New Petzl Ultra Belt Head Lamp

[Mats Roing]

Has anyone got their hands of a demo of this new head lamp. Supposedly it gives off 350 lumens and is powered by six 3W LEDs. Some serious power there for which advantages I don't need to emphasize.

Some pix and info can be found here:
http://flashlight-forums.com/index.php/topic,6165

The price is way up there.......but how much can switching on the "sun" during night be worth to you? How much would it help a S&R team?

I'm a big fan of the Stenlight which is powered by two 3W LEDs: http://www.stenlight.com/
This lamp is designed for cavers but they are working on a headband.....I made my own since I didn't want to wait for their product testing.

So I'm very curioius what this new Petzl with three times the power can do....

 

[cbcbd]

While I didn't get to use it in the field, the Petzl rep brought one in couple weeks ago for us to check out. Its actually pretty light on your head for what you get - this with the regular battery pack on your head, not belt. And yeah, it is veeery bright.
I mean, it is what it is - a high quality very powerful headlamp for those that need a really bright light at night - targeting outdoor niches, like orienteering races and such.

But it's really not too bulky and they have lots of extras you can buy for it, like the bigger battery, a backpack, and some other little things I can't recall.

And yeah, pricey at $450... but then again that's also what you pay for high quality and bright night biking lights.

 

[DougPaul]

If you compare this light to the Princeton Tec Apex, the heat sink looks rather small. If it is indeed too small, the thermal protection circuit will have to reduce the brightness after a short period.

The PT Apex is known to be able to operate at 3W continuously. http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/pt_apex.htm

(Inadequate heatsinking is a flaw in the BD Icon design--they advertise a 3W LED, but only run it at ~1.8W, according to my measurements.)

Doug

 

[bikehikeskifish]

And yeah, pricey at $450... but then again that's also what you pay for high quality and bright night biking lights.

I have such cycling light - a NightRider Digital w/ 3 settings, using NiMH battery and a 12W halogen lamp. It's very useful for cycling at night when going 20+ MPH means you have seconds or less to avoid road hazards. For straight hiking, I haven't needed to see any further than my Petzl Tikka Plus. This lamp would not cut it road riding at speed. I could see adding it while MTBing at night so I can turn my head and look a bit ahead and around the corner. I can't see using it that way on the road. I've never been left wanting the lamp on my head either -- it just blinds drivers, and the beam is much less steady and more distracting. (My NightRider does have a helmet mount.)

Tim

 

[DougPaul]

I have such cycling light - a NightRider Digital w/ 3 settings, using NiMH battery and a 12W halogen lamp. It's very useful for cycling at night when going 20+ MPH means you have seconds or less to avoid road hazards.

I have a similar bike light and agree. One cannot see the hazards at an adequate distance with less light while at speed. (In my case, the hazard is often a human in dark clothing.)

For straight hiking, I haven't needed to see any further than my Petzl Tikka Plus. This lamp would not cut it road riding at speed.

Agreed here too, except for me it is a PT Aurora at a low setting. However, for night skiing, a bright light is again essential. I've used a 1W LED light-- the 1.8W BD Icon or the 3W PT Apex would be better. (The PT Apex puts out as much light as my 10W halogen bikelight. My new 3W LED NiteRider MiNewt X2 bike light puts out a bit more.)

There is another set of issues--beamwidth (shape) and sidespill. The bikelights are designed to have a bright center with a gradual taper off to a smooth sidespill (so you can see things to the side). The Icon beam is rather narrow with a good sidespill and the Apex has a somewhat broader beam with a poor sidespill. The Petzl Ultra appears to be designed to be bright with a wide beam and sidespill. (I'd have to see the actual light to get a good idea of how good or bad they actually are.)

Doug

 

[Jay H]

As a bike commuter, I've tried a lot of lights, had a Marwi Kamikazi dual beam 12W spot+ 15w flood (standard bulbs) for a bit, made my own battery pack after the original battery died, but recently, I've used my BD Icon on the 3W LED for my commute (usually predawn darkness in the winter months). I find it adequate for my use because I intimately know every pothole and road obstacle on my commute, I know places where I have to be careful and on my MTB, I don't ever go much faster than 17mph except on the downhill which fortunately, is mostly free of potholes or I know which part of the road to stay on.

I'd love to get those $300+ lights but there are always other things I need and I don't feel the need for my commute to have anything better as what I have works fine. Most of the time, my light is to be seen, not to see anyway.

Jay

 

[SAR-EMT40]

Has anyone got their hands of a demo of this new head lamp. Supposedly it gives off 350 lumens and is powered by six 3W LEDs. Some serious power there for which advantages I don't need to emphasize.

So I'm very curioius what this new Petzl with three times the power can do....

I saw one of these Petzls at a Emergency Medicine conference a month ago. Wicked light but I considered the price unreasonable for a camping light. I also don't have a need when camping to be able to do a deep space search for incoming asteroids or signal the shuttle.

As a technology demonstrator it was pretty cool.

Keith

 

[Mats Roing]

I also don't have a need when camping to be able to do a deep space search for incoming asteroids or signal the shuttle.

For most uses I agree it's overkill......a price you can get an excellent 4-season tent for.....specifically other than for biking I consider the best night uses for it would be:
* Search & Rescue (with emphasis on the search part)
* Trail Running
* Route Finding

Especially when you're getting tired and the senses might not be at 100%....

