# Headlamp with the lowest low/ longest runtime on AA or AAA?



## Beacon of Light (Mar 22, 2010)

This is due to my preference for longest run-times. Also prefer the lowest of low in a headlamp. I'm not concerned with the brightest light out there, I want the best bang for buck for run-time at the expense of brightness.

My ideal UI would be .02 lumens / .2 lumens / 2 lumens. Yes 2 lumens would be the HIGH. That's all the brightness I would need.


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## jch79 (Mar 22, 2010)

The Surefire Saint can run on 2xAA, and you won't find a lower low, thanks to its infinite brightness levels.


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## carrot (Mar 22, 2010)

Sadly the Saint's lowest is about 1 or 2 lumens. But I think you will be hard pressed to find anything that goes lower.


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## kramer5150 (Mar 22, 2010)

My H501 did 1.5L on low in bigchelis' sphere


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## Beacon of Light (Mar 22, 2010)

If 1 or 2 lumens is among the lowest I think the next version of the Zebralight H501 will be my next headlamp. Going by the H501R the low will be *.8 lumens* and the lower low will be *.1 lumens*. Looks like Zebralight will be getting more of my money this year with the SC50 and the H501 or H51 whatever they call the revised H501.


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## Beacon of Light (Mar 26, 2010)

Any other contenders or do I already own the best run-time kings with the Princeton Tec EOS 4 mode with 121 hours on 3 AAA on low and the H50 with 3.5 days (84 hours) on low?


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## Beacon of Light (Mar 26, 2010)

I will add the Princeton Tec Remix gets 200 hours on low from the 5MM Nichias using 3xAAAs!!!


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## SilverFox (Mar 27, 2010)

Hello Beacon of Light,

The Yukon Extreme will run 200 hours on low LED, but I think it is a little more bulk, and quite a bit brighter than what you are looking for. There are also rumors that it is being discontinued...

Tom


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## Beacon of Light (Mar 27, 2010)

Yeah it is bulky and possibly uncomfortable if that remote battery pack needs to be carried to get that 200 hours. Plus the $60 for something not much better than the Remix I can get for around $29 new.


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## defloyd77 (Mar 27, 2010)

I'd imagine the Photon Freedom Fusion would have crazy runtime, http://www.photonlight.com/Photon-F...Headlamps-p/ff-aa-led-flashlight-headlamp.htm


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## Beacon of Light (Mar 29, 2010)

That thing looks even bulkier than the Yukon. 3xAA is huge. What's the runtime on low with 3xAAs? I expect at least a month of continual run-time on low to warrant something so bulky.


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## defloyd77 (Mar 29, 2010)

I cannot find any runtime claims on the lowest modes.


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## Woods Walker (Mar 29, 2010)

When using my ZL in the field I find the low just isn’t enough to setup camp at times. That puts a bite on the long running ZL thing a bit. The EOS and HL20 on the other hand offers a bright enough low that I can get away with mostly using that but once the EOS falls out of regulation will change out the LSD NiMH. The HL20 has a 4ish lumen low for 56 hours and does so using 1XAA so with a backup battery I am packing 2XAA as opposed to 6XAAA. Just something to consider.


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## hopkins (Mar 30, 2010)

Adding a resistor and a switch to one side of the power cable to limit current
when desired on headlamps with remote battery packs is very easy.
Buy a bag a resistors at Radio Shack /etc and with your DMM test for 
the lumen output you want. It may be possible to place the resistor
temporarily inside the battery pack to dim the LED.


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## Egsise (Mar 30, 2010)

Fenix headband and Quark AA, 0.2 lumen low and over 300 hour runtime with single 2000mAh AA Eneloop.


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## Beacon of Light (Mar 30, 2010)

Egsise said:


> Fenix headband and Quark AA, 0.2 lumen low and over 300 hour runtime with single 2000mAh AA Eneloop.



I have that already and so far that is the longest running headlamp (if you can call it that since it is a bulky and not a dedicated headlamp) I own. The runtime of the Quark in the normal headlamp type enclosure would be great. I guess the only light I am looking forward to is the updated ZL H-501, ZL H-51.


