Pixa 3 power consumption and battery life

[blackholesun]

Petzl give some numbers on their website for battery life, but for a notional 'standard' battery and state that the run times can be doubled with a 'rechargeable' battery. This isn't that great when trying to work out what would leave you or a hapless fresher with a dimming light.

I thought I'd actually measure it.

If you take 2900mAh batteries from a well known supplier, knock off a bit for manufacturer exaggeration, and remove another 20% from NiMH self discharge if they weren't charged within 24 hours of the trip, then you're left with 2000mAh to cave on. Ignoring the bit held in reserve for emergency lighting, this gives:

Flood only:        35 lm, 0.13 A, 15.4 hours
Flood and spot:  45 lm, 0.25 A, 8.0 hours
Spot only :        60 lm, 0.38 A, 5.3 hours

In short, with good, fresh batteries, charged the day or night before, you should be able to cave on the middle setting for most trips in the UK.

 

[simonsays]

I thought hapless freshers with dimming lights was all part of the fun.....

I have a pixa 2 that lives in my tackle sack as a backup.  Never used it myself although I have loaned it out a couple of times. Produces just about enough light to cave on (40 lumens) for at least 6 hours on a set of two AA alkalines before starting to dim over the next 4 or 5 hours.

If it wasn't quite as bulky I would wear it round my neck, its a nice bit of kit.