What would you pay for a headlamp?

[David Grimes]

I know this is a complicated question with many answers so I will give you a little back story to clarify. I am considering building a line of headlamps designed for cavers. I do not have the equipment needed to personally manufacture the parts myself and I need to order the parts in batches of at least 100 at a time from my manufacturer. This would be a substantial cost to me to get the lights built so I want to see if my expectations are reasonable. I expect these lights to sell for about $150.00 each, maybe less for the first batch in order to establish a reputation.

Here are the specs for the light:

CREE XM-L T6 LED with high efficiency digital circuit
Separate rechargeable 4 x 18650 Li-ion battery pack with AC charger system
Runtime upto 180 minutes at full output mode:
High: 800 Lumens @ 3 hours
Mid: 400 Lumens @ 6 hours
Low: 80 Lumens @ 30 hours
Waterproof & winter-resistant
Shock-proof with aerospace-grade aluminum lamp casing
Waterproof IP65

If I decide to move on with these lights what do you think the best route would be for driving sales? I have considered setting up at caving events with a few loaner lights to help get the word out.

My main question is would anyone be interested in a light like this at $150.00?

[Chads93GT]

yeah but if you had panasonic 3100 mah 18650's i see no reason why the run time wouldnt be.........double that.

[David Grimes]

Thanks for the recommendation. I really want to get some demo lights together to loan out to friends but I just have to save up some money first.

[Yahtaa]

Seems pretty reasonable. Definitely would love to hear some feedback on it, or some comparison stills, if produced.

[bif]

My main question is would anyone be interested in a light like this at $150.00?

I would say yes, definately.

[David Grimes]

I will have to put in some extra hours and try to put together a demo batch for photos and testing in cave. Thanks for the input everyone. I would really like to start making a lot of these and get them for sale on sites like Karstsports and such but first things first I have to actually build them.

[Tito the Turtle]

I'd for sure for sure pay 150 bucks for a caving light made by a caver for cavers. For sure For sure.

[LukeM]

Sounds cool David. Can't wait to see the design you come up with. I agree with Chad that 4x 18650's should give you much longer run times. Also, 80 lumens might be a bit high for a low setting. The headlamp I made runs around 60 lumens on low and sometimes I wish I could tone it down more when just hanging out while resting or looking at a map. Usually I end up turning it off and using the light from other people's lamps. I would say ideally the lamp would offer more like 20, 200, and 800 lumen settings.

Would the LED be bare or with optics?

[Cody JW]

Count me in for that price as long as the optics are caving specific and not too spotty. Also if Chad can tell us where to get those batteries he is talking about. If I get one and like it I will spread the word. I agree with the previous post on the low setting . I use the low for when I am stopped in the cave and 80 may be a bit much.

[firemedic1015]

At $150.00 a light, I would buy one to try it out.

[sandcast69]

http://callieskustoms.com/CalliesKustoms-Batteries.html
I can't speak for anyone else but I get fantastic run times out of my Callies.

[tncaver]

Will the output be regulated or gradually grow dimmer? Over all sounds like a good light but a bit pricey for me. Others might not mind
paying that much. I'm not sure I would ever need 800 lumens. But for those who cave only in giant borehole caves, it sounds like a winner.

[lee.davis]

I've toyed with building a lamp myself, but really, I've got too much other stuff to keep me occupied! If you could put this out production for $150 and it was durable it seems like the units would move pretty well. I do second (or third?) that the the lowest setting would be best if it were ~ 40 lumen, especially if it had a large impact on battery life when just hanging out and provided a more subdued light.

Anyway, I'd be willing to shell out the cash for a headlamp that met these specs.

[David Grimes]

I am glad to see there is a lot of interest and many great recommendations. One thing I have always liked about the caving community is the way they will get behind a caver with a good product. I plan to make this light as durable as possible and I will positively torture test the demo models. My biggest concern is the IP65 waterproof rating since that is only rated to be hit by a jet of water from any angle and still work, the production model will probably be rated for submersion.

I will keep the lower output ratings in mind when I get the money to start a production run. I really did not think about it being brighter than an older Apex spot beam, I could see that being too bright for resting and small passages.

[BrianFrank]

I'm in!