Looking for a headlamp

Lynx_Arc

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Not many headlamps that can do that without using a single 14500 (lithium ion). I think the only one that can do it is Zebralight as most other headlamps. I'd recommend looking at Zebralight and Fenix headlamps if you can afford them.
The Fenix HL50 can do 285 lumens off a nimh AA but only in burst (short) mode normally it is 150 lumens and typically most 1AA headlamps struggle getting to even 200 lumens for an extended period of time. The Zebralight H52F can do 300 lumens for almost an hour I believe.
 

carnage

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Not many headlamps that can do that without using a single 14500 (lithium ion). I think the only one that can do it is Zebralight as most other headlamps. I'd recommend looking at Zebralight and Fenix headlamps if you can afford them.
The Fenix HL50 can do 285 lumens off a nimh AA but only in burst (short) mode normally it is 150 lumens and typically most 1AA headlamps struggle getting to even 200 lumens for an extended period of time. The Zebralight H52F can do 300 lumens for almost an hour I believe.


I was going to buy the Fenix HL35 but it's discontinue now.

The 300-350 lumens is for when I need more light but most of the time it will be on medium mode, something around 150 lumens will be good.

With Zebralight it seem like it can get complicated if you don't know what you doing.

I don't trust Lithium Ion on or near my head.
 

Lynx_Arc

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I was going to buy the Fenix HL35 but it's discontinue now.

The 300-350 lumens is for when I need more light but most of the time it will be on medium mode, something around 150 lumens will be good.

With Zebralight it seem like it can get complicated if you don't know what you doing.

I don't trust Lithium Ion on or near my head.

Then don't use a cell phone. Lithium ion is safe if you use good batteries and devices and for an extra amount of safety protected batteries. The Zebralight is the only light I know of that can do that many lumens off 1AA... awhile back there were some 2AA headlamps that were probably in the range of output you desire but seems many have been discontinued.
 

hiuintahs

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Years (decades?) ago my headlamp was a Petzl Micro 2xAA adjustable focus incandescent. At the time I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Now my favorite is a single CR123A / 16340 rechargeable lithium ion (Olight H1 Nova). Thus its very light (weight) and you can actually hit higher lumen levels than a 2xAA headlamp, though I hardly ever use a turbo or the higher modes. But its there in case you need it.

Zebralight probably has the record for max output out of a single AA. Some lights that I've seen trying to get a max output out of a single AA have poor efficiency. If just dropping the output 20%, it's like you get 40% more run time. I don't know the exact numbers, I'm just throwing out an example. It's just that the AA battery has less capacity when using the max discharge capability.

I think the OP was referring to 2xAA's though since that is what the HL35 has. I picked up a 3xAAA HL25 for a discount when they were being discontinued. 3xAAA is not my favorite battery configuration. But I liked the HL25 better than the single AA HL23 because Fenix did not put memory on the HL23 and it starts out on high every time.........otherwise I would have stuck with the HL23.
 
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carnage

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Then don't use a cell phone. Lithium ion is safe if you use good batteries and devices and for an extra amount of safety protected batteries. The Zebralight is the only light I know of that can do that many lumens off 1AA... awhile back there were some 2AA headlamps that were probably in the range of output you desire but seems many have been discontinued.

I use my cell phone on speaker phone.

Can the safety circuit in protected cells have issue in shorting out?

What's your opinion on the Manker E03?
 

carnage

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Years (decades?) ago my headlamp was a Petzl Micro 2xAA adjustable focus incandescent. At the time I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Now my favorite is a single CR123A / 16340 rechargeable lithium ion (Olight H1 Nova). Thus its very light (weight) and you can actually hit higher lumen levels than a 2xAA headlamp, though I hardly ever use a turbo or the higher modes. But its there in case you need it.

Zebralight probably has the record for max output out of a single AA. Some lights that I've seen trying to get a max output out of a single AA have poor efficiency. If just dropping the output 20%, it's like you get 40% more run time. I don't know the exact numbers, I'm just throwing out an example. It's just that the AA battery has less capacity when using the max discharge capability.

I think the OP was referring to 2xAA's though since that is what the HL35 has. I picked up a 3xAAA HL25 for a discount when they were being discontinued. 3xAAA is not my favorite battery configuration. But I liked the HL25 better than the single AA HL23 because Fenix did not put memory on the HL23 and it starts out on high every time.........otherwise I would have stuck with the HL23.

Is the CR123A safer than the 16340 Li-Ion ?

Do you know wearing a headlamp with a battery pack in the back become awkward or unbalance, example Coast HL8 4xAA.
 

Lynx_Arc

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I use my cell phone on speaker phone.

Can the safety circuit in protected cells have issue in shorting out?

What's your opinion on the Manker E03?

Safety circuits have failed before on cheap batteries and damaged cells but it is rather rare for decent cells and lights.
I haven't any opinion on the Manker E03 I haven't heard anything bad about Manker products but that doesn't mean they can have a dud or not. The problem I have with running 14500s in AA lights is often they aren't primarily designed for them it is more of an afterthought and they can heat things up fast and at high outputs can drain the battery pretty quick and sometimes the lower levels are elevated in output also making them possibly too bright for use. I currently have a cheap ebay AA zoomie that is running off a 14500 battery with no issued at all I've gone through 4-5 recharges of the battery using it. The only issue is that the battery is unprotected and I've discharged it too low for my charger to "see" it a few times that can be a problem with unprotected cells and some lights that are use 1.5v and 4.2v batteries both.
 

LeanBurn

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Thrunite TH20 ?



