Head Torches

ThisRegard

You and your fancy multimeter, mine is shoved down the side of the washing machine, don't think it even works any more. A bit of wiggling and jiggling is how I roll !

jeffontour

I've asked Santa for one of these.

I have the bike equivalent and find it reliable & has decent build quality for the cash.

I'm hoping this will prove versatile. Who needs red/green/tangerine light. White all the way for me.

Krusty_Clown

jeffontour wrote: »

I'm hoping this will prove versatile. Who needs red/green/tangerine light. White all the way for me.

At that price, you could strap 6 Chinese replica LED lamps to your head, to cover a 360 field of vision, and still have enough money left over to buy a complete set of batteries (or a multimeter).

jeffontour

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

At that price, you could strap 6 Chinese replica LED lamps to your head, to cover a 360 field of vision, and still have enough money left over to buy a complete set of batteries (or a multimeter).

Yeah, pricey, but Santa is buying!

I've had a couple of Petzl torches fail on me, for various reasons, and they are certainly not cheap.

I've found the Hope kit I already have to be reliable and sturdy. That's what I want from a light. I don't want the thing to give up in the pitch black when I need it most.

I already have batteries, and a multimeter.

neilc

jeffontour wrote: »

I've asked Santa for one of these.

I have the bike equivalent and find it reliable & has decent build quality for the cash.

I'm hoping this will prove versatile. Who needs red/green/tangerine light. White all the way for me.

Wow, Santa's very good in your house.
I went for this one a couple of weeks ago. The build quality is amazing. While it was a bit pricey at €55 I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

nerraw1111

Current thoughts on head torches as we head into winter?

rom

nerraw1111 wrote: »

Current thoughts on head torches as we head into winter?

Bright idea

seanynova

petzel tikka xp2 is a good head tourch, got one last year and still on its 1st set of batteries, that said, it typically wouldnt be on during the whole run but i find its perfect!

lgk

The new Petzl Nao is pretty nice. The reactive lighting works really well and you can program in multiple modes with adjustable light settings for the narrow and wide beams.

ThisRegard

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

(or a multimeter).

Ha ha, coincidentally I only took mine out for a run last week and it seems the summers rest done it good, worked as soon as I put batteries in without the need for my patented wiggling and jiggling and it didn't randomly switch itself off while in the middle of a forest leaving me in a state of panic.

Although I'm thinking I was better off without it working in the first place as I went up to Ticknock Halloween night. I was running up towards the aerials when someone to my left caught my eye also with a head torch so I wasn't sure if it was an MTB'er or someone else running. I kept an eye out anyway but it got to the stage where everything I looked over, the person ducked.

Being Halloween night and knowing that many a horror film opens with such scenes the thought of being stalked ala Deliverance started going through me head, but I still kept checking them out and the path I was on seemed to be taking me closer to the person. At this point the audience are shouting at the screen saying turn around you big eejit, you're going to die !!

Another one or two ducks as I looked over towards my crazed stalker convinced me to turn around and jog back to the car park, my inner voice shouting run you fool. At this point the little bit of cloud there was cleared and the moonlight brightened things up, and I laughed.

It was a bloody deer. The deers "head torch" was my light reflecting in its eyes. And the ducking it was doing was it bending down to forage for food taking its head down into the brush out of the way from my own light.

My knowledge of horrow films kicked in once again, the hero, after their intial scare, thinks everything is ok, but they get gutted by the unforeseen terror as they turn the next corner. So I went home.

PaulieC

too embarrassing to go back up, all the deer were p1ssing themselves laughing

opus

lgk wrote: »

The new Petzl Nao is pretty nice. The reactive lighting works really well and you can program in multiple modes with adjustable light settings for the narrow and wide beams.

Impressive bit of tech but that's some price though! Dug out my Alpkit Gamma for the first time for a run after work this evening, batteries from last Winter are still going strong. Looks like you could get ~10 of them for the price of the Petzl :eek:

dev123

opus wrote: »

Impressive bit of tech but that's some price though! Dug out my Alpkit Gamma for the first time for a run after work this evening, batteries from last Winter are still going strong. Looks like you could get ~10 of them for the price of the Petzl :eek:

+1 on the alpkit gamma. Took it out tonight for the first time in months. I had forgotten how useful it is for dodging potholes, dips, speed bumps and other such unseen treats.

lgk

opus wrote: »

Impressive bit of tech but that's some price though! Dug out my Alpkit Gamma for the first time for a run after work this evening, batteries from last Winter are still going strong. Looks like you could get ~10 of them for the price of the Petzl :eek:

Ah yeah, the Nao gives 4 times the light output, at 355 lumens, so is overkill for running roads and decent surfaces. More suited to longer off-road stuff, especially night orienteering where the reactive light comes into its own, auto-dimming when looking at the map, putting on the full focused narrow beam when looking into the distance for controls, etc.

I have the Myo RXP as well, but at 140 lumens, didn't give enough light to run rocky trails at full speed.

seanynova

opus wrote: »

Impressive bit of tech but that's some price though! Dug out my Alpkit Gamma for the first time for a run after work this evening, batteries from last Winter are still going strong. Looks like you could get ~10 of them for the price of the Petzl :eek:

while you're not wrong in what your saying, the cost of a 'more expensive' heap lamp(not necessarily the nao) is not that much in the grand scheme of things, shoes are only good for ~500miles(?), a lead lamp will last years...and its still half the price of a pair of shoes at approx the same or less than a marathon or high profile race entry fee.

the alpha gamma kit has got good reviews but without a doubt it has to be more inconvienent than some of the petzel(or other 'brand' label) options.

jeawan

seanynova wrote: »

while you're not wrong in what your saying, the cost of a 'more expensive' heap lamp(not necessarily the nao) is not that much in the grand scheme of things, shoes are only good for ~500miles(?), a lead lamp will last years...and its still half the price of a pair of shoes at approx the same or less than a marathon or high profile race entry fee.

the alpha gamma kit has got good reviews but without a doubt it has to be more inconvienent than some of the petzel(or other 'brand' label) options.

