# Brightest clip on cap lights.



## gtpforever (Oct 26, 2018)

I found an old post for clip on cap lights and most of the stuff there is way outdated by multiple years. But I'd like to ask the same question here which is what are some high lumen output lights that clip on a baseball cap? 
Any help with either make and models or links to them will be great! I just would like to find something to clip to my hat that is as bright as I can get it to help see in crawl spaces and not have a flashlight in my mouth. Lol


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## parametrek (Oct 26, 2018)

My database has a section for hatlights. Sorting by lumens suggests the 1400 lumen Manker E14 as the winner. But I wouldn't get that one. It just barely squeaks under my arbitrary weight limit and I'm not too impressed with Manker's build quality.

The Olight S1R is 900 lumens but weighs half as much (54g) as the E14. The brand new Fenix E16 is only 39 grams with the battery and does 700 lumens. I would go with the Fenix myself.


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## gtpforever (Oct 26, 2018)

parametrek said:


> My database has a section for hatlights. Sorting by lumens suggests the 1400 lumen Manker E14 as the winner. But I wouldn't get that one. It just barely squeaks under my arbitrary weight limit and I'm not too impressed with Manker's build quality.
> 
> The Olight S1R is 900 lumens but weighs half as much (54g) as the E14. The brand new Fenix E16 is only 39 grams with the battery and does 700 lumens. I would go with the Fenix myself.



What's your rundown on which ones last the longest on the batteries they require? I've noticed that some say a crazy amount of time but others say a mere few hours. I'd prefer to not need to change my batteries 2 times while at work each day so the battery life for me is almost as important as the brightness. Lol


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## Lynx_Arc (Oct 26, 2018)

My advice in buying headlamps is consider the output and runtime desired and then start from there. The higher the numbers the larger the battery has to be in the end and I read the Fenix E16 has some folks saying Turbo mode is problematic gets too hot and flickers.
I Bought a Wowtac headlamp that uses an 18650 and has about 900 lumens on high and I think 140 lumens for about 14 hours but it isn't a clip on light I did purchase a single band strap for it and use it on my head (no top band) it could be worn on a cap I figure.


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## gtpforever (Oct 27, 2018)

Lynx_Arc said:


> My advice in buying headlamps is consider the output and runtime desired and then start from there. The higher the numbers the larger the battery has to be in the end and I read the Fenix E16 has some folks saying Turbo mode is problematic gets too hot and flickers.
> I Bought a Wowtac headlamp that uses an 18650 and has about 900 lumens on high and I think 140 lumens for about 14 hours but it isn't a clip on light I did purchase a single band strap for it and use it on my head (no top band) it could be worn on a cap I figure.



I'm hoping to find a clip on style really but if I have to I'll try a strap style but since my work has is wearing a baseball cap the clip on style is just easier. I wish I know what kind of lumins I needed tho because I see you talk about a 900 lumins light but I don't know what kind of output that is to my eyes. I know some of my work is up close to me but other times I'm crawling around in a pitch black crawl space under a house so a night light that helps light my way when getting to where I'm going.


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## Lynx_Arc (Oct 27, 2018)

gtpforever said:


> I'm hoping to find a clip on style really but if I have to I'll try a strap style but since my work has is wearing a baseball cap the clip on style is just easier. I wish I know what kind of lumins I needed tho because I see you talk about a 900 lumins light but I don't know what kind of output that is to my eyes. I know some of my work is up close to me but other times I'm crawling around in a pitch black crawl space under a house so a night light that helps light my way when getting to where I'm going.



Under a house you probably will rarely "need" even 400-500 lumens but could operate in the 50-300 lumen range mostly and do ok with 25 lumens even for navigating if there is some light scattering/reflecting there. I was under a house a few years ago installing ductwork for a package unit using a 1AA rayovac headlamp (luxeon 1) about 30 lumens output for 1.5 hours and it was for the most part fine but with had to keep the light mostly pointed at what I was doing due to the low power output. I suspect if I had 100 lumens it would have been more optimal. In a flood light situation the guy I worked with had a Dewalt flood light head that had 4 LEDs on it that put out 250/500 lumens and it was fine on low most of the time IMO but he mostly ran it on high as it started on high I think.


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## parametrek (Nov 8, 2018)

gtpforever said:


> What's your rundown on which ones last the longest on the batteries they require? I've noticed that some say a crazy amount of time but others say a mere few hours. I'd prefer to not need to change my batteries 2 times while at work each day so the battery life for me is almost as important as the brightness. Lol



I really can't say. In general most lights from a given decade will be fairly similar in that regard. Unless there was an exceptional engineering blunder. It also depends tremendously on how you use the light. Bigger batteries last longer but make hat lights more awkward. 16340 or maybe a normal AA is about the biggest/heaviest I would consider for a hatlight.


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## Ozythemandias (Nov 8, 2018)

The new Darkside Nymph on Kickstarter is looking pretty promising.


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## HorizontalHunter (Nov 15, 2018)

I have the Manker E14 is an awesome flashlight. (I use the extended 18650 tube.) There is no way I would try to use it on the bill of a hat. It is way too heavy for that.

I am leaning towards the Fenix E16 myself. I have had several Fenix lights over the years and they have been great performers and held up well. 

A big plus for the E16 is that it looks like their color filters will fit it as well. I’m still trying to verify that though.

FWIW:
Another great option is the Fenix HL50. It is a great little headlamp. I loaned it to my brother last hunting season and never got it back; even after being reminded. Twice. LOL

Bob


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## Lynx_Arc (Nov 16, 2018)

parametrek said:


> I really can't say. In general most lights from a given decade will be fairly similar in that regard. Unless there was an exceptional engineering blunder. It also depends tremendously on how you use the light. Bigger batteries last longer but make hat lights more awkward. 16340 or maybe a normal AA is about the biggest/heaviest I would consider for a hatlight.


I would agree with this, as much as 18650 lights have the best runtime for size/weight they are too heavy and bulky to clip onto a hat. One thing about clip on hat vs headlamps is the bill of the hat can block light if the light isn't mounted on it right and out there on the bill heavier/bulkier lights have a greater chance of being easily knocked off in use. 
What would be ideal is a clip on light with an external battery pack that can be moved away from the clip on location this would allow larger batteries to be used greatly increasing output and runtime. The light could easily be made with a USB plug/cord such that you could use higher quality power banks.


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