Anybody here have any recommendations? I still have my old original blue Petzel headlamp that is probably a dozen years old, or more. It has 5 LD lights on it that can flash or be solid. It is “okay” for doing barn chores in the winter, but is just not very bright. I use it every evening this time of year. It is not really that great for use on a 100. It is not bright enough to read a map in the dark (tho might be if you are half my age and have perfect eyesight) and definitely not real great at finding trail ribbons on bushes in the dark. I have some other headlamps that I got from Ebay that are brighter, but they are not very reliable, bump them the wrong way and they quit working.
I would love to hear what others like or used for headlamps or have used that they though worked well, and lasted long enough to be worth the $$?
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Tigger on the Virginia City 100, September 2009. He finished 10th!
I don’t know that I’ll need a headlamp for very many 100′s this year but I definitely need headlamps on a daily basis at home this time of year. I can also use the headlamps at winter rides for a few months during the year. Last year I only did two one day 100′s, so I’m not really a big one day 100 mile rider. Some years I do less than that. There just aren’t that many to choose from.
It’s not that I don’t like riding 100′s, I just don’t find them to be that much of a challenge compared to doing multidays, and…there aren’t that many 100′s to choose from that fit into my schedule.
I may do the 20 Mule Team 100, possibly Tevis. Everything else seems to conflict with multiday rides, which I prefer. I need more horses/time/money in order to fit in more one day 100′s. Last year I did the 20 Mule Team 100 and the Virginia City 100.
I have the light up glo-bars that are battery operated that I got from campmor and they are fantastic. Love them! I use them on the horses on 100′s, and also to hang out at night in camp if I have a friend arriving in the dark. They are solid or flash and work for literally hundreds of hours – way better money spent than on a regular glo-bar.
Comment below or email me with your recommendaitions for headlamps. Thanks!
I use these headlamps and love them! http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=energizer+headlamp&oe=utf-8&cid=2683454439221743046&ved=0CCkQ8gIwAg#p
I really like my pezele (I spelled that wrong) that has the white light and red lights . I use it on a daily basis at the stable-cleaning pens ect-and it works great. I’ve gotten cheap ones and I’m too head on them. I gotine from rei
I used a Nitelite brand headlamp for several years, it worked pretty well. When it died unexpectedly this fall I grabbed a $5 lite at the local minute mart that actually just clips to the brim of a baseball hat. It works great! and is easy to keep in place (as long as the hat fits). I’m sure it won’t last as long as the other lites but for $5 I really like it! Plus there is the added bonus of providing a brim, as it rains alot here in western wa.
Dear Karen:
In answer to your question, there are several forums that rate headlamps that are suitable for endurance horsemen.
Here is one: Candlepower Forums:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=6
We horsemen have special headlamp needs for the unique tasks that we perform. These seem to fall into three categories. One headlamp might not be optimum for all tasks, and it seems adroit to have back-up or redundant headlamps, just as we have redundant hand-held flashlights and Coleman lanterns, plus spare batteries (AA and AAA).
A. AERC endurance riding (especially in the early morning before dawn when we have to tack-up in the darkness). Late evening riding during a 100-mile AERC event. Many of us switch-off our headlamps when the full moonlight is adequate, but find it very handy to have a headlamp already installed that can be turned on with a slight twist of the lens.
B. Equestrian chores at night-time around the paddock and tack room. Routine work around our home-stables. These need to be sturdy and durable, and it is handy to have rechargeable batteries (to reduce costs). These rechargeable batteries are typically not resilient and do not last very long, but
C. Emergency repairs at night-time, such as changing a flat tire on a horsetrailer. Setting up a horse-camp when arriving after sunset. Checking a horse’s hooves late at night. Working as sweep riders at night. Search&Rescue operations from horseback (injured rider, lost children, etc.)
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There are basically three kinds of headlamps: fixed, universal headband, clip-on.
1. Headlamps that are worn on an equestrian helmet. I have two equestrian helmets that have been screwed onto the helmet, and so there is no strap to slip off …just at a critical moment.
