BigClive, you’re perfection man. Been watching your vids for years, do I know what’s going on, nah not really. But I do love taking stuff apart to see what’s inside as well, more so on the mechanical side of things. Your videos for some reason are so relaxing. You know your stuff, and can hear the pure joy and excitement in your voice when you’re doing surgery on these things. Love it, never stop!
I appreciate the feedback on this Headlamp. Due to your teardown and review of this brand , I ordered and now have used the 300 lumen version. I love it ! My model is the 40079 version. Thanks Big Clive for doing what you do.
I have been using the Energizer 350 lumen for the last few years and it has been very good. Takes batteries, so you can carry more with you. Dimming mode, IR twin lights plus a main clear led and two more independant frosted smaller white lights £15 on Amazon uk. Good vid.
Bought two of these on the back of this video (because Big Clive is never wrong)! Great job! The battery managed to last pretty much the whole day today on the 'medium' light setting while I did a bit of wiring. Have a second for my workshop which is great for working on cars. Unfortunately I was about a day late because presumably lots of others had the same idea as me and they were not that cheap on eBay lol
I recently bought a Nitecore NU17 which I was very impressed with. By far the best control scheme I’ve found. Just three modes, low med hi, starts on low. After a few seconds the next press will turn it off instead of cycling. It does have an sos mode by long pressing, but you won’t ever accidentally activate it which is wonderful. Rechargeable, very small, smaller than the ones you have there, bright, not too blue, and about £15.
I recently bought a new head light for a relatively cheap price(15€). I didn't think much of it, but I risked it anyways just to see. When I saw it in action though I was quite impressed. -It has a sensor to activate and deactivate the super bright main light, which also can be deactivated so that it works without the sensor. - it has an optional red light mode, which is great for fishing when you don't want to spook the fish, which is mainly why I bought it. -it also has several dimming settings and an "on/off mode" - but the most amazing thing that I found out about the lamp is, the rechargeable lipo battery pack is easily accessible, with just one click the back cover opens, and the battery pack is plugged in and not soldered in, which makes a battery swap super easy. They didn't even mention that feature on the packaging, but I think they should, because that's not so common to be able to swap the whole lipo pack in such an easy way. The importers brand is "EasyMaxx" but the problem is that I couldn't find it online, so I can't tell you where to get one unfortunately 😔
Always wondered why they called those packages blister packs. I would have thought laceration packs would have been more appropriate, given my experiences trying to open them.
Originally, blister packs were made like this but the cardboard at the back was perforated so you could easily push out your actual product. Over time, this was omitted. I think due to cost measures just so save a few 0.2 ct per unit... In Europe, pills are distributed in blister packs, too. You push them out through a blistering aluminum foil at the back which sometimes needs excessive force. In NZ, pharmacists push them out for you into a little container, useful for older patients who don't have the force in their hands to get to their important medication...
@@kyoudaikenI suspect the increased difficulty in removing items from packaging was intended as a theft deterrent. It’s harder to conceal an item in its packaging. Also, the packaging sometimes contains an alarm tag.
I highly recommend the Petzl Swift RL, which automatically adjusts the beam type and output power based on the reflected light, and I must admit that this system is very precise and sensitive. You can find many good deals for this model because people don't understand RL technology and think that this is thesama as FacetoFace which was implemented in Pixa series of Petzl headlamps. I have try many brands but I ALWAYS back to Petzl because of the quality of their products.