Not the kind of light you want to have on full beam when walking to the John at 3am in a crowded campground

 

[DougPaul]

specifically other than for biking I consider the best night uses for it would be:
* Search & Rescue (with emphasis on the search part)
* Trail Running
* Route Finding

Other possible uses:
* mountain biking (might be overkill for road biking)
* fast night skiing (don't need much for level kick-and-glide)
* caving

and last but not least:
* blinding everyone you meet

Doug

 

[Mats Roing]

and last but not least:
* blinding everyone you meet
Doug

Don't forget to wear your shades when in the woods at night

I wonder if you can easily put a red glass on it. Might be that the red light is so bright it would work fine anyway.......only prob would be if biking and someone thinks you're the tail light......

 

[DougPaul]

I wonder if you can easily put a red glass on it. Might be that the red light is so bright it would work fine anyway.......only prob would be if biking and someone thinks you're the tail light......

The problem with that approach is that you go to a lot of trouble to create white light and throw non-red parts away. (A white LED is actually a blue LED with phosphors to convert some of the blue to red and green to make something that appears white to the eye.) It is much more efficient just to use a red LED in the first place...

Some headlamps also include a red LED and a mode in which only it is on. Doesn't seem to have caught on in the hiking headlamp market...

Doug

 

[Jay H]

I don't find a super bright light that useful for road biking, Even on a moonlit night in nowhere, America, I find that a spot beam with sufficient wattage is good enough to road bike by. A mtb would require both a wider and a spot beam for optimum coverage, a floodlight on the handlebar to show low lying trees and a good idea of where to go and a spot beam on the helmet to focus on where you are headed and provide light to bike by. There is usually enough ambient light to bike by, even on my winter bike commute with the shorter days, I find myself using cars passing me and using that as a "preview" of what's ahead. The worst part is really oncoming cars headlamps, where I am on my bike, I can get blinded by their regular lowbeams...

Jay

 

[bikehikeskifish]

A lot depends on the roads / area you are riding through. If there is a lot of ambient light, and then trees, or more than occasional cars passing by, I find that the night vision goes to h-e-double-toothpicks pretty fast and so I like a bright light. My usual routes have taken me through brightly-lit city streets, and rural country roads. The bright light not only helps me see, but be seen among the other lights on the road.

When I get out into "constant" light conditions, I can get away with the lower intensity settings more easily.

I agree about the headlamp / spot on the helmet when MTBing -- that's the only time I like a second light or one that is mounted on my head/helmet.

Tim

 

[DougPaul]

A lot depends on the roads / area you are riding through.

Agreed. I often bike on a paved rails-to-trails path. There are spots with essentially no artificial light and tree cover which can get very dark. I find that I need a ~10W incandescent/~3W LED light so that I can see pedestrians in dark clothing far enough ahead that I don't risk a collision.

I only use a small light (PT Aurora) on my helmet, primarily so I can read my cyclometer.

The worst part is really oncoming cars headlamps, where I am on my bike, I can get blinded by their regular lowbeams...

Car low beams have a controlled pattern which attempts to keep the light below the eyelevel of oncoming drivers. Most bike lights do nothing to protect the eyes of oncoming drivers/bikers and are extremely blinding too.

FWIW, I often run with two lights--a very narrow beam aimed in the distance and a broader beam aimed for the midground. I usually turn the distance beam off when I see an oncoming cyclist. There is another cyclist who blocks the light with his hand as he approaches and passes.

Doug

 

[jniehof]

Most bike lights do nothing to protect the eyes of oncoming drivers/bikers and are extremely blinding too.

The typical handlebar mount doesn't help. They're good for "be seen" headlights, but "see" headlights should be mounted low. I use a Minoura swing grip to drop about a foot.

 

[DougPaul]

The typical handlebar mount doesn't help. They're good for "be seen" headlights, but "see" headlights should be mounted low. I use a Minoura swing grip to drop about a foot.

I doubt that that makes much difference. The light also needs a sharp cutoff on the upper portion of the beam to keep it out of oncoming cyclists' and drivers' eyes. The only light that I know of which has this cutoff is the CatEye HL-EL500 which is only a 1W LED light with a very narrow beam.

Doug

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I agree with Doug

My NightRider Digital Pro 6 (15W, halogen) sits 39" above the ground. My Honda's headlights are at 25" and my Subaru's are at 33". I'm sure an SUV will approach, or exceed, the 39" height on my bicycle, and I'm certain they are brighter than 15W.

I've set the angle so the spot of the beam forms an oval of about 4-5' long and 2-3' wide, about 17-22 feet ahead of the bike. I've watched where it hits the garage door on the flat part of the driveway. It's nowhere near blinding height or intensity.

If you have a blinding encounter with a bicycle headlight, it's because the rider has not positioned or angled it properly. The same happens when you get an ill-adjusted car headlight. I've asked other cars, at stop lights, and confirmed with my wife in her car, and nobody's said it was blinding at all, and likewise they've all said it was quite visible. I've had close encounters during the day, but never at night.

Mounted on the handle bars gives me instant access to dim it, block it, adjust the tilt, etc.

Tim