fenix hp 11

[cpartin6]

i am a new caver i am thinking about upgrading lights i want the fenix hp 11 does anyone out there have any recommendations or suggestions or problems with the fenix hp 11?

[tncaver]

There is no perfect caving light in the price range of the Fenix HP 11. It is a good light but the plastic diffuser on the front is flimsy. If it breaks
all you have is a blindingly bright spot of light. The latest Apex is a good light and about the same price. But the Apex is prone to get water in it
and has flimsy wiring harness. However, the Apex has a lifetime warranty. Keep asking around and I hope your choice will serve you well. Keep
in mind that all of today's LED caving lights are a big improvement over what was available 10 years ago.

There are other more expensive lights that might be better and also some older models that many folks brag about such as the Petzl Duo.

[rlboyce]

You can't find a better light for the price, although there are some that possibly equal it. I recommend you thoroughly review (via an image search) some pictures to become familiar with what the beam shape looks like. Some people hate the shape, some people love it. If you don't mind (or even prefer) a tight beam, there's no need to look any further than the HP11. You may also want to look into some of the lights that Zebralight offers for a similar price, especially if you are interested in a light without a battery pack. Tncaver has some good advice too. Good luck.

[cpartin6]

thanks for the info and recommendations. In your opinion what is the perfect light if money is no object?

[Cody JW]

thanks for the info and recommendations. In your opinion what is the perfect light if money is no object?

I would say Scurion or Rude Nora. Scurion is the brightest commercially made cave light I know of. Keep in mind Lumen output is one thing but optics are another. If you cave much climbing breakdown I feel it is important to have a glow around you so you do not have to look down at your feet to see your feet as you are moving forward. Some of the reasonably priced lights ( like Fennix) are bright in narrow spot only. You will have to look down at your feet to see where you are going to place them, that can slow you down . The Duo that TN mentions will need to have a newer insert put in them or it will lack output of newer lights. Your eyes will focus on the brighter lights your friends are using and when you get by yourself you will think "where did the light go?" . Sten makes a nice light that is priced at 370.00, people who own them love them. Some of the newest lights are surpassing the Lumen output of Sten.

[verticalAndy]

I purchased a Fenix hp11 2 months ago and I've found a new problem each time I've used it. It sure was bright, but I wasn't happy with the narrow field of view when I used it the first time. I started using the cheap diffuser that came with it; however, the hinge pin falls out constantly and there seems to be considerable light loss with the diffuser (still better than my older light, though). Recently, the hinge points (that connect the light to the mounting strap) failed, so now I need to use string or wire ties to keep the lamp from flopping forward. The Fenix hp11 is also substantially bigger than the hp10. About the only good thing I can say, is that it does throw quite a lot of light and that I've been able to use this light as back light in some nice photographs. I was hoping to get more than 3 months of use from this light, but now I've given up on it and I'm looking forward to a Spark (I'm concerned about using batteries other than AA, but I like the way the Sparc seems to be constructed and it comes with a diffuser that does not look like it was an afterthought).

[Caver John]

I think that right now the best bang for buck headlamp for caving would be the spark sd-6 500. I'm not crazy that icant use aa cells with it but I'll pick up somerechargeable 18650's and adjust.

It has great output, nice wide flood, it's simple and fairly compact.
Ill be ordering one shortly.

[DeanWiseman]

I think that right now the best bang for buck headlamp for caving would be the spark sd-6 500. I'm not crazy that icant use aa cells with it but I'll pick up somerechargeable 18650's and adjust.

It has great output, nice wide flood, it's simple and fairly compact.
Ill be ordering one shortly.

I would go for the ST (not SD) 6... I own an ST-6 500CW and I love it.


-Dean

[Jon]

$ no object I say the sten. Not as bright as the flamethrowers that cost 2 to 2 1/2 times the price. Size is small, construction bullet proof, is AMERICAN made and has the versitility to use AA's 9 volt (great back up bat) and two different rechargeable factory bat's Add water proof to 25 feet, changeable opticts ( not in the cave) and is rebuildable and well I'd say best all around. I have 2 apex's a 60 and a 130 lumen. Good light although I don't do anything wet enough in AZ to worry about that aspect. Good light options as far as spill and throw but a battery eater on high pencil beam, low not so bad. I hear people who break the hinges but I haven't and since getting my Sten they are my loaners and they still haven't had any breakage. I would love for one or both to fail so the factory would replace them with 200's but they just keep working. I prefer spill over throw and any listed above are great. I'd rather see where I'm going than where I'd gotten to before I got hurt. Every light is going to have at least one weakness. The trick is to find one whose weakness means little or nothing to you.

[Bama632]

First time on cave chat and just wondering what would be a good headlamp (around 100$) that would be good for caving?

[Dangerjudy]

Spark ST-6 500CW. I found http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JS8YXE batteries for it for cheap off of Amazon.com. Yes rechargables would make more sense if I caved more than once in awhile.

[JR-Orion]

For what it's worth, you can still get the Fenix HP10. I bought one a few months back and have been happy with it. The spotlight is insane :)

Amazon has 10s for $60, although it says they only have 8 left in stock.

edit- here's my mini review of the HP10-

The spotlight is insane. Quite bright and boy does it ever reach way out there into the distance. I was bringing up the rear and it was really neat to be able to see that far down the passage. The light has four modes, I ran it in a mix of 225 lumens (2.5 hours runtime according to the specs) and 120 lumens (7.5 hours). Mostly 120 as 2.5 hours just isn't long enough to be useful. Still, I'm glad that the 225 option is there if you want to check up a dome or way down a side passage.

The flood / spill is not as good as what I'm used to (Duo 14). When I ran the HP10 alone, the light didn't hit my feet as well as I'd like. The light circle from the flood has a sharp, distinct cutoff, if that makes sense. In fact I got a bit of tunnel vision- everything outside of the flood circle is dark. As opposed to the Duo 14 which just spills out all over.

The small buttons on the HP10 are not easy to hit with 5mm wetsuit gloves on. Probably less of an issue for people wearing normal caving gloves.

Running the Duo 14 and the HP10 at once turned out to be amazing. The best of both worlds. Epic spotlight and really nice flood / spill.

I bought the 10 to be one of my backup lights, but in big passage, running both at once is pretty sweet. And if my 14 dies underground and I do have to use the 10 to continue the trip, the flood might not be as good as I like, but it will get the job done. I'm a happy customer.

[tncaver]

Your results with the HP10 are similar to my results with the HP11. I now use the HP11 as my backup light and an Apex 160 as my primary because I
like the flood on the apex so much better. Plus if it breaks I can get it fixed for free for as long as Apex stays in business. The warranty on the
HP11 was only one year.