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## Beacon of Light (Mar 30, 2010)

Woods Walker said:


> When using my ZL in the field I find the low just isn’t enough to setup camp at times. That puts a bite on the long running ZL thing a bit. The EOS and HL20 on the other hand offers a bright enough low that I can get away with mostly using that but once the EOS falls out of regulation will change out the LSD NiMH. The HL20 has a 4ish lumen low for 56 hours and does so using 1XAA so with a backup battery I am packing 2XAA as opposed to 6XAAA. Just something to consider.



Actually I like the EOS the first few hours it falls out of regulation than the standard regulated low. 

I also prefer a 1xAA than a 3xAAA. Also why I'd pick up the new improved Zebralight H-501. It's run-time on low already trumps the HL-20 and this is the older H-501. The newer H-501 will have even a longer running low and a super long moon mode. Also I like the 90 degree light on Zebralights more than the bulky looking HL-20. It's like they tried to copy Zebralight but did it in a way that makes it look ugly like a cheapo Ray O' Vac or Coleman reject.


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## Beacon of Light (Mar 30, 2010)

hopkins said:


> Adding a resistor and a switch to one side of the power cable to limit current
> when desired on headlamps with remote battery packs is very easy.
> Buy a bag a resistors at Radio Shack /etc and with your DMM test for
> the lumen output you want. It may be possible to place the resistor
> temporarily inside the battery pack to dim the LED.



Power cable? Explain how this works on a known headlamp like a Zebralight please. Thanks.


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## carrot (Mar 30, 2010)

Beacon of Light said:


> Power cable? Explain how this works on a known headlamp like a Zebralight please. Thanks.


"when desired on headlamps with remote battery packs"

AKA not Zebralight.


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## Egsise (Mar 30, 2010)

Beacon of Light said:


> Actually I like the EOS the first few hours it falls out of regulation than the standard regulated low.
> 
> I also prefer a 1xAA than a 3xAAA. Also why I'd pick up the new improved Zebralight H-501. It's run-time on low already trumps the HL-20 and this is the older H-501. The newer H-501 will have even a longer running low and a super long moon mode. Also I like the 90 degree light on Zebralights more than the bulky looking HL-20. It's like they tried to copy Zebralight but did it in a way that makes it look ugly like a cheapo Ray O' Vac or Coleman reject.


I wouldn't say that they tried to copy, the HL20 design is so much different.

Something like the original H50 but with low low and throwy beam and separate diffuser would be great.


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## Woods Walker (Mar 31, 2010)

Egsise said:


> I wouldn't say that they tried to copy, the HL20 design is so much different.


 
I gotta agree. The HL20 is nothing like the H50/H501/H501w I own beyond using 1XAA. It is the only 1XAA headlamp that I know of which is multi mode for the higher output LED with real good throw but know nothing about the Coleman headlamps. I didn't like the headband however replaced that with an older Aurora band. I think in actual field use it's a very good headlamp but that's just me. Also the 56 hour regulated low is bright enough for more uses. The same can't be said for the 3.5 day ZL low and guessing any moon mode more so but again this is based on speculation (don't own a sub lumen light) and field use of the 3ish ZL low which is good for lots of thing too. However the OP may not like the HL20 and that's ok too. Guessing this is why there is more than one option on the market.


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## Beacon of Light (Mar 31, 2010)

how many hours will the HL20 run out of regulation? Also Woods Walker I know you are a big fan of the EOS, so compare the low of EOS to the low low of the HL20 for me please, thanks.


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## Woods Walker (Apr 1, 2010)

I think the HL20 is doing 4 lumens fully regulated for 56 hours. The EOS looks to be doing 5ish lumens on low for 50 hours before going into direct drive. Given the beam HL20 (more throw) EOS (more flood) it’s hard to tell which is lower. I dislike the HL20 diffuser on high but find low very workable. Medium isn’t all that bad but glare like tint can be in the eye of the beholder. The HL20 keeps its low with lithium Energizers unlike some Fenix AA lights. The EOS has longer regulated runtimes at the expense of DD using them. The HL20 does have a bit of a WOW factor on high. The EOS has the better beam for most uses in my view. Both are not the lowest/longest anything however.


