# fishing headlamp



## desert rover (Aug 26, 2019)

Hey everybody looking for a good headlamp for some night fishing. Mostly looking for one to help tie knots and looking in tacklebox. It doesn't need to be super bright, just enough for seeing fish jumping and not falling into the lake. So would a more floody light be better or does anyone
have a personal preference. I just bought a nitecore ec4gt and really like it. so any good nitecore lights out there.


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## Lynx_Arc (Aug 26, 2019)

Floody lights are good for close up work perhaps working on tackle etc but to see at a distance you need more throw. As for close up work 100 lumens or less would be fine but for watching for fish it could be 300 or 1000 lumens or more depending on preference. 
I'm not familiar with nitecore's offerings but typically the better headlamps have similar output based upon the LED emitter and battery type so you would shop for lights based upon those criteria. One thing that could be useful to some fishermen is UV or blue LEDs that can make some fishing line glow.


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## alpg88 (Aug 26, 2019)

i went fishing with zebralight, skilhunt h02, no name D10 light, same exact thing, more or less, now i carry d10 for camping, fishing, very rugged , reliable, and costs about 15 bucks, no worries if you accidentally drown it. i have several of those, since i got those i do not use my other lights. the only thing with these d10 they come in cool white, easy to replace a led, but as they come they are not that bad it is not nasty blue cool light you'd get from cheap headlamps, with 5mm leds


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## desert rover (Aug 26, 2019)

thanks for all the info. I saw a headlamp the Innogear headlamp its three seperate leds. Do any of the three led headlamps really work or are they just too bulky.
Would the petzl tactikka with theRGB leds be good for a headlamp.


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## alpg88 (Aug 26, 2019)

it depends some headlamps have 3 separate leds, and all are white, just optic is different, other have color leds, red blue, or green, i had those headlamps too, red good in theory, in real world, i never used it, the only thing i did use was UV led, (i took cheap energizer headlamp, and replaced 2 small white leds with uv, it really makes yellow floats light up, but low white light makes you see the float as well, now i use just white light. colors may sound good in theory but i have not found them useful.


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## desert rover (Aug 26, 2019)

just checking out the nitecore ha40 headlamp. Seems pretty good light. They recommend NIMH batteries, would eneloops or orbtronic 14500 be best for the light.
thanks again.


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## roguesoul (Aug 27, 2019)

desert rover said:


> just checking out the nitecore ha40 headlamp. Seems pretty good light. They recommend NIMH batteries, would eneloops or orbtronic 14500 be best for the light.
> thanks again.



I wouldn't like that Nitecore because 4xAA are really heavy. 
I did just ordered the YLP Panda 2M CRI http://ylplight.com/en/katalog/1/panda-2m-cri/ and am waiting for delivery.
It has single lumen output option and a diffuse light output for close up knot tying without destroying night vision. Not much else compares with this headlamp having a low lumen level and high CRI with good color temperature IMO.


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## desert rover (Aug 27, 2019)

Thanks for the info roguesoul. I was also looking at the nitecore hc60 it comes in a cool white or a neutral white variation. I was looking at it because it has a pretty good low level and a wide angle. you could always bump up the lumens to help get back to the car. After watching some videos on youtube it seems that cool white
might have too much glare for up close work, so maybe the neutral would be better for catching a big toad out at the pond.


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## roguesoul (Aug 27, 2019)

I'd probably be satisfied with that HC60. Good luck.


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## alpg88 (Aug 27, 2019)

desert rover said:


> might have too much glare for up close work, so maybe the neutral would be better for catching a big toad out at the pond.



for close work you want warm white, not even neutral, i would also recommend warm for a different reason, when you turn on cool, and even neutral white in a dark, it hits your eyes, with warm white it is different, it does not hit your eyes nearly as much, much more tolerable, especially reflections. unfortunately i can't think of any factory headlamp with warm light, maybe others can.


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## desert rover (Aug 28, 2019)

Just had a quick question. Trying to decide between the nitecore h60 or maybe a zebralight the nitecore seems to be more thrower than i want.
I was looking at a zebralight h600fc 4000K neutral white. Their website said the light is not a full flood. It has a 90 degree angle. Has any one tried one out, or maybe i should check out a frosted lens model. Thanks again.


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## Robot Mania FU (Sep 3, 2019)

I use the h600fc 4000k for both bank fishing and when I'm out on the boat. It has enough throw to see further than I can cast, and more than a wide enough beam. Also, the newer model zebralights have customizable modes that you can save and switch between them depending on what you're doing. I use the same light for edc, bank fishing, and when I'm on the boat. I just switch between my 3 pre set operations. The 4000k is easier on the eyes too, so it doesn't effect my night vision nearly as much. Feel free to ask any more questions you may have about the light.


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## LED Monkey (Sep 4, 2019)

I would agree as has been mentioned here that for a headlamp for fishing it would be better with a warmer tint to it, less water reflection and better color rendering for fluids like blood, oils from a motor, wet mud... it can be helpful to know exactly what you're looking at and it will be easier on your eyes too. It should cut through night fog and mist over the water as well.
I don't have a bunch of headlamps but I have a few ArmyTek lights that have nice tints to them. I know ArmyTek has had some customer service complaints about them in the past but I can say the 3 ArmyTek lights I have have had no problems for me.


