To save night vision (never really been an issue for me) I would think a flashlight held in your hand would do better then a light right by your eyes. Less chance your pupils would close up the farther the light is from your eyes.

Hmm. You may be right about that. Anytime I've reached up to adjust my headlamp and have passed my hand in front of the light, I've wound up blinded by all the light bouncing off my hand into my eyes. However, that hands free thing really works for me, particularly when cooking or when in a low slung tent where I need both hands free.

The color of the light really does make a difference, though. Red light in particular (the military has done studies) is good at preserving night vision.

Well, there's a 40% chance of snow with temps above freezing this weekend. Gonna be slushy if it does snow. A perfect field test for my new Princeton Tec EOS. Wish me and my new EOS headlamp a happy field trial.

Flashlightreviews.com really liked them both, giving the EOS 5 stars and the Tikka XP 4.5 stars. The lower rating is because the Tikka XP is not regulated. They also rated the Princeton Tec Apex with 5 stars, but that is bigger with a battery pack that rides at the back of the head - not my preference.

If it matters to you, the EOS can use lithium batteries, but the Tikka XP cannot.

Ken K.

I saw an E+Lite at REI yesterday, and the switch seemed a bit flaky. It would change modes reliably, but putting just a bit of pressure on the switch would cause the light to flicker or dim. When I left the switch alone it stabilized, but it scares me that the supposedly rugged backup light has such sensitive contacts on its switch. Has anyone else seen this on their E+Lite?