# Mammut Lucido TX1 – review - why mammoth extinct ?



## Szemhazai (Jan 16, 2010)

In the last year, I get one question for many times „what do you think about Mammut ?” The answer was quite easy “nothing, I don’t know that headlamp”. The press releases are quite impressive so I decide to test it myself. Mammut is one of the biggest outdoor brands on the European market; almost everybody will find something with that label in a closet. At 2008 they introduce some headlamps on the market, so called brand stretching. The most interesting model should be competitive model to Petzl Myo XP / Black Diamond Icon - Mammut Lucido TX1 – 1 power led as a main light and 2 small led’s as a camping light.







*Some marketing data*
The highest-performance headlamp for alpine use. The highly precise Total Reflex Optics with one HiFLux LED reaches 105 m light-range, two Definition LEDs for 180 hours of Flood-Light and Dual-Light. Also comes with a load of additional clever features.

- Features one HiFlux.LED and two Definition.LED bulbs with Total Reflex Optics for bright, clear light
- HiFLux LED spotlight range of 105 meters/145 hours
- Two Definition. LEDs for floodlight: High: 14 meters/155 hours, Low: 7 meters/180 hours
- "Dual" flood/spot mode for combined peripheral vision and long range: 105 meters/100 hours
- Light angle: Spot/9°, Flood/45°, Dual/45°/9°
- Three blinking red LEDs on the back of the battery housing - ideal for biking and low light conditions
- Uses 3 AA batteries (included), switch lock
- Adjustable head band with water-resistant battery housing
- Weight w/ Batteries	5.29 oz.
Price : 63 to 79$.

*Impressions*

„So cool”, it has a heat-sink, the buttons are quite big as for the headlamp, the battery container closure is simply and functional (copy from Silva). :thumbsup:






I put in batteries and start swearing like a trooper on designer and producer of the TX1. 
- the headlamp does not want to turn on, I have to use almost full power of my fingers to pres the buttons inside the case to turn it on or to change the mode.
- the head base is not covered by band or foam – after a few minutes I have two curves pressed on my forehead






- the battery container closure if fine, but why do I have to remove the headband to lock it appropriately?

It doesn't looks to good for mammoth, but let's go on. With a set of recharchables the lamp weights 185 grams.

*Inside looks…*

Headlamp technically is very good, cooling, custom designed optics - everything is in place, where it should be.










To open the head, you don’t need to remove any screws, simply remove a red plug on the right side, unbend the holder, after pulling the head out you can open it in your hands. On the joints, head is not sealed, only the place where the heatsink plate contact with housing has been filled with silicone.
Here we come to the crux of my disappointment with this headlamp, the light introduced, as innovative in 2008 is actually based on Luxeon III emitter , that glory ended in 2007 and in 2009 it is no longer used in any of the modern mass-produced headlamps, or so I thought…






By the way, I discover what the problem with the buttons is, between the elastic cover and a momentary switch is about 1.5 mm gap - it looks as if someone has changed part ID on a project specification, and forgot to correct that in the specification, which was send into production.

*Power supply*

The container is small, and its closure is made of soft rubber for easy opening and to eliminate the movements of the container during quick movements. 3 red led’s significantly improve the visibility of the user on the road. There is only one drawback, if in the Myo XP container can be opened after moving the headband, here you have to remove it completely.







The control over the headlamp is given to Microchip PIC12F508 - beyond the lack of regulation there is nothing to get at .
http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/Devices.aspx?dDocName=en020094


Very long burn time is due to a slow decline in the amount of light, TX1 behaves exactly like the competition powered from three AA cells (Myo XP / Icon BD), with the batteries works fine, but on rechargeables perform poorly in case of the low voltage.


```
3x batteries 4,46V without load.
3x rechargeables 3,92V without load.
             V-in   I-In   P-In     V-led  I-led  P-led   Eff.
Luxeon BAT   3,61V  231mA  0,83W    3,29V  226mA  0,75W   89,5%
Luxeon ACU   3,41V  160mA  0,55W    3,18V  151mA  0,48W   88,4%
```

With such currents set of cells will surely be enough for a long time. It’s time to torment hairy elephant a little more :].

* How it light ?*

Luxeon III on board, low current, all hopes in great collimator lens . In comparison with the Myo XP, '08 - a little unfair, because it is on already on SSC P4 but so the market is. :touche:

Mammut Lucido TX1 (Luxeon III) vs Myo XP '08 (SSC P4 T-bin) high.










Mammut SMD vs Myo XP ‘08 low










You can see how much difference makes a optics - amazing focusing lens in the TX1 causes, despite the small amount of light, that Mammut has a range incomparable to the competing solutions. However, there is a price - the first plan is almost entirely black out and if you can find a path up to 40 meters away but you can’t see the root 1,5 meter before your legs there may be a problem.

In conclusion, the mammoth is very expensive, not too comfortable and hard to operate searchlight, that is not giving to much light. But it was Christmas Eve, even convicts have a chance of a gift, so lets go to work.

*Mod*

Outdated Luxeon III, which gives about 42 lumens at 350mA I’ll replace for one othe newest led’s on the market, Cree XP-G bin R4, which gives a minimum 130 lumens at 350mA.

```
V-in   I-In   P-In     V-led  I-led  P-led   Eff.
XP-G BAT     3,38V  272mA  0,92W    3,01V  269mA  0,81W   88,1%
XP-G ACU     3,27V  197mA  0,65W    2,97V  193mA  0,58W   89,0%
```
Now I should get, respectively 110 or 80 lumens depending on power source :].

Now it shine, but it still does not like to be turn on. From the rubber pad I cut two small circles and glued them directly to buttons, filling a gap. Moments waiting for glue to bound both parts and it's working as it should, the buttons are now sensitive enough to change modes without the slightest problems.

So what came out? Now it was not fair for the old Myo XP, to be put it in the comparison, so I enter the MYO RXP .










Well now, this light is lightning . By the way of a significant increase in the amount of light slightly improved the visibility of the first plan, but it is still not the headlamp for a runner. After modification we get the best thrower in the category of headlamps. There is only one question, for whom is this light? Low mode on 2 led’s is suitable for walking or work camp, but on high the light intensity is too high to use it on a smaller distance as 5-10 meters. 

*Conclusion*

Certainly it is a nice addition as a second light on the helmet allowing searching the bushes, when the light on the steering wheel gives us a good road illumination. Generally it is relatively costly and less versatile headlamp that after mod can find its followers, because the factory version is destined for extinction.


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