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$200 head torch versus $20 head torch - Brief test in garage


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2 hours ago, doobie said:

A good comparison YD1 and naturally we tend to think the more expensive the item is the better it is - but results can show different.

For $20 on sale you can't complain with that.

 

Yeah the build quality,longevity and battery life are yet to be tested - but as far as brightness goes - those cheap Leds can put out some serious light

 

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Interesting test mate but I have a theory you get what you pay for.

I use a $100 LEDLenser I bought about five years ago and I love it coz it is bright enough and has long battery life.

Mate of mine bought a cheapie mega bright head light on ebay so bright you could grow tomatoes.

Batteries went flat in two hours and could only be recharged not replaced.

Having said that Jarvis Walker do decent lights for around $20.

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Yeah I use my head torch to spot fish at night so they need to be super bright, with a single handed focus-able beam. My main gripe with the Led Lenser I bought is it doesnt focus all the way down to a really tight spot like the old ones used to.

I've bought these cheap lights before and I've experienced the problems you mentioned. Thats why I splurged on the Led Lenser.

I dont expect the ebay one to last too long but I was just too curious about the 13,000 lumens they offered - and for $20 I am no longer wondering😉

(p.s. I dont think its quite 13.000 lumens)😉

 

 

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1 hour ago, yellow door 1 said:

I dont expect the ebay one to last too long but I was just too curious about the 13,000 lumens they offered - and for $20 I am no longer wondering😉

(p.s. I dont think its quite 13.000 lumens)😉

 

 

Just got some feed back from a bloke whose been using a similar unit for 5 years without problem

I must have been too rough with mine and dislodged the wiring by pulling to hard on the light to get it out of a bag - (the soldering job on the wiring was dodgy though) so If you look after these lights - they could be a real option.

not saying there arent better lights out there - just saying these might be a legitimate option based on intended use

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3 minutes ago, Scissors said:

Fish with a head torch near me, trust me i want to kill you. 

Haha - trust me, I understand your pain.

I would have to be the most considerate head torch user known to man.

I always ask for permission from fellow anglers before turning it on and I'm extremely mindful of where the beam is pointing.

The guys I fish with are veteran head torch users, so the "rookie errors", alot of people make, do not occur in my circle.

I have introduced alot of people to the joys of head torches but after a few years I started giving safety briefings before handing them out😉.

For instance - If I was going camping with a new crew I'd always buy some cheapies from bunnings. (Mainly so they would stop asking to borrow mine😉)

Watching a newb use one for the first time, is a night mare.

Direct blasts to your eyes - Shining them over the water at inopportune times and "over use" are the major crimes.

But on the head of a considerate gentleman - A head torch is a weapon that has greatly increased my catches - my head torch has been responsible for unlocking angling secrets that would never have been discovered otherwise. - this fish would not have been caught if I hadn't "Head Torched" the area the night before 🙂

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5 minutes ago, doobie said:

Thankfully I'll have a hand torch then :lol:

Yeah head torches arent for everyone - I used to do alot of river exploration at night.

A push bike was the chosen method of transportation - finding concentrations of predator attracting bait was the mission  - I tried hand held torches but riding and hand held torches dont mix - so thats why I got so interested in head torches.

The biggest draw back of head torches is their lack of power (unless you want to carry a large battery pack and burn your forehead due to the heat produced from powerful lights - but there biggest advantage is I can comfortably use them hands free.

So its all about compromise - head torches often dont have the power I want - but they often have the power and stamina I need😉

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I actually got into the whole flashlight thing , with the new  batteries and  led technology. Trust me there is no way that thing has 8000 lumens, The lights with that sort of output  only do it for short periods of time  on turbo mode  because they get too hot and have an automatic shutdown .They step down  to a lower brightness.As far as I know there is no headtorch with this out put.Hand held yes.I have one handheld  that has a beam range of 1 km and it is only the same size of a coke can If shone in someones face on stobe mode it can cause temporary blindness,  they are used for self defence.. Some of the best  headlamps these days are very compact and lightweight, A brilliant brand is Nitecore for headlamps,lightweight reasonably cheap and very good quality.

There are even websites dedicated to the whole flashlight thing,pretty geeky I know but collecting them can get addictive.

Here is a brief clip of a nitecore TM06S handheld, just one of the many brilliant lights available.

 

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Yeah I bought the "knock off" version of the Night Core and trialed it for a while - (mainly just to see if it was going to work with the way I searched rivers at night) -

The version I bought was super bright and worked off 4 x 18650's but it didnt have a focus-able beam. The spread of light was too wide for what I was trying to achieve - lights with much lower lumens could focus in on my target in a more effective way

I can attest to how hot these things get - but without a focus-able beam, I was always wishing it had one.

Because when you want to isolate one particular object in your field of vision - a focus-able beam is indispensable - I need a light that can put a "tight spot" on an underwater object that might be a meter plus Jewie or a white garbage bag.

When the light is spread too evenly over a large area - it can make your eye focus on details you dont want it to. Thats why I love a "tight spot"

But I understand my requirements are fairly unique to spotting fish in the dark - but thats is the sole governing criteria that my lights have to meet, before any other criteria is taken into consideration.

Then comes battery life - then comes durability - then comes comfort... etc

I want to be able to focus all available lumens onto a particular spot no bigger than 1 meter, to make sure my eyes arent playing tricks on me😉.

So while a light could be far superior in 100 different ways - if it doesnt meet the one particular way I want it to perform - it becomes a dud light.

p.s. the weight is without 4 x 18650;s in it - I wouldnt even want to get punched in the face with an empty one😉




 

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I'm reluctant to share this Vid, as my camera sucks in low light - but there might be something in it.

White light tends to illuminate the hell out of an area - but yellow light gives a truer representation of the colours you would see in day light - and for what its worth - I find when I'm spot lighting fish - they are much more likely to spook on a white light than a yellow light


 

 

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Hi yellow door, there are 2 different types of beams some lighs are throwers and some are flooders.What you want is a thrower , it is the way the reflector is designed, a thrower has a deep recessed cone that is designed to punch a high intensity pinpoint beam a long way, with an intense hot spot.Whereas a flooder has a shallow cone that floods a wider area brightly but not as far and direct.Many manufactures give you an option in what sort of light you are after,  anything over  5000k is  whitish blue or cool white as its known,whereas2700 3000k is your :warm: colour , a more yellowish natural light. judging by what you are saying ideal for you would be a 2700 to 3000 k thrower or adjustable beam.

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1 hour ago, Cal said:

Hi yellow door, there are 2 different types of beams some lighs are throwers and some are flooders.What you want is a thrower , it is the way the reflector is designed, a thrower has a deep recessed cone that is designed to punch a high intensity pinpoint beam a long way, with an intense hot spot.Whereas a flooder has a shallow cone that floods a wider area brightly but not as far and direct.Many manufactures give you an option in what sort of light you are after,  anything over  5000k is  whitish blue or cool white as its known,whereas2700 3000k is your :warm: colour , a more yellowish natural light. judging by what you are saying ideal for you would be a 2700 to 3000 k thrower or adjustable beam.

Yeah the reason I prefer a "focus-able" beam is - there is no single  "factory setting" that can match all the different scenarios I come up against in an evening.

With the way I use torches........ a torch that cant focus, is similar to camera that cant focus.

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