I have the Zebralight H30 and love it. It is all flood with no hotspot and is great for hiking in the woods at night. A few months ago I did a sunset summit of Mt. Monadnock. Coming down in the dark, the trail was marked with reflectors nailed to trees. The floody light lit up the trail ahead even when set at a low level.

I'm no expert but work in a hiking/outdoor shop and have tested a number of head torches from various leading brands, the two that realy stand out in my experince are:

1. EOS by princeton tec
this one has a top quality case & switch which have out lasted all the other models in terms of warrenty returns. In fact we have never had one come back so thats a good sigh. other popular brands including Petzl (no offence to Petzl owners, they are still great lights!) have a lot of problems with switches, pivot points and cases. the EOS also has a microchip that regulates the light output so you get max. out put over a longer period of time. other brands slowly begin to fade immediatley from the begining of use. to top it all off the EOS has a water proof seal (must lubricate the o-ring to keep seal integrity) this makes it great for surving big rain storms or quick dunks during river crossings.

2. Petzl E-lite
this is an aswome little light in its own right but is also great as a back up. it weighs 27 grams, is also water proof to 1 meter (2.2 feet? sorry I'm an Aussie)and can withtand a wide range of temperatures. also the batteries can last unused in your pack or in a cash for 10 yrs. plus it has the red led thats handy for reading a map at night and not totaly destroying your night vision.

I havent seen, used or tested any Doug Ritter lights but I'm sure they are also top quality. I have used both of the ones I mentioned above heaps and they work great.

Hope some of that helps!

1 meter = 39.37 inches = 3.28 feet

I feel the Petzl e+Lite serves as a fantastic backup headlight, and keep one in my GHB, my Bob, and my medical pack. The GHB and BoB both have larger Princeton Tec headlights in them as well, but it's pretty hard not to justify the redundancy provided by such a versatile headlight that weighs less than an ounce. Although the larger Princeton Tec headlights throw out more illumination, neither of them offer the red LED for maintenance of night vision.

Jim

1 meter = 39.37 inches = 3.28 feet

thanx! thats something I should try to remember

Glad to see im not the only one who values having such a light weight back up head torch.

Read your post, checked the reviews, and then saw a good deal on one of the local hiking forums ($30.00) on a Princeton Tec EOS.

QUESTION: Anyway to reasonably retrofit the Princeton Tec EOS with a red lens? Would really like that option for night.

I don’t use headlamps, flashlights fill my need well and always have. But I did buy 2 headlamps just to have around if I ever decide I need one. I got them for $2.00 each at a hamfest. I took one out of the package to play with. They seem to be ok. They run off 3-AAAs.


I don’t see me changing my mind on them, the one I opened I’m using as a night light to read with before I go to bed just to see how well it works.


For $2.00 each, it's worth playing with.

Princeton Tec is our standard. Use the Apex and the Quad, both suitable for very serious work
Petzl's die if they get wet. They make a good headlanp, but not for our area and use.

The only way I could see getting a red light out of the EOS is to tape a red filter on it, but I don't think that would be a good option.

My own preference for saving night vision is to use the light a little as possible and to only use the lowest setting, which is pretty mild.

OK, I kinda thought so. Thanks.

OK, so I took delivery of my new Princton Tec EOS headlamp last night. Thank you all for all the input on the headlamp by the way. Your input put me over the top on making the purchase. This particular EOS has had it's factory MaxBright (Luxeon I believe) LED replaced post-market with a Seoul LED.

First impressions:
1. This sucker is BRIGHT. Even on the lowest setting, it was still a pretty bright light. The Seoul LED is also supposed to be more efficient (think longer battery life) than the stock LED. The downside to the mod of course is that it nullifies the lifetime warranty.
2. The EOS is both heavier and bulkier than my old Petzl Tikka XP.
3. The EOS is less comfortable to wear and tends to bounce a bit more as I walk than my Tikka XP.

The heavy/bulky thing is kind of a drag. It doesn't easily fit into the little side pocket on my pack anymore, and it's definitely less comfortable to wear. Also, unlike the Tikka XP, it cannot be easily converted to red light.

However, it is very bright, can use Lithium batteries, and can withstand precipitation better than the Tikka XP. I may still use my XP in fair weather, but the EOS will be my first choice for cold or wet weather or when I need to see longer distances.

I'm headed into the backcountry for a couple of days this weekend. I'll post any impressions (of any significance) upon my return.

HJ