Bushwalk Australia

I'm looking to find a lighter head lamp to replace my current Black Diamond Storm headlamp, I know there are some very light weight headlamps out there but they have very limited functionality! I'm looking for one that will still allow some walking when it's dark and not be limited to just in camp use. So far the lightest option I've found is the Priceton Tec Byte headlamp, it weighs 64grams(not sure if that includes batteries?) and has 50 Lumens power with a red light for reading or night vision. Does anyone know of any better options than this?

There are quite a few zebralight fans here. I'm one of them.
Currently I'm using a H31. It is by far the most compact, brightest headlight I have used.
Some of the low settings are very usefull and used sensibly a single battery lasts a very long time in real world use.
Mine weighs in at 69grams with a panasonic lithium CR123 (Ebay, cheapest option for lithiums).

I have a petzl e light (29g) but you would be hard pressed to walk anywhere decent in the dark with that.
Very light and great for camp and nightly toilet trips but little else.

forest wrote:There are quite a few zebralight fans here. I'm one of them.
Currently I'm using a H31. It is by far the most compact, brightest headlight I have used.
Some of the low settings are very usefull and used sensibly a single battery lasts a very long time in real world use.
Mine weighs in at 69grams with a panasonic lithium CR123 (Ebay, cheapest option for lithiums).

I have a petzl e light (29g) but you would be hard pressed to walk anywhere decent in the dark with that.
Very light and great for camp and nightly toilet trips but little else.

Forest where is the best place to get Zebralights?

Zebralight H51F for me! Absolutely the most functional light I have ever come across. The only downside is battery life, but the user friendliness and versatility more than makes up for it.

Try http://www.torchworld.com.au first as they are local and pricing is excellent.

Failing that, you can buy direct from http://www.zebralight.com but delivery can take up to several weeks.

Don't let red lights sway your decision - they are nowhere near as useful as a proper low brightness white light (e.g. 0.2 lumens - versus the Storm has a minimum setting of a massive 4 lumens).

Stupid broken edit button. That is:

http://www.torchworld.com.au

And

http://www.zebralight.com

eBay is a further option for Zebralights.

Great! I'll get onto torchworld now, I had a look on ebay but I don't have much time before I leave and the only oz distributor is away. I don't want to risk the shipping times from the Hong Kong distributors.
Strider what's the weight specs of your H15 including batteries?

Sorry I mean H51F!

One more question, why is everyone so keen on this particular brand(zebra light)?

Touchworld is out of stock, so it's the US for you then and pay for express shipping.

GPSGuided wrote:Touchworld is out of stock, so it's the US for you then and pay for express shipping.

I was just about to write the same message
Cheers

GPSGuided wrote:Touchworld is out of stock, so it's the US for you then and pay for express shipping.

Do you know a good US stockist? I found most of them considerably more expensive when I was buying.

DannyS wrote:One more question, why is everyone so keen on this particular brand(zebra light)?

1. Build quality is light years ahead of the mass-produced plastic rubbish.

2. Versatility - six brightness levels to choose from and they are all actually useful. Useable from walking at night at 200 lumens to reading without waking others at 0.2 lumens (e.g. "moonlight mode").

3. That user interface - the ability to access every level directly from OFF.

I should mention to factor in some Eneloops and a charger with your purchase. Unless you are happy paying for lithiums of course. Zebralights won't run on alkalines as they cannot supply enough power on High.

Weight with an Eneloop is 90g from memory.

Strider wrote:

DannyS wrote:One more question, why is everyone so keen on this particular brand(zebra light)?

1. Build quality is light years ahead of the mass-produced plastic rubbish.

2. Versatility - six brightness levels to choose from and they are all actually useful. Useable from walking at night at 200 lumens to reading without waking others at 0.2 lumens (e.g. "moonlight mode").

3. That user interface - the ability to access every level directly from OFF.

I should mention to factor in some Eneloops and a charger with your purchase. Unless you are happy paying for lithiums of course. Zebralights won't run on alkalines as they cannot supply enough power on High.

Cheers! Strider.

Just buy it directly from Zebralight.com. I note they even provide "free" postage if you are not worried about delivery date.

