Head torch

[Medway Matt]

I've managed to mislay my head torch an could do with replacing it.

Has anyone got any recommendations? Looking to spend around £30.

 

[seanav]

I've managed to mislay my head torch an could do with replacing it.

Has anyone got any recommendations? Looking to spend around £30.

Decathlon have a good range , and I always find their stuff pretty good

 

[Dellquay13]

Screwfix have a Nebo one, rechargeable and bright. A certain long button press takes it straight to red.

 

[noelex]

My favorite heater torch for boat use is Olight Perrin mini. The base price is considerably more expensive, but they frequently have deals, etc. I recently ordered the latest Perrin mini 3 for $63 AUD, which is around £30 but you will have to wait for one of their specials for this type of bargain price.

 

[DreadShips]

Decathlon have a good range , and I always find their stuff pretty good

The little USB chargeable Decathlon ones are really handy to have about and nice and light for reading in bed etc, plus they're easy to charge on the go. For everything else a Petzl Tikka does what I need.

 

[LittleSister]

Ikea will sell you one of these.

 

[LiftyK]

I had a LEDlenser. Fabulous but it broke and I bought two head torches for £14. They fit well, can be very bright and are rechargeable. Perfect. They have gone up to £16.99 for a pair but are still a bargain.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D3VDXB19?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

 

[Zing]

Get this one. Just within your cash limit:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/recha...00-usb-v3-black/_/R-p-339061?mc=8883093&c=-_-

 

[WoodyP]

I don't like the ones that cycle through bright, dim, flashing and red and have a motion sensor that switches them on and off if you wave your hand near it. I just want one that switches on and off

 

[fredrussell]

If you can find one that uses an 18650 cell (or two), definitely get that.

 

[penberth3]

I don't like the ones that cycle through bright, dim, flashing and red and have a motion sensor that switches them on and off if you wave your hand near it. I just want one that switches on and off

I bought a small hand torch today, one of those tempting offers on a sales counter! No "features" apart from on/off which was a pleasant surprise. I've got a head torch with two LEDs, four settings on each and TBH it puts me off using it.

Re: buying head torches, I'd look at E-bay, Plenty of choice, make your own judgement on quality/price.

 

[Boathook]

I've just purchased https://www.screwfix.com/p/ledlenser-h3-2-led-head-torch-black-red-120lm/8373t to replace one i lost.

Haven't used it in anger yet but a lever on the battery pack (3 AAA batteries) adjusts the light output and on the lens you can adjust from wide angle to a spotlight. 120 lumen power doesn't seem much, but it lights up a darken room well.

 

[Skylark]

I don't like the ones that cycle through bright, dim, flashing and red and have a motion sensor that switches them on and off if you wave your hand near it. I just want one that switches on and off

I’m with you on this. Keep it simple. Mine is “push switch right” for white and “push switch left” for red. The white gives adequate light, not excessive. 2 AAA alkaline batteries last more than 2 seasons.

I regularly sail night hours and my heart sinks when crew appear with a headlamp that has 10 different light options, including pretending to be a SCM or PHB. Guarantees that those in the cockpit will be blinded as the user scrolls through the pointless options.

They are become increasingly difficult to find but I managed to replace my very old one a few years ago (head band lost its elasticity) for around a fiver.

 

[lustyd]

Too pricey for the OP but I have the Exposure RAW sailing one which defaults to low red when you press the button and gets brighter, but not white, with additional presses. You have to turn it off and long press to get white, which is astonishingly bright. It’s also properly waterproof so for boating is the best I’ve found.
I also have their 1000 lumen version for finding moorings in the dark. That one defaults to midday sun

 

[dansaskip]

I went for a Black Diamond one - I think it is the Spot model powered by 3 batteries. I prefer batteries to rechargeable easier to change the batteries than recharge when it runs out of power. Black Diamond make quality kit.

 

[reallycoliholic]

Temu have them ranging from £3 up to £9.
https://www.temu.com/search_result....tn&refer_page_sn=15498&_x_sessn_id=zenak3yut4

Take your pick

 

[noelex]

I’m with you on this. Keep it simple. Mine is “push switch right” for white and “push switch left” for red. The white gives adequate light, not excessive.

The UI or user interface can be poor on cheap headtorches, so many people share your frustration.

The UI needs to be simple and easy to remember and often this not the case on poorly designed headtorches. However, it is helpful to have a range of brightness and for sailing applications, preferably an additional red light and/or a "moonlight" (very low brightness white light) mode to preserve night vision and prevent waking off watch crew when making a coffee.

The more expensive headtorches have a simple, easy to use, UI, but also a "memory". The memory makes sure a single press always starts the headtorch on the same setting as it was when last used. No thinking involved. Therefore, when you buy the headtorch and have selected your preferred brightness, a single press will always reproduce this setting. Thus, you can operate the headtorch as a simple press on, press off most of the time.

 

[noelex]

Other important features worth looking for in a heatorch are:

Light weight.
The better heatorches can extract very high brightness with long run times from small batteries, but this requires an efficient and expensive emitter (LED) and circuitry. If you want to wear one for long periods, something less than 60g with batteries is better.

Small.
Heatorches are more comfortable if the weight is balanced close to forehead. It also is more comfortable to carry a small headtorch in your pocket when not in use. To be small and still have adequate heat dissipation is difficult to achieve and requires quality components.

Aluminium construction.
This is much better at dissipating heat and is also more durable than plastic.

Easy to recharge battery.
Some better models feature a magnetic charging puck rather than rubber flaps (which invariably break and are hard to make waterproof).

Waterproof.
Preferably IPX8. These models are often OK in a pinch diving if you suffer a rope around your prop at night.

Bright.
Don’t just use the advertised lumens; these are often made up. The better manufacturers use a standardised measurement and can be trusted. Independent reviews will confirm this.

Long run times.

Good beam pattern.
A blotchy beam pattern is common but is annoying and creates artifacts.

Good colour temperature.
The better heatorches sometimes offer a range of models with different colour temperatures depending on your preference, but almost everyone hates a beam with an excessive green or blue. Emitters with this colour pattern are the least expensive and find their way into cheaper (and sometimes not so cheap) models.

A good headband.
Preferably replaceable at low cost as this is the first component to fail.