That, and Black Diamond. I actually even find Black Diamond slightly better, but they're basically on par with one another. The only thing I don't like about them is the lack of high power high battery capacity headlamps from either manufacturer. I occasionally go caving, and for that I need a headlamp with both a wide-angle dimmable floodlight and a powerful but dimmable focused beam for far away, and it needs to have as much battery capacity as possible which pretty much excludes AA and AAA batteries and only leaves 18650's. However there isn't a single headlamp from either Petzl or Black Diamond which fulfills that requirement, the few headlamps which do have a high power dimmable floodlight and beam light are not just incredibly expensive (€100-300), they only run on AAA or a small Li-Po as well which doesn't produce more than 1200-1500 mAh. Meanwhile my cheap Chinese headlamp does have all of these qualities, both the dimmable floodlight and beam light and it also takes a pair of 18650's which in my case are 3450 mAh a piece. But these headlamps being cheap-ish Chinese ones their quality is definitely inferior, and they're incredibly bulky, much more so than a comparable Western-made one. Fortunately I recently discovered Fenix headlamps and they do have almost all the required qualities and takes 18650 or even bigger Li-ion batteries, just not dual or triple batteries, but you can't have all it seems....
Look into higher end Sigma bicycle lights. Very interesting and impressive engineering (and mounting options). USB charging and they can be driven via an external powerbank. I’ve experimented with various lenses and the beam can be widened some simple optical wide angle adapters. You might be able to adapt smartphone lens adapters as well. They run about 2x what the Black Diamond (cheapest) lights cost. Random idea
I bought one of these for work after watching your teardown. Luckily, mine had no issues with casing flash against the battery, I did your mod and am very pleased with this light. Love all your videos. Keep up the great work.
you should upgrade to a 20Ah AGM strapped to your forehead. not only will it have crazy runtime but you'll also get a real bullsneck from wearing it. 🤣
Reading the "User Guide", it say "3W CREEE LED" on the front, but "3W CREE LED" on the back in the Specifications. So it might be a genuine CREE LED after all. My resistor is now desoldered and plastic bump smoothed out. Thank you for this advice🙂
I prefer headlights to. As a midnight gardener. That is when earwigs come out. I however hate the fact alot of headlights are designed to use alkaline. So what happens when you use a rechargeable? You obviously get a dimmer light. Mine uses 3 AAA with 2 white in parallel, or one red(ancient Brinkman brand). In the many years I have used it. I had to replace both white leds, and the headband is no longer elastic. I have yet to modify the limiting resistors for more brightness, or use a 4 series AA holder with extension wire for rechargeable use. Maybe also convert to 4 D cells because frequently recharging AAA cells gets old fast for a couple hours of decent brightness. Having many rechargeable's on hand helps. It has worked so I procrastinate on modifying it. I also have one of those 3 x 5 led matrix cob versions. It is blinding with fresh alkaline's, but sucks the power.
The SOS modes are for people who go hiking in mountains when there is no phone reception. You can shine the SOS down the mountain to the next village and hope somebody who is looking for you sees it. With ubiquitous cell coverage even on mountains and power banks, this has become less useful nowadays though.
I'd rather wave mine hand in front of it achieving same result, then having to circle through modes every time I want to switch the light off... the likelihood of me mistakenly switching the light to different mode and then then missing it because it got discharged is at-lest to me more likely then a chance of breaking both hands unable to cover the torch and uncover at the right intervals. I would have said that most of these modes are targeted for the same people. People who like shiny features...
I've been using Boruit head torches for years now. They're bigger than the torch in your video but their light output is pretty good, and goes between middle, 2 sides, all three, or SOS. I got a new one recently that also has a red LED which can be switched on with a long press, also the main LED (and red as it's in the centre fixing) can be focussed using the ring around the light. I like how they just gradually get dimmer as the voltage lowers rather than just abruptly cutting out. I use mine for walking down country lanes, so very much need it as bright as possible to be seen.
@@carbonstar9091 yep, I too had the Boruit D10 for years, recently upgraded to the Sofirn D25LR, essentially the same headlamp but Samsung CRI90 white+SST20 red
I'd never considered using a diode for noise reduction before. I may give that a try since I have some PIRs that false-triggers due to being on the same line as a servo motor.
Thanks Big Clive I've hacked a couple of these very handy. Eventually the hinge and pivots gets loose and one broke off, a gob of epoxy will bond it in the fully open position, it won't hinge anymore but the angle of light downwards works just fine. Cheers
That reminds me I need to get a new headlamp after I dropped mine last summer. I really liked it because it used two 18650s which gave you insane run time on the lower settings or a really bright light if you need it. The 18650s do add weight to it but the run time is worth it especially when I have to go clear the driveway before work after it snows or during a power outage.
