# The Little Monkey: a great new caving headlamp!



## Yucca Patrol (Mar 10, 2010)

Well, here's the first custom cave-worthy headlamp using a Cree R5! 

The darn thing looks bulletproof, and it is about time that someone stepped up to the plate and offered a caving headlamp using the brightest and most efficient LED available! :twothumbs

http://littlemonkeycaving.co.uk

I've been in contact with the developer/builder and am incredibly impressed and will be ordering one as soon as all my good stuff sells in the marketplace.


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## barnefko (Mar 10, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

Very nice - but c'mon: 400$ :thinking:

Think thats a little overpriced


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## Ajax517 (Mar 10, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

Site's down.

Any specs or beamshots?


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## Yucca Patrol (Mar 10, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*



barnefko said:


> Very nice - but c'mon: 400$ :thinking:
> 
> Think thats a little overpriced



The price seems high, but it is actually on par or cheaper than other custom extremely rugged caving headlamps, especially considering that it is using the newest and best LED available.

You are correct that limited production, custom hand-built, extremely rugged gear costs a lot more than your average chunk of plastic and elastic straps, but this is no ordinarly headlamp and is intended to survive extra-ordinary abuse.

When you are hours into a cave, rappelling down a raging waterfall, you realize your life is worth a lot more than a $40 piece of plastic.


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## kramer5150 (Mar 10, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*



barnefko said:


> Very nice - but c'mon: 400$ :thinking:
> 
> Think thats a little overpriced




Hardly... when you consider the abuse these guys put all their tools through. Any light thats designed and manufacture warrantied to endure this kind of environment will not be cheap.

OT comment...
You guys have not seen the going rate for dental industry headlamps, $500-$3000 is that price range:mecry:. My wife is a dentist and I FRIEK'd out when she was showing me the price for some of that stuff. _Everything _in that industry is HEAVILY regulated (understandably so) and certified at the federal, state and in some cases international levels. By the time you add it all up its very $$$.


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## vali (Mar 10, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

Interesting headlamp. No nonsense at all and well thought product (but I am not a caver).



> Supports 9v AA batteries



I didnt know those even exist . The only "drawback" is the need to 6xAA batteries if you plan to use NiMH. I think it would be a bit heavy and 4xAA should be better.


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## Yucca Patrol (Mar 10, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*



vali said:


> Interesting headlamp. No nonsense at all and well thought product (but I am not a caver).
> 
> 
> 
> I didnt know those even exist . The only "drawback" is the need to 6xAA batteries if you plan to use NiMH. I think it would be a bit heavy and 4xAA should be better.



4xAA wouldn't work because it needs move voltage.


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## uk_caver (Mar 10, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

The 6xAA option is mainly intended for expedition use, etc, rather than everyday caving.


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## cave dave (Mar 10, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*



vali said:


> The only "drawback" is the need to 6xAA batteries if you plan to use NiMH. I think it would be a bit heavy and 4xAA should be better.



It's not that heavy if you use Li primaries. I have a 6xAA holder for my Stenlight with Li AA in it. If you have access to a recharger you would use the LiIon pack. If you need to use primaries than Li is the way to go. A 3xCr123 holder option might be nice.


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## rayman (Mar 10, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

Looks good, should also work great as bikelight. But it's a little bit overpriced .

rayman


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## Mark620 (Mar 11, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

At that price the cord should be armored.


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## simples (Mar 12, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

I'd be interested in someone qualifying why exactly they think this is expensive, considering what it is and what it's for. It 's not really the sort of thing that gets banged out by the billion in a factory in China, and you can't exactly buy pro cell packs like that at batteryblob dot com :sigh:


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## paulr (Mar 12, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

Looks sort of like the machined bike light housings Matthewm has been making in the bike lights / custom section.


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## Yucca Patrol (Mar 13, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*



paulr said:


> Looks sort of like the machined bike light housings Matthewm has been making in the bike lights / custom section.



High-end bike lights and caving lights share a lot of common traits. Both need to be super bright and very durable and resistant to extremes of weather.

And to make an announcement.. . . . the first Little Monkey in the US is heading across the pond to my doorstep as I type this!


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## uk_caver (Mar 13, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

When it comes to machining housings, there are only so many ways to skin that particular cat.

Congratulations on the purchase.
It's a really nice unit, and the maker's a good bloke.


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## Beacon of Light (Mar 13, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

No moon mode on a $400 light? I'll pass.


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## vtunderground (Mar 13, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

So this headlamp runs on a 7.4v Li-Ion battery pack, but only has one LED (with a forward voltage of roughly 3.2v). Does anyone know for certain if the headlamp has circuitry to prevent overdischarge of the batteries? Or does it just rely on the batteries' protection circuits?


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## Ragiska (Mar 13, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*



Beacon of Light said:


> No moon mode on a $400 light? I'll pass.



because of course everyone else uses lights the exact same way as you, and has the exact same needs as you do


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## uk_caver (Mar 13, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*



vtunderground said:


> So this headlamp runs on a 7.4v Li-Ion battery pack, but only has one LED (with a forward voltage of roughly 3.2v). Does anyone know for certain if the headlamp has circuitry to prevent overdischarge of the batteries? Or does it just rely on the batteries' protection circuits?


AFAIK, the light progressively locks out higher power levels as the battery flattens, but the ultimate turn-off is via the cell protection circuit.

