Best Caving Light

[Oceanrower]

Monica, you wouldn't, by any remote chance, be connected to this company would you? 

let?s talk about lights 

Hmm. If you can't construct a decent, legible website, why would I trust you to construct a several hundred quid light?

 

[Roger W]

Hmm. If you can't construct a decent, legible website, why would I trust you to construct a several hundred quid light?

Might be someone who has good contacts with an ace Croatian lamp builder but who is not much good at designing websites and/or selling stuff...?

I'll stick with good old Mr Balch's dependable.  No treacherous shadows!

 

[Damo]

I used an el speleos today on a Ogof Ffynnon Ddu top to bottom trip and to be honest I thought it was awesome!!! Well chuffed with it!!

Be warned though, this lamp is rather heavy! So if you're looking for something light weight it probably isn't the lamp for you.

 

[kdxn]

Monica got the El Speleo information from the web and myself as I got the first of these into the UK.

The El Speleo website is simple with the email address upfront on the home page.
If people want to pay more for a light because the light manufacturer has spent a fortune on graphics and marketing then that is their choice.

I prefer value for money which the El Speleo certainly is if you need something for really big spaces. Worked great in Easegill - really lit the place up.

The weight is on a par with other bright caving headlamps that I have borrowed. There are plenty of Croatians and Italians with the El Speleo and some good comments about it on the NSS cavechat equipment forum.

For UK caving, the Custom Duo represents great value.

I am not associated with Jeja who makes the El Speleo or for that matter with Bif who does the Custom Duo.

I just think it is a good idea to make people aware of lighting options like this thread does - choice is good - it drives development and that benefits us all.

 

[kdxn]

In the interests of presenting further options.
Petzl has a new version of the Trios helmet/headlamp for 2013.

http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/new-2013-products/caving

Also revising their ascenders but maybe that should be another thread......

 

[droid]

The El Spelio is about the same price as a MagnumStar.

The MagnumStar is brighter, has more lighting options and the builder lives 20 miles from me. No contest.

And I don't need to wear cool sunglasses to use it.... 8)

 

[Mike Hopley]

The MagnumStar is brighter, has more lighting options...

The MagnumStar sounds ludicrously bright (3500 lumens), which makes me wonder: do you need a wheelbarrow to transport the battery?

 

[droid]

No.

The battery box is a cut down Oldham.
Weighs a lot less than the old Lead-acids....

 

[monica]

The El Spelio is about the same price as a MagnumStar.

...i dont know,  ?170  direct purchase for the light 

 

[monica]

more caving  product


http://www.mastrel.it/index.php?sel=4&lang=it

 

[moorebooks]

I have one of Roy Fellows Trigon lights - its superb its incredibly bright if you want to fry bats but in big chambers you need it on the lower settings its also perfectly practical. In Roy yopu have a long term underground explorer who knows what he's doing and field tests his kit

http://www.ledcaplamps.com/

Mike

 

[droid]

The El Spelio is about the same price as a MagnumStar.

...i dont know,  ?170  direct purchase for the light 

$400 is a bit more than ?170, Monica.

 

[moorebooks]

Ok Could people let me know what's available and what they think is the best out there!

I currently have a Duo.

shame you haven't include Roy Fellows lamps which in order we could vote on them too

Mike

 

[gav2pac]

i also have a roy fellows trigon light, had it over a year and its been fantastic

 

[BernardPage]

The Elspeleo site is the US importer, this gives full details of lamp package for $400 (http://elspeleo.com/)  The lamp now has 6 flood modes and 3 spot. - If you purchase direct from Jeja (elspeleo@gmail.com) in Croatia  it will cost about ?180 depending on exchange rates (230 euro). You will need to use Paypal and it will probably be cheaper to avoid using their currency exchange rates by using your credit card exchange rates.  The package includes lamp and battery unit, charging lead and postage but you will need to purchase  your own charger.  Additional battery packs are 70 euro. As Croatia is currently outside the EU you may also be stung for VAT .

 

[Huge]

I've been looking for a new light for a while and have read this thread and others on the subject with interest. Unfortunately I still haven't found the ideal light.

The super lights (Nora, Scurion etc.) are all out of my price range.

