# CE Tech headlamp (2x 5mm white, 1x 5mm red LED - 3xAAA) - Quick Overview, with Video



## selfbuilt (Nov 16, 2011)

Saw these at a local Home Depot here in Canada - 2-pack of 2 white/1 red LED headlamps - for only $5. 

For that price, I thought I'd give them a try. 















From left to right: 1xAAA Duraloop, CE Tech headlamp, Petzl Tikka XP 2, Petzl Tikka XP, Zebralight SC30.































That last pic shows the feature I was most impressed with - you can angle the head down to suit your needs. The hinge has ridges, so the light stays firmly angled at about 6-7 different possible stops. :thumbsup:

Here's a few shots with the LEDs illuminated:

Red:






White:






And a lower exposure:






Here's a video showing my handling of the units:



Video was recorded in 720p, but YouTube defaults to 360p. Once the video is running, you can click on the 360p icon in the lower right-hand corner, and select the higher 480p to 720p options, or even run full-screen. 

*Some random thoughts:*

The lights come with actual alkaline batteries. When I saw the Eveready labels, I was thinking they'd be the much lower energy-density cells - carbon-zinc "general purpose" or zinc-chloride "heavy duty". But verifying the model number, those are actual alkalines (i.e. zinc–manganese dioxide). In my quick inpomptu testing, they did about as well as my usual Duracell alkalines. :thumbsup:

The headband is basic, but it is adjustable and does have decent elastic properties. There is even a soft pad at the base the headlamp unit, which should ease pressure on your forehead.

As previously mentioned, the front of the unit is angle-adjustable, and you can position the head down to suit your needs. The hinge stops were firm enough that the light stayed firmly angled during my simple head-shake testing. 

Output on red is quite reasonable (constant output), and the dual-white output is surprisingly bright (for the price, that is ). The white mode is definitely brighter than a couple of typical coin squeeze lights. 

The reported ANSI FL-1 specs on the packaging are reasonable (i.e. 8 lumens, 20hr runtime to 10%, etc). My lightbox reports initial activation of ~11 estimated lumens. And no, I do not plan to do runtimes! 

There seems to be a number of possible bundles of these on display at Home Depot right now (i.e. some include multiples of AA or AAA-based multi-5mm handhelds, etc.). Given the apparent quality, I went back to pick up more to hand out as stocking-stuffers this Xmas. :santa:

Anyway, that's about it - I don't plan to do any detailed testing, just thought you might find the info useful. Please see the video for more detailed commentary on the lights. :wave:


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## robostudent5000 (Nov 16, 2011)

*Re: CE Tech headlamp (2x 5mm white LED, 1x 5mm red LED) - Quick Overview, with Video*

cool. thanks for the review selfbuilt. it's nice to know that there is an affirmative answer to whether any sub $5 headlamps are good enough to gift, which was a question asked in another thread.


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## mcmc (Nov 16, 2011)

*Re: CE Tech headlamp (2x 5mm white LED, 1x 5mm red LED) - Quick Overview, with Video*

Thanks selfbuilt!

Does it look like these would survive a rain drizzle?

Also, is the red led constant? I remember reading on one of the headlamp packages, that the red was for "flashing signal." It'd be awesome if they were constant instead.

(sorry, can't view YT right now)


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## selfbuilt (Nov 16, 2011)

robostudent5000 said:


> cool. thanks for the review selfbuilt. it's nice to know that there is an affirmative answer to whether any sub $5 headlamps are good enough to gift, which was a question asked in another thread.


I would say they are reasonable for gifting ... and special bonus, there's a built-in backup if you gift the whole blister-sealed 2-pack. 



mcmc said:


> Does it look like these would survive a rain drizzle?


There is no o-ring around battery compartment (and the packaging says "dry location use only") - but I would expect these would be fine for a brief period in a light drizzle.



> Also, is the red led constant? I remember reading on one of the headlamp packages, that the red was for "flashing signal." It'd be awesome if they were constant instead.


Yes, the red is constant on. :thumbsup: One of my big gripes with most inexpensive headlamps that use red LEDs is they are often blink-only. :shakehead


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## gunga (Nov 16, 2011)

Great find! I think I will pick a few up for gifting. I know people expect me to give out lights (I did quite a few years ago) so this is a fun little stocking stuffer.


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## selfbuilt (Nov 16, 2011)

gunga said:


> I know people expect me to give out lights


Tell me about it ... :laughing:


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## Gregozedobe (Nov 17, 2011)

If I could find lights like these locally at those prices I'd buy a bunch as give-aways. Here in Australia they would probably cost 3 or 4 times as much, which is why I buy almost all my lights on-line.


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## selfbuilt (Nov 17, 2011)

Gregozedobe said:


> If I could find lights like these locally at those prices I'd buy a bunch as give-aways. Here in Australia they would probably cost 3 or 4 times as much, which is why I buy almost all my lights on-line.


Likewise hear in Canada (well, maybe twice as much ) - which is why I was surprised to find them so cheaply in a big-box store. 

Interestingly, I note they are not available for online purchase. The website lists other bundles of these headlamps with additional handhelds, but I didn't see any displays of them in my local stores (and again, also not available for sale online). :shrug:


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## Bolster (Nov 17, 2011)

Thanks for the great review! 

I have had good luck (on similar energizer headlamps) with bead-blasting the plastic lens to spread the beam about double and eliminate the beam artifacts. This mod makes these little 5mm type inexpensive headlamps much better for close-up work. (Of course spraying the lens with frosted glass spray would also work.)


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## mcmc (Nov 17, 2011)

Gregozedobe said:


> If I could find lights like these locally at those prices I'd buy a bunch as give-aways. Here in Australia they would probably cost 3 or 4 times as much, which is why I buy almost all my lights on-line.



Greg, not sure how much the postage would be but if you want, I'd be more than happy to go buy a bunch, take 'em out of packaging, and mail them to you. PM me with your email if you'd like.


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## mcmc (Nov 17, 2011)

selfbuilt said:


> I would say they are reasonable for gifting ... and special bonus, there's a built-in backup if you gift the whole blister-sealed 2-pack.
> 
> 
> There is no o-ring around battery compartment (and the packaging says "dry location use only") - but I would expect these would be fine for a brief period in a light drizzle.
> ...




Very cool!! Is there a blinky mode option too?


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## selfbuilt (Nov 17, 2011)

mcmc said:


> Very cool!! Is there a blinky mode option too?


No, constant on only. The switch is a simple left/right toggle (i.e. left is constant red, center is off, right is constant white).


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