Headlamps (again!)

[Big Jon]

I have a club mate who is going to buy a head torch. I have recommended the Petzl Ultra belt, but some reviews seem to indicate the Silva Alpha is better but I have no experience of this headlamp. Does anyone have any personal experience of the Silva Alpha and would they recommend it?

[Gross]

Just don't switch it off on the run in

[PhilJ]

Hi,
Bought my daughter a Princeton Tec Apex last year (2008), it's got 130 lumens and she has used it at the Harvester and Peter Palmers, cicra £60.00. I think it's fine for night 'O' but it depends on your budget.

If you are looking on the web, it's coloured Orange.

http://www.urbantrail.co.uk/pages/apex.htm

Think the Pezl Myo XP is also comparable for the price.

[gaw]

I'm looking to buy a headtorch also and from my research the petzl Ultra is overpriced and significantly less power than the Hope lights, and the Princeton Tec is a lot less lumens.
From a quick trawl -
Princeton Tec Apex advertised at 80 lumens, about £60
Petzl Ultra, 350 lumens, 350 lumens, £290
Hope vision 1, 240 lumens, £70
Hope vision 2, 480 lumens, £216
Hope vision 4, 960 lumens, £270

Silva don't advertise the lumens of the Alpha, and it comes in 3 battery pack sizes. I think it will be around 700 lumens based on 3 LEDS similar to the Hope ones. cost around £200, £250 and £300.

I have only used the Hope 2 which is good but a long focused beam. The Hope 4 and Silva Alpha both have wide angle and long distance light which is a lot better for running on rough ground and spotting controls. I can't see the Petzl being anywhere near as good as the Hope or Silva.
The Ay UP lights mentioned in a previous thread also have a choice of beam angle adn are similarly expensive to the above.

Whether you need all that light is something you have to decide yourself. I can run comfortably on good ground with vey little light but as soon as i'm navigating on rough ground and trying to keep my speed up then I find lots of light easier. Most of our club run with very bright lights and having less makes you less competitive though not necessarily less fun.

[mike g]

I bought a Hope 1 last week and it will be very good for the price if it works, but it failed the first time I used it on Saturday night.

[frog]

I got a Petzl myo xp last year for FWTN events after my old caving type petzl was rubbish for this sort of thing. It has been excellent for about £40, 86 lumens see http://www.simplyhike.co.uk/products/Pe ... Torch.aspx, although think I found it cheaper elsewhere before so will have to look at prices.
The controls are fiddly when wearing gloves, and it's not as good as the expensive ones but OK for casual night orienteering. Looks like I'll be buying another for the Twin if I can get 1 delivered in time.
Here's a review of it.
http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/5158

[Adrian]

Anyone used an LED Lenser headlamp? e.g. H7 or Headfire

The reviews I've read compare them favourably with e.g. the Myo Xp, but I thought I better check with you guys first! A

[Spookster]

Does anyone have any personal experience of the Silva Alpha and would they recommend it?

I used a new Silva Alpha 2 on Saturday night. It's the first time I've used a big LED headlight, so I can't compare it against others, but I am impressed with it. It has basically two different light outputs - a short range flood, and a long range spot. It feels well constructed, and certainly better than my old Mica halogen headset, on which the cables and connectors have had to be re-wired a couple of times.

With a Li-ion battery the Silva Alpha is lighter than my old halogen set with NiMH battery. In fact you can wear the 2.2Ah battery on the back of the headset if you want, with no need for a belt or back-pack to mount the battery.



Of course the real test will be whether it helps me find controls quickly in Finland at Jukola, but it worked nicely for the BNC.

[mharky]

I've got the Silva Alpha 6, used it out in Portugal as well as back here. It's really good. The beam is bright, white, and has a central spot in the distance with two smaller floods for seeing where you put your feet. When you bend your head down to look at the map try not to get your main beam, else you'll go blind for a bit...

But, I've got no experience of the new Petzl's, but from what I've heard there isn't much between the two. Lupines are also available for those with big bucks...

[Eeyore]

Just to make the set of Alphas. I have the Alpha 4 which has a battery that fits onto the cradle and is claimed to last 2 hours at full power. I wasn't convinced I'd get round the course quickly enough to go for the Alpha 2 battery but as it happens I would have (no loss of power in 75 mins as far as I could see. I too am impressed and it made finding the pit on the open moor a doddle. I could see the control in the main beam from the fence (110 metres away) so Silva's claim of 150 metres may well be true. I'd recommend it; a step up from the 478 / 480.

[harry]

Really satisfied with my new set up, really good price, bright (it says it's 900 lumens on the box but not convinced but it's as bright as Ally's £300 petzl), very lightweight, battery lasts 3-4hrs on full power (3 according to supplier but apparently someone has tested it and found it lasted 4 hrs).
Cost me $85 US dollars (including the extras & delivery) plus 200 NOK Norwegian import tax. ie cost me about £77 total. Took about 2 weeks to arrive.
It's really a bike light but works fine with the headstrap or you can just adapt an old headtorch.

Headtorch
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.30864
I also bought headstrap & extension cable
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.32755
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.32751

Here is some more info via a Swedish thread
http://www.lofas.se/tester/lofasz-led.html

And an attackpoint thread with a lot of puffing about the pros and cons
http://www.attackpoint.org/discussionth ... age_347166

For me this was a good solution, I have an old Silva headtorch still working fine which I use for most training but I wanted something brighter for the ~1"important" night race I will run this season and will use it for training for that.

[Ravinous]

I have recently got the same as Harry but you can get it in the UK from http://www.brightbikelights.com
We are reviewing it in the next mag. It is basically a clone of the Tesla Lupine which is 3 or 4 times the price.
Deal Extreme can take some months to arrive and are not necessarily the newest model with 5 settings. Plus you normally get stung with import tax. Trevor at brightbikelights does an Orienteering package for £90 including delivery and improved extension cable. All you need is a battery holder, which you probably have, but the battery (3 hours on 900 lumens) is so small and light, you could almost just stick it in your back pocket!
Unfortunately, the likes of Silva, Lupine, Petzl and Mila have been selling their products at hugely inflated prices for ages and pricing out many people. Night O is an excellent adveture and the lamp makes a huge difference to your enjoyment. Do yourself all a favour and get one of these. I don't think you will regret it.

[SeanC]

Great stuff, a two figure sum is definately less offputting.

Hope the build quality is better than my Mila halogen headlamp, though our equipment officer has kindly rebuilt it so it no longer flashes like a bad 6th form disco.

[frog]

That looks good, think I'll need to upgrade my myo xp to one of those if I keep doing night Os, although it'll be ages before the British champs is in Scotland again so maybe not worth it for ambling round the local night Os. I also quite like the way everything looks totally different and you can suddenly find yourself stuck in a thicket, plus if I get a better light my son will want one too...

[rocky]

I got the BBL.com light on Nicks recommendation this week, took it out for it's first run tonight and it was phenomenal. I was up at Bonaly (British Nights area) doing downhill practice with the Trotters, and I could literally stand at the top of the slope and illuminate the whole hill while everyone else did their rep! The battery is so small and light I reckon you could carry it in the bum pocket of a pair of tights as well, no need for a harness or

So if anyone wants an 8 year old silva headlamp that's held together with insulating tape then drop me a PM with your best offer!