Black Diamond Flare Headlamp?

Anyone tried out the Black Diamond Flare Headlamp?

https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en...gBoCshUQAvD_BwE

Haven't heard of it til now. Does look pretty neat, and possibly better alternative than the Petzl light.

Trying to think of alternatives... and closest is the Manker E02 II in terms of price/size/weight. 1xAAA but no red/SOS and have to get headband seperately.

http://www.mankerlight.com/manker-e02-ii-ultra-compact-pocket-edc-flashlight/

The Manker E03H is its 1xAA version.

Then there is Acebeam H40 and Thrunite TH20 which aren't angle lights so less flexible.

The above alternatives probably fail on ease of use too compared the Black Diamond too.

I hadn't seen it yet, thanks! I've had great luck with Black Diamond so I'll look it over.

I have a few, It has become my go to for a small/compact or backup headlamp. Doesn't have a cool case like Petzl's e+Lite, it doesn't store as flat as an e+Lite and it is missing the dual off feature of the e+Lite. It is brighter, easier to use with gloves, and has a longer run time.

Huh. No. But this thread prompted me to check if the Flare is regulated. I couldn't find any information on that, but I did discover that the new e+lite is regulated. Perhaps time to update my original e+lite.

The Petzl e+LITE is a great emergency kit headlamp! I have a few stashed in kits and such, but somewhat bulky. I am looking for a replacement for the eGgear EQ headlamp series. Example:

https://sep.yimg.com/ca/I/theshorelinemarket_2618_604051195

It was inexpensive, bright enough, couldn't be turned on accidentally when packed up and very compact.

Consider the Knog Quokka (an Aussie company. obviously),available in the USA only from REI. Rechargeable without a cord(plugs directly into a USB), light (under 2 oz) and very compact. Can be locked.

https://www.rei.com/product/169056/knog-quokka-rechargeable-headlamp

I have a couple and find them useful, although I have not yet used them extensively.

Any idea how long it will hold a charge in storage?

Thanks. Rechargeable is generally not a good idea for something you're planning to stick in a kit for years. Plus, with some exceptions, like "dual fuel," then you cannot also include spare batteries. I prefer lights that are going to be stored take lithium primary batteries.

Also, while that's thin,perhaps, it isn't going to pack down compactly I don't think.

I emailed Black Diamond and they responded that the Flare is not regulated.

I don't mind an unregulated "battery vampire".

The most important bit about any light source - when you push the button, is there light? Everything else is just details....

Thanks for this thread: I found it while looking for info about the Flare. That's unfortunate about it not storing flat: I wondered about that from looking at the picture. I wonder if it's feasible to replace the headstrap with a plain bit of elastic.

I don't understand why there are so few ultracompact headlamps: they are basically just keychain lights on a strap, right? The hassle is that the head has to point forward and most keychain lights aren't made that way.

The e+LITE seems nice but is way expensive, the Flare somewhat more affordable, but now that we all have tons of Covid facemasks around, maybe I can repurpose the elastic from one to turn a Photon-style microlight into a headlamp, using a bit of plastic packaging material as a backing plate. I'll post a pic if I manage to do this.

Added: any idea how well these things work, as an alternative to an actual headlamp? It's just a headband with a holder for a small AAA light on the side of your head:

https://www.niteize.com/product/Headband.asp

Maybe I can make something like it that's even lighter, intended to hold just a 1aaa light. The Niteize one is fairly beefy so it can hold e.g. a 2aa Minimag.

When I’m using a headlamp, I’m most commonly underneath something on my back working on it, or I’m on my feet walking. I’ve owned the Niteize strap and it’s marginal for the first use and basically worthless for the second — you cannot angle the light effectively.

My favorite lightweight headlamp is the Nitecore NU20. From experience I can tell you it discharges very slowly while banging around in my laptop bag. My favorite lightweight headlamp that takes primary cells (instead of an onboard rechargeable battery) isn’t made any more, it was the Fenix HL50, which could take either 1xCR123A or 1xAA. No affiliation with either company.

Funny thing - was just writing about headlamps in another thread!

Anyway, I've got several of the Black diamond brand "storm" lights:
https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/product/storm-400-headlamp/

I like them as the fit me well and I can adjust the light angle on them to project the beam where I want it. The flood or spot or both setting is also nice for my needs.