  • A high output headlamp with max output of 520 lumens in turbo mode powered by one Li-ion 14500 750mAh battery.
  • LED: CREE XP-L V6 LED with a lifespan of 20+ years of run time.
  • Mode & Runtime (Tested by one Eneloop AA 2450mAh NIMH rechargeable battery):
    -Firefly (0.3 lumens, 14 days)
    -Infinity Low (1.6 lumens, 21 hours)
    -Infinity High (230 lumens, 95 minutes )
    -Turbo (250 lumens, 93 minutes)
  • Batteries Applicable: 1x AA battery, 1x 14500 battery.
  • Working voltage: 0.9-4.2 V.
  • Reflector: Orange Peel.
  • Peak Beam Intensity: 1120 cd
  • Beam Distance: 67 m (max.)
  • Dimensions: 70 mm * 24.5mm
  • Weight: 76g (without battery).
  • Waterproof: IPX-8 (2 m)
  • Impact Resistance: 1 m.
  • Material: Aircraft grade aluminum body with premium type III hard anodized anti-abrasive finish.
  • Accessories included: O ring, spare rubber slot.
 
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tjb

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FWIW, my three headlamps all use 3x AAA. Petzl Tak Tikka (bought six or seven years ago after a lot of research), Princeton Tec (from a refueling outage at a nuke plant), and a cheap Princeton Tec I found on sale for my 5yo boy (actually quite good). This is coming from an electrician, and I've done many many jobs where I used a headlamp all day many days. They don't meet your wishes, but my point is there are lots of headlamps on the market that work just great.
 

colight

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This may be just what you guys are looking for (if not too late, maybe): Fenix has just released their latest HL30 2018 that runs off of 2 AA batteries, and it so happens that their output is exactly 300 lumens. @carnage, I have no idea if they will be available at retailers yet, as I only saw it on the Fenix Fb page towards the end of last week, so my guestimate would be that you may have to wait a while. You didn't give more specs or requirements, so why not have a look?
 

carnage

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This may be just what you guys are looking for (if not too late, maybe): Fenix has just released their latest HL30 2018 that runs off of 2 AA batteries, and it so happens that their output is exactly 300 lumens. @carnage, I have no idea if they will be available at retailers yet, as I only saw it on the Fenix Fb page towards the end of last week, so my guestimate would be that you may have to wait a while. You didn't give more specs or requirements, so why not have a look?

I did a Google search and nothing comes up, so I guess it's not available yet.
 

carnage

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Safety circuits have failed before on cheap batteries and damaged cells but it is rather rare for decent cells and lights.
I haven't any opinion on the Manker E03 I haven't heard anything bad about Manker products but that doesn't mean they can have a dud or not. The problem I have with running 14500s in AA lights is often they aren't primarily designed for them it is more of an afterthought and they can heat things up fast and at high outputs can drain the battery pretty quick and sometimes the lower levels are elevated in output also making them possibly too bright for use. I currently have a cheap ebay AA zoomie that is running off a 14500 battery with no issued at all I've gone through 4-5 recharges of the battery using it. The only issue is that the battery is unprotected and I've discharged it too low for my charger to "see" it a few times that can be a problem with unprotected cells and some lights that are use 1.5v and 4.2v batteries both.

What brands do you consider as good quallity cells (un/protected)? ?

Which 14500 cells are you using and which 14500 you think is good quality?
 

carnage

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General question to anyone.

Is the CR123A safer than the 16340 Li-Ion ?

Does the CR123A and the chargeable RCR123A/16340 uses the same chemistry?
 

archimedes

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General question to anyone.

Is the CR123A safer than the 16340 Li-Ion ?

Does the CR123A and the chargeable RCR123A/16340 uses the same chemistry?

Thread seems to be drifting off topic here, but short answer is that the two different batteries referenced above are different, with different risks, and different chemistry.

Some searching in the Battery subforum should address your question in much greater detail and specificity ... ;)
 

Lynx_Arc

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What brands do you consider as good quallity cells (un/protected)? ?

Which 14500 cells are you using and which 14500 you think is good quality?
I only have harvested cells from battery packs right now... my 14500s came from a kodak rechargeable camera battery pack that had 2 of them in it. The cells are unprotected that I have.
 

hiuintahs

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What brands do you consider as good quality cells (un/protected)? ? Which 14500 cells are you using and which 14500 you think is good quality?
I'm only using two brands in the 14500 size and that is a Keeppower and a Fenix.......both use the same raw cell made by Sanyo (Pansonic now?) and both are protected. There are other brands that are just fine. Consensus is that if you get a 14500 that uses the Sanyo cell, you'll be fine. The Sanyo cell seems to be the most popular from what I can tell. Some guys have the unprotected Sanyo cell. I've thought about getting an unprotected one, but just don't have the need like I do 18650's.

General question to anyone.
Is the CR123A safer than the 16340 Li-Ion ?
Ya probably if you had to give it a grade. The reason I say that is because you're never going to recharge a CR123A. I have to honestly say, I've never worried about safety with lithium ion rechargeable batteries though. I love them. I also have a couple dozen CR123A's as emergency preparedness and spares on trips like backpacking trips where a charger isn't accessible. But around home I leave 16340's in them rather than to consume the CR123A's.

Does the CR123A and the chargeable RCR123A/16340 uses the same chemistry?
Adding to archimedes answer, ya they are different chemistries. I'm not the expert in this area but this is my brief understanding. The CR123A primary is a lithium battery. The RCR123A or 16340 is lithium ion. You can't recharge lithium batteries without causing internal shorts to the battery. So they use lithium ion which is safe.
 
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