Have a look at the Skilhunt H04. Really good headlamp, a single 18650 and metal casing makes it a bit on the heavy side. 8 different brightness modes, from extremely low to dazzling. Still i am ordering the one Clive featured here. Having options is useful.
I’ve got a nitecore HC68 that takes a single 18650 but also has a usb c charging port under a waterproof screw cap on one end Incredibly bright on high but lasts forever on low
I have the now discontinued Nitecore HC65, it has a bright LED with various settings, single 18650 - however it has a high CRI very wide angle light on there too which I really love - gives a wide very natural light. They run their circuity without PWM (it's constant current, so it's not actually flickering fast. Which means if you're out in the rain the rain drops don't turn into dots in the air with the pulses from the light, like they do on many head torches I've tried. Unsure which of the current range is comparable. Only downside to mine is microUSB (slow) built in charging.
Same, bought a load of them for under £5 (could have even been less), a few years back and gave them away as Xmas pressies. 2x 2000mAh li 18650 batts, three LEDs, centre, sides only, all and strobe (why I'll never know). Certainly not waterproof, but they had the red led glow on the battery box which was on the back of your head. So thumbs up from me, and they (3 that I know about) are still in good use. 👍(Non branded lights and batteries)
New favorite budget headlamp is the Sofirn D25LR, Samsung LH351D 5000k high CRI 90 LED emitter, Luminus SST-20 red LED, removable 18650 cell, type-C charging, for just $20 or so, tail cap also shows SoC (green > 60%, yellow > 30% and red < 10%)
Thanks for the presentation, Big Guy. I have joined your cup a month tier; wish I could pay the full value of tuition, so I am grateful for your generosity! Thanking you from the extreme southwestest corner of the U.S. ... Edit: thanks to those who comment here, very educational, as well...
Bought this light after seeing your video. Did the same mod and I am very happy with the result as well. The only thing I would change about this light is the fact that it doesn't tilt downwards very far. The fully-up angle is basically useless since it points skywards. Would be easy to 3D print a better plastic hinge for this. Good shout Clive.
If you do 3D print a better hinge I'd love one! It's the only problem with it. The main beam misses your hands when working with it, even on maximum deflection down! How'd your mod go? Did you break the resistor with side cutters or de-solder one of them? I'm about to try this on mine... Any tips?
@@Aengus42 I decided against 3D printing, the details would be too small and fiddly to replicate and would be fragile. So instead I simply took a small piece of neoprene and shaped it into a thin wedge and then glued it to the plastic surface where your forehead goes, under the elastic strap. Thick part at the top causes the whole light to tilt down just enough to make it comfortable on the lowest click of the ratchet. Actually works perfectly now (battery lasts ages on middle and low brightness) and didn't cost a penny to fix :) Regarding the resistor, yeah I just desoldered one of them, I didn't cut it with side cutters because we are not at home to barbarians :) hehe. Good luck with your unit.
I still use an old led headlight I bought (from China) 8 years ago. It cost me £3.40 delivered. Mine runs off an 18650 that slots into a rear box. The light has an adjustable angle and 3 intensity settings. I love it because I can carry spare batteries, it runs on full power for hours, the light output is really good with a white colour, no flicker and puts plenty onto the ground before me. Mine's good enough to wear as a cycle light at night. It's not of a known type or make and was simply a lucky purchase back in the days when I had a light buying 'fetish'. I have many other known lights like the one in this video but honestly they just don't cut it for me.
I'm always wary of LED lights that run on three AAA batteries as some of them have literally no drive circuitry whatsoever, which eventually fries the LEDS.
I did a quick google and it appears these are being sold by tool shops, marine chandlers and garden tool suppliers for prices from £9-16 so if people are looking for one it shouldn't be too hard to find something local. Not that I'm discouraging people from visiting Ramsey, I went their once and its a charming place.