2. Headlamps that have an elastic head-band that fit over the outside of any baseball hat or helmet.
3. Clip-on micro-lights that fit under the visor of a baseball hat, or attach to the bows on eyeglasses. These are very lightweight but have low lumens and tiny batteries that do not last long.
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What other kinds of outdoorsmen have collateral information about headlamps?
1. U.S. Army soldiers under combat conditions.
(Yes, I was in the US Army, 18th Armored Cavalry…. and we always wore a yellow neck-scarf, the symbol of the US Cavalry for the past 160 years). (We Cavalry were elite and smug, and certainly felt superior to the Infantry or the Artillery.)
2. Mountaineers (who ascent difficult peaks in the early morning and late evenings). (Yes, I have climbed 80 peaks over 10,000 feet high)
3. Bicyclists who ride in the evenings on paved bike trails, often commuting to work 10 to 20 miles per day, so have to return home after dark.
4. Utility workers, such as linemen for the power companies, who must quickly repair broken telephone lines and electrical power lines during horrible windstorms and blizzards.
5. Geologists who have to work on severe landslides at nighttime, round-the-clock, often with drilling rigs and bulldozers, often in blizzards and intense rainstorms. This is my profession as a Senior Engineering Geologist.
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Procurement of headlamps:
One of the best places to purchase headlamps is Recreational Equipment, Incorporated. REI is a non-profit mountaineering supply with millions of members. I am member # 33-994, having joined in 1961…. before Karen was born. http://www.rei.org A convenient aspect of REI is that they rate their own equipment, telling you the pros and cons of each item…. not trying to persuade you to purchase any one particular product.
Here are fifty kinds of mountaineering headlamps from REI:
http://www.rei.com/search?search=headlamps&cat=8000&cat=8000&cat=8000&cat=8000&seq=1&hist=query%2Cheadlamps
The big names are Petzl, Princeton, Black Diamond, Nite Eyze, and Husky.
You can also purchase various headlamps via giant retailers, such as Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dsporting&field-keywords=headlamps&x=14&y=19
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Features to look for – parameters for AERC horsemen:
relative cost $20 to $35 for many good ones; highly specialized are $80+
two AA batteries or 3 AAA batteries (usually one or the other)
lumens the overall brightness
halogen lightbulbs (brighter, but faster use of batteries)
LED lights, more diffuse
focusing lens or non-focusing
collimating lens for optimum wide-oval light (this what I prefer)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collimating_lens
For an actual AERC ride where it is vitally important to have my two AA batteries last for a long time, I use the more expensive AA batteries that are sold for digital camera flash. For work around the stables, I simply use rechargeable AA batteries or cheaper standard ones and carry a little replacement pack in my hornbag with 4 fresh ones, ready to switch-out in the darkness. It is smart to practice reloading your headlamp in the darkness, using the Braille method to insert the batteries in the correct plus or minus orientation.
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For nighttime work around my stables, I have an inexpensive $20 Husky headlamp with a collimating lens that fits over my Tevis baseball cap. This is sold at the Home Depot in the tool department where flashlights, work-gloves, and ear-plugs are sold. The collimating lens casts a light beam that is about five feet wide and one foot high…perfect for the eyesight pattern of two human eyes. This 5:1 ratio (width to height) is far better than the small circular pattern of a regular lens.
For AERC endurance rides, I have an expensive Princeton headlamp with a focusing lens and a high-intensity halogen bulb. Notice that the headlamp is affixed to my Troxel helmet with 4 tiny screws…. and there is no headband to slip-off. This headlamp is hinged on the lower edge, so it can be slightly adjusted when I want to look far ahead on the trailbed, or for close-work when I read a trailmap in the darkness. I was wearing this headlamp when I first met you and Granite Chief in the pre-dawn darkness…. on the Rides of March, about 30 miles north of Reno.
Best wishes from Bob Sydnor, your geologist friend
Robert H. Sydnor, M-AERC
RHSydnor@aol.com
Fair Oaks, California
cell phone 916-335-1441
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