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## Egsise (Apr 1, 2010)

HL20 has a overdischarge protection at 0.9V or so, so if you use rechargeables it's better than direct drive headlamps which drain the cells too low and causes permanent damage to them.


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## hopkins (Apr 2, 2010)

Was just thinking it might be convenient to carry the spare batteries
for the headlamp in a dedicated container on the headlamp strap
itself, rather than chance forgetting them. 

For the Zebra's it would not add a lot of weight..1 cell.


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## knoth (Sep 2, 2011)

Photon Freedom Fusion Headlamp lets you adjust your preference in brightness in either white or red leds.
LRI FW Freedom Fusion 6 White, 2 Red LED Headlamp - Amazon
www.amazon.com › ... › Hardware › Flashlights › Headlamps


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## Beacon of Light (Sep 4, 2011)

ehhh, looks like a very outdated design. Reminds me of my first headlamp back in 1997 or 1998; the Energizer LED which they still sell but it is showing it's age now. The Fusion looks bulky with the swivel head and it seems to have the same fatal flaw (to me imo) as the Photon Proton Pro light which starts on white (HIGH) and then ramps down. I have a Proton Pro I basically bought primiarly for runtime efficiency which I'm guessing may be good, but I can't say for sure, as I ever used mine enough to test if that was true, as I didn't like starting in RED if I wanted the minimal low. I also did not like the alternative if I wanted to start in white (which would be 99.9% of the time) by having to ramp down the white LED (which always starts out (HIGH), thereby wasting runtime by starting so high and waiting several seconds to get to the minimal white low. The other gripes is it dents the negative end of NiMH cells. 

I have bought several headlamps since I've started this thread, so I might as well list them here as I would have liked knowing this info when I started this thread, so maybe it will help others here looking for the same kind of headlamp I was over a year ago. 

**** Icon IRIX I *and *II* lights that have a variable dimmer knob and the low is ok (still not low enough but decently low out of regulation and at the end of the useful light of the battery it is almost perfect even, so I tend to use mostly drained NiMH cells in these). They are $25 and $30 each and both run on a single AA and I have done runtime tests on both and they get close to the 100 hours on low which is pretty good. 

**** Zebralight H31* is the same circuit of the H51 only it uses CR123 cells and also works with 3.0v rechargeable LiFe04Po cells (which function exactly like CR123 primary cells). I originally used a Ultrafire 880mAh RCR123 which worked well but when I went to change out the battery it was noticeably stuck in the light. The battery is a protected cell, so the wrapper around the cell is thicker and it was snug inside the light. I had to glue a pen cap to the battery to pull it out 3 days later. Light works super low with a super long runtime. I'm going to Cali next week and it will be my only headlamp but I may just take a second Tenergy 900mAh LiFe04Po cell for insurance.

**** iTP H-01* was a disappointment in what could have been a good light. Low is ok but not low enough. The light doesn't come close to the runtime specs of 50 hours on NiMH. The rubber holster does grip the light too much to be usable when you want to swivel the head up or down as it tends to turn off the light unless you purposely hold the end of the light that has the unscrewable tailcap, tightly. It is light and comfortable and wish there were more 1xAAA lights available, perhaps with a Zebralight type UI and a low low like they use. For example, a .1 lumen low in a 1xAAA headlamp that could run for over 100 hours would be sweet!



knoth said:


> Photon Freedom Fusion Headlamp lets you adjust your preference in brightness in either white or red leds.
> LRI FW Freedom Fusion 6 White, 2 Red LED Headlamp - Amazon
> www.amazon.com › ... › Hardware › Flashlights › Headlamps


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## Beacon of Light (Sep 4, 2011)

duplicate post. Mods please delete


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## jabe1 (Sep 4, 2011)

Beacon,
Have you tried one of Peak's 90° adapters and a headband? As you well know, with a QTC, the Peaks will get rediculously low, and have the runtime expected. I have adapters for both the Eiger/Matterhorn, and the ElCapitan/Kilimanjaro. I have improvised QTC inserts, and with a NiteIze headband, they make great headlamps!
The low that you can achieve is to the point where in a totally dark room, they're only good for close reading.


