Head Light

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Birdhunter

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Jun 16, 2012
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I'm replacing about 60 cabinet door hinges in our 25year plus house. I wish I had a head light (LED on a head strap).

Amazon has so many that I have no clue which one to buy. Any suggestions?
 
Do they carry Petzl/Black Diamond?
Reason is, the quality of light, with even and spread light fall-off is far more comfortable in almost any situation.
And Petzl have one of the best.
I've long experience with Petzl's reactive head lights, which dims automatically in a fraction of a second - love them.
So much that i now use them for various tasks such as you mention. If a situation calls for non reactive light function, you can easily
switch to std. mode with constant ligthing.
Working with a wide range of surfaces, the reactive light is not burning your eyes when directed at a ie white surface..

Make them on your short list, and check demo videos.

Edit, mixed Petz with Black Diamond, very good both, reactive lighting from Petzl is great, takes some getting used to, but better quality light overall.
 
Petzl and Black Diamond both make very good stuff. Should be available in shops that sell camping supplies. REI would be one good source.
For a bit less money, there are various head lights sold by the box home centers. Milwaukee has several small lights, mostly with built-in USB rechargeable batteries. I'm not entirely certain, but I believe they have at least one that has a headband, and I've seen others at both the Orange stores and the blue ones.

 
[member=15289]Birdhunter[/member] you may be able to have good luck with something from one of the big box stores since you are needing to illuminate close up not 30 yards down a trail.

Personally I like a head lamp that has an over the top of the head band not just around the head.

Ron
 
I have a Milwaukee rechargeable that I’ve started using for all sorts of renovation work ranging from framing to drywall to finish.  So incredibly handy to have light where you are looking!  The model I got from HD was around $50 and has five modes.  It recharges in about an hour and can last all day if used in the lowest setting (which is bright enough to illuminate tasks in front of you). 

EDIT:  The model mentioned below by [member=7659]waho6o9[/member] is the one I have
 
One of the things I like about my Petzls is that they don’t have a complex ‘user interface’ - it’s a simple press to turn on and press again to turn off (although repeated presses when you turn it on will increase brightness if needed).

I use the Tikka models mostly. They’re simple, they have the option of a USB battery (that you can remove and use standard AAAs if you’re caught without a charger) and they’re not badly priced.

There are fancier and brighter headlights out there, but for DIY/household jobs you don’t need a 1000 lumen search light.
 
I have my share of Black Diamond headlights, although none are rechargeable. They do not compare to the Milwaukee's brightness. I love Milwaukee lights and have a bunch of them with lots of spare batteries using M18, M12, and the little batts that the small handheld lights use. Home Depot often offers Milwaukee lights with 2 batteries so I grabbed 2 lights that way, the headlight on sale, and a pair of Milwaukee gloves from Ebay with 2 batteries for less than the cost of buying one battery, leaving me with 7 of the small batteries. My charging station has USB cords going every which direction. When they offer the 2 batteries with one light, they will often come with a separate charger, but not always.

This is the one I would recommend getting although it only comes with one battery, it does offer 600 lumens. My biggest complaint is the headband does come loose, but I can probably fix that pretty easily, by heating and bending the plastic.https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...w-Profile-Hard-Hat-Headlamp-2115-21/309838628

Other options.https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...Hat-Headlamp-2-Pack-2160-21-2115-21/317072101

The swivel light I use often, and just toss it inside cabinets, under the hood of a car, etc.https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...Hat-Headlamp-2-Pack-2114-21-2115-21/312781881
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...B-3-0-Ah-Battery-2115-21-48-11-2131/314328675
 
I agree that the Black Diamond and Petzl lamps are really nice. I've been wearing Black Diamond for years, my complaint is that the elastic headband wears out after a couple years of use.

On the recommendation of my painter, I purchased the Petzl Iko Core. Much different fit than the normal style, most of the weight is in the back so I think it's much for comfortable for all-day wear. I bought a second rechargeable pack to keep in the van, and it'll take regular AAA batteries in a pinch. Doesn't have the range of some lamps, but for working in- and around- a house it's plenty.
https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/PERFORMANCE-headlamps/IKO-CORE
 
Petzl Pixa 3 is a great option if you can find one.  Excellent long and short range lighting options, broad strap (replaceable if ever needed), waterproof, the lamp unit rotates 180 degrees so you can stuff it in a toolbox or a pocket without harming the outer lens.  One of my favourite features is that it has a simple rotary switch on the side to turn it on and through the various lighting modes.  The switch is auto-locked when the lamp is rotated as described above, so it can't turn on and deplete the batteries accidentally.

Robust little unit (also ATEX rated, so built for industrial use) and will last decades.  Mine was purchased way back when I was an active mountain rescue team member (before I moved to Finland...no such things here!) and it had regular and prolonged use for 10 years in all conditions.  Now it's used almost every time I need extra task lighting, from working under a car to night walks and jobs around the home.  Brilliant bit of kit.  Should be available for around $80 or so.  Could be overkill, but like I said, it'll last you decades.
https://www.petzl.com/INT/en/Professional/ATEX---HAZLOC-headlamps/PIXA-3
 
Thanks everyone. I found one I really like at a local Ace Hardware. It has an elastic head band including a strap over the top of the head, rechargeable battery, and 1500 lumens (very bright). It made changing hinges much easier.
 
They all seem to work pretty well.  I bought a package of two from BJ's Wholesale for about $13.00.  I gave one to a friend and kept one.  It still works well after about 4 years. 

If you are going mountain climbing or spelunking and your life depends on the light, then buy the best you can afford.  Otherwise almost any of these will work fine.
 
I bought this Petzl ZIPKA:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RVXGFR6/ back in June.  I finally got a chance to use it this past Saturday when I was replacing the kitchen faucet at my mom's house.  It really came in handy and made seeing so much easier.  I really like how compact the headlamp is with the retractable cord.  The headlamp easily tucks away in my toolbag.
 
Another vote for Black Diamond.  I bought this model recently, and it's worth every penny.  I really like that it's rechargeable.  In my case, the night mode (red) is great when I'm doing astrophotography.  [smile]
 
I'm personally a fan of Zebralight lights. Tough, very small for their output, extremely efficient and available with high CRI LED choices.
 
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