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  1. #1
    Registered User 300winmag's Avatar
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    Default Winter headlamps

    Winter camping, with its reduced hours of daylight and cold temperatures puts greater demands on a headlamp.

    Here are my suggestions for good winter headlamps.

    1. LITHIUM BATTERIES> MUCH better performance in the cold than any other type. Plus, they are very lightweight and carrying spares is no burden.

    2. REGULATED CIRCUITRY> Gives almost constant brightness level until the last few minutes of battery life. I prefer Princeton Tec regulated headlamps for utter reliability but Mammut now has a great headlamp too.

    3. HEADBAND REAR MOUNTED BATTERY PACK> Necessary only if you plan extensive use of your headlamp, as in 4 AM "alpine start" hikes to conquor a peak. The rear mounted battery pack keeps batteries under your hat/ parka hood and warm, giving more battery life and room for more batteries for a brighter light bulb.

    4. WATERPROOF "O-RING" SEALING> This is a must for almost any headlamp and most have this feature.

  2. #2
    PCT, Sheltowee, Pinhoti, LT , BMT, AT, SHT, CDT, TRT 10-K's Avatar
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    I did some night hiking a few weeks ago and wore 2 headlamps. By gosh, that lit up the trail for sure...

  3. #3
    Registered User johnnybgood's Avatar
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    The Princeton Tec Apex Pro using two 3-volt lithium batteries is the brightest headlamp I've seen and IMO is the best for cold winter hiking.
    Getting lost is a way to find yourself.

  4. #4
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    For general section hiking, you are on target - for the AT you will find yourself out of luck if you dont carry spare batteries. Watch batteries and or lithiums can be twenty miles away at the nearest hardware store. Some trail towns do not have a store for this.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  5. #5
    Registered User johnnybgood's Avatar
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    Default winter hiking

    lithium batteries are twice as resilient to cold weather and out perform alkaline batteries .
    So why not go with what works best longer.
    I would carry spare batteries regardless... just fewer lithiums.
    Getting lost is a way to find yourself.

  6. #6
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    Yep, I was using my headlamp for about 5 hours a day average on my trip that ended a few days ago. Some days were much longer. Starting an hour before sunrise, hiking two hours past sunset and then reading for a few hours.

  7. #7

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    i hope we can all get off batteries one day.when solar chargers charge by candelight in seconds. when batteries last a lifetime. when bacon has replaced batteries space and weight in our packs.when the human electrical grid is a powersource wirelessly. when tiny monkeys turn tiny cranks on tiny music boxes that power our lamps and sing us songs. oh how i wish for that night.when starlight powers the headlamp. when electric eels provide light and sushi. oh how i pray for that day.when old fart succeds in harnesing human flatulance into an odor free power source for our cool headlamps. when chicks become so hot they give off light and can be hiked by.when chaffing genoraters harness the friction of thighs and light our way. oh how i wish today was that day.but untill then ,..ill hold on to my 5 d cell maglight with its no name cells and its ability to pound stakes and roll tortillas. to tenderize steaks and stir sangria. to light the night and win a fight. as a conversation peice, or to find a lost neice.my maglite all in all, is just quite right.
    matthewski

  8. #8
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Go buy a panel Matty - I have posted two thread on the subject.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by mweinstone View Post
    i hope we can all get off batteries one day.when solar chargers charge by candelight in seconds.
    I just read a blurb about how Fujitsu has developed a solar panel that can charge just off of body heat. With as much as I sweat when I hike and an abundance of surface area, I bet I could produce quite a bit of electricity with their panels. Here's the thing though. We are batteries.

  10. #10
    its a state of mind
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    wondering if anyone has tried this one led lenser is the company h7 is the model 160 lumens runs on 3 aaa batterys. I have been using one for the past year if your in front of me you are going to get sunburn lol.http://www.zweibrueder.com/ENG/produkte/html_highperformance/html_Hserie/h7.php?id=h7











    i

  11. #11

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    http://www.brightguy.com/Princeton+T...eable+Headlamp is what im getting for winter. very powerful, long battery life and is rechargable via usb.

  12. #12
    PCT, Sheltowee, Pinhoti, LT , BMT, AT, SHT, CDT, TRT 10-K's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timinator View Post
    http://www.brightguy.com/Princeton+T...eable+Headlamp is what im getting for winter. very powerful, long battery life and is rechargable via usb.
    That's one bright light! I like it.

    Only thing is how would you recharge it if you were on an extended hike?