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## Beacon of Light (Sep 4, 2011)

Jabe1, I am having Bob @ RMSK hold me a brass 90 degree adapter for an Eiger as I am waiting for the Brass QTC 17500s in keychain/Medium optic and the 17500 battery inserts so I need to have them all coincide to buy so I can avoid shipping overages. 

So how does the QTC work in the adapter? I'm guessing my QTC pill in my new Eiger won't work at all since it stays at the bottom of the negative end of the battery cell. I think I'd need some sort of fabricated way of making it work where the adapter fits in somehow. 

Can you tell me how you got yours to work with the QTC material (which I am assuming is the raw QTC and not the PEAK metal disk/Delrin pill)



jabe1 said:


> Beacon,
> Have you tried one of Peak's 90° adapters and a headband? As you well know, with a QTC, the Peaks will get rediculously low, and have the runtime expected. I have adapters for both the Eiger/Matterhorn, and the ElCapitan/Kilimanjaro. I have improvised QTC inserts, and with a NiteIze headband, they make great headlamps!
> The low that you can achieve is to the point where in a totally dark room, they're only good for close reading.


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## nzbazza (Sep 4, 2011)

Just come across this thread... to me the ideal match would be the Zebralight H51 or H51w depending on your tint perferences:

Light Output
High: H1 200 Lm (0.9 hrs) or H2 100 Lm (2.4 hrs) / 140 Lm (1.7 hrs) / 4Hz Strobe
Medium: M1 30 Lm (9 hrs) or M2 8 Lm (30 hrs)
Low: L1 2.5 Lm (3 days) or L2 0.2 Lm (16 days)

The L2 mode is the lowest/longest running mode I've seen in a 1AA headlamp.


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## jabe1 (Sep 4, 2011)

Yes, I'm using "raw" QTC material. I tried a piece in the bottom of the battery tube, and didn't like having to turn the tube to adjust the brightness, especially with the tube being the mounting point to the headband.

I cut a circle of thin foam material I had lying around, and then cut a square in the center, just smaller than the QTC. After pressing the QTC into the square hole, I inserted the assembly into the adapter under the head. Now the head is again the adjustment point.

With a 10280 body, even in SS, it weighs little enough that it's not noticeable, and the levels are from stare into the lit LED low, to OMG that little thing is bright!

You will need an extra o-ring for the adapter male end, as they don't come with it. Drop a SASE to Robyn and Curt with a note, and get an extra or two.


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## Beacon of Light (Sep 5, 2011)

Do you know the size of the O-ring? If its a common size I can find one locally.


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## jabe1 (Sep 5, 2011)

It's the same as the Eiger.


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## Camille (Sep 20, 2011)

My H501 did 1.5L on low in bigchelis' sphere


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## Blue72 (Sep 20, 2011)

Have you looked at the CORE battery from Petzl. It allows you to plug it into your computer and you can choose the brightness, runtime, and regulation to your liking. It fits pretty much all their current compact headlamps even the tikkina . It still allows you to use aaa batteries if you needed to, in a pinch.


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## Beacon of Light (Sep 20, 2011)

That is pretty cool it comes with software to program the light with. It doesn't specify important points though. I'd need to know if 1) how low it can go via software or if it is like high=10 low=1 then I doubt it would even be sub lumer or .005 lumens. 2) No mention of how many AAA batteries it would take (guessing 3) and how many hours of runtime on minimum. I only see runtime of 120 hours and that 's not any better than the Princeton tec EOS which now is low at 5 lumens or so. It's ok but a little outdated and not low enough and runtime isn't as efficient as it could be.



dd61999 said:


> Have you looked at the CORE battery from Petzl. It allows you to plug it into your computer and you can choose the brightness, runtime, and regulation to your liking. It fits pretty much all their current compact headlamps even the tikkina . It still allows you to use aaa batteries if you needed to, in a pinch.


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## robostudent5000 (Sep 20, 2011)

Beacon, what do you use your lights for that makes you want such low brightnesses and long run times?


