Headtorches - next generation

[Skids]

As you say you need a good spread as well as some throw for running

So true, and I don't believe there are many headtorches that offer both, which is why I use two!

Something on your head with decent throw (such as the Led Lenser) for picking out where you're heading (or, in the case of my usual night run, giving early warning of the herd of heffers I'm about to run into...), and something at waist level with good flood to light up the ground at your feet and a little way ahead and to the sides.

The added advantage of having something at waist level is that it casts more of a shadow and shows you the bumps more clearly. The Zebralight H501 is ideal for this as it gives a lovely wide even flood - I've got a 15mm plastic pipe clip attached to the front buckle of my bum bag, and the zebralight just clips in nicely. The zebralight isn't cheap (although direct from HK on ebay it's not bad), but it's a fantastic little light to have around the house or when camping.

I tend to use the Led Lenser/Zebralight combo quite a lot, but am planning to do a bit of night orienteering soon, in which case the Magicshine's coming out

[Fellhound]

You have just measured the max brightness of the spot. I could sugest some lights with very narrow beams (a £10 offering from tescos comes to mind) that would blow those numbers away but they are not at all good for running with because of the very narrow beam. As you say you need a good spread as well as some throw for running. The diffuser on your Petzel has robed you of some light but the main reason for differance is that it has of course spread the light out thus reducing the intensity of the spot.

Yes, well I did realise that, which is why the last part of my post was all about the subjective judgement of the lamps. The Duo gives a very nice pattern - not a spotlight at all - but could do with being just a bit more powerful. Its max beam length is quoted as 14m, which is good enough for most situations and there is always the standard halogen bulb to switch to if you need a 100m beam, but the flood occasionally just seems a bit weak.

When reading manufacturer data or even postings on forums, you can never get the subjective feel for what the flood/beam actually looks like.

[IanDarkpeak]

Boo still not picked it up I have seen one of my team mates though and it's bright, very bright! Also i was amazed how small and light it was, maybe half that of the Myo XP yet with twice the lumens! He's had no problem with the tilt and I put it on and jumped around and it stayed put.

looks brill can't wait till Monday......Again.

Ok I ve Got it:w00t:

Ok first impressions were pretty good, very light(compact) and very light(bright)

Found the on/off, power adjust and zoom a little fiddly but nothing a few runs won't put right.
I like the fact you spread light by zooming in and out rather than a diffuser as you can control the beam width much more with out scatering the light too far. Also the abilty to lower power out put on a sliding scale rather than 100%, 75%, 50%

It doesn't feel much bigger than a tikka but when I turned my torch off you couldn't even tell the person next to me had a tikka on!

Have to say I really like it. I was only out walking though in a wood so not been given the hard run yet, This will come on Wednesday nights night race over Howden.

[Phil Winskill]

I have one of the Magicshine headtorches. First impressions on a run around Derwent Water: It's nice and bright, with more of a spot rather than a decent flood\spread of light (this is compared to a Hope Vision 4, which has the same lumen output). We kept turning one or the other of the torches off to see what they were like in different modes. Medium was most useful for our trail run, but given the MS supposedly last 3 hrs. on high, probably best to crank it up! You can easily run at full pelt on the trails with no worries of tripping.

It is a fair bit lighter than the Hope V4, and a lot more comfortable. It doesn't look at sturdy as the Hope; I can live with that.

Have a look at this site to see what they copied...

http://www.lupine.de/web/en/products...ights/tesla/4/

[Welsh Harrier]

I've done night races with headtorches with my regular little Petzl which works well but then when you're being followed by someone with a car headlight on their head it can be very disconcerting especially in a forest!

[Phil Winskill]

Yeah, can be an issue when running with a smaller, less powerful torch. My regular running partners tend to just turn off their lights and just rely on mine. When I'm out for a slow, easy morning jog, I use a Petzl Zipka XP (I think that is what it is called), enough light for gentle paths, but wouldn't chance 'ammering it!

[weety]

The silva x trail looks good anyone got one?

[Fellhound]

The silva x trail looks good anyone got one?

But it uses older tech Luxeon LED rather than Cree, it's max lumen output is quoted as 145, which is not as good as the LED Lenser H7s 160 lumens and it costs about twice as much.

I can't see why you'd choose one over the H7.

[Roy Scott]

I find the strap on the myo RXP allows me to place it round my abdominals at about navel height. Just as effective without any bouncing or annoyance. You can adjust the angle of the head sufficiently to allow the light to be thrown far enough forward.

[overthecrowroad]

The silva x trail looks good anyone got one?

The xtrail isn't as brightest lamp out there but the beam pattern isn't too narrow and isn't too floody and is about perfect for running with. At 145 lumens it's still a bright lamp and has a reasonable runtime with aa batteries. Well worth considering.