Chaosmagnet, thanks for the info about the Niteize band, oh well. Pforeman, the Storm looks nice, but I think we're looking for very light and tiny lights here, like under 1 ounce including batteries and strap (the Flare and e+LITE both fit this). The Storm is over 4 oz so is more full size. The only thing wrong with the Flare seems to be that stiffener in the strap: I wonder if they really need that. Oddly, REI has a bunch of BD models but not the Flare, so I can't go look at one there.

I've gotten some nice tiny zipper pouches at Daiso that I use for things like earbuds. They weigh just a few grams and a Flare or a 1aaa light and strap might fit nicely in one.

Hmm, the Fenix HL10 goes a little over the 1 ounce limit (40g with L92 battery) and it may be discontinued, but it is a 1aaa right angle design like the Manker. I personally find it a bit ugly and would change a few things to make it smaller:

https://www.fenixlighting.com/product/fenix-hl10-headlamp/

Added: Fenix HL05 is another 2xCR2032 headlamp, now discontinued though you can find them if you search around, 29.5 grams including batteries and headstrap. Reviewed here: https://budgetlightforum.com/node/42621

I think it would be a contender if it came back at the original $15. I wonder what it would take to get Fenix to bring it back. There is a surprising scarcity of this style of light.

Another addition: I'll mention another light not because I'm recommending it (it is a usb rechargeable and has various implementation flaws) but it seems noteworthy as a step in the right direction. It's the Nitecore NU05 which is basically a 1 inch square with SMT leds, an internal battery, and a belt loop-like thing on the back that can thread through an optional headband. There are tons of reviews etc. online.

The light weighs just 10.4 grams and the headband might add another 10g. It has 110mah 3.6v internal lipo cell and runs about 1 hour at 35 lumens, i.e. I wish they had added a 3.5 lumen 10 hour mode. It also has green and red leds with flashing modes etc. Because it is so small, rather than spare batteries you could really carry a whole additional light, so you'd have a spare if something went wrong (you probably wouldn't have a 2nd headband). A Photon Freedom weighs about 7g so with a second NU05-like light you could leave the Photon and its extra batteries out of the kit, and basically break even on weight.

What we actually need though is a CR2032 or (better) 1AAA powered version of this light, with saner modes.

Nice choices, Chaosmagnet. The NU20 and 25 are popular with the backpackers too. I am also using a NU20 lately instead of my Fenix HL21 from years ago.

Yes, definitely could do with few more options in small headlamp area.
Here's a list of smaller headlamps, that should take lithium primaries.

Flashlights @ Parametrek.com

I disregard all plastic bodied ones, not a fan.

Looking at that Parametrik list sorted by weight, other than the Flare and e+LITE already here, the lowest weight non-discontinued, non-"tactical" model seems to be the Princeton Tec Remix Pro which uses a CR123A and weighs 66g and costs $45 and is plastic. It does seem like a nice light, and I don't mind plastic. But it seems like everyone wants high-lumen lights now, which use more battery power, which means bigger batteries and more metal mass to handle the heat. It is possible to select just the metal ones like this:

link

A lot more possibilities open if you can use 2aaa or 3aaa. The Black Diamond Wiz (2aaa, 56g, intended for kids) looks interesting because of features like a 2 hour auto-off to prevent the batteries from draining if the light is left on.

Doug, would you be buying 100s of lights at a time for those kits? Maybe you could convince Fenix to do another run of the discontinued HL05 or HL10 lights by offering a large enough order.

Addition: thought I'd mention I just got a couple of Litezall 3aaa headlamps at $3.50 each: https://sidedeal.com/deals/2-pack-litezall-mini-headlamps-3

They are lightweight (24g for the light, 6g for the strap, 63g total with 3 alkaline AAAs or maybe 50g with lithiums) and have an electronic switch which is sealed. They stow pretty small since the headband is just a piece of elastic with an adjustment clip, no stiffener needed. They have a hinged backplate to put in the batteries, so the seam around it is the most likely place for water to get in. I think they would withstand a good splashing as-is but they aren't truly waterproof. I haven't yet measured the operating current (to estimate runtime) or the parasitic current (which might matter for long term storage).

If there is parasitic current, that could be handled by putting a little slip of paper to insulate one of the battery contacts during storage, which would also protect from accidental turn-on. If there is no parasitic current and you want to leave the batteries in the light, you could probably seal the battery compartment with tape or clear nail polish around the seam. I like these lights and plan to stow one in my glove compartment.

Based on the 120 lumen claimed brightness on high, pending measurements, I'm going to guess power consumption at 1 watt on high or 0.5W on low (PWM), giving runtime of 6h high or 12h low with lithiums. They should also have a long reserve of lower brightness.

