Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game What head lamp do you like

Well I ordered the Black Diamond Icon with my Cabela's points. When it comes in I will let the fire know how it compares to my Streamlight and my friends Tikka.

I bought a 6 LED headlamp (Rayovac ?) at Walmart about 8 years ago and it's still going strong. On the "hi" setting it's mighty bright and it also has a red mode that is useful at times. It's a little bulkier/heavier than my Petzl Tikka but it has held up well and the batteries (3 AAA) seem to last forever.

I would seriously look at the St. Minimus


ddj

Princeton tec quad. It's waterproof ipx8, and can use lithium energizer lithium batteries for cold weather

Wanting my GPS and headlamp to run on the same batteries I'm liking the Fenix HL21 single AA. Bright with 97 lumens and only 1.5oz. The light also detaches from the head band if needed. I like the brighter HL30 also it has a red lamp and 200 lumens.

Absolutely love the one I bought for my Alaska trip! For a lightweight model it's tops!
Now for something just a bit larger and a little more weight, I have 4 of the Ray O Vac "Sportsman" LED headlamps with a battery pack that runs on 3 "AA" batteries. It has 4 light modes inlcuding a flashing strobe and has a red back light...This thing is BRIGHT! I usually grab it more now that the lightweight Princeton Tec EOS....

eh76
now there is one that brings back memories. i caught many a nightcrawler with granddads light.

i also carried it a lot before leds made an appearance.

on topic i use a pt eos. anything with a band over the top of the head bothers me.

My main one is a Petzl Zipka Plus which I've been using with no complaints for 3 or 4 years now..

I did worry that the "string" head cord would not last, but up to now its proved to be very durable.

It doesn't throw a strong beam as many do here, but rather lights up an area out to a few feet in front of you.

It's ideal for doing close tasks like gralloching a deer which is the main reason I bought it. I went with the Zipka design as it very compact in the pocket so its no hassle to carry and doesn't get tangled with other stuff..

I use a Surefire sized LED torch for "general duty" use but it might be time to change to one of the fancy LED head torches mentioned here now 100 lumen plus are available..

Princeton Tec Apex 200 Lumen Headlamp.

I have the Cabelas XPG headlamp and I can heartily recommend it. Right now it's on sale at Cabelas for 19.99 regularly 29.99. I have had mine 4 years of hunting and it stays in my survival fanny pack anytime I am in the hills.

"Positives"
1.Runs on AA batteries so I can always get them wherever I am at. I like all my stuff (digital camera, GPS, flashlight, etc running on 1 type of battery)
2.very bright (81 lumens and 14 hours) and has an adjustable output for longer life (30 lumens 28 hour run time)
3. Has a strap that runs over the top of your head as well that is adjustable so the unit won't slide down onto your face.
4. adjustable direction so you can walk however you want to and adjust the beam to point the right amount out in front of you.

"negatives"
1. Only one downside. It's heavier than a typical headlamp. It's not heavy enough to make your neck tired or anything like that but it is an ounce heavier than one of the baseball cap style lights that clips on the bill.

I figure for every 1 time I wish it were lighter weight there are 50 times I am thankful that it is putting out enough light to see 20-30 yards in front of me when I need see what's ahead.

Fenix HL30

Petzl Tikka. Best of all the ones I've tried over the years!

+1 on black diamond. I like the new version of the Spot. It has a lock so it won't accidently come on in your pack. I have 2 of these. http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/mountain/lighting/spot-headlamp

200 lumens from a double a battery you can not beat the zebralight

I use a Petzl Tikka, I had it for four years now and I use it just about every day. I did smarten up some and when to rechargeable batteries. The head band is getting a little worn, A New one would make a nice Christmas Gift to myself.

I used a Petzl Tikka for a few years, but was always outshined by friends cheap $10-$20 headlamps from Wal-Mart (although, these are also the lights that use like 2-4 AAs).

After doing a lot of research this past summer I invested $60 in a Zebralight. It runs off an AA and gives great, bright light in a fairly focused beam (they do make "spread" beam lights as well). You can also remove the lamp from the provided headband and use it as a handlight. Also has a glow-in-the-dark clamp for the headlamp, which makes it super easy to find if you need to get up and take a piss... I also like how I can freely rotate the light in the headband for a number of viewing angles, whereas my Tikka can only click into 3 different positions. That means if I am looking down to see where my feet are going, but want to illuminate the area further ahead, I am SOL. I can do that with my Zebra if I want.

Only complaint about the Zebralight is that its brightest option (which lets me see ~75 yards away in my field) only runs for about 1 hour on an AA. The light continues to work on lower brightness levels, just not the max. For what it's worth, the medium option is still much brighter than the max setting on my Tikka. There are times when I'd love to have the brightest option but don't have time to swap out the batteries. Usually this means, for hunting, I will use my Tikka when I just need to do basic navigation through the woods, and if I really need to light the place up, I will have my Zebra with a fresh AA ready to go. For camping etc. Zebra is the light to have. Supposed to be water-resistant, too, came with some rubber o-rings to seal off the battery compartment.

I wanted to add that I broke my the back panel of my Black Diamond spot changing the battery. Completely my fault. I called BD and asked how much it would be for a replacement part and they shipped me one free of charge.

I use a $13 energizer trailfinder AAA 3 battery LED headlamp with a 2 position sliding switch for red or white light. One of my pet peeves is having a light that requires clicking through settings to get the one you want, so the limited function appeals to me. It's simple and reliable, runs a long time on NiMh AAAs, and has lasted for years of night time chores.
Some very good lights mentioned here. I'll have to check some of these out.

Petzel Tikka Plus 2. Lightweight and great beam with adjustable head piece.