I need a complete light so that rules out all the LED conversion modules (Pitlamp, Bisun etc.). I do have an old headset but it's so bashed up I wouldn't want to put an expensive piece of electronics in it. I could buy a better headset but then getting hold of a battery box doesn't seem to be easy. Plus I just want to buy a light, not build one.

The Chinese made mining lights all seem to have spot beams and I hate caving with a spot. Also they are not that bright and there may be some reliability issues.

That leads me to Roy Fellows lights. They are a reasonable price, bright, have flood beams as well as spots and come as a complete light package. I just don't need the performance of his top end lights (the Trigon and the Magnum Star) and so can't justify the cost (which is significantly less than the super lights). And so the Ecostar XML is the model I've been looking at. It's plenty bright enough, comes with a small and light battery pack which still gives a good duration and a charger. But what you can't do, which is standard on most of the other lights, is have the spot and wide beams on together to produce a pleasant and useful beam shape. It's one or the other which, when there's a better option, is a bit annoying.

For me, the 'best caving light' would have the following features.

1. Cost about ?150 at most.
2. Come as a complete lamp with battery and charger.
3. Have Spot and Wide beams with at least three power settings for each.
4. Have the ability mix the two beams at different powers.
5. Be bright but doesn't have to be ridiculously bright so could use LEDs that are not the latest technology so could therefore save costs to keep the price down.

If I've missed something I'd be realy greatful if someone would let me know.

Huge.

 

[jarvist]

It definitely sounds like a LED conversion is the way forwards for you - using a 2nd hand Duo or Oldham / Speleotechnics insert saves ?100s with respect to the tooling of a new Aluminium enclosure. Both Duos and Oldhams are rugged and cave-tested bits of technology.
I'm not sure what the supply of (the higher quality) Oldham headsets is like now, and certainly the Petzl Zoom battery boxes are getting very rare.

As far as I'm aware, the Cree XPG LED (used in both the Bisun and Pitlamps) are the most efficient commercialised LEDs at Low to Medium powers.

For 3 + 4 I'd definitely suggest a Bisun (the new Duo module, or the P51 Oldham insert), they're incredibly flexible - I use the same lamp when I'm dashing around Yorkshire like a flaming Christmas tree on rechargeables, and when eking out a multi-day camping trip on a flatcell.

For 2, Bisun do a high capacity NiMh battery pack + charger, but a good set of AAs (I recommend Eneloops) and an intelligent charger are the cheapest option.

In summary I'd suggest you contact Pitlamp / Bisun directly and see if they have any 'complete packages' they could sell you, or recommended places to get a 'donor' light.

 

[And]

Yes, a Duo with a Custom Duo insert sounds a good bet. I use the standard 14 led Duo, which it is sufficient for my needs, and is more durable than it looks.

I'll upgrade with a Custom Duo at some point, but having a super bright light seems to take some of the atmosphere out of caving, as it makes chambers seem smaller than when your beam disappears into the gloom!

The Duo doesn't have its own battery and charger, you use AAs. Thats an advantage though, as you can use rechargeables, and if you forget to charge your batteries you can put a set of alkaline batteries in.

 

[Huge]

Cheers Jarvis and And, very useful posts.

I was actually thinking of contacting some of the  light manufacturers to see if they could help me with a complete light. Bisun had the option of a complete light based on the P51 module but this has now disapeared from their website (maybe because they don't have a supply of zoom battery boxes anymore?). It was a little expensive for me and I thought at the time, that the light was just more than I really needed.

Have just looked at the Bisun site, after reading your posts and the new duo insert looks interesting (not sure I entierly understand it's opertation but I got a general idea). Seems very flexible, which is nice but I'd have to get hold of a donor Duo at the right price and the fact that the insert comes with a mode to cope with a dodgy switch says a lot about Petzl's repuation for it's electrics. Plus I'd need to add the cost of some eneloops and a quality charger. With the insert costing ?75, I'd need to get the Duo, batteries and charger for ?75 as well to hit my price limit. I'll have to check it out.

 

[paul]

FWIW, Inglesport had a couple of old Petzl Duo headsets, without battery box or anything - just the bare wires sticking out, for sale on the counter at the weekend (25/8/12) for ?10.00 each.