Not sure an auto off is a good idea.

I'd prefer to be able to set it to a firefly/moonlight mode (less than a lumen) so don't have to turn it off during the night, and battery drain is minimal.

Metal bodies lights tend to have mechanical lockout. Quarter turn or so on the battery cap usually breaks the electrical connection.

Not all of these lights have firefly/moonlight modes, unfortunately, and for a very small (coin cell) light, 1 lumen would take a significant amount of power. It is also a lot of light, maybe even enough to be annoying. If you are night adapted, 0.1 lumens goes a long way.

Would you want it just to be able to find the light? A GITD marker that you charge up in the daytime or with the high mode would work better.

It looks to me by eyeball like the Litezall's low mode is about 50% of high mode, but I haven't measured.

Just to make it clear, I'm not looking for a light.
Was just talking about my personal preferences.

GITD are no good for lights packed away in a kit most of the time, as they need to be charged. Though I do EDC a lumintop tool 2 aa that comes with a silicone GITD o ring installed and a GITD silicone difuser.

Well you wouldn't want to leave your light running in moon mode while it is stowed in a kit! You'd have to find it somehow to take it out of the kit, but after that you could charge up the GITD marker either with daylight (if daytime), or with the LED. There are also tritium markers, but they are on the expensive side for something like this, not so easy to buy, and they fade after some decades (H3 half-life=12 years).

Want moonlight for when go to sleep at night, so can find it if needed. Zebralight is the obvious choice with it's best of class regulation, but expensive just to sit around not being used.

Can buy tritium vials over the counter here in the UK.

Also have betalight torches (large coin sized tritium source for map reading and the like), but have gotten really expensive especially new.

Link: https://www.betalight.nl/en/outdoor-tactical/torch.html

Yeah small tritium vials are great. Betalight is not really practical for this, besides being way expensive. Can you get 11mm tritium spheres there? I have an old light that needs one.

I'm finding it surprising given the huge variety of tiny handheld flashlights available, including dozens of kinds of keychain lights, that there are so few options in the ultralight headlamp space. There are several "obvious right ways" to make a keychain flashlight and all of them are well represented by products. But in headlamps, lots of that space is unpopulated. A lot of headlamps also almost get it right, but then mess it up somehow. That's why I keep dwelling on the topic.

Believe no one makes spheres any more, and haven't for at least several years now.

If you want to find things in dark you could do as I did = buy glow in dark tape and mark things with it.
I have taped a 4x4 inch area on bedside table to find my eye glasses in pitch dark. Also patches here and the on the walls so that I can navigate my appartment in pitch dark.
I bought the proffessional grade that they use to mark fire exits and so on. It is expensive but worth the money. It´s amazing how bright it is when your eyes are adjusted to dark.

Interesting! I'll have to look for that product.

Countycomm has GITD tape: https://countycomm.com/products/maraspec-glow-tape

I don't know how it compares with the professional stuff that Herman30 mentions, but I've found that even not-so-great GITD stuff works pretty well.

I've instead been wanting to get some of these little markers, which have been out of stock for a while, but will supposedly come back sometime: https://countycomm.com/products/ugm-mini-markers-pack-of-15

https://www.technoglowproducts.com/ is supposed to be a good source of high quality GITD powder, which is strontium aluminate with other exotic materials like yttrium added. GITD markers and the like are made by mixing the powder with epoxy resin, letting it harden, and slicing it up. I have no idea of the toxicity of the powder and for now am reluctant to mess with it. I'd rather get ready-made-markers, maybe even the kind in sealed glass vials.

I haven't felt the need to mark out stuff in my room with GITD tape since there's always a flashlight near my bed, and enough stray light that I can find a light switch when dark adapted without stumbling around too much.

For tritium, search on "glowring". The green color is by far the brightest and most visible for a given size vial. Be careful to keep the vial well protected since they are breakable. They are relatively expensive and these days I think I'd rather use GITD stuff in most situations due to lower hassle. I have a headlamp with a GITD holder and I can easily find it at night even though it's just sitting in my room, not getting daylight or anything like that.

I have some of CountyComm’s glow in the dark markers on the lanyards of flashlights, making them easy to find in the dark. No affiliation.

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.

The strap you suggest already is on the market, made by Niteize. It works, depending upon how yu place it on your head with any light that will fit within its two straps, basically either a AA tube or AAA tube.

