I'm looking to buy a helmet & lights and from speaking to other members in our club (York University) and by trying out the setup I've decided to go for a helmet just with two dive lights attatched (with no other lights) as this gives me a balanced helmet with a backup. I've read quite a few good reviews of the Princeton Impact XL dive light but not really in a caving context! I was just wondering if anyone has any views if they have used them at all/if they've been with other people who use them?

Seen these used, they give good light on fresh alkaline batteries but dim really quickly and you spend a long time with not much light.

And with rechargables they are pants.

I've got a couple of these that I use for diving and they've been fine. Take them apart and dry them out after each trip and they should just keep going. On diving trips I cave in on these and they're OK for this.

Personally don't think a pair of them is the best choice for general caving though. You end up with a relatively wide and heavy helmet compared to traditional caving lamp/small back-up combination and you're not saving much money. The other thing to think about is that caving with just one of them on means that the light is slightly to the side which is odd so you'll probably cave with both of them on at the same time. If you change the batteries together and then keep them on simultaneously the batteries in both will in theory die at the same time. So, you've possibly got less redundancy than with a standard main light/back-up. I'd rather cave on my 14 LED Duo with a small waterproof back-up given a choice.

Jules.

I also suppose that the beam is quite focused. I prefer a light with a wide angle beam like the Scurion (but significantly more expensive than your suggestion). I also would say that the built in LED is a bit outdated in regards of efficiency. But I also don't know a low budged LED light which is perfect for caving. Something that gets close might be a "Zebralight" http://www.zebralight.com/ but it runs only on one cell, so run time is limited and you'll have to change cells after 2 hours on maximum setting. I've ordered one (but haven't received it yet) and I can report my impressions on that light, if you are interested. It will get my back up light if I'm pleased with it.

i have one of thiese and also a cheeper dive light on my helmet, i also use a fx3 as my main light. im quiet happy caving on just the xl in most cavingh situations , it gives a reasonably wide beam but not much distance - the halogen in the fx3 does this much better , using the dive light as a backup / main light is ok for me. just take some spare batteries

I too would encourage you to think again about the two dive light set-up. The extra time you'll spend carrying your helmet through narrow passages means that you're far more likely to drop it, therefore losing both your light sources IMO!

Duo 14s seem to be de-rigeur in the Dales at the moment - probably with good reason!

George.

as has been discussed in other topics.
i've been caving on
1 x impact
1 x atttitude
1 x tikka plus / myo XP

for a few years now. not had any problems

know a few people who slag off Duo's - in Austria one of the guys I was with decided to change his batteries. He opened the battery box, dropped his helmet and then picked it up. When he then put the batteries in and closed the lid... nothing!

We couldn't figure what it was, probably a bent contact or something. But they are a 'packaged light' - ie. you couldn't get into it to fix it. With my old FX2, 7 led reflector and ?5 battery box - I could always get inside, see where the contacts were - snoopy loop or cable tie it in place if you broke something etc... Basically I was a bit more 'hands-on'.

Kind of depends on the caving you do as to whether a slightly wider helmet is an issue - I've found it isn't too bad normally (when caving with diving lights on) and you don't have to take your lid off too often.

Having said that, for dry caving I like a centre mounted lamp and as a back up I like the Princeton Tec Attitude (the 3 led version) as it is small and compact. 

00msims said:

I'm looking to buy a helmet & lights and from speaking to other members in our club (York University) and by trying out the setup I've decided to go for a helmet just with two dive lights attatched (with no other lights) as this gives me a balanced helmet with a backup. I've read quite a few good reviews of the Princeton Impact XL dive light but not really in a caving context! I was just wondering if anyone has any views if they have used them at all/if they've been with other people who use them?

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I've just got back from a trip to the end of a Mendip cave.  All 5 Impacts I took were shagged - previously I've used these a lot so I'm hoping the cells weren't charged properly.  I was on borrowed lights from Sump 2 onwards.  For non-diving trips I prefer a centrally mounted cap lamp.

Chris J said:

But they are a 'packaged light' - ie. you couldn't get into it to fix it.

Click to expand...

Have to agree with chris on that one. once bust - its usually pretty terminal (see threads on the forums about trying to get into them without busting them).

Im starting to think though, if your not up to or into spending top whack for a scurion/stenlite then a duo is probably a reasonable alternative. If you cave regular, it will probably only last you a couple of years. Owners I have spoken to are happy with that though, esentially - they are cheap enough to just replace every few years once they're knackered.

Worth considering one of these though ..... http://www.ledcavinglamp.co.uk/

I trimed the cable on mine to allow the battery box to be helmet mounted. Very bright spot with a good throw and a decent spread so you can see yer feet. Very good value for money considering the intelligent charger is included in the price.