Johnny, lets see what other people think!.....

Now, i think 'Good' or 'Crap' are a bit limiting really. IMO, the Speleo Technics concept is fantastic, and I love my lamp for it's light weight and non restricitiveness in passages. BUT, they could be massively improved in terms of reliability- I've had lots of problems with the switch, shorting, stuff like that- flickering and dim light and intermittently not working. A pain in the arse, and not what I would expect from a 200 quid bit of kit.... :evil:

I agree
For innovation Speleotechnics are excellent, for quality of design they are poor (e.g. connector to battery and known switch problem), for quality of manufacture very poor (e.g. connectors not working first time and poor moulding/potting).

Jesus Johnny man, you've started a one man battle against
Speleotechnics :shock:

I for one would never wear a lead battery again. The FX-ION's are a great concept but perhaps they build quality isn't as good as others?

I'll email Speleotechnics and see if they fancy commenting on this matter.

Johnny said:

for quality of design they are poor (e.g. connector to battery and known switch problem),

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.

Are these problems major or can they can easily cured?

The one complaint i have about the fx-ion is that if your lying down and leaning back onto your helmet (I.E. waiting to pull out a drag tray) and lean on the battery/connection the light goes out, but then i guess its prob not the best idea to be crushing the battery.

I have the cheaper version Speleo Technics Headlite not the FX Ion. It is true that there are many problems but I also would not revert back to a heavy battery. Shaun & Keith at Hitch n' Hike think I am a nightmare. I have had my light for just over a year and already two resistors have gone. The first time it was fixed the second time I had my reflector & LED's replaced. I am currently having problems with the switch but this is something I have learnt to live with. I can usually get it working but I just make sure I carry reliable spare lighting just in case :!:

Ann said:

I can usually get it working but I just make sure I carry reliable spare lighting just in case :!:

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is this really a solution for your primary light source? i know lights "can" go... though my oldham t3 never has in over 3 years. it seems its every other day with some of my friends. i really like the idea of the smaller battery sized lamps but im not prepared to bodge.

At least they innovate (unlike British industry of the past). The connector does get a bit iffy with use (the bit which takes the most abuse) but you need to bend the metal pins back with a small screwdriver from time to time; also consider buying a new battery if you've been using one for several years. The Nova is solid state and the light it gives is impressive so there shouldn't be any problems with the reflector/switch etc..

Personally I believe Speleotechnics manufacture superb items of caving kit (it is easy to want more but that's human nature) and if you can do 200+ trips for less than £100 it's cheap as chips - the lightweight warmbac suits only last about 70 trips and they're about £70 so that's a pound a trip; reckon on wear and tear of your kit costing you about £3-£5 a go and include the lighting in your depreciation calculations.

If the light you're using is annoying you, buy another one.

Oh, and finally, if you don't care for Speleotechnics much then what else are you going to use? - Petzl?

I emailed Speleo Technics yesterday to draw attention to these discussions, but they've obviously not checked their mail, or are happy with things the way they are. If it was me, I'd be trying to sell my customer support a bit, but hey, what do I know?

Rah Rah - rant rant

you should have been stuck behind jonny on saturday when his main beam went out. I thought he was going to explode. - maybe we could strap him to that gritstone boulder you were having bother with mudman, then all shine you fx led lamps in his face and get the contacts to flicker anoyingly. The boulder would be no more.

Personally I think the build quality on the FX cap lamps is sh*t. The batteries them selves - not so sure. I agree with jonny that the strap/bungee is poor and could easily be re worked to provide a better solution.
a few quotes

The connector does get a bit iffy with use (the bit which takes the most abuse) but you need to bend the metal pins back with a small screwdriver from time to time

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I have had my light for just over a year and already two resistors have gone

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I am currently having problems with the switch

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lean on the battery/connection the light goes out,

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I've had lots of problems with the switch, shorting, stuff like that- flickering and dim light and intermittently not working

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Reliable then :shock: - just what you need 8 hours into a trip. I reckon a big box of matches would be more reliable. :wink:

my setups are as follows.

when I started caving (again) I had 3 oldam cap lamps kicking about in the cellar. Tough as old boots - all the contacts inside were stil perfect. First thing I did was connect one with a new oldam T3 - Ive put a 3 led backup bulb in that. The oldham is tough as old boots classic design that has seen thousands of cavers through thousands of caves over the last 30 years. I tend to use it for long wet sports trips. Weekends away in the dales/mendips etc.

For the second one - I bought a raylite about a year later - as jonny says tough and O have it as my digging lamp.

then for the last one - I bought a 7 led fx reflector - with a bit of jiggery pokery it fits nicely in an oldam caplamp. For power I just got a petzl 4.5v battery holder and bungied it on to the helmet at the back.
Cave mostly on the 7 leds. halogen for when I need to see far. perfect for really tight trips. Friends used this setup with great effect in mexico where they couldnt use carbide or charge batteries. Works well as a back up for carbide too.

I do find the led lights flaten the light quite a lot - you dont get the same diffinition on things. Especially mud err I mean sediments. The colour rendering is also washed out - everything just looks bluey white.

Anyway - F**k it - Im off to the dolomites tommorrow - climbing . no need for head lamps there (hopefully :shock

Anyone used the new speleo technics nova yet? Any good?

A mate experimented with a one of these super bright single LED's before the nova was made, without much success, but i think it was partly because it was not properly mounted or foccussed.

I like the idea of using a reed (magnetic) switch instead of a traditional switch.

stu said:

is this really a solution for your primary light source?

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:? No I agree it's not really a solution but I am happy that my spare lights would get me out and up to now I have only had to use them until I could manage to fiddle with my main one. I seem to be one of those unlucky people who have light trouble no matter what I use :!: Even before I took up caving seriously and went out with outdoor groups I always managed to get the light with the dud battery.

it will be interesting to hear form my friend upon her return from spain. she bought a fx headlite which died one week from new. guys at the shop replaced it quick smart. the light emitted was fantastic compared to my fugged up oldham and im really keen... but! i like things to work without any input from me. the more reports i hear (good and bad) the better idea i'll have.

Had my Nova for only two days but managed five trips with it already; the light from the LED is unlike the other LED lighting systems on the market - rather than being blue/white it is more white/yellow/pale green so doesn't make the cave "feel" any colder than it is. The chief advantages which are apparent so far are the magnetic switching which is simple to use (once you understand the sequence) and the 50m water resistancy which makes sump diving less hassle `cos you don't need to dry out the lamp afterwards (water used to get inside my other lamp) - also the light underwater and in the cave looks more "real" and gives a new and pleasing effect to the formations/water etc..

It's super lightweight too - and if you select the sequence properly you will still get an OK number of hours worth of light from it; my only niggle is that it probably isn't suitable for REALLY long trips underground (due to the power drainage of a 5W LED) unless you take spare batteries (which rather undermines the advantages of having a super lightweight unit in the first place). However, it's a damn sexy bit of kit and worth the money (which would you rather have.... twelve Chinese takeaways or a nice new bit of caving hardware?).

Rush out and buy yours now!

P.S. I'll let you know if it breaks down or develops a dicky connection!

sounds cool....shame i bought an fx-ion fairly recently.....

darn pity that cavers can't unite worldwide and purchase thru group techniques parts and materials of very high quality, with the goal of profit eliminated from that purchase; in order to build a very simple reliable brilliant system......sigh...........where's karl when you need him?.....sigh..... :shock:

Don't worry comrade, the revolution is coming....