I need to tap into the hive mind

blacksmithden

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 25, 2018
Messages
2
Good day all. I found the site while looking for a new headlamp. Wow...overwhelming amounts of information, and I need a little help. LOL.

First, a little background. I've been in the equipment maintenance game for over 30 years now. The first 10 were in automotive. The past 20 have been in the heavy equipment business, working as a mobile maintenance technician. An opportunity has presented itself to get into the mining equipment maintenance game ,and I've decided to take it.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not nice to my stuff. It doesn't have to be the absolute top of the line, and it doesn't have to be able to jacklight deer at 3 miles. It does need to (pardon the cheche') take a licking and keep on ticking. I'll be moving around to different mines over the years, but the most likely first placement is located just above the arctic circle. I'll be in there for at least 2, and up to 6 weeks at a time. There are no stores to buy replacement anything. There's the mine, and then miles and miles and miles of baron, flat, featureless tundra. -50C (-56F) does happen in the winter and +20C (+68F) This thing will be hit, dropped, and be submerged in water along with every other type of fluid that was ever used in a piece of machinery.

Since we don't work directly in the mine, we aren't required to have explosion proof stuff, but they do frown on lithium batteries apparently. The cheapest LED headlamp on the market would be ok for use in the shop. The company does supply AAA batteries, but you're on your own for the light itself.

I don't mind putting out good money for good products. I hate putting out ANY money for junk, and I hate paying 100% more for stuff for a 1% gain.

My main need is "it can't break". I'm not saying it has to be able to take endless hammer blows right to the lens, but it does need to stand up to a fair bit of abuse. Did I mention that there's NO place to buy a replacement ? :) I also need it to have a head strap. I'd rather knock it off and have to put it back on a hard hat than have it rigidly mounted, and have the mounting point break off from an impact. Usage will be intermittent throughout 12 hour shifts. Extreme brightness is ok, just as long as it can be turned down as required for the application. The one other thing is that it has to be able to swivel up and down as required.

Yes, I will be buying a cheapy backup, but I really don't want to have to purchase a new main light very often.

Money is always an object of consideration, but its buy FAR, not my main consideration. Like I said...I don't mind paying a pretty penny for gear if I'm getting value for money, and not just marketing BS.

So...given all THAT....what would you buy ? Thanks in advance guys.

Den.....
 

hiuintahs

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 12, 2006
Messages
1,840
Location
Utah
When I first read your request, I'm thinking that it will need to be an AAA headlamp since that is what the company provides. The gotcha in that respect is that LED flashlights / headlamps perform better not using alkaline batteries. The NiMh Eneloop performs better especially at the higher output levels. Maybe you provide your own Eneloop batteries with knowing that you can recharge them every day and also you can pick up company provided batteries as a backup. If not running the highest level output, then the alkalines will be OK. And if you are going through them fairly often, there won't be worry of them leaking acid without you're knowing about it.

Associated with the AAA headlamp or flashlight is a common configuration of 3xAAA batteries. The reason for that is that early on makers used 3 batteries to get the voltage up to and above the forward voltage of an LED (or multiple 5mm LEDs). That way they didn't have to provide a very sophisticated regulated driver. And thus the efficiency of those wasn't as good as others. Using 3 AAA batteries makes the headlamp less bulky than say 3xAA.

So with that bias out of the way, one well made 3xAAA headlamp that is very well regulated and the driver isn't a cheap design is the Fenix HL25. I actually have this one and like it. I've got other headlamps and so I'm not stuck with just that one. But I refuse to give it up because I kind of like it. It does have a rugged look to it and is IPX-8 rated. It's been discontinued but you can still find them. They aren't quite as cheap as when they were when in stock but still available. So that would be my recommendation if AAA is the way you're going.

If willing to go with other battery type, there's a lot of options.............AA and lithium ion. If willing to go with a 18650 rechargeable lithium ion, then I'd suggest the Fenix HL60R or HL55. Both of those have an optional strap to go over the top of your head and also Fenix offers a mount for a hard hat.

When you say they frown on lithium ion batteries, is that mainly the rechargeable ones? Or is that the primary lithium batteries too? The reason I ask is that primary lithium batteries such as the CR123A cell or the Energizer L91 or L92 AA / AAA lithium batteries will be the best for cold operation.
 
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iamlucky13

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 11, 2016
Messages
1,139
A couple of the go-to brands to recommend around here in addition to Fenix are Zebralight and Armytek. Zebralights are compact, lightweight, and efficient. Armytek's are a bit less refined, but very ruggedly built. Unfortunately, although the bodies are very tough and they're designed to be shock resistant, there have been some apparent quality control issues that several users here have been bit by. That makes me unsure whether or not to recommend Armytek or not, but I thought I'd at least discuss them.

Both Zebralight and Armytek designs are also good to remove from the headband and use as a hand-held right angle light, and several of the Armyteks even come with magnetic tailcaps so they can be stuck to any handy steel surface. Or some users glue neodymium magnets to lights that don't have a magnet.

