Most of the time for camping, work (EMT) and kayaking I use ARC LS light and Inova X5. I will have a small headlight such as Zipka or Tikka as well. They are not the brightest or most powerful lights out there. I would like to buy a more powerful light but the key is that it has to be compact for everyday carry. I was looking at Galls HALO and it seemed like a good choice but I know that Surefire makes some really great products too. I want to keep the price under $75, more if light can be upgraded to rechargable.

Matt

If you want a more powerful headlamp than a Tikka, I would recommend the Petzl Duo, with LEDs for the lower light source. I recently modified my traditional Duo with a Moduled 8, which gives me three levels of LED light, plus a Halogen high beam. The light is waterproof, and has a very secure switch which will not turn on accidentally. Like any headlamp, it can be used as a handheld, often a better way to carry when following uneven ground. Black Diamond has a similar line of headlamps which I would look at very carefully if I were buying from scratch.

Consider Streamlight Products. Many excellent lights are currently available and several more coming down the pike. Some hazardous environment rated. Pete

Is this a kit you bought to modify your Duo? I would be interested in converting mine too.

Lewis

Check out the reviews at LEDMUSEUM.org and CANDLEPOWERFORUMS.COM. It will take a couple of hours to peruse all the information on these sites. You can also post your questions on candlepower and they'll be happy to share information. Great resources for virtually all of your flashlight / LED / Battery related questions, PLUS there are several folks there that make and sell modified lights and/or components.

I will second Pete's opinion on Streamlight products. If you want something small and bright go with a Scorpion, it's about the same size as a Surefire E2. A Scorpion is not as cool looking as a E2 but it is about half the price of the Surefire, and it is less than the halo you are looking at. If you want to go with a rechargeable, Streamlights are the best that i have used, and a Stinger is in your price range. It is smaller than a 2D cell flashlight, but it has 15,000 candlepower. And both of these Streamlights come with spare bulbs, something you don't have to worry about with your Arc LS, which Surefire does not. Now i am not trying to imply that Surefire has inferior products, i own and have used both, Surefire and Streamlight make excellent products. If you are going to use it often and have to buy your own batteries buy the Stinger, any of the flashlights that i have used that contain lithium batteries and an incandescent bulb eat a set of batteries in an hour or less. This can get expensive if you use the light often.

If you have are shopping check out Texas Tactical, no affiliation, just good service and reasonable prices.

http://www1.ecxmall.com/stores/texastacticalsupply/StoreFront.bok

BTW my EDC is an Arc LS with a 2AA clickie and an Arc AAA. HTH

http://www.1sks.com/store/pelican-m6.html

Seems like great bang for a buck. What do you guys think? My other choice is Surefire Z2 Combatlight.

Matt

Looks like a neat light, very bright with good run time. When you buy one tell us about it.

I would recommend the Petzyl Micro 2-AA headlamp. It's a compact (enough for EDC), water resistant headlamp. Upgrade the bulb to the higher output type (shorter burn time) sold by Petzyl (krypton?), and use AA lithium cells (3x the burn time of alkaline YMMV). These cells are cold temp resistant and light weight, and in a pinch you can find spare AA cells at a corner store. The micro carries a spare bulb, and has no battery pack to carry on the back of the head to interfere with parka hood, etc, or wires to snag. You could use NIMH rechargeable AA's in it, which would allow the use of a compact solar charger. Micros are only around $20 to boot.
Good luck!
Run

You might take a look at my comments from the 2003 Shot Show Report.