GPSGuided wrote:Just buy it directly from Zebralight.com. I note they even provide "free" postage if you are not worried about delivery date.

They do recommend adding insurance to your order due to the dodgy Chinese postal service though - about $13 from memory.

Just to be different, I have found the Petzl Tikka XP2 (83g with batteries) to serve my needs well. For summer trips I usually only carry a Petzl eLite but use the XP2 when I may need to walk at night or when the days shorten. To me the benefits are:
- white and red leds
- the ability to have a relatively narrow beam or flood,
- the ability use either 3xAAA or the Core rechargeable (micro USB - same as my Steripen) Li battery (provides a regulated power supply). On longer trips I can either use my solar system to recharge the Core or swap the batteries between my Spot and the XP2 - just a bit of insurance.
- While the switching only provides for 2 white light levels (+ red and flashing modes) You can adjust the two white light levels to your own requirements through the Petzl software.

Strider wrote:They do recommend adding insurance to your order due to the dodgy Chinese postal service though - about $13 from memory.

Based on my experiences with online purchases from the Far East over the years, I have never lost one item. If I opted for insurance each time, I would have lost out big. The other point to recognise is, Chinese postal service is very reliable in my experience, not to be placed in the same 3rd world category as Indonesia for instance. It's only the online vendor that one needs to be selective. I have had more issues with US postal/courier services in the past (disappearing laptops and damaged goods) than Chinese services.

GPSGuided wrote:I have had more issues with US postal/courier services in the past (disappearing laptops and damaged goods) than Chinese services.

+1

Never an issue with the 3 orders I have placed direct with zebralight. Or the countless other ebay etc orders from chinese sellers.

forest wrote:

GPSGuided wrote:I have had more issues with US postal/courier services in the past (disappearing laptops and damaged goods) than Chinese services.

+1

Never an issue with the 3 orders I have placed direct with zebralight. Or the countless other ebay etc orders from chinese sellers.

I have about 2 1/2 weeks before I head off, what has your experience been in regards to delivery times?

DannyS wrote:I have about 2 1/2 weeks before I head off, what has your experience been in regards to delivery times?

If you have a deadline and on a must have, then you have no choice but to pay premium. Didn't they offer DHL and EMS? Seems the transit time correlates with the price you pay. But more importantly, make sure they have your desired model in stock. Email or call them first!
http://www.zebralight.com/Free-Shipping ... _43-1.html
Then YYMV and never say never.

GPSGuided wrote:

DannyS wrote:I have about 2 1/2 weeks before I head off, what has your experience been in regards to delivery times?

If you have a deadline and on a must have, then you have no choice but to pay premium. Didn't they offer DHL and EMS? Seems the transit time correlates with the price you pay. But more importantly, make sure they have your desired model in stock. Email or call them first!
http://www.zebralight.com/Free-Shipping ... _43-1.html
Then YYMV and never say never.

Thanks for that, what is YYMV?

DannyS wrote:Thanks for that, what is YYMV?

Sorry, early morning typo. YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).

Lophophaps wrote:The above is quite interesting. It's a pity that my Petzl Tikka lasts so well, my third Petzl in about 30 years. The specs are similar to the torches cited above, except that there only two settings, on and off. Petzl have a Tikka XP2, a worry as support will stop in April 2014. Windows 7 is best, or Windows 8.1.

Not sure what you mean by support will stop in 2014?

forest wrote:Never an issue with the 3 orders I have placed direct with zebralight. Or the countless other ebay etc orders from chinese sellers.

Same, but it took zebralight China 7 months to process a warranty claim for me. Following them up to 3 months after posting they still had no record of receiving my light and I thought it was lost. Who can guess at what sort of system finally finds the light after 7 months and sends out the replacement?

So for warranty issues alone i will by from an Aussie distributor next time.

Top lights otherwise - thoroughly recommend them

[quote="nq111]Same, but it took zebralight China 7 months to process a warranty claim for me. Following them up to 3 months after posting they still had no record of receiving my light and I thought it was lost. Who can guess at what sort of system finally finds the light after 7 months and sends out the replacement?[/quote]
Just about every company have these "horror" CS stories from customers but the key question is prevalence.

The Petzl software works perfectly well under Windows 7.