I don't regard the H10 as too expensive. It is a quality, dependable light. I willingly pay more for more powerful, versatile lights

In many emergency situations, your light,usualy a headlamp, becomes a crucial gear item. Ask any caver....

hikermor, yeah, I know about the niteize strap. I asked about it further up in the thread, but chaosmagnet says it's not so great. So I was trying to think of something with more control. Maybe a simpler answer involves some velcro stuck to or wrapped around the light, so you can control the up/down angle. Also, the niteize strap is much too heavy when we are trying to keep the weight of the whole system under 1 ounce. The Niteize weighs 30g all by itself! (New url: https://niteize.com/headband-flashlight-holder ).

Re cost: there's a difference between an expensive light for frequent use, and an expensive light whose intended purpose is to sit unused in a kit for years and (like a fire extinguisher) hopefully never be used. In the second case you have to consider whether that is good resource allocation. Also, it may be better for this light to be mechanically switched to eliminate parasitic drain, so you can leave a battery in the light. I don't know how the HL10 is set up in that regard. This issue is not crucial since you can store the battery outside the light, but that's more fiddling before being able to use it, and more space and parts in the kit, so I'd rather avoid.

Added: for caving, a light and a backup are not emergency supplies, they're necessities, especially the primary! So you would expect to check both lights before going caving, i.e. you can use rechargeables for both and make sure they are charged. Plus the weight is less important. So that gets rid of several constraints of this thread (10 year shelf life, super lightweight, super compact). Plus you'd usually cave with another person, so that's two backup lights between you. Thus I think caving doesn't count in this search. I'd be interested in hearing caving stories involving multiple light failures, and other survival stories where lights were required. I'm a flashaholic obsessed with lights for their own sake, but I think we are overestimating their importance in practice. People did AT through-hikes with just a Photon II. And the incandescent lights of not that long ago tremendously underperformed any modern LED stuff, yet they sufficed.

Added 2: Sadly, the LRI/Photonlight accessory hat clip (the one with the swivel ball) seems to have been discontinued. It always looked a little fiddly (maybe they had breakage problems) but it would let you use the Photon as a handsfree light by clipping it to a hat, pack strap, or whatever. I never tried it but it might have made the Photon into a usable superlight headlamp given a thin elastic headband. Oh well.

Best wishes on your weight and cost parameters. I checked the current REI headlamp inventory and prices range from 19.95 to 274.95, all weighing more than 1 oz. If you are like me, sticker shock is fairly routine these days.

I am a tad compulsive about headlamps, based on many SAR operations dating back to the 1950s, most of which were conducted either partially or completely at night. I know more than I want to know about substandard lighting! Modern gear is worth the coin....

IMHO, emergency gear should not be put away, untouched, until needed. This is especially true of anything depending on battery power. My stuff is check on a regular schedule.

In addition, is is definitely useful, in an emergency situation, to handle gear with which you are familiar and in which you have confidence. Not a good time to be reading the instructions....

Heh, thanks, yeah. It's just that the thread was originally started by Doug, who sells an emergency kit that has the usual stuff in it including a headlamp, but the headlamp he was using was discontinued, so he was looking for a replacement with similar specs (under 1 oz, long shelf life thus non-rechargeable). He didn't say cost constraints and the Black Diamond Flare is a really nice light, though imho on the expensive side for something that uses coin cells and intended to not be used. I had somehow thought that the kit cost in the $200 range so that the Flare's cost was a significant chunk of this. But it turns out to be an ultra deluxe kit costing around $3000 that includes some really nice gear like a custom made knife, so cost wasn't much of an issue. He did end up including the Flare fwiw. Anyway, I'm not the one who picked the constraints. I just tried to find lights that fit them or came close to what Doug specified.

The situation with small headlamps really perplexes me. There are a LOT of really nice tube-shaped 1AAA keychain lights that are under $10. All we need is one of those with an angle head, but instead we get these quite fancy lights like the HL10. My favorite small headlamp is Zebralight's earliest model, the H50, which is a 1AA flood that weighs 16g (w/o batteries or headband) and is tiny. They discontinued it in favor of bigger, heavier, fancier lights, maybe due to chasing more lumens, idk. So the flashlight nerd in me sees a simple technical problem that the manufacturers keep getting wrong. That must be what keeps me coming back to this thread: I've spent a ridiculous amount of time looking at headlamp specs because of it. I wish Zebralight would bring back the H50 and make a 1AAA version with an ultralight headband.

I think you are right that it is best to be familiar with one's equipment, and maybe cycle out any stored batteries for fresh ones 1x a year or so. But, people are naturally forgetful and their emergency gear should work anyway.

