William36
01-17-2015, 14:45
I am honed in on those 2 headlight for battery size reason, etc....
Just taking a vote....
H52w regular beam, neutral light (80 Spill, 12 Hotspot) and I can diffuse it with homemade diffuser or magic tape, and remove when "spot" throw needed......
or----
H52Fw 90 degree floody with frosted lens, neutral light and that's what I have then...no spot....but I believe this is what I want 95% of the time(but like the possibility if above rig if needed)
Am I degrading the light quality of the Zebralight by diffusing it or just keeping my options open for all uses?????
slowfeet
01-17-2015, 18:35
I'd go with the H52w (get the "L2" version, it's the 2nd version).
52w has more throw for seeing farther up the trail and the XML2 throws a pretty big(wide) hot spot so bouncy ball effect is minimized.
Diffused also works but I need to crank up power to see ahead while hiking or slow down a little.
I prefer the H52Fw. Also have the SC52w, the handheld version of the H52w, so have compared them side by side many times. Bought them as a pair, but usually just carry the headlamp in the woods, since I have no real use for the handheld. I carry the SC52w on a nightly(I'm a night person and work night shift) basis. It has a wide spot and bright spill, so it's fine as a general purpose light, but most everything I use a headlamp for while backpacking is up close-whether watching where I'm walking, what my hands are doing, or inside the tent.
Flood is better for all of that. Sure, the non-floody version throws further, but it doesn't throw far, and isn't what you want if you're looking for throw, anyway.
Any time I substitute the handheld "just to see", I miss the floody. I never miss the spot when the roles are reversed.
On a clear trail, the higher low beam is enough for walking in the dark, and the lower medium mode is great. For rough terrain, I usually click to the higher medium. I never use the high beam on my H52Fw except when looking around for a campsite, or crossing a creek. I love the thing, and think it's about as good as it gets for a backpacking light(and I'm normally a fan of modified Surefires, custom parts, and Malkoff designs stuff, so it's also dirt cheap by comparison:)).