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## desert rover (Sep 4, 2019)

Thanks for the info RobotMania. Just had a question on the zebralight u.i It said on the zebra website that the sublevels can be programmed. Just wondering how that works. It seems that you go to medium the go to sublevels.


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## bykfixer (Sep 4, 2019)

Streamlights Double Clutch allows flood or spot in a comfy platform. Twist one way to turn on the flooder. Twist the other way for spot. Twist back to the center for off. 
Twist twice quickly for hi/lo. Remembers where you had it set next time you turn it on. 
Comes with a USB chargeable battery pack or use primary triple a batteries. Regulated with a long decline once it drops out of regulation. 
For helmet use it also comes with a rubber head band. 
Around $40.

I use mine at work and if I recall correct it ran for like 3 hours after falling out of regulation with triple a batteries. I got like 9 hours run time from three alkalines. Figure about 3 with the supplied battery pack.


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## Robot Mania FU (Sep 4, 2019)

desert rover said:


> Thanks for the info RobotMania. Just had a question on the zebralight u.i It said on the zebra website that the sublevels can be programmed. Just wondering how that works. It seems that you go to medium the go to sublevels.



There are 3 main variations of operation. G5 is the default. In g5 a quick click is h1 (max output), double click is m1, and a longer press is L1. When in any of those settings, you can double click to get your secondary level of that setting. Now, in g5 you can only change the secondary (i.e h2, m2, or L2) to a couple additional preset modes. The light gives you the option to switch it's operation to G6 or G7. That now allows you to set any button click to any of the 12 output levels. For example, you could set a quick click to a low mode now, or a double click to your highest setting....any level is possible with any operation. G7 functions the same way. This allows you to completely customize everything. So for example, in G6 my light now turns on to 562 lumens from a quick press instead of 1568. My long press to get to L1 now takes me to H2 at 980 lumens. You can set them to any output you want....In g7 I have it turning on to 143 lumens from a quick click as I use that for edc and around the house. When your light is off you can click 5 times to put the light in g5 (default), 6 clicks for G6 and 7 for G7. Other than that it will stay in the operation you left it in last. This allows you to have one light, set up differently for 3 different activities if you choose. Sorry if this sounds confusing. I tried to explain it the best way I can. There is a YouTube video "how to program zebralights mark iv" that helped explain how to program the light much better than the description on zebralights website. That video definitely helped me out.


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## Gaffle (Sep 9, 2019)

I've owned an Armytek Tiara for awhile now. Single AA and ok neutral tint. Seems like Armytek has had some reported issues with customer service, yet I had no problems. 

Personally I'm all in the 18650 game. Single AA is long on the Tiara, especially with KeepPower 14500, yet the month of runtime on a single 18650 is even better. So many lights out there. Not a one of my Petzels is still alive, and I've had a few.


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## jorn (Sep 13, 2019)

Just go for the zebralight h600fc. Im out fishing every single weekend, yeah i know it's a disease. Normally i dont need a headlamp on fishing trips. The midnight sun is providing 24h daylight. But now at the end of the fishing season, it gets dark. Wont carry any of my other headlamps for fishing trips. The h600fc is just fantastic. love the tint, size, the ui, and the beampattern. perfect fishing light imo. I keep it really lo so i wont loose my nightvision.


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## Hawaii808 (Sep 23, 2019)

I love my zebralight but will have to opt for the Fenix hp25 in this situation. Having the ability to switch from flood for thing knots to spot for gaffing fish down a 6ft cliff, this budget light works fine.


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## timbo813 (Dec 17, 2019)

desert rover said:


> Thanks for the info RobotMania. Just had a question on the zebralight u.i It said on the zebra website that the sublevels can be programmed. Just wondering how that works. It seems that you go to medium the go to sublevels.



I have two newer zebralights with the improved interface and it is a major improvement IMO. With the old interface the light always comes on in High. For a powerful 18650 light I don't want it to come on high with just a normal click. That is to bright and I don't feel like I can loan it to someone else to just use as a normal light because they will get over 1000 lumens. 

The lights have about 12 possible brightness settings ranging from well under 1 lumen to full power (whatever that particular light is capable of). When programming them you can put any of the 12 modes into H1, H2, M1, M2, L1 and L2. That gives you quick access to the brightness you choose. 

I program mine so H1 and H2 are a good normal level that is my most used (one a little brighter than the other). Once click turns the light on in H1 or H2 (whichever was used last) and another click turns it off. While the light is on a double click switches between H1 and H2. 
I program M1 and M2 as the brightest level and something just below brightest. This lets me access full brightness with a double click from off. Again a single click turns it back off and a double click while on switches between M1 and M2.
I program L1 and L2 as low lumen and sub-lumen. One is in the 1-2 lumen range and the other is maybe .5 lumen. These are accessed by a long press from off. Again a single click turns it back off and a double click while on switches between L1 and L2.

This method of programming gives me easy one click access to my most used brightness level with quick access to ultra bright and super low settings as well. I'm also not afraid to loan my light because the super bright levels aren't likely to be activated accidentally. 

The only thing I don't like about the programmable UI is that it messes up the feature where you can press and hold to cycle through the 6 settings from lowest to highest. Programming them "out of order" means a press and hold long enough to cycle through results in the brightness being all over the place rather than gradually increasing. I'm hoping that in future releases Zebralight makes the press and hold cycle through all 12 settings from low to high regardless of how the other settings are programmed.


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