I've only been in one "emergency" that needed flashlights, the 2003 east coast blackout (about 3 days without power, though in nice summer weather). I was in a pitch dark apartment building so needed a light to get around. Luckily I had several and had fun playing with them. But, a simple keychain light really would have been enough.

Did you use carbide headlamps back in the day? I've never seen one of those up close. I imagine wearing one to be an adventure in its own right .

Did you see Manker has no new production plan for the EO2 II & EO3 II angle lights. Citing rising price of one of the components* by a factor of 20.

* Guess the boost driver, to get the voltage from the cell up to the forward voltage of the LED.

No I didn't see that about Manker! Boost drivers are in almost every single cell light, so we are in big trouble if they have suddenly become unavailable or greatly more expensive. I'll check the flashlight forums.

For some reason I was never that excited by the E02 series and was just thinking of ordering an HL10 right after complaining about its price (with 20% off coupon and free shipping it's fine I guess). But these lights are still too big and complicated. I want something like a Skilhunt E3A but right angle, 1 or 2 levels, mechanically switched, no parasitic drain, no microprocessor. Manker E02 is 21g without battery or headband, Skilhunt E3A is about 8g and is 12mm shorter. With an ultralight headband ( https://imgur.com/a/8bkJSMZ shows one for Nitecore NU20), an E3A-style headlamp can probably come in under 1 oz all up (10g light, 8g L92 battery, 8g shock cord headband). The 1oz is an arbitrary boundary but the E02 and HL10 will both end up exceeding it.

Ok, maybe I will order the HL10. If I do, hikerman talked me into it .

How small does it need to be? I'm liking the Snap but princetontec now, its handy to just stick to things or hand on something like a pack strap
https://princetontec.com/product-category/outdoor/?subcategory=Headlamps

In thee 1950's I began caving and was introduced to carbide lamps, then the standard for caving, also frequently used in night hiking.

they are superb gadgets, providing dependable, bright light, and they make it easy to start a fire. They were far more dependable than the lights of that era (pre-Maglite).

The big drawback to carbide lamps is that the fuel easily degrades when exposed to even tiny bits of moisture. They also aren't appropriate around plane wrecks or similar situations. Ask me how I know.

i still have a lamp kicking around somewhere, but the carbide fuel has long ago turned to powder...

I have a later model AA Zebralight (53?), which is fairly small, and quite versatile. With a couple of additional batteries, it will run a looong time. I also admire their 18650 lights, fairly light and bright, and ultra dependable, though not cheap.

As you can see, I valuable dependability uber alles. II really sucks to lack light when you need it.

Eugene, the PT Snap is a 3aaa light at 3.5 oz, so not ultralight by most standards, but 3aaa is a very popular format and its size is fine in practice. My lingering doubts are about using that style of light with NiMH cells or lithiums (L92) because of differences in the cell voltages. For frequently used lights I believe rechargeables are best, and for long storage I like lithiums.

I obsessed for a while longer today about those two 1AAA headlamps (Manker E02 II and Fenix HL10) but ultimately resisted temptation. Both are electronically switched, and someone measured the Manker's parasitic current at 0.009mA, which is about 78mAh per year, so not suitable for storing with a cell in the light. You could insert a paper insulating disc, but who remembers to look for that if the light doesn't work, especially during the stress of an emergency? It's best to have a light that you can turn on and use immediately.

I decided my Zebralight H50 suffices. It weighs 31g including an L91 AA cell, so weight with battery is about the same as those AAA lights with an L92. The headband is kind of bulky and heavy but I might try swapping it out for an ultralight band made from elastic straps scavenged from covid masks (I'll buy some actual shock cord some other time). The trouble with carrying a headlamp I've found is the strap flopping around and tangling stuff, rather than the weight. So I don't know why the Petzl Zipka style hasn't been more popular. Apparently there was a version of the e-LITE+ that used that system, but they went back to a conventional headband, no idea why.

If anyone cares, the e-LITE+ in a supposedly new 55 lumen version is $30 at brightguy.com. If I had tons of cash I suppose it would be cool to have one, but I'll skip it for now.

Hikerman, thanks for the info about carbide lamps. I always imagined those things as being one spark away from taking off like a rocket ;-).

Thats why I was asking how small/light it needed to be.
They do work fine from NiMH, I use them all the time.

Eugene, good to hear about the NiMH. Re requirements: I took the initial post as a challenge to meet certain specifications. 1) total weight under 1 ounce with everything, 2) super compact when packed (Doug even said the tiny e+LITE was bulky), 3) powered by replaceable, non-rechargeable lithium cells for shelf life (and I'd add cold weather performance). And I'd add mechanical switching to eliminate parasitic drain affecting the shelf life. But that is all somewhat artificial, aimed at an emergency kit light intended to sit unused for years, not that common a plan.

