[Womble]

Soon after we moved here, Mrs Womble bought me a really nice (aka expensive) LED Lenser H7 headtorch. It was great!  Until it broke after 6 months and I had to get it replaced under warranty. That one lasted 366 days (no kidding) before it too broke in the same way.

There followed a succession of cheapy Chinese headtorches, until this time last year I swallowed hard and bought myself an Alpkit Prism USB rechargeable headtorch.


I've attached a photo, and there's a video here, but here's the basic information:

• £39 including postage, direct from Alpkit.

• 3 year guarantee

• USB rechargeable, 3 hour ish burn time (lasts a few weeks in practice, or longer if you use it on the lower power setting)

• Fixed focal length, but in practice the beam gives a good compromise between distance and field of view for all practical purposes.

• Very robust. No hinges or twiddly bits to break. I've been (ab)using it for a year with no issues, and it gives the impression that it will keep going and going.

• Great customer service from Alpkit (I have bought all sorts of things from them over the years, and have always had impeccable service)

My one criticism is that there is no warning of low battery. Basically the torch just turns itself off suddenly. However, you can turn it back on a few times and it gives you 30 seconds of light each time, which is enough to get back to the farm for a backup.

So, if you've been nice this year and fancy a treat from Smallholding Santa, I'd thoroughly recommend this torch. I should also say that if you've not been nice enough to merit a £40 torch, They also do a few different battery torches at the £15-£20 mark. I also have a 'viper' battery headtorch of theirs which I keep in the car for emergencies, and again it's well made and does everything it's supposed to  .

[SallyintNorth]

Wow, I thought I was maybe being self-indulgent buying myself a second Pietzo head torch so I can put one in the caravan.

Pietzo has batteries and a hinge, so I guess wouldn’t meet with Womble’s approval, but I’ve used them for twenty years.  And although I’ve bought several in that time, that’s been as a result of one I lost, one broken when I dropped it and it got run over, and all the others either gifts or (several times) replacing my one when I allowed the one I’d been lending to become a permanent gift , and this last one so I can keep one in the caravan.  They seem to last forever so long as you don’t drop them or lose them.

They’re worth the extra, IMO.  I like only having one strap around the head and not the whole head harness thing.  They have three settings so you can use the lower power one if you just want to see where your feet are going, and the max power one when you’re looking for something in a field in the dark.  It’s as good as most huge hand-held long range torches.  It does get dimmer as the batteries tire, so you have plenty of warning about replacing them.  If you keep the power low when you don’t need full power, they last for ages.

[DavidandCollette]

I use a Black Diamond head torch. Bought it 12 years ago for a trip to Nepal. Still works really well, very comfortable to wear.

[Penninehillbilly]

I love my headtorches, OH wont use them, just stubborn i think.
I have tended to use cheapy ones, thought about a more expensive one but as I'm always putting them down somewhere I daren't spend too much. Currently 3 missing somewhere. Tends to be the switch that goes, probably because you have to cycle through the different settings, inc. red, (why???  )
Had a cheap but good one, only on or flash, but dropped it and broke slider, wish I could replace it with a microswitch.

[Womble]

Oh I completely agree that £40 for a torch is self-indulgent, but then again I use and and rely on it daily for half of the year, and I don't have to spend extra on batteries.

[Maysie]

Oh I completely agree that £40 for a torch is self-indulgent, but then again I use and and rely on it daily for half of the year...

Many years ago, I was told that you should 'spend money on the things that you use everyday as they will make you happy every time you use them'. 
I have never regretted taking that advice yet. 

[arobwk]

Thanks for the thread Womble - reminded me to re-charge the batteries on mine, which I've not used/charged for a while. 
And I'm chuckling also:  who has the best head-torch is a bit of of an un-stated competition amongst a group of friends of mine!!
Well, thanks to b/day pressie from one on my sister's, I reckon I'm in the competition:  mine's a BORUiT RJ-5001 with a very chunky double lith' battery pack. I'm quite impressed 

 

[Penninehillbilly]

Is there one that is just on/off ?

[Womble]

Yup!

[SallyintNorth]

Is there one that is just on/off ?

Actually the latest Pietzo, which I’ve just bought so I can keep the older one with the caravan, has changed the way the switch works.

One press is On, lowest power, which is all I ever use 99% of the time.  If it’s been on for more than a second or two, then the next press of the switch is Off.

If you want the Full power or Flashing, they’re available as presses two or three respectively when you turn it on.

So unless you want one of the feature settings, it’s one press for On and one for Off. 

[Womble]

Sally, I tried googling Pietzo, and got nowhere.

Are you sure you don't mean Petzl?

[Penninehillbilly]

Yup!

[SallyintNorth]

Sally, I tried googling Pietzo, and got nowhere.

Are you sure you don't mean Petzl?

Yes I probably do  . Oops.  Thanks for finding the right name!

[Buttermilk]

WOMBLE I LOVE YOU

The OH's head torch died a death so I ordered your recommendation for his Christmas present.  However the neighbour beat me to it and gave him a head torch before the one I ordered arrived.  So it became one for me and was unlikely to be used.

Until.... the craft group in the pub needed some light shedding onto things, so I got it out and it is brilliant for using when I am knitting my fancy shetland shawl.  How did I manage without one?

[Penninehillbilly]

Sally, finally ordered a Petzl this week, love it .
Bright enough on first setting for general picking up, chopping wood etc, for battery economy, but brilliant when you go into the next settings. Not having to cycle through all settings is great.
Thanks for the recommendation