Why ?

I have a Petzel used it for a few years great head torch i have just bought a alpha gamma , not received it yet so can not comment . but i did buy one of the Cheap Cree head torch off ebay and use that for biking and tbh it is miles better then most of the top brand one and was only 30 euro .

Anyway back to me question Why is it more inconvenient id be interest to know and i will also give you a full review from someone who trains at all times in the Wicklow mountains/forests at night running and biking regarding how effective the alpha is versus the Petzl Tikka XP Head Torch.

wideball

I've the alpha gamma torch which I find great for running in the Phoenix Park. Not sure about use in mountains etc but bang for buck I think it's a great torch.

any recommendations for one that will fit on whilst wearing a bike helmet too - for mountain biking?

trek climber

opus wrote: »

Impressive bit of tech but that's some price though! Dug out my Alpkit Gamma for the first time for a run after work this evening, batteries from last Winter are still going strong. Looks like you could get ~10 of them for the price of the Petzl :eek:

Looking to get a headtorch for the winter training runs in the forest, lots of trees so it will be very dark - would the Alpkit Gamma do the job for me ?

rom

trek climber wrote: »

Looking to get a headtorch for the winter training runs in the forest, lots of trees so it will be very dark - would the Alpkit Gamma do the job for me ?

Personally if I was running somewhere it was pitch dark then I would have a chest mounted light rather than a headlamp. It would be more stable on the chest. Most places are not totally dark. http://www.gomotiongear.com/blog/tag/trail-runners/ http://www.ultrunr.com/lighting.html I can run in the dark fine but the biggest benifit to me is with a headlamp is I can turn my head at a car coming out of a drive so they don't knock me down etc.

nerraw1111

Any thought on the LED Lenser H7? Seems to get decent reviews. Seems to be a whole geek world out there when it comes to torches.

It's €55 in 53 Degrees North. Which seems to be around same price online.

rom

http://www.rvops.co.uk has some nice headlamps too.

seanynova

jeawan wrote: »

Why ?

I have a Petzel used it for a few years great head torch i have just bought a alpha gamma , not received it yet so can not comment . but i did buy one of the Cheap Cree head torch off ebay and use that for biking and tbh it is miles better then most of the top brand one and was only 30 euro .

Anyway back to me question Why is it more inconvenient id be interest to know and i will also give you a full review from someone who trains at all times in the Wicklow mountains/forests at night running and biking regarding how effective the alpha is versus the Petzl Tikka XP Head Torch.

mainly because of the size of it, the battery pack on the back, power cord, maybe the weight, id imagine there is a lot more vertical 'bobbing' movement with that on your head(although 3rd centre strap probably helps).

as i say, it gets good reviews so it must be good but it just looks like an aweful bit of kit and when selecting a head tourch for running, then price shouldnt be as big as factor as it will out last any pair of shoes by around 8-10 times id imagine.

functionality and purpose for use on the other hand are other factors

lgk

rom wrote: »

Personally if I was running somewhere it was pitch dark then I would have a chest mounted light rather than a headlamp. It would be more stable on the chest.

Your head would actually be quite a bit more stable running than your chest.

Some trail runners use both a headtorch and hand-held light running on really rocky stuff. Lights up rocks / holes much better. In cloud/mist, headtorches tend to result in glare, so they'd mainly use the lower light then.

jeffontour

lgk wrote: »

Some trail runners use both a headtorch and hand-held light running on really rocky stuff.

Hand torch is ok but can be a nuisance. A torch at waist level, on a belt is good. Only used it a couple of times though. I just bodged a headtorch onto the belt os a small waist pack I was taking anyway.

sconhome

glasso wrote: »

any recommendations for one that will fit on whilst wearing a bike helmet too - for mountain biking?

The Silva X-trail comes with a bundle of clips and attachments for helmet or handlebar mounting as well as the headband. Batteries are carried on a waist belt in a kit though I've recently started to pack mine into a backpack or camelpak.

dizzymom

hi bought one today, with 3 different light settings, its square, quite good size, adjustable for head, it was 6.99 but they have cheaper and more expensive ones there too !

jeawan

amphkingwest wrote: »

The Silva X-trail comes with a bundle of clips and attachments for helmet or handlebar mounting as well as the headband. Batteries are carried on a waist belt in a kit though I've recently started to pack mine into a backpack or camelpak.

That is one light i have being looking at buying for sometime but never got round to it . how do you find it the reviews are very good for the light from what i can see .

sconhome

jeawan wrote: »

That is one light i have being looking at buying for sometime but never got round to it . how do you find it the reviews are very good for the light from what i can see .

Its a class bit of kit. I've had a couple of different lamps including the Silva Ninox and one of the standard LED lamps and it knocks the socks off all of them.

Run with a group on nighttime forest trails and it really is the top lamp. Good light level changes high, mid, low and a map reading seting so you don't dazzle people when standing around (or reading a map).

Battery life has been very good, I use rechargeable batteries rather than shelling out for the expensive option of rechargeable battery pack. Cheaper to carrry extra batteries too.

ThisRegard

nerraw1111 wrote: »

Any thought on the LED Lenser H7? Seems to get decent reviews. Seems to be a whole geek world out there when it comes to torches.

It's €55 in 53 Degrees North. Which seems to be around same price online.

I knew I had this lying around, I've a copy of Trail Running magazine from this time last year in which they reviewed 14 different head torches.

The overall best in test was the Hope Vision R4 and the best budget torch was the Led Lenser H7.