Petzl Duo 14 reviews??

[Cody JW]

I would say on a scale of 1 to 10 that the halogen on a duo compared to the 3 watt spot on an apex is about a 3 ( maybe).I am sure there will be many new led options for a duo soon, a six volt screw base is a common bulb.Just need one small enough to fit through the hole in the reflector.Just google led bulbs and look at all the current options now, led tech changes as radidly as computers.

[Mudduck]

I would say on a scale of 1 to 10 that the halogen on a duo compared to the 3 watt spot on an apex is about a 3 ( maybe).

Well that makes me not want one. i use my spot quite often and thats one thing my son wanted in a light(the power). Wonder if the power supply in the Duo would supply a 3 watt LED

[fuzzy-hair-man]

I would say on a scale of 1 to 10 that the halogen on a duo compared to the 3 watt spot on an apex is about a 3 ( maybe).

Well that makes me not want one. i use my spot quite often and thats one thing my son wanted in a light(the power). Wonder if the power supply in the Duo would supply a 3 watt LED

Yeah, can't see why not there's been lots of people but bulbs based swaps into Duos and I think you might be able to get 3 watt ones or some just gut the Duo and put in thier own 3 watt LED, driver/regulation circuit, and optics. The problem might be heat LEDs need to get rid of the heat they build up and in an all plastic light without a heatsink like the Duo this can be difficult, but it's only a problem if you use the 3 watt LED often enough.

[potholer]

The commercial Duo LED conversions I've seen so far all seem to use older, less-efficient LEDs, generally side-emitting Luxeons, though that must change at some point.

If someone was homebuilding an LED drop-in (possibly with an LED-specific optic or reflector), simply by using a modern LED, they'd get a lot more light out even at the same power draw compared to an older one, and generate less heat as well. Even at 1Watt, you could get a pretty decent amount of light.

[kmstill]

I upgraded from to the Duo 14, from the 8, over a year ago. I think it's the best caving light. Period. Sten's are good, but they are quite costly and not perfect. The 14 has a great spread of light, almost as good as a ceiling burner. It really is waterproof. NiMH batteries last about 10 hrs. You can change the batteries without removing your helmet. You can lock the switch. The spot is adequate. For the money, the Duo 14 can't be beat.

As for the Apex, PT has never made a caving light (or even caveworthy). Dependability is probably the most overlooked, yet important, feature on a caving light. Sten and Duo have it. Apex don't.

Scott-
So for someone (me) considering an upgrade now for a non-led DUO, do you think the 14 is worth the $$$ over the 8?

I have an old (pre 2004 for sure) duo and am in need of another primary light with reliable wet performance. My biggest hesitation is the $90 for the 14 upgrade...seems a bit pricy with all the other lights on the market, but the Duo's been a good light and seems to be worth keeping in service - it's just too dim in the non-led form to be caving with stens and apex's. Guess I should be looking at changing out the halogen as well.

kelly

[Scott McCrea]

I would recommend the 14. It is much nicer than the 8. More light and more efficient. Don't be afraid to by the best, you'll never wish you had better.

[kmstill]

OK thanks :)

[potholer]

I've just started making some spot beam conversions for Duos - about the same power draw as the drop-in LED bulbs, but with a modern LED+optic, so 2-3x the light output, ~1.5x the central intensity, wider/softer/nicer beam, more spill, and much better heatsinking.

Designed to fit into a Duo alongside a 14LED unit (so allowing reflector removal), but I guess would also be OK with 3/5/8LED units, assuming they're no larger than the 14LED. Not suitable for a bulb/bulb duo due to the need to lose the reflector.

If someone would be interested in trying one out, PM me and I'll randomly pick one of the first few replies to send a unit to - ideally someone already using an LED spot bulb in a Duo, or someone who caves with someone who does.

I'm sure there's a good caving cause over there that a recipient could make a donation to, if they thought the unit was worth keeping.

[NZcaver]

I'd be interested to see photos of your prototype, potholer.

I do have several Duos, including on with the drop-in LED replacement "bulb" which I've used a lot (and posted about), but I'm mostly using the Apex these days. I'm sure somebody out there would be willing to trial one of these in their Duo.

[potholer]

Got a couple of replies, so decided to send a pair of units, and offer is now finished.

A fitted unit visible at

I'm not the world's finest metalworker, but it does the job, and I think the asymmetry actually works better than a failed attempt at symmetry would.

(I just realised that taking macro pictures at night is so much easier now I finally got round to building myself a bright LED worklight - something else I really should have made a few years ago.)

[Trooly74]

Hi there. Check this out http://www.mastrel.it/index.php?sel=0&lang=en.

[Footleg]

I've just started making some spot beam conversions for Duos - about the same power draw as the drop-in LED bulbs, but with a modern LED+optic, so 2-3x the light output, ~1.5x the central intensity, wider/softer/nicer beam, more spill, and much better heatsinking.

Sounds very interesting. I'm a long time Duo LED14 user, and despite putting an LED replacement bulb in the spot bulb holder, I find I never use it. But a brighter spot would be useful on occasion. What battery life do you get from it (compared to the 12 hours the 14 LED units gives on medium/default power setting?

Get in touch if you would like a UK based tester. (I could return, or purchase the unit if I liked it).

[potholer]

Runtime test on a set of full Eneloops (nominal 2000mAh) was 6hr10m of rock-solid regulation, then output started to fall.
By 6hr30m, output had dropped to 1/3 of normal level, and light had started to flicker.
Current draw through most of the test was steady at ~290mA. A little lower at the start, a little higher at the end.

[JR-Orion]

The Duo 14 is what comes mounted on the Petzl Spelios helmet, right?

I've had mine for over two years now, and really like it. The LED array provides a nice, even level of flood lighting that spills out all over. I can see up ahead, and I can see rocks at my feet. The medium setting (10 hours) is fine for normal passages, and high (3.5 hours) is good for big cave. Low (60 hours) is there more for emergencies or trying to conserve on the battery. I usually run it on a mix of medium and high. I've never had to swap batteries on any of my trips so far (8 to 10 hours max). I use Eneloops and the batteries that came with my La Crosse Tech charger.

I haven't had mine fully submerged, but it's been in plenty of wet caves and has been splashed and dripped on. No problems. It's been totally covered in wet mud, then hosed off- again, no problems.

As for the halogen bulb, when set to max distance / tight zoom, it's kind of fun once in a while to check out a far lead. But it eats batteries faster than the LED array. My use has been 98% LED 2% halogen. In fact, my halogen bulb burned out a while back and I haven't missed it at all. I plan to put something from Custom Duo on the halogen side once things calm down from Christmas.