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by im lost View Post
    wondering if anyone has tried this one led lenser is the company h7 is the model 160 lumens runs on 3 aaa batterys. I have been using one for the past year if your in front of me you are going to get sunburn lol.http://www.zweibrueder.com/ENG/produkte/html_highperformance/html_Hserie/h7.php?id=h7i

    I have that and the h14. The H7 is very bright and light with lithiums.....but the H14 takes 4 AAs and it will light up the night. You'd think a motorcycle was coming down the trail. I love em both.
    Tridavis

  14. #14
    Registered User mtnkngxt's Avatar
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    Petzl E-Lite year round for me. Keep 3 spare watch button batteries in the chest pocket of my mid layer to keep the warm.

  15. #15

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    Hello there, gunna revive this thread for a bit. Just wondering on the practical use of http://www.petzl.com/en/node/21667 during winter. I've been mulling over buying that or http://princetontec.com/?q=apex-rechargeable. The petzl is much much lighter and lasts just about as long but it's not fully weather proof and isn't nearly as bright. I'm looking for for a weatherproof headlamp that's rechargeable via solar panel and these are really the only 2 choices on the market that I see. Which one would you guys pick?

  16. #16
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    The Princeton Tec is awfully heavy. The best thing about it is that it offers the charger and battery without extra cost.

    Almost every headlight is rechargeable if you use rechargeable batteries and don't mind taking out the battery to charge.

    I'd go for the first one because you said you're on a tight budget. I'd also skip the solar charger because there won't be many hours of daylight to effectively use it with, and if you're stopped because of a storm that solar charger won't work well anyway. With either of those lights, you'll probably visit 2 towns or more before needing to charge it. A solar charger doesn't make much sense unless you're camping instead of backpacking.

    In your case, I'd go with a Zebralight H51. For the same cost, you could buy enough lithium AA's to last your entire trip. The weight of the H51 and 4 batteries is probably less than that of the Petzl and the solar charger. After your trip you could probably resell the Zebralight for 80% of what you paid. The other advantage is that you can easily hold it like a flashlight. It also puts out as much light as the Princeton Tec.

    In my case, I'd go with a Zebralight H600. It's roughly the same, but 3x brighter.

  17. #17
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    Here's a budget option that puts out as much or more light. Up front I'll state that the biggest problem is the lack of a truly low low, and thus a shorter maximum battery life. That is a big deal if you intend to use it a lot inside your tent, but not an issue if it's used almost exclusively for hiking.

    $16.60 Trustfire Z2



    Skip the rechargeables...

    $1.50 Titanium Innovations CRAA -- slightly dimmer than lithium rechargeable, but lower up front costs. Cheaper than lithium non rechargeable and nimh AA's too.



    $3.54 head strap




    Upfront costs are roughly $20 for a very bright light that has a beam pattern that's great for trail hiking. It has o-rings everywhere, so it should be weather resistant. This light with battery is actually lighter than the lights you asked about, and lighter than the lights I mentioned previously. It supposedly can use a regular alkaline/nimh/lithium AA battery. If you do buy this, remember that the light and head strap ship from China and can take a few weeks to arrive, so plan accordingly.

    Fwiw, I don't have a Zebralight, but I do have this light. Two of them. If the lowest mode was much lower, I'd recommend it without reservation.

  18. #18

  19. #19

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    Well the thing is, my system is kind of unique. Everything pretty much relies on my solar power and my specific solar panel can charge in cloudy weather inside of a house, I just strap it to my pack and everything stays charged. Everything I use is based off of usb rechargeable power and If I buy a lamp that uses batteries I'm basically going to have to carry the extra weight of a battery recharger just to power that one device.

  20. #20
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    Or buy non rechargeable batteries when you buy food. One less thing to charge. I like to night hike with a LOT more light than most people (100-500+ lumens) and I don't have a problem with batteries going dead.

    Or like I said before, almost any light is rechargeable if you take the battery out. I've considered getting a very compact usb charger for lithium ion batteries, but I changed my mind after hiking for a month last winter without changing the battery in my light. The light I carried on that trip was a Xeno e03. It weighs about the same as the lights we've discussed and puts out about 200 floody lumens with the lithium AA I used...but capable of 500 lumens with a lithium ion battery. If you're interested, that light costs about $35, is weather sealed and has retailers in the US. It's a good light, but is floodier than I prefer for trail hiking, and has a brighter low than I like for reading in a tent or bivy. It can also use the non rechargeable $1.50 battery I mentioned earlier that allows it to put out probably around 350 lumens, although I personally stick with nimh or lithium batteries in this light.

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