hank moon wrote:The PT Corona is another light worth considering. Can be had for 1/2 the price of an APEX and is brighter than the latter when using the 5 mm LEDs. Its one disadvantage: no spot beam, but for horizontal caving this is not a real issue for most folks.
I know folks who are really happy with their PT Coronas - and the price is pretty hard to beat for a *good* headlamp. Personally I like headlamps and other gadgets that use 2 or 4 batteries (a nice even number for the NiMH charger) rather than 3. But that's just nitpicking.
Interesting though - I checked out http://www.flashlightreviews.com which (among other things) compares the beam "throw" and overall light output of each light. The Corona's 8 LEDs on high only rate about 11% more throw than the Apex's 4 LEDs on high, although the overall light output is up 34%. Battery life appears to be shorter than the Apex at comparable brightness, and apparently the high beam is regulated for less than 30 minutes before it drops to unregulated. Still, most people probably won't be caving on the high beam all the time.
And in related news, apparently these magic little 5mm LEDs are gradually getting brighter (according to Petzl, anyway) - http://en.petzl.com/petzl/SportNews?News=125
I know, I know - just more semi-useless information...
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