Have had a Zipka and Tikka for years now, but  these will probably be handed down to the kids and I fancy something new and have wanted something with a bit more throw/power for walking/climbing after dark/finding your way to the pisser,  as well as just reading in the tent.

The Actik seems to fit the bill.

Just wondered what folks have gone for.  Zebra, Fenix?

I'd prefer not to have a rear battery pack.

Have you seen the new TIKKA, 200 lumens ?30  (?24 from wiggle)

saw one liked it bought it ( however i didnt need anymore headtorches )

Yeah - seems good. My other half would certainly like the blue/white colour for her.

Was wondering about some of the fenix ones.  HL50 ?? anyone any experience?

Tikkina comes in pink for her ?  150 lumens
cant help on the fenix though

The Fenix is fabulous for the price, even with the cost of the battery as extra. My only criticism is that the light produced is very much a 'spot', and in large passages it can be a bit disconcerting, though I suspect the body design wouldn't allow a larger defocused reflector. In normal-size passages, you won't notice. I still prefer my Stenlight for the main light as the light field is so soft, and I use the Fenix as a backup around my neck, and for 'spotting' high or distant stuff. Handy as a downward-facing 'crawl light' too, though I have hit myself in the teeth a couple of times crawling too vigorously! And obviously with both lamps on full power, that's about 1400 lumens, which is good enough for me.

Are you thinking just for outside or also for caving?

I've used a Zebralight H51 for a few years now and also a few versions of the Tikka, from the old 5mm LEDs till the new ones. I like the Tikkas for their simplicity, but hate the 3x aaa battery configuration. But as you've used them you probably know all od their pros and cons.

As for the Zebra, it's a great light, had/have a few of them, works on a single cell, long run times and a plendora of modes, although some don't like the UI.

I find it ok, click for high, long press for low, double click for medium.

If you take it caving, watch out to keep the threads clean, as if you get them dirty, you might lose contact and it won't work.
The other problem I had while SRTing was that sometimes when I was climbing, I would unscrew the battery cover in contact with the rope. But that's an easy fix with a bit of ducttape over the cover or simply turning the headlamp the other way around.

I have a Fenix HL 55, which is self-contained (no separate battery pack) and uses one 18650 battery. I find the light to be relatively diffuse, and good for ~9 hours on setting 3, which has a putative 165 lumens. The second setting ? 55 lumens ? would, I imagine be more than adequate for reading in a tent, while the first setting (10 lumens) might just suffice for that purpose. It also has a 420-lumen setting, which I find is good for 3 hours (plus a 'turbo' that wouldn't last very long).

(I think that the HL50 has a separate battery pack, but otherwise a very similar specification.)

The HL50 is the AA/CR123 version. I got one to replace an old Tikka and have been very impressed. I carry it as a backup light all the time caving, and use it as my general head torch and as a bike light. The low setting is very low, which I think is great for a backup light and for reading etc. The highest setting seems mega-bright given I only run it off a single rechargeable AA. Certainly much brighter than my old Tikka. Really rugged too.

Cheers all,

Think I might get a Tikka for H and treat myself to a HL50.  8)

SamT said:

Cheers all,

Think I might get a Tikka for H and treat myself to a HL50.  8)

Click to expand...

A super lamp with headband is the stoots - Hekla. Price is a bit higher but you get much more

http://www.stootsconcept.fr/index.php/lampe-frontale/200-lampe-frontale-hekla.html

There is also a caving vesion named the calderra (http://www.stootsconcept.fr/index.php/lampe-frontale/199-caldera.html)

I've been tempted with this light for a few years now since you showed us the Evomax, every time I think about it there is a new version out.  I'll probably get one when my current light dies, though my dodgy Nova by speleo technics seems to hanging on for a longtime.

Now it's the Hexla and the Caldera, 195 Euro for the Caldera with a choice of colour and even up to 8 characters of text on it.

I have the Fenix HL50, it is very tough, waterproof and works well as a caving back up lamp, as well as for camping etc. I use it with the CR125 batterys, but with the included adaptor with run on standard AA batterys which area available anywhere in the world.

Ian Ball said:

I've been tempted with this light for a few years now since you showed us the Evomax, every time I think about it there is a new version out.  I'll probably get one when my current light dies, though my dodgy Nova by speleo technics seems to hanging on for a longtime.

Now it's the Hexla and the Caldera, 195 Euro for the Caldera with a choice of colour and even up to 8 characters of text on it.

Click to expand...

The person who makes these lamps (a Frenchmen) is in close contact with a clubmember from Avalon. The evolution from the evomax up to the Caldera now is partially the result of the input from this clubmember. He (and other clubmembers) tested the different version over the years on different kind of of trips. From a few hours digging trips up to multi day underground expedition trips. One of the biggest benefits of the Caldera is the weight. The larger high end lamps (Scurion, Elspeleo, Rude, Phaeton,...) are much heavier and on long trips they can cause neckpain / stress.

When my Stenlights dies (soon).... the choice of a new lamp will be difficult (or not )

On a different tack: Nitecore HC30.

Has a clip to use as a breast pocket lamp.