Thoughts on the Fenix Hp-10
Posted: May 1, 2011 11:08 amI just completed my first major cave trip with my new Fenix Hp-10, and here are my thoughts. This isn't going to be scientific at all, just initial impressions.
The Fenix is relatively light, though after 8.5 hours in Tumbling Rock my head felt a little droopy! The construction feels very substantial. The lamp itself is constructed of aircraft aluminum attached to a high impact plastic body. The battery pack, located on the back of the strap is made of the same plastic as the front bracket. When I opened it after my trip there was no water and no dirt. The two screws that hold the battery pack cover in place feel like they could come out; they're probably on some sort of washer because they don't come off outright but I think if I pulled hard enough they might... dangerous situation in a cave if you lose one of those screws! The battery pack is also not fixed on the elastic strap, you could theoretically slide it to the left side of your helmet if you felt so inclined.
The light itself is a very powerful, even light. There are four modes of brightness. I won't list the lumens here because you can get it off of their site:
http://www.fenixgear.com/flashlight/Fenix_HeadLamp_HP10.html#catalog/img/8000-x10H0.jpg. I also just noticed that they're going for $59.95!
As it has been noted elsewhere, the throw on the shaft of light is exemplary. I was easily able to light up the top of the Great Hall of Mysteries with no problem. When we climbed up King's Shower to get to Topless Dome I was able to see a very decent portion of the dome wall going up maybe half way. (If you've been there you'll know that's pretty substantial!)
Such great throw comes at the expense of having poor spillage. I have a secondary light attached to my Ecrin Roc helmet cable tied through the holes angled downward so I can see where I'm stepping more effectively. On a side note, I've found someone on ebay selling the Fujifilm canisters that make a nice work around for this problem. There's a thread about using these canisters as diffusers somewhere on this page. The only problem is the ebay merchant sells them in batches of 50, and I've only got one headlamp. If you're interested I could order the 50 and then distribute them around... with a little renumeration.
The buttons are very small, though once you get used to them they are quite easy to use, even with gloves on. It may take some practice though. In all reality, you'll only use the top button which changes lighting brightness modes and serves as the on/of switch. The side button switches it to a flashing mode, which either pulses light slowly or transmits an SOS signal. (I hope I never have to use the SOS signal... I hate flashing lights
)
Battery life is pretty decent, and I believe the times listed on the site are pretty accurate, depending on the battery you use (another discussion). I was using ray-o-vacs I bought from Wally World (hard to pass up 30 for $10!) and I noticed the lamp starting to dim after about 6.5 hours. I was using the lamp mostly on the third setting at 120 lumens, though there were plenty of times I had to use Turbo Mode to light up big passage for picture taking. All-in-all, I feel battery life is excellent and well managed. I also like using AA's, a battery that is widely available worldwide. This is of special consideration to me for when we live in Slovakia... AAA's are pretty hard to find!
I guess that's it for now. Overall I think it's a great light. The price is right, it doesn't weigh much, good battery usage, excellent brightness, completely waterproof up to 2 meters, and they don't look half bad to boot.
Thanks!
bo
The Fenix is relatively light, though after 8.5 hours in Tumbling Rock my head felt a little droopy! The construction feels very substantial. The lamp itself is constructed of aircraft aluminum attached to a high impact plastic body. The battery pack, located on the back of the strap is made of the same plastic as the front bracket. When I opened it after my trip there was no water and no dirt. The two screws that hold the battery pack cover in place feel like they could come out; they're probably on some sort of washer because they don't come off outright but I think if I pulled hard enough they might... dangerous situation in a cave if you lose one of those screws! The battery pack is also not fixed on the elastic strap, you could theoretically slide it to the left side of your helmet if you felt so inclined.
The light itself is a very powerful, even light. There are four modes of brightness. I won't list the lumens here because you can get it off of their site:
http://www.fenixgear.com/flashlight/Fenix_HeadLamp_HP10.html#catalog/img/8000-x10H0.jpg. I also just noticed that they're going for $59.95!
As it has been noted elsewhere, the throw on the shaft of light is exemplary. I was easily able to light up the top of the Great Hall of Mysteries with no problem. When we climbed up King's Shower to get to Topless Dome I was able to see a very decent portion of the dome wall going up maybe half way. (If you've been there you'll know that's pretty substantial!)
Such great throw comes at the expense of having poor spillage. I have a secondary light attached to my Ecrin Roc helmet cable tied through the holes angled downward so I can see where I'm stepping more effectively. On a side note, I've found someone on ebay selling the Fujifilm canisters that make a nice work around for this problem. There's a thread about using these canisters as diffusers somewhere on this page. The only problem is the ebay merchant sells them in batches of 50, and I've only got one headlamp. If you're interested I could order the 50 and then distribute them around... with a little renumeration.
The buttons are very small, though once you get used to them they are quite easy to use, even with gloves on. It may take some practice though. In all reality, you'll only use the top button which changes lighting brightness modes and serves as the on/of switch. The side button switches it to a flashing mode, which either pulses light slowly or transmits an SOS signal. (I hope I never have to use the SOS signal... I hate flashing lights
)Battery life is pretty decent, and I believe the times listed on the site are pretty accurate, depending on the battery you use (another discussion). I was using ray-o-vacs I bought from Wally World (hard to pass up 30 for $10!) and I noticed the lamp starting to dim after about 6.5 hours. I was using the lamp mostly on the third setting at 120 lumens, though there were plenty of times I had to use Turbo Mode to light up big passage for picture taking. All-in-all, I feel battery life is excellent and well managed. I also like using AA's, a battery that is widely available worldwide. This is of special consideration to me for when we live in Slovakia... AAA's are pretty hard to find!
I guess that's it for now. Overall I think it's a great light. The price is right, it doesn't weigh much, good battery usage, excellent brightness, completely waterproof up to 2 meters, and they don't look half bad to boot.
Thanks!
bo
)
but thankfully it's hidden away where it won't be a nuisance 
) once in flashing mode the side button changes which flashing mode your using, to turn flashing mode off (hopefully quickly) use the top button to turn it off, then again to start up in normal mode.
