Choosing a headlamp

[irhxcbcziuzxs]

I was going to purchase one of the hardcase energizer headlamps but the price has jumped up considerably. I can still get one from Amazon for 34 or I could go for a PT EOS for 29

Any suggestions?

[rlboyce]

Hmm... yeah, I've looked around a bit, and it seems that those Hard Cases are a little more expensive now. I can still find them for around 25-30 bucks including shipping (with Google Shopping), but those aren't very reputable websites.

As for your question, I'd say it depends on what you're looking for. If you were going to go with the Energizer because of the price, then yeah, the EOS is cheaper and will do a decent job. If you really like the Energizer for other reasons (styling, batteries, light output, etc.) then I suppose $34 isn't that bad for what you get.

At one time I was in the search for a headlamp as well. I was looking for a cheap primary light. I was convinced I wouldn't have to spend more than $30. I ended up sinking some extra money into an Apex. So far I have no regrets and am glad I wasn't cheap on my light.

But yeah, do some searching around with Google or Ebay. You'll find a lot of options in the 25-30 dollar price range. My recommendation is to do some research and stick with one of the more popular name brands like Princeton Tec or Petzl. There are higher priced name brands and lower priced ones as well, but PT and Petzl seem to have some of the best reliability to price ratios.

Good luck!

[irhxcbcziuzxs]

Im mostly looking for a backup i can use as a primary during cave capers, until I can purchase my Fenix HP10 :O

[ek]

On many SUOC trips, people use their Eos backups as their primary lights, and their big primaries with battery packs as backups. They run out of batteries quicker, but people find them perfectly satisfactory. They don't last as long as most lights with battery packs (like the Corona, non-waterproof Apex, HP10, DUO, and so forth).

I dislike the Eos as a primary light because the beam is too narrowly focused for me. But most people find it to be well-balanced. Furthermore, up here in the northeast, most cave passage is small enough that an unfocused, wide-area beam, like that provided by the Quad, lets you see the walls clearly. In the rest of the country, that might not be the case.

Of the lights I've used, the Quad is the least expensive light that I'd feel good falling back on in a cave. On Inner Mountain Outfitters, the Quad is $30 and the Eos is $38. (I'm not saying these are the lowest prices--that's just for comparison.)

[brngk]

Bump for the energizer, I've had it for a couple of months now. It's been briefly submerged and really abused quite heavily.
Very happy with it. Looks like it can take a bit more beating than the Quad.

[ek]

Have you ever had problems with the Quad's structural integrity?

[brngk]

Not the quad specifically, but similar model headlamps I've managed to abuse enough that they either stopped working or cracked.
That being said, it was completely operator induced.

[ek]

For what it's worth, I find the Quad to be enormously stronger than other "similar" models like the Petzl Tikka Plus.