Hi guys,

Appreciate this question has probably been asked to absolute death but I've been reading through a lot of old posts and there are twice as many answers as posts asking the question.

What are the best options for a good, budget lamp that isn't going to get left in the dust by others on an average trip?

I've been looking at fenix lamps but there are so many models  and flavours that its left me throughly confused, any that jump out that are cave suitable whilst still being reasonably cheap?

Petzl stuff seems better suited for backup lights without spending ?100+

Eventually plan on investing in something really decent but for now will have to be decidedly budget.

I've been keeping my eyes on ebay etcetera for used stuff for reasonable prices but nothing has jumped out yet.

Its for caving in the near future and also to use at a mates house as he's recently dug through the floor of his (quite old) house and there's a sump about 80ft long that needs clearing through thats all silted up so I've been roped into that.

Alternatively does anyone know of a good source for older, possibly obsolete stuff that I can tinker into submission and make something passable out of?

Thanks

Not sure what budget you're looking at.  If you can get hold of an old Petzl Duo or caplamp, Customduo sells some pretty good upgrade kits - http://www.customduo.co.uk/

To give you a guidance.  I've built my own over the years but you're still looking at a reasonable outlay.  Haven't worked it out properly but guessing ?20 in components (led driver, leds, lens, etc) plus some form casing (e.g. old caplamp).  A decent battery box is one of the harder things to source.  Anyway my point is you probably couldn't build a decent one yourself (in low volume) for much under ?40.

In all honesty, probably about ?50-?60 at the moment, and then whatever I put together with that will eventually turn into my backup light. No duos but I could probably lay my hands on an old FX2 eventually (in my mums loft, cant visit anytime soon) and work something out with that. 

Thanks for the advice, I get what you're saying and appreciate it, my father in law is an electronics engineer and has a shed full of bits and pieces to pilfer so that would knock some of my costs down I reckon.

The Fenix HL55 is pretty well thought of and you should be able to pick one up for around ?50. Takes a single 18650 battery and lasts around 10 hours on the medium setting.

If possible get one without the branded Fenix 18650 (as they're really expensive) and buy a protected Panasonic or LG cell instead.

B

Consensus amongst my contemporaries is that the Fenix HL55 is the best go-to light that combines value for money with longevity. I think it sells for ~?70 (with battery charger, essential if you've never had an 18650 battery before) from reputable kit retailers. It uses 18650 cells, and has enough battery for a good length trip (8-10 hours) on a decent light setting, and a second battery doubles that length without weighing you down. They're hardy lamps, I've seen them survive bumps, scrapes, and free-dives.

Bear in mind this was the lamp of choice nearly 5 years ago now, and none of the dozen-or-so people I know that got one have found any need of replacing them, despite hard usage (other than the lucky ones who bought a Scurion after a windfall!). However Fenix may have come up with a better model by now (I know the HL65 is now out there) so perhaps shop around for something newer if it's worth it.

Whatever you end up buying please consider using one of the many local retailers we have here in the UK instead of shopping around and getting a cheap chinese import (with a dodgy battery, no doubt!) It may set you back an extra fiver or so but it will mean a lot more to the retailer, and with the UK ports in their current disarray I wouldn't be surprised if we were out of lockdown before you managed to get a cheap lamp delivered from China!

I am currently feeling very kindly towards UKC following Janes offer of hosting a thread for AN refugees, and am wondering if any interest in a paper on a DIY lamp build based on my old EcoStar?

I also have quite a few Oldham headsets and other stuff and a quantity of custom made front seals for Oldham headsets. I could put the whole lot into a box and drop at say the PDMHS mining museum at Matlock Bath. Allocation one unit a person plus the seal with say a fiver for PDMHS?

If just a couple of people are interested in the paper I will start it and then sort the drop of parts when the lockdown is lifted and the museum reopens.

You can't go wrong with tried and tested Fenix HL55/HL60R (you'll need a charger if you opt for the HL55).

But if you want something a bit different (and cheaper!), I'd recommend the Skilhunt H04 (flood), or WowTac A2S (flood and spot).

You may find Parametrek useful for finding lights, although for some reason it doesn't list Fenix products.
http://flashlights.parametrek.com/index.html

P.S Don't forget a backup light!

royfellows said:

I am currently feeling very kindly towards UKC following Janes offer of hosting a thread for AN refugees, and am wondering if any interest in a paper on a DIY lamp build based on my old EcoStar?

I also have quite a few Oldham headsets and other stuff and a quantity of custom made front seals for Oldham headsets. I could put the whole lot into a box and drop at say the PDMHS mining museum at Matlock Bath. Allocation one unit a person plus the seal with say a fiver for PDMHS?

If just a couple of people are interested in the paper I will start it and then sort the drop of parts when the lockdown is lifted and the museum reopens.

Click to expand...

Yes please Roy, I?d be grateful for one and more than happy to donate. Would also be very interested in your paper.

I'll second the wowtac great light for the price plus you can charge the battery with a usb cable. Upgraded from there to an even more niche find... The Fireflies PL47G2 runs off of a 21700 though

JackSherlock said:

You can't go wrong with tried and tested Fenix HL55/HL60R (you'll need a charger if you opt for the HL55).

But if you want something a bit different (and cheaper!), I'd recommend the Skilhunt H04 (flood), or WowTac A2S (flood and spot).

You may find Parametrek useful for finding lights, although for some reason it doesn't list Fenix products.
http://flashlights.parametrek.com/index.html

P.S Don't forget a backup light!

