provide answers about the flashing as well (I know that they are active participants on some forums).

@RS5K: Hard to say w/out taking the HL apart but at this price point, I really doubt there is regulation circuitry in here but per Rokit's point, I wonder what is causing the flashing then?

Will be interesting to see what the runtime is on alkalines (have that queued up for later today, it's a bit late here now). Will update results later.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[carrot]

Tim, thanks so much for doing proper runtime tests. I don't have the gear to do that and it is very revealing to see it graphed out.

 

[turboBB]

Not at all, we should thank you for starting this review in the first place. =o)

As a follow up I took some current readings and it seems there is some very minute parasitic drain at .43 mA (I recall reading in some other reviews that others have found their Byte dead after periods of inactivity but this draw is so little as to be of any true significance).

EDIT: In doing a little calculation (and if my assumption is correct), 800 mAH Eneloops would run out after roughly 2 months of inactivity due to this drain (800/.43 = 1860 hrs / 24 = 77 days). So it's actually not insigificant. My advice would be to remove any batteries before storing for long term.

Red = 10.9 mA
Low = 99 mA
High = 385 mA

I recall reading that when taking current draw using leads, one should always use the highest value to reduce the resistance in the load. As such I can only take readings on my Fluke 289 w/the Red lead in the 10A plug. On the 400mA plug, I can only cycle through Red and Low and as soon as I hit High it lights for a brief second and then enters into that flashing state as if the batteries were low. I can then no longer cycle through the modes at all. There is definitely some type of circuitry that does a "reset" as after I close the battery door to close the circuit (mimicking inserting fresh cells), I'll see the white LED flash ever so briefly, after which I can take the readings via the 400mA plug but again only for the Red and Low.

I think Rokit's speculation that the flashing was intentional could be correct. I'll post back if/when I hear back from PT.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[turboBB]

Update: runtime on H using 2 x Duracell Alkaline posted above. Poor runtime was due to one bad cell. Will rerun in the future.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[ROKIT88]

Bummer on the parasitic drain. Was hoping the kids could keep these in their drawers with alkalines for their emergency use with annual battery changes.

 

[mtnkid85]

Well, the reviews on this guy aint so great but I just found one on amazon for 14.59 shipped so I figured what the heck.

Im looking for a small lamp to carry in a really little pack I wear in the mountains. (Im a climber and its going in my chalk bag, if you know what that is).

I wanted something with a little more Omff then the E+lite while still being lightweight & packable. If this doesnt work out I really think Im going to try to figure out a little headstrap for my AAA maratac, as Ive been real impressed by it.

 

[jgscisum]

Well, the reviews on this guy aint so great but I just found one on amazon for 14.59 shipped so I figured what the heck.

Im looking for a small lamp to carry in a really little pack I wear in the mountains. (Im a climber and its going in my chalk bag, if you know what that is).

I wanted something with a little more Omff then the E+lite while still being lightweight & packable. If this doesnt work out I really think Im going to try to figure out a little headstrap for my AAA maratac, as Ive been real impressed by it.

My first post......... Do you feel that 35 lumens is adequate to follow a trail if your caught getting off a climb late. Thinking about buying the Byte for that reason.

 

[robostudent5000]

30 lumens should be enough to get you down most trails. but i don't know why you would single out the Byte considering all the negative comments that it's received. it's runtimes are unacceptably short.

if you want something similar, i'd look at the Mammut S-Flex. we're still waiting on CPF member carrot to do a review of his unit, but based on his preliminary findings and from what i've seen of it so far, it seems to be a better alternative than the Byte.

 

[mtnkid85]

Heres a little update on my experience with the byte.

Ive since been able to take it on a few outings, one serious trip that I used it extensively on.

So what I was looking for in this light was something with adequate light in a absoultely lightweight package. Which this light almost fulfills perfectly... when it works that is.
The output is exactly what I was looking for, moving down anysort of trail the light is adequate to stay on trail. Off trail travel the output is barely adequate, which again if fine for what Im looking for in this light.
The size and weight of the package is just what I was looking for, although it could have gone with a even slimmer head band to make the overall package smaller.
The button placement is good, feelable with gloves on, which is also imperative for me.
The redlight was good enough to get out of a tent for a midnight duty, make predawn coffee, ect.
Fits nicely over a helmet and stays secure.

Now for the bad...
Its just not trust worthy. Battery life is NOT good and it seems to have quite a bit of parisitic drain. More than once now Ive grabbed it to find the batteries dead, after sitting on the shelf for several weeks.
It doesnt project much confidence while Im handeling it, seems like if it got wet it would die, may not sustain a hard bump while on my helmet, ect.