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## Beacon of Light (Sep 21, 2011)

I just always want the most efficient light, just because. So basically I am wanting long runtime for saving batteries needing recharging and saving $$$$. Low brightness as I like going outside and not attractinbg bugs at night and I like low lows so it also lasts longer. I find I rarely use anything higher than the low low of my Zebralight H31 or any other light. My Quark AA I only use the moon mode. 



robostudent5000 said:


> Beacon, what do you use your lights for that makes you want such low brightnesses and long run times?


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## carrot (Sep 21, 2011)

Beacon of Light said:


> That is pretty cool it comes with software to program the light with. It doesn't specify important points though. I'd need to know if 1) how low it can go via software or if it is like high=10 low=1 then I doubt it would even be sub lumer or .005 lumens. 2) No mention of how many AAA batteries it would take (guessing 3) and how many hours of runtime on minimum. I only see runtime of 120 hours and that 's not any better than the Princeton tec EOS which now is low at 5 lumens or so. It's ok but a little outdated and not low enough and runtime isn't as efficient as it could be.


I have the CORE paired with my Tikka XP2. It is a reprogrammable Li-ion battery and does not support the use of regular AAAs with it. It charges off Micro-USB. It has a built-in battery meter to tell you how much of the battery is depleted.

The software does not rate output in terms of lumens. It lets you program the two white modes: "max" and "eco." On the highest settings, max is 100% output runs for 4h30 and the highest eco mode is 12.5% output and runs for 35h. You can program these independently, so sliding the sliders all the way to the bottom lets you get 4% on max (106h) and 2% on eco (145h). This is with the Tikka XP2.

The settings it allows may be slightly different depending on the model it is connected to. The XP2 yields the highest runtimes on eco as the other ones do not allow you to drop to 2%.


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## Blue72 (Sep 21, 2011)

Carrot

Sorry for all the questions, but there is not much info on cpf

You do have the option to take the "core" out and use 3 aaa if necessary, right?

Also, would you say 2% is equivalent to 1 lumen?

I believe the software is the same for all models, can you tell us what the minimum brightness available for the tikkina would be?

How bad is the pwm in ultra low mode?

How do you like the beam profile of the xp2 compared to the surefire saint?


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## carrot (Sep 21, 2011)

dd61999 said:


> Carrot
> 
> Sorry for all the questions, but there is not much info on cpf
> 
> ...


The CORE comes right out. It goes between the headlamp and its battery cover, which need to first be disconnected from each other and connected to the CORE. (There's a video of this on Petzl's website.)

I hate to guess lumens but I can say for certain it is significantly dimmer than my Arc-AAA DS (10 lumens). If their % scale is accurate, then 2% of the XP2 rated at 70 lumens would be 1.4 lumens. I have no problems believing that number. It rates the effective distance as 6M. Petzl, like most headlamp manufacturers, rate the effective distance as what it would take to make .25 lux on the ground, figuring that the minimum of lighting you need is equivalent to moonlight.

The minimum brightness offered by the software for the Tikkina 2 is 4%, on either mode. It estimates 139 hours of runtime on max and 127 hours of runtime on econ, indicating that econ is slightly less efficient. Interestingly enough, though both modes say 4% the software rates the output at 5 meters and 4 meters, respectively.

The PWM is unchanged from when not using the CORE battery. On the Tikka XP2 it is noticeable on econ. On the Tikka2 it is also noticeable, but much less so. I don't have a standard by which I can relate it to you. 

I prefer the Saint's beam profile. The XP2 is still very usable though. The optic is pretty good for people who like hiking with a headlamp that has a bit of punch to it. It throws decently and is pretty good at lighting the way ahead so you can find blazes. With the flood diffuser on the other hand, it's pretty great up close. To be honest I prefer the all-rounder beam of the regular Tikka2, which has pretty good flood and pretty good throw, instead of one or the other (as selected by the flip-up diffuser on the XP2). As a side note, I think that the Petzls have exceptional build quality, although not quite "Surefire tough".


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## Blue72 (Sep 21, 2011)

Thanks Carrot! You have been a big help!


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