Ultralight hikers are fond of the Nitecore NU20 which is quite bright, is USB rechargeable, and weighs ~ 1 ounce including battery but not including their somewhat overweight headstrap which is another ounce. Some people replace the headstrap with one made of shock cord (see imgur pic above), that weighs just a few grams. The Petzl Bindi (36g including headband) is comparable and I might prefer it to the Nitecore if I were shopping for this type light. Either gets the weight to a little above 1 oz, but both miss on the non-rechargeable lithium requirement. I'd still call them good ultralight answers even if they don't quite meet Doug's spec.

If I get a serious headlamp myself, it will probably be 18650 powered rather than ultralight. For now I'm ok without one since I don't go caving or do any other hardcore headlamp things.

Even with a mechanical switch if your going to store a light unused for years you should remove the batteries as they can still sometimes leak even when just stored (alkaline mostly)

Foursevens used to make the “Prism” — a headband with a 90 degree flashlight diffuser adapter. One would take a flashlight of the correct diameter, attach the Prism to it, and put it into the headband. I still have one and it works reasonably well. It’s not clear to me why it was not a bigger commercial success.

The new hotness in my collection of headlamps is the Nitecore UT27. One-touch access to red, and simulates a “zoomie” by changing levels of the “throw” emitter vs. the “flood” emitter in a coordinated fashion. It’s a rechargeable light with the tradeoffs that come with that. My one dislike is that the lowest white light mode is 55lm — I prefer a true moonlight mode.

No affiliations with any of these.

I am impressed with thee wide variety of lights, both handheld and headlamps, available today - compare that with the headlamp I used my first season fighting fires 91957) - a Justrite with incandescent bulb powered by four leaky D cells (carbon zinc) that produced a very dim light = great inducement to finish suppression before sundown. Today my EDC keychain light is brighter and more dependable 9also shines longer0.


today a diligent search will find a suitable light - everything from super light to super bright

Eugene, yeah, flashlight people call alkalines "alkaleaks" and advise against them. I haven't had leak probs so far with eneloops or lithiums. Eneloops in particular (that specific brand, not that type of cell in general) seem to have very good charge retention, like 5+ years. So they're almost always preferable to alkaleaks in those formats, with lithium primaries available for some special purposes (super light, cold weather etc).

Chaosmagnet, that is interesting about the Prism. I'll take a look for it, but I've sort of changed ideas. I figure I almost always have a 1aaa light in my pocket so it might as well be a right angle one, and then I could just stash a tiny headband for it. I resisted ordering a Manker yesterday as it had too many annoyances.

Hikerman, yeah, I think flashlight electronics (batteries, leds, voltage converters, MCU's) are now all quite mature and further improvements to them (short of some totally new technology) will be small tweaks. But there is still lots of space for new flashlight design in terms of things like form factors, as we are seeing here. I remember zinc-carbon batteries and they still exist, but are rarely seen these days, heh. Btw if you want a super heavy duty, super expensive headlamp, look up Scurion. I've never seen one but apparently high end cavers like to use them. I'll stick with Zebralight .

Not many other AAA angle lights. Lumintop had one for a while, the HLAAA but discontinued it a few years ago. They also made a bunch for CountyComm, I believe, but they've seemingly been discontinued too.

Yep them Scurions shore are expensive. And I thought my Zebralights were pricey!!

Yeah, caving lights are. Phaethon, Sternlight etc.

Though Little Monkey Caving here in the UK recently put out a relatively inexpensive model, (only twice the price of a ZL).

While I have not had an lithium or eneloop leak, but did have a off brand NiMH and Radio Shack NiMH leak in the past. So I lean toward the "anything is possible" and try to be sure to store separate no matter what kind of battery it has.

Most experiences with Eneloops have been rather good. Off brands seem to be a different matter. Charge retention is a trivial matter. if a battery is low, pop it on the charger or connect to a power bank and replenish. It is just a different mindset from using "one and out" clunkers. Do the math and see how much money you will save....

As with any battery stock, keep a suitable number of charged batteries on hand for instant replacement.

Ren, thanks, interesting about the Lumintop. After obsessing most of yesterday about angle AAA's I think I'm over it now. They are too obscure and rare, while there are a number of decent 1AA headlamps in current production. I think the ultralight crowd for better or worse has settled on USB rechargeable lights with integrated batteries. I hate not being able to swap out batteries, but the integrated ones do save on weight and size.