I'm not sure of the fine details of the cell-pack protection circuit, but if it switches off when either cell goes below a threshold, then unless a theoretical headset-based power-off threshold voltage was set cautiously high (losing some amount of runtime), there'd always be the chance of the cell protection circuit kicking in before the headset, since all the headset can see is the total battery voltage, and there's always the potential for one cell to discharge more or less sooner than the other one.


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## Dioni (Mar 13, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

how much?  :green:


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## kevinm (Mar 13, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*

It's on par with the Sten-light, price-wise. That written, I don't cave with a Sten. I use a modified Rayovac\River Rock; it's hard to be a caver AND broke. :candle: 

There was a headlamp being machined by a CPF'er. I think it was $170 with no internals, and showed a lot of promise...


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## simples (Mar 20, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*



kevinm said:


> There was a headlamp being machined by a CPF'er. I think it was $170 with no internals, and showed a lot of promise...


 
Could somebody point me in the direction of this please. I can't find it and I'd like to take a look. Sorry.


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## Yucca Patrol (Mar 20, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*



simples said:


> Could somebody point me in the direction of this please. I can't find it and I'd like to take a look. Sorry.




Perhaps the headlamp you are thinking of is the servlight 2.0 or 3.0

www.serv-light.com

Koen is a great guy and will almost certainly help the buyer figure out how to construct the light to meet their own needs. I have one of his first 1.0 models (which is VERY different) and every communication I have had with him has been excellent!


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## Beacon of Light (Mar 22, 2010)

*Re: Awesome new caving headlamp: Little Monkey*



Ragiska said:


> because of course everyone else uses lights the exact same way as you, and has the exact same needs as you do



If I didn't know any better I'd say this is an alt for a certain someone on here that always likes to be confrontational. Complete with even the sarcastic whistling emoticon. It's pretty obvious.


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## Yucca Patrol (Mar 25, 2010)

I received my Little Monkey this week, and it is a very impressive piece. The design is no-nonsense and as simple as possible which leaves very little to go wrong. I'd say that it is brutally elegant in its design.

The very well machined aluminum battery case in particular is very impressive and should survive the bumps and scratches it will experience during its lifetime.

I have not had a chance to take it into an actual cave, but have compared it against my Serv-Light 1.0 in my large and very dark back lot, and it is almost as bright as the Serv-Light's highest setting (Serv has one P7 for flood and an MC-E for throw). Although it does not have the very floody beam of the Serv-Light, it has a good combination of throw and flood that many cavers will like.

It uses an optic which throws incredibly well, with a medium level of floody spill. My personal preference would have liked just a little bit more flood to the beam. However, that is just personal preference and the added throw will be great in the big borehole passages. A thin piece of diffusing film could add a bit more spill for those who desire it.

Although I do not have one to compare side by side, this lamp is certainly much brighter than the comparatively priced Sten-Light and has the added benefit of a machined battery housing which is not available for the Sten, making it an excellent value in the realm of high-end caving headlamps.

For those of us in the United States, we must order a power plug converter, as the UK version is 220V rather than 110V, but I was able to get one for $1 on ebay, so this is basically a non-issue. 

Hope this mini-review helps any other cavers interested in a new high-end caving headlamp.


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## kevinm (Mar 26, 2010)

Yucca Patrol said:


> I received my Little Monkey this week, and it is a very impressive piece. The design is no-nonsense and as simple as possible which leaves very little to go wrong. I'd say that it is brutally elegant in its design.
> 
> The very well machined aluminum battery case in particular is very impressive and should survive the bumps and scratches it will experience during its lifetime.
> 
> ...




Pics, Yucca! Pics!!! Also, please include the Serv. My toys are not as good.:candle:

Hopefully this summer I will have a chance to build something a bit more impressive than my current caving headlamps.

Thanks,
Kevin


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## PeLu (Mar 27, 2010)

Yucca Patrol said:


> It uses an optic which throws incredibly well, with a medium level of floody spill. My personal preference would have liked just a little bit more flood to the beam.


 This is also my impression. But people's tastes are different.

I prefer is much over the Stenlight (to compare it with a light of a similar class).

What I especially like is the 'fuel gauge'. Works better than other fuel gauges on other lights. 

I got mine about a year ago and had it updated two months ago to the latest version. I lent it to a caver who is currently in Nepal and waiting for experiences.


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## Yucca Patrol (Jul 7, 2010)

A new dive proof version called the Little General is now available! This will be a welcome addition for cavers wanting the ultimate in waterproofness 

http://littlemonkeycaving.co.uk/LittleGeneral.aspx


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## uk_caver (Jul 7, 2010)

At the risk of going slightly OT, does anyone know what happened to Serv-light?

I saw one of their recent headsets - nice looking, pretty similar to the Little Monkey/General in appearance - being used by someone for cave diving, but the website seems to have disappeared, and the domain appears to be for sale, so I'm assuming they've stopped completely.


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## Yucca Patrol (Jul 7, 2010)

I have a serv-light but the only contact info I have is the same address shown on the site.

Thankfully I bought a bunch of replacement parts for mine in the past few months. . .


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## vtunderground (Jul 7, 2010)

Yucca Patrol said:


> A new dive proof version called the Little General is now available! This will be a welcome addition for cavers wanting the ultimate in waterproofness
> 
> http://littlemonkeycaving.co.uk/LittleGeneral.aspx



I think the biggest difference (and advantage) of the Little General is that it works with a lower voltage range: 3.6-6.0 volts.


ALSO, does anyone know for sure what optics the Little Monkey uses? The website says the optic is Italian, so I'm assuming Khatod.


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