Both brands have some 1 x AA powered headlamps, and some CR123A powered headlamps. Does your company only provide AAA's? Would it work for you to have a couple sets of NiMH rechargeable AA's of your own to use with your light?

One other option that comes to mind is the Petzl Pixa series. They're supposed to be more rugged than Petzl's outdoors headlamps, and suitable for your kind of work. I think they're even rated as intrinsically safe.

Reading your work conditions, I can't help but wonder if alkaline batteries will be very satisfactory. They do not handle cold weather well. At 0 deg C (battery temperature - might be warmer than outside temperature if you keep it in your pocket), in moderate drain applications, Energizer says their alkalines get about half the runtime as at room temperature, and the performance gets worse the colder you go. Maximum brightness will also drop with temperature.

NiMH rechargeables do significantly better in the cold, and lithium primary batteries (like Energizer Ultimate Lithiums) even better, but the cost of lithium primaries adds up quickly.

I have to guess the batteries frowned upon are only lithium-ion rechargeables. Lithium primaries should not be a safety concern.
 

blacksmithden

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 25, 2018
Messages
2
A couple of the go-to brands to recommend around here in addition to Fenix are Zebralight and Armytek. Zebralights are compact, lightweight, and efficient. Armytek's are a bit less refined, but very ruggedly built. Unfortunately, although the bodies are very tough and they're designed to be shock resistant, there have been some apparent quality control issues that several users here have been bit by. That makes me unsure whether or not to recommend Armytek or not, but I thought I'd at least discuss them.

Both Zebralight and Armytek designs are also good to remove from the headband and use as a hand-held right angle light, and several of the Armyteks even come with magnetic tailcaps so they can be stuck to any handy steel surface. Or some users glue neodymium magnets to lights that don't have a magnet.

Both brands have some 1 x AA powered headlamps, and some CR123A powered headlamps. Does your company only provide AAA's? Would it work for you to have a couple sets of NiMH rechargeable AA's of your own to use with your light?

One other option that comes to mind is the Petzl Pixa series. They're supposed to be more rugged than Petzl's outdoors headlamps, and suitable for your kind of work. I think they're even rated as intrinsically safe.

Reading your work conditions, I can't help but wonder if alkaline batteries will be very satisfactory. They do not handle cold weather well. At 0 deg C (battery temperature - might be warmer than outside temperature if you keep it in your pocket), in moderate drain applications, Energizer says their alkalines get about half the runtime as at room temperature, and the performance gets worse the colder you go. Maximum brightness will also drop with temperature.

NiMH rechargeables do significantly better in the cold, and lithium primary batteries (like Energizer Ultimate Lithiums) even better, but the cost of lithium primaries adds up quickly.

I have to guess the batteries frowned upon are only lithium-ion rechargeables. Lithium primaries should not be a safety concern.

Thanks for the reply. You're not the first person to recommend the Petzl Pixa lights. I managed to get in touch with a friend of mine who I haven't talked to in years. He's in the mining game. I didn't know he was a supervisor now. Anyway, he told me they've had the best luck with Pelican brand lights. I might just say to heck with it, and buy one of each.

As far as the batteries go, it's like this. They will give us all the Energizer alkaline AAA batteries we need. Stopping for 5 minutes in the middle of a shift to change batteries isn't a problem. It's the mine, and not my company that has a problem with lithium ion. I thought about going with NiMH, but then I thought..why bother. If they're going to give me an endless supply of free batteries, just go with the flow.
 

flatline

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 6, 2009
Messages
1,923
Location
Tennessee
As far as the batteries go, it's like this. They will give us all the Energizer alkaline AAA batteries we need. Stopping for 5 minutes in the middle of a shift to change batteries isn't a problem. It's the mine, and not my company that has a problem with lithium ion. I thought about going with NiMH, but then I thought..why bother. If they're going to give me an endless supply of free batteries, just go with the flow.

If you've got an endless supply of half-used AAAs at the end of your shift, make sure you pick up a decent low output AAA light to feed them to.

--flatline
 

NorSar

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 17, 2017
Messages
6
My concern would be keeping the batteries warm, and this leads me to think that you maybe should consider a lamp with an external pack. I live in norway, and during the winter the main concern is keeping runtimes up when it comes to portable lightning. I use a big honking Petzl ultra, and even though i will not suggest you get something like that for your purposes, i would look for lights where you are able to put the battery pack in your inner pocket og similar. This keeps your batteries happy, and your light on for much longer. I was on a ground search last week, in temps hovering around -10 untill the sun came up, the AAs in my GPS lastet 35 minutes before i got the first low battery warning. With the battery pack for my headlamp in my jacket i had no issues with it.

Comedy option is to get a Olight H2R and just run it on high, the heat from the thrower should keep both the battery and your forehead warm... :D
 
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