Eneloops really do beat other nimh brands that I've tried. And of course they are much more cost effective and environmentally sound than disposable cells in anything frequently used.

Edit: I see that I mis-wrote Hikerman instead of Hikermor in several earlier posts that I can no longer edit . My apologies for this error.

Headlamps with integrated batteries also provide versatility and adaptability, another virtue of rechargeables. if you have, say, a rechargeable headlamp, another light and/or powerbank, you have the ability to shift electrons to either your light or your phone, depending upon the situation. Try that with alkalines.... Many poweerbanks have a small light built in, so you have a backup.

I have found this versatility very useful during recent long power outages in that situation, when keeping the phone working was quite important. A portable solar panel also came in handy as well as on some recent field projects.

I standardized on AA's for years, especially when I could get a decade of use from an AA NiMH and Lithium ion was maybe 3 years. But as Lithium Ion (and LiPo) technology has improved and hardly anyone else wants to use AA and AAA's the amount of devices using them seems to be shrinking so I'm having to move toward the Lithium rechargeable as well.
I still have a couple of the older super thin Startech USB cables left so I'm looking at how to run those up my backpack strap with a power bank inside to have backup power available.

So I am most interested in the AA/AAA vs. rechargeable part of the discussion. It happens that my headlamps are all AAA either a single battery or several. They work for me and my logistics.

I've looked several times at going for rechargeable but always find myself defaulting to the simple one use battery. My logic always ties to being able to have it work and work right now. With rechargeable I have to spend time charging it but with aa/aaa I just swap out and it's back to business.

I do have flashlights that use rechargeable but I got them as they could also use CR123 if needed so once again, battery and go with no recharge time. I seem to never need that option but I like having it there. Thanks for this interesting discussion.

I had standardized everything AA based. Going way back to my first cell phone I had an AA battery pack for it even, then went to a 4 AA to USB battery bank when we moved to newer phones. But eventually that was replaced by common rechargeable battery packs as it gets harder to find AA based items so I started including AAA based as well. So now I have AA and AAA spares in my backpack plus a couple different AA/AAA chargers.
Lights I started with typical AA maglights and then moved to ones like the 3 AAA Maglight XL50, the 3 AAA Princetontec headlamps, 2 AAA using Planetbike Superflash, 1 AAA maglight solitaire, and then Arc AAA.
The inexpensive two AA camera that took a lot of the pictures from my everytrail link below was replaced by a Garmin Virb and later a GoPro. So I was then down to the only things using AA were some regular 2 and 3 AA Maglights and my Garmin etrex.
My EDC became a https://www.surefire.com/products/illumination/flashlights/sidekick-a/ so now its charged via USB just like my phone and added a watch that's charged via UAB as well. So everything seems to be moving away from swappable batteries.

I always have a bunch of both AAs and AAA charged and ready to go. When a battery blinks out, I remove it and put in a charged one from my stash. The empty battery goes on the charger goes for another cycle.

The planet and my wallet benefit. Do the math. Calculate the cost of X number of alkaline batteries versus thee one time purchase of a rechargeable battery that goes through 500 cycles (a conservative estimate).

I suppose I should have specified when I was speaking of rechargeable I mean built into the device. For AA/AAA I've always used rechargeable. I bought a set of Sanyo 1650mAh NiMH around the year 2000 and used those until they came out with Eneloops and then moved to Eneloops and gave those pre-eneloop 1650mAh to my son who would use them several year after.

To be clear, when I say I hate integrated rechargeables, I mean the ones that are sealed inside the device, so you can't swap it and you have to recharge the device instead. Most phones today are like that, as are a lot of small flashlights and headlamps. It's a pain, imho. If you turn on your device and it doesn't work, you can't use it until you have waited hours recharging it. And the device itself also becomes disposable when the battery finally stops working. Thus the tons of e-waste from dead phones and so on.

Rechargeables that you can swap out are great, especially in standardized formats like AA (Eneloop), 18650 (lithium ion), etc. Then if your device is discharged, you can swap out the battery for a charged one, as you mention. They do make the device slightly bigger, but imho this is only worth giving up in really tiny devices. Nothing stops you from recharging them with a powerbank, and I've done that sometimes. My bike light has an 18650 and a USB charging port, so I can either swap out the 18650 or plug the light into a charger/powerbank. Both ways work great.

