Goodbye Black Diamond. - School me on headlamps

[Salmonchaser]

Been running the peax this last year. Worked great on some late hikes out during elk season in Oregon and Montana along with nightly use around camp. Wintering in Arizona I’m out with the dogs after dark in the evening and before dawn in the morning. Two hours a day with the light on and only occasionally remember to charge it. I’ve looked at the fenix as well but have never used one. Using my math skills, fully charged in my pack, can’t see where I would run out of light if I had to gut or quarter a bull at the end of the day and then hike out using the peax.

 

[Wes Mantooth]

Black Diamond Storm 500 is dead. It could not take the dampness of North Idaho and SEAK.

School me on your favorite headlamps and why. I know BF endorses the PEAX. If it's best show me why. I'm open and I like promo codes as well as the next guy.

I have had great luck with Petzl headlamps. I have one of these: https://www.petzl.com/INT/en/Sport/Headlamps/SWIFT-RL and one of these as a small backup/camp light: https://www.petzl.com/INT/en/Sport/Headlamps/SWIFT-LT.

Both charge via USB, so I just use my small battery bank if I need to charge either. Rarely do I need to since the battery life is so good. I have used them in all kinds of weather, ice climbing, snow, rain, etc. with no issues. Also the Swift RL is bright as hell when you need it.

 

[Lasiocarpa]

Fenix is good, but I also like Nitecore’s options. I just bring a battery pack and recharge as needed.

 

[Irrelevant]

jeez, you guys clearly keep track of shit better than I do. No way I'm spending that kind of money on something that I'm going to lose in a year or so.

 

[hunter3270]

I have a bunch of different kinds and always end up grabbing my coast rl27r. It's bright and seems to last a decent amount of time. The red and green lights are a plus. I've never tried the real expensive ones

 

[PRO MO]

Another vote for sofrin. Cheap, bright and sturdy. i also bought one of their "tactical" flashlights. that thing will burn a hole in your retina.

 

[INMT]

Another vote for sofrin. Cheap, bright and sturdy. i also bought one of their "tactical" flashlights. that thing will burn a hole in your retina.

I bought one of their flashlights recently too. Small, rechargeable, durable, and yes burn a hole in your retina bright. And only around $25.

 

[rjthehunter]

Sofirn. Just as good as a peax at 1/4 the cost.

 

[Adam in Ohio]

I have the same 77outdoors/Sofin @Dave N mentioned above. Battery life is much longer than I need for my hunts or camping trips and it's held up well being dropped by me frequently.

 

[Spearman]

Black Diamond Storm 500 is dead. It could not take the dampness of North Idaho and SEAK.

School me on your favorite headlamps and why. I know BF endorses the PEAX. If it's best show me why. I'm open and I like promo codes as well as the next guy.

I have been looking at a new head lamp by Last Light! lastlightllc.com very similar to the PEAX at $95

 

[TheTone]

I bought one of their flashlights recently too. Small, rechargeable, durable, and yes burn a hole in your retina bright. And only around $25.

Amazing how much that looks just like lights a couple of my coworkers have with different brand names on them

 

[Wild Bill]

Tossed a couple sofirn H35R headlamps in an Amazon cart my wife had going. I’ve lost my 2 Petzl lamps to my boys. Not upset. Never really what I wanted. They can abuse them.
Good thread.

 

[rogerthat]

You guys that run rechargeable, what do you do if the battery dies? Sit there and recharge it? I picked up a rechargeable two years ago and decided it was a good one to stay in my jockey box when it died and recharging it seemed like a pita compared to just popping in some new batteries.

 

[MTLabrador]

You guys that run rechargeable, what do you do if the battery dies? Sit there and recharge it? I picked up a rechargeable two years ago and decided it was a good one to stay in my jockey box when it died and recharging it seemed like a pita compared to just popping in some new batteries.

On mine you can throw in another rechargeable battery or two CR123s. I have a bunch of 123s so that’s what I carry for a backup.

 

[Dave N]

You guys that run rechargeable, what do you do if the battery dies? Sit there and recharge it? I picked up a rechargeable two years ago and decided it was a good one to stay in my jockey box when it died and recharging it seemed like a pita compared to just popping in some new batteries.

Spare rechargeable battery.

 

[brymoore]

You guys that run rechargeable, what do you do if the battery dies? Sit there and recharge it? I picked up a rechargeable two years ago and decided it was a good one to stay in my jockey box when it died and recharging it seemed like a pita compared to just popping in some new batteries.

I carry a chargeable power pack when I’m back packing. I charge the power pack with a solar charger. Use the power pack to charge the headlamp and phone. I suppose I could skip the power pack and charge both from the solar. I prefer the power pack to keep emergency power available if needed.

Truck hunts, I charge everything in the truck.

Headlamp has a long charge life. Several days worth.

 

[hunter3270]

I carry a chargeable power pack when I’m back packing. I charge the power pack with a solar charger. Use the power pack to charge the headlamp and phone. I suppose I could skip the power pack and charge both from the solar. I prefer the power pack to keep emergency power available if needed.

Truck hunts, I charge everything in the truck.

Headlamp has a long charge life. Several days worth.

How effective is the solar panel on the power bank? How long does it take to charge if you clip it to your pack?

 

[nextsp0t]

Peax seems quite overpriced, underwhelming, and generic. The only thing seemingly separating it from any other headlight manufacturer is that it is marketed towards hunters, which, in nearly every scenario, means the price gets jacked up.

I really like my Nitecore NU25. A basic, cheap, reliable, and rechargeable sub 2 oz headlamp with a red mode. Its been way more reliable than the Black Diamond storm I had which straight up sucked in every way.
https://nitecorestore.com/products/nu25-mct-multi-color-temperature-usbc-headlamp#summary

 

[Jnasa]

I have a couple black diamond Storms that are still working. I bought a Sofrin last year.

I like the black diamond but read about the Sofrin on another thread. For the price I bought one. It's pretty simple but bright. It's not as comfortable on my head but a personal thing. I'm trying to use it more this season to give it an honest chance.

Even though the charge should last plenty of time I always get paranoid. So I carry a black diamond as my spare. If the rechargeable dies have the back up plus a change of batteries.

 

[Robert N]

Late to the game but…Fenix.

I think I have five different lights at this point. No, make that six.

Four headlamps and two hand-lights. Oldest one is pushing about 8 years old now, it’s on its second single cr123 equivalent rechargeable.

Fenix simply gets the “it”. Enough power, great ergonomics, easy to use…superb durability.

My current headlamp favorite: https://www.fenixlighting.com/products/fenix-hl45r-rechargeable-headlamp

The adjustable lens going from spot to flood is great, plus it has a red light…

Second favorite: https://www.fenixlighting.com/products/fenix-hm50r-v2-rechargeable-headlamp

Super light, single CR123 rechargeable or can carry a spare. Super Light! Great power. Super Light!

Third favorite: https://www.fenixlighting.com/products/fenix-hm61r-v2-rechargeable-headlamp

Just plain a bigger HM50r. Sometimes you just need more power. Dislike: it’s just heavy enough to need the top strap. Which is why I replaced it with #1 the HL45r - no top strap. The 61R has more power…super easy to use (that’s a real thing)…can be run on 2x CR123’s I think.

Every one of these headlamps gets used for everything. Hunting, walking the dogs, working in the garage on the cars…working in the house doing normal homeowner shit…and whatever I damn well need. Or my wife, who has stolen my favorite light on entirely too many occasions…so much so I bought a second one.

I have others, Black Diamond (still running after 12 years)…Petzl…some others…but the Fenix, yeah.

Fenix.