Judging from the photo it is as good as the one I bought. I bought from a hardware store webshop. One could choose varietys based on how long you want it to glow, was from a few hours to 30 hours. The longer glow time the more expensive. I took the 7 hour glow time. Enough to get through the night.

Doug, I continue to obsess a bit over this weird anomaly but this light might interest you:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32823244215.html

It's a 1AA plastic headlamp that claims to weigh 26g, presumably without battery. Lithium AA is 15g so it clocks in a bit heavier than the coin cell lights, but it uses the totally common AA cells which hold tremendously more energy than coin cells. It has red and white leds with low/medium/high modes, claims IPX5 water resistance, and is $3.65+shipping, making it pretty affordable for your kit. I'm sure you can work out an even better quantity deal.

I have no idea of its quality and wouldn't expect too much, of course. But my venerable 1AA Zebralight H50 weighed 16g without the battery or strap, and it was made of metal, so adding 10g for the strap I can believe this plastic light is the same weight. I might order one just to play around with it.

It would be great if they made a 1aaa version...

Speaking of 1aaa lights, the one I mentioned in the 2nd post on this thread is currently 30% off on aliexpress. $16.06

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001208648428.html

Doesn't come with a headband, have to order separately

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001208710551.html

Yeah the Manker headband costs extra and is supposedly not taht nice, and I believe that the light itself is heavier (despite being 1aaa) than the 1aa headlamp that I linked. It is brighter though. I'd tend to go for the 1AA for Doug's kit since he wants something cheap, and you get much more battery energy for just a tiny bit more weight.

For Manker discount codes, try also the links from here: https://budgetlightforum.com/node/55867

If anyone cares, I have ordered one of these. It might take a month to arrive from China. I'll post a report if and when.

It occurs to me that I have another plastic 1AA headlamp around here, made by Icon, Paul Kim's old company. (Paul Kim was Surefire's chief flashlight designer, and I think the Icon company is gone now). I don't remember what the model was called but I do remember liking the light. If I can find it I can weigh it, I guess. I had two. I used one for a while and now don't know where it is, and the other is unopened but I think I can find it. I have no real reason to keep saving the unopened one, so I may as well open it.

I'll be curious to see how you like it!

My 1AA light was supposedly delivered, and as far as I can tell, the UPS store at my end lost it along with another package. Neither package was expensive but this is kind of annoying. I may order another light, and maybe end up with two if the original one turns up sometime.

I spoke with a guy online who has one of the 1aa lights. He said it is not waterproof but otherwise is good value for the price. Maybe it can be sealed up with tape or something.

Cheap way to pot it is to use clear nail polish on the electronics. Assuming can get it apart without breaking.
I imagine the light doesn't generate much heat, so should be fine.

Update: my 1aa light package has been "un-lost" so I have it now. The other package is still missing.

The light itself is very lightweight and cheap. I guess it is ok as an emergency light but it doesn't seem durable enough for regular use. Weight is about 18.5g for the light by itself, 6.5g for the headband (about 12mm wide), 31g including the minimal cardboard box that it came in. I can post photos if anyone wants to see them. According to the box, the light is 100 lumens.

Figuring out how to insert the battery was confusing. The light is in a little bracket that you can pry off with your fingers, and after that, there is a battery cover that slides off. It seems to me there is a possibility of breaking little parts while doing this, but it should be ok if you are careful. The switch is a clicky pushbutton on top of the light underneath a membrane cover that looks reasonably sealed, but the battery compartment sealing is not that great.

I'm hesitant to suggest inserting the battery before putting the light into a kit, since it's a microprocessor light that may have parasitic current drain even when switched off. I'll try to measure this if I get a chance. Doing this in every kit before shipping would add maybe a minute to the assembly time for each kit, but would allow the light to be tested, and the waterproofing could be improved with a bit of tape or clear nail polish as someone suggested.

The light does have virtues for use in a semi-mass-produced emergency kit. It is cheap and lightweight and uses the most common battery in the world, with tons more energy than the coin cells in the old light. With an L91 lithium AA it is around 40g weight, maybe 10g more than a coin cell light. Its reliability probably isn't great, but the kit contains a second light (Photon Freedom) that can serve as a backup. If the Freedom includes the little mounting clip, then it can be used as a headlamp too, bu clipping it to the AA light or its headband.

I'll put in a battery and test the light later, and maybe write a little more of a review, but for the original purpose of including it in a kit, I think it is worth a look. Doug, you can order one from the link I gave, or I don't mind donating this one to ETS if you want to evaluate it. It might be a week or so before I can send it out though, so it may be about as quick to order from AliEx. I think it took about 12 days to reach my mailbox from them.

I remembered this thread after noticing on fenix-store.com that the HL10 (edit: wrote HL05 by mistake) is back in stock:

https://www.fenix-store.com/fenix-hl10-led-flashlight-2016/

33g, 1aaa powered, 3 levels (4/30/70 lumens), waterproof, detaches from headband for use as a right angle flashlight, very nice for this purpose except bloody expensive ($27) for an emergency kit light. Battery runtime on the low level is probably enormous. No idea about parasitic drain. I don't feel likely to buy one because of the cost.

Maybe rather than scouring the rather thin headlamp selection out there, it could be better to invent some kind of headstrap that allows more stable and useful head mounting of a conventional tube-shaped 1aaa light or the Photon light. I'm imagining a traditional 2-piece headlamp strap with a top strap, plus some kind of holder or mount at the very top where you would put your small light. The strap part would be thin and lightweight. I guess this could be tested with some bits of elastic strap and some 3d printing.

Another idea: a periscope mirror accessory that slips over the front of a 1aaa light to turn it into a right angle light, then easy to put into a headband. Or the mirror could be built into the headband.

I still have that aliexpress 1aa light but never did any more testing with it. Maybe someday.