I'm trying to warm up to rechargeables but the lithium primary is still my go-to for emergency gear. One of my favorite headlamps nowadays is the Fenix HM23. It uses a single AA (any chemistry), has just 3 levels including a truly useful LOW setting and has a hard switch. I really love this lamp! When camping I use a lithium battery but for nightly walks I keep an Eneloop in it.

But I have to admit I still use a lot of Petzl and Black Diamond lamps. I've got a Petzl CORE rechargeable battery cell that fits any of their AAA lamps and charges with a micro-USB. Against my normal biases and predilections I find myself using it a lot. Nice for my nightly walk, and when the battery dies it just goes on the charger instead of me trying to remember where I left the spares!

I found that Eneloops give pretty much the same runtime as a Lithium AA so it didn't give any benefit to buying Lithium.

Lithiums seem to work better when it's cold and they self-discharge at a negligible rate. Great for a light that might sit a long time.

My experience has been like this:

* Low drain devices go through Eneloops far more quickly than Energizer Lithiums -- about three to one. This includes wireless game controllers and my wireless trackpad.

* High drain devices go through Eneloops somewhat more quickly than Energizer Lithiums -- a bit less than two to one.

* Eneloops self-discharge pretty quickly, losing perhaps half their charge in single-digit months. Energizer Lithiums read "full" after at least five years in storage.

* Eneloops are rated for 1900 mAh when new, Energizer Lithium AAs are rated for 3000 mAh.

I use Eneloops far more often than anything else in the AA form-factor, but I do that understanding the tradeoffs.

You can obtain Eneloops at higher capacities. The highest I have is 2450 and they work quite well.

The point if recharging is that when they are drained, you simply put in your second set and pop the pooped out batts on the charger, powered by house current, vehicle , or solar panel or whatever, and pump them up.

You can do this conservatively for at least500 cycles, while you watch the savings accumulate.

Lithium primaries definitely do have their place, and i use them s well, but my workhorse batts are rechargeable nimH's or 18650's

Last year the New York Times "Wirecutter" did side by side testing of rechargeable batteries. They concluded that AmazonBasics, Energizer Recharge Universal, and Eneloop were for the most part all roughly equal in performance.

The article may be behind a paywall. Here are a few quotes:

Think most large brands have decent NiMh AA/AAA these days.

https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/CommonAAcomparator.php

Some bicycle tour dudes have even liked the IKEA rechargables.

If the IKEA batteries are made in Japan, they are made by Fujitsu in an ex-Panasonic (Eneloop) factory.

Every battery has its own internal resistance. Think like speakers in your car radio (or other), 8 ohm speakers, 4 ohm speakers, etc and to get the most efficient system you have to match the speaker with the amp, i.e. 8 ohm speaker for an 8 ohm amp.
Same with batteries and loads. So the most efficient use of a battery will be the load that's closest to its impedance. So if different brands of batteries are constructed differently and have a different impedance than each may be different for the same device. Some batteries might work better with lights, others with remotes, etc. That's why you get such a variation. And I'm trying to over simplify so as to not write a novel

My own testing several years ago when eneloops were new, with the 2000mAh original version, ran my etrex at a bit over 23 hours and Energizer lithium around 24 hours. So close enough that there wasn't any benefit to using Lithium, and the cost benefit of using rechargeable is so much greater. However, I did only test indoor, just putting in a fresh pair of batteries, turning it on and setting a timer to check once an hour. Garmin published ~24 hour runtime so I started on a Saturday estimating about 8 hours before I'd go to bed then sleep for ~8 hours and get up Sunday morning at 16 hours in so I could check every hour until it died.
I suppose another test I could try with it in the refrigerator, though all my Eneloops are > 10 years old now so I expect they would also show reduced runtime.

So lights I may get different results due to factors like impedance matching, but at least with my GPS NiMH close enough to Lithium to just use them.

Just picked up an Acebeam H16. It's a 14500/AA (duel fuel) right angle/headlamp.

Pretty happy with it. Got the black anodized 519A Hi CRI 5000K version, max 650 lumen version.
No mechanical lockout, which is a shame, instead relies on a double click to turn on.

Simple (to me atleast) UI.

When off,
1) a double click to turn on. Press and hold to cycle through the 3 levels. (low/mid/high).
2) press & hold the button for .5s and it comes on in ultra low (5 lumens).
3) triple click for SOS

Single click to turn off.

Comes with a 14500, that you can plug a USB-C cable (a USB-A to USB-C cable is included) directly into to charge.

$34.99 on Amazon US. Currently has 20% off coupon.