Black Diamond Moodlight HeadlampThe Moonlight originally cost over $20. I bought one slightly used for about half price. It runs on three AAA batteries which are included at purchase and are kept in a rubber coated pouch at the rear of the headlamp. There is a strap that goes around the head, as well as a strap that goes over the top of the head. The straps are a bit on the small side. It had a simple on/off switch which is very robust and likely waterproof. There are 4 LED's mounted at the front. The switch turns the LED's on and off. The voltage seems to not be regulated. The batteries last quite a while, making the headlamp very useful. Black Diamond decided to issue a newer version of the Moonlight. It looks identical, except the straps are a bit longer. The new version has three levels of brightness as well as a blinking mode. Clearly the voltage is regulated. The low level is quite useful for walking around in the dark where you just want to illuminate your local surroundings. The batteries last even longer than the original when using the lower levels of brightness. Weight is 4.1 oz including batteries. Rated at 70 hours on high beam, 180 hours on low beam. Highly recommended, but out of production, and not easy to find. Petzl Micro HeadlampThe Petzl Micro uses either a standard light bulb or an optional halogen bulb. It runs on 2 AA batteries which are mounted in the front, right behind the bulb. It turns on by twisting the bulb housing, which also adjusts the focus. There is a strap that goes around the head, as well as one that goes over the top of the head. It included a spare bulb in case the bulb burns out. Weight is 5.2 oz including batteries. Battery life is rated at 7 hours using alkaline batteries at 70F, 8.5 hours using lithium batteries at 0F. The light works well for walking at night. I used mine to hike for about 5 hours on a very dark night. Perfect for reading a book at night. Petzl Zoom HeadlampThe Petzl Zoom is the big brother to the Micro. It uses either a standard light bulb or an optional halogen bulb. It is designed to run on those silly french 4.5 volt batteries, and has an adapter to allow it to run on 3 AA batteries (which are much easier to come by). The battery compartment is mounted behind your head. It turns on by twisting the bulb housing, which also adjusts the focus. There is a strap that goes around the head, as well as one that goes over the top of the head. It includes a spare bulb in case the bulb burns out. Weight is 10 oz including batteries. Battery life is rated at 22.5 hours using alkaline batteries at 70 F, 9 hours using the halogen bulb at 20 C. The light works very well for walking at night. Petzl Duo HeadlampThe Petzl Duo is the big brother to the Zoom. Mine came with two bulbs, a low beam, and a high beam which is a halogen bulb. (The new ones have the low beam powered by LED's). You can turn on either the low beam or the high beam separatly. The switch is much improved over the Micro and the Zoom because it is now separate from focusing the light, and can even be 'locked out' to greatly reduce the chance of accidentally turning on. It runs on 4 AA batteries. The battery compartment is mounted behind your head. The focus is adjusted by twisting the bulb housing. There is a strap that goes around the head, as well as one that goes over the top of the head. It includes spare bulbs in case the bulb burns out. Weight is 10.5 oz including batteries. I bought an upgrade kit to convert the low beam to 5 LED's. There is also an upgrade kit to convert the low beam to 14 LED's. Battery life is rated at 65 hours using the 5 leds and 4 hours using the halogen beam and alkaline batteries at 20C. It is rated as being waterproof to 5 meters. It is good that Petzl finally figured out that people need more than one brightness in a light. Highly recommened. |
The Photon fusion is a headlamp and/or a bicycle light. It is powered by 3 AA batteries which mount right behind the LED's. There are 6 LED's. There are two switches that control the functions of the Fusion. They glow slightly in the dark making them easier to find. There are several levels of brightness and some blinking modes to the Fusion. I have a hard time remembering all the functions of the Fusion, because I don't use it regularly.
I bought several Taskforce 1w Luxeon flashlights at Lowe's recently because they were on sale. The Taskforce comes with 3 AA batteries. The light is not regulated. The case is coated with a rubbery material which does a good job being grippy. There is a lanyard included with the flashlight. There is an external 'o'-ring sealing the head of the unit (the only opening). It is a bit bulkier than a 3 AA flashlight needs to be, but not annoyingly so. Highly recommended.
The Luxeon LED's have revolutionized LED lighting. There are now several good 1w and 3w headlamps using these LED's. The good ones have regulated output (constant light as the batteries drain, until the batteries get really weak). Another very important feature is multiple levels of brightness. 1w is really more than you need to do simple tasks like walk around without tripping, or reading a book. And yet there are always times when a really bright light is very useful. I have heard that Princeton Tec makes really good Luxeon based headlamps, but I haven't gotten my hands on any yet. At 3w and above, it is necessary to keep the LED from overheating (even LED's generate heat). If I was buying a new headlamp, I would really want a Luxeon based one.
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