Click to expand...

If you want something that will be useful as a backup later, why not go for something like a Pixa 2 or Pixa 3 (?42 or ?58 respectively from Starless River). If you want to use it on a longer trip, you can always carry spare batteries as it's on AA's. They come with a bracket to helmet mount, or a headband and are absolutely bomb proof.

Building your own light from the FX2 would be a great option for your main light, but it's going to be a project and therefore little use in the short term.

Do you know what, ignore all the suggestions above and get yourself to Amazon, that well renowned supplier of high quality caving equipment.

You can buy yourself a 10,000 lumen headlamp for ?15.91 with free postage. That's 10 times as bright as a Scurion and a 30th of the price! What could possibly go wrong?


https://www.amazon.co.uk/TDC-10000-Lumens-Modes-Front-Caving/dp/B07CDW7XG6/ref=sr_1_10?adgrpid=71094797972&dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3smABhCjARIsAKtrg6LGWGgI6u7m8Jcp61v_Qyf2RMjJ8nrPJZ_3elmVQwp7zOEHRLlnrm4aAu-qEALw_wcB&hvadid=327363307345&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9045580&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=2064641870310546857&hvtargid=kwd-296910368579&hydadcr=28148_1724781&keywords=caving+lights&qid=1611846946&sr=8-10&tag=googhydr-21

Just make sure to charge it in a fire-proof container and you'll be fine 

https://www.tgomagazine.co.uk/news/warnings-after-exploding-head-torch-battery-starts-fire-at-glenmore-lodge/?fbclid=IwAR0wFR_gZyVt_px-8OTOkqGZ1KWt5crG1VnwjksXhUMRLW-2uL0pZnXT8Os

Thanks for all the answers guys, fenix HL55 seems like a good choice then, will watch some reviews before biting the bullet but it seems pretty ideal for me at the moment, good shout regarding getting a different branded battery, benfool, cheers

A_northerner, cheers mate, you've put my mind at ease regarding the reliability of them! And I normally buy from UK retailers if I have the option anyway, ill need it within a week or so anyway so would have to be regardless. Haha, and scurion would be the dream light, there's another high budget light (that I cant remember the name of right now) based out of colorado that looks pretty sexy too, same aircraft ally and ridged design as a scurion but its rectangular, looks very nice.

Royfellows, sounds interesting mate, love this attitude with cavers, its very community driven and selfless, I cant think of any other sport I've been involved in with the same attitudes, good of you

Jacksherlock, just when I thought I had my mind made up you come and give me 2 more options lol, the 2 lamps you mentioned look surprisingly good for the price, similar looking to the zebra lights a lot of Americans use, and easy to attach with rifle torch mounts, hmm.. choices haha.
I have a petzl tikkina as a backup light at the moment, its not very strong hence why I'm looking at other options but it'll do for a backup if I keep it in a drybag.

Petehall, I was looking at the pixa models but from what I've read they are very low lumen? I didn't realise the 3 was so cheap, I've only seen it for 100 plus most places, I know the 1 is not fit for purpose and 2 was pushing it but if the 3 is that cheap its a real contender. Yeah, I cant access it until March anyway but will probably sort something out with that at some point, although I'll have something better by then in which case if anyone here could make use of it they're more than welcome to it.

Lmao! Top notch piece of kit, that hope nobody has taken one of those underground, scary thing is it LOOKS alright, like if you don't know any better that thing looks the business.. scary.

I'd recommend the fenix HL55 as well - my daugther uses one underground.

Zebralight are just as good (I haven't checked if this website offers good prices, but they do show the range):
https://www.flashaholics.co.uk/flashlights/zebralight/head-torches/

I'm a fan of the old Duo and upgrade route.

I'm not a Fenix fan, I just think they are a little over sold and that should be discouraged here when recommending lamps in my opinion.  A caving lamp that claims performance higher than it is capable is a risk unlike a head torch sold to someon

With a father in law who studied electronics I would be very tempted with a self build device, a real chance to learn some stuff and with the offer from lamp build supremo Roy, I would go that way.

OK you got it, but take a week or so.

Ianball, yeah I know I've got a good opportunity here and I definitely plan on utilising that resource at some point but the timeframe won't work out for my needs at the moment unfortunately :/ definitely in the future will look into that for sure. Had a look on ebay and there's only one old duo that I can see, I imagine that it will shoot up in price toward the end of the auction too but I'll keep checking every now and then for bargains - Are there any other places for used stuff I could be looking that you guys use?

This forum is pretty good though perhaps I need to stop extoling the virtues of the duo upgrade route if you don't have a Duo.
My post earlier was missing something.  I meant to say that a caving lamp should be more accurately advertised than something you use for taking the dog out or similar.


I wonder if Inglesport have spare broken sets or similar as they hire them out.

Yeah, if i already had one that would be an excellent option though! I get what you're saying mate, I don't think there are many lamps that are designed purely with caving in mind that aren't in the ?200+ price bracket unfortunately.

Always been a fan of getting my hands on broken kit in all fairness as I love tinkering and refurbishing things. Would it be as easy as messaging them and seeing if they've got some old bits and pieces they'd let go cheap? Can't help.but feel I'll get told to sod off lol.

The whole point of the Duo inserts is they are designed for caving. The V42 is about the same level as a Scurion 700 in most respects in my opinion. We use a V42 and a Scurion 1500 at the moment so I get to compare. And you can get it in warm white, which is a deal clincher.

A Duo sold for a quid earlier this month. It even seemed to work. Patience is the thing.