So overall Id say it had the potential but the build quality killed it. I think Ill try the Mammut S-flex next, although It is almost twice the price so I dont know how fair of a comparison they would be.

 

[fefrie]

I think Ill try the Mammut S-flex next, although It is almost twice the price so I dont know how fair of a comparison they would be.

You hit the nail right on the head. When the darkness comes, I stay put so I don't need a current draining low or high setting. The red is sufficient for me. So when I'm camping, I have more than enough power, with the occasional splurge to the low settings.

I use mine daily working around the house, so batteries get changed on a regular basis and I can't comment on parasitic drain.

The low and high power around the house are plenty strong for me and I run out before the batteries do.

So for the price, it works perfectly for me.

I'm pretty sure that they could make it last longer with better electronics for much the similar price, but that would also probably pull away from their more expensive offerings.

I think that all manufactures do this.

 

[Anonnn]

The Byte received a lot of negative feedback on Amazon for its battery run time. I don't really understand why. What more can one expect out of a 2AAA light that uses a decent LED? I think the runtimes are acceptable for a relatively inexpensive headlamp that utilizes adequate brightness settings. When the unit is set to the red LED option, battery life is exceptional. Rechargeable batteries makes run time especially a non-issue. Since the Byte runs on 2AAAs rather than the typical and nonsensical 3AAAs, a set of 4 batteries will give you the opportunity to use them all in 2 cycles, rather than using 3/4 of them for only 1 cycle, which leaves one battery left over for nothing. I think the Byte's design is both attractive and ergonomic. The only gripe I have with the headlamp so far is its user interface. As mentioned before, it was not a good idea to make the user cycle through the white light modes when he only wants access to the red light mode.

 

[fefrie]

The Byte received a lot of negative feedback on Amazon for its battery run time. I don't really understand why. What more can one expect out of a 2AAA light that uses a decent LED? I think the runtimes are acceptable for a relatively inexpensive headlamp that utilizes adequate brightness settings. When the unit is set to the red LED option, battery life is exceptional. Rechargeable batteries makes run time especially a non-issue. Since the Byte runs on 2AAAs rather than the typical and nonsensical 3AAAs, a set of 4 batteries will give you the opportunity to use them all in 2 cycles, rather than using 3/4 of them for only 1 cycle, which leaves one battery left over for nothing. I think the Byte's design is both attractive and ergonomic. The only gripe I have with the headlamp so far is its user interface. As mentioned before, it was not a good idea to make the user cycle through the white light modes when he only wants access to the red light mode.

I think that if they had the exact same electronics, the exact same leds in the same construction, but with a 2aa form factor, they would of had an extreme winner with the byte. No one would be complaining too much with the High run time of maybe 6 hours, 24hours on Low, and what I would guess be a whole month with the red led.

I think what killed it with the Byte was the Princeton absolutely lied about actual performance times. If they were a little bit more truthful, I think that there wouldn't have been a bit of a back lash. They truthed up the burn time on high now (2 hours, previously 6?) and 96 hours for low (still way overly optimistic) and 146 for red (which I almost believe)

Personally since I'm mostly at home and the light is more than bright enough, I definitely prefer the lighter smaller form factor.

And as a weird observation, aa's don't seem to be in use for most of my electronics. 70% of my devices all use aaa batteries.

 

[robostudent5000]

The Byte received a lot of negative feedback on Amazon for its battery run time. I don't really understand why. What more can one expect out of a 2AAA light that uses a decent LED?

i have a Rayovac 2AAA headlamp that does 80 lumens for 2 hours vs. 35 lumens for 2 hours for the Byte. and the price was about the same.

and when you consider the runtimes of decent 1AAA flashlights - my Fenix E05 does 27 lumens for 3 hours on one AAA - the runtime of the Byte is disappointing.

 

[ROKIT88]

I think what killed it with the Byte was the Princeton absolutely lied about actual performance times. If they were a little bit more truthful, I think that there wouldn't have been a bit of a back lash. They truthed up the burn time on high now (2 hours, previously 6?) and 96 hours for low (still way overly optimistic) and 146 for red (which I almost believe)

The thing about the runtime is the parasitic drain. If you pop batts in, never turn the flashlight on, and pick it up in one month it will be dead, this is absolutely ridiculous. The misleading runtimes in the marketing are horrible as well.

 

[Illum]

Received one last xmas, now after seeing this review...
Looks like a clamshell design, which probably means its not a moddable candidate