Sofirn sells some headlamps with USB-C and replacable 3000mAh 18650 battery for the same price as this one. About 1000 lumens, variable brightness, dual 4000/5000K high CRI LEDs and it's lightweight, small and angleable.
Olight Perun Perun/2 come with a magnetic Charger I believe. At least their other lights use magnetic USB charger. It could be a micro USB charger too IDK, been a minute since I used mine, and I don’t have the new one. But Olight make top notch Flashlights. I have an FDE Valkyrie Mini on my Glock 19X. Not Surefire, but I trust them.
Everything should be USBC, and will be at some point. All electronics, TVs radios, even lamps at home. Basically anything in a house that doesn't have a motor or a heater. Makes no sense for every device to have its own rectifier and DC power supply
Are there footprints interchangeable type-C ports with micro or even mini-USB? I have modded a Nintendo DS with a micro-USB port but it wasn't that easy lol
Love it. Thanks Big Clive. I have one of the "older" ones like yours and It's my favorite right now. I have a couple of the bulkier ones like these too. I have been thinking about adapting one of them with an LED strip to create more of a wash than a spot which if you're just sitting there reading is annoying. A wash would be different wouldn't it? Perhaps I could also just put a bit of Spun or Diffusion in front of the LED as well.
Piece of scotch tape will work but you lose some efficiency, best would be a TIR lens, the Boruit D10 can be easily modded with a wide flood TIR with 85%+ efficiency
I've dismantled various back-lit LCD displays and found that many of them incorporate special films behind the colour layer to diffuse the LED backlight. Some of these films can be excellent for incorporating into LED lights to diffuse the beam, they are easily cut to size with scissors and can be fitted behind the lens in so e torches and lights. Sometimes you will find films in side-lit displays that diffuse an LED's beam sideways only which can be very useful in some applications, for instance I improved a bike front light by diffusing the beam sideways so that the full width of the paths I ride on was illuminated while little light was wasted in useless vertical 'spill' of the beam. Such films might be useful on a head-torch if you could attach them neatly.
As a kid I used to love going night fishing with my Dad at The Quarry on Berry Head, Brixham. This was 1974 or so... Anyway, one xmas I got given a head lamp. It had an elastic strap like the one above but the light looked like a black plastic, mini 2CV rectangular headlamp with a 6V incandescent bulb & chromed plastic reflector. It had some stout black sheathed cable going over your head to a clip at the back of your head & then down to a battery pack of four D cells that must've weighed nearly a kilo! Four D cells weigh over 700g on their own & this huge battery pack, dangling off of my jeans & my hip & happening elastic rainbow snake belt used to drag my jeans down as I walked. I was so proud to have a headlamp just like my Dad & his mates had (I was 10 ish) and I was so scared of dropping this brittle plastic case full of heavy, expensive batteries that it really spoiled the fishing! The headlamp gave out just enough light so you wouldn't drop the damned thing on the rocks! Just! I'm writing this to try & explain what a leap in technology Clive's new favourite headlight is! The brightness! It's easily ten times brighter than my old fishing light. Its light! Light enough so the light & battery can sit on your forehead. No 1kg battery cases hanging off your belt. It's duration! Those old zinc carbon D cells went flat very quickly. Once we had set up our rods & cast out we'd turn our headlamps off to save the batteries (they were pretty expensive too!) Putting this headlight on dredged up that nearly 50 year old memory. Comparing the two side by side surprised me! I hadn't thought of those nights & that equipment for donkey's years!
@@bigclivedotcom Yup, totally! We all moan about the lack of silver hot pants & Gabrielle Drake in a purple wig in a base on the moon but we really are living in the future. It's just that, as always, the present seems mundane unless you compare things like these head torches. (He wrote on a tablet exactly like those on Discovery 1 in 2001)
Alright Big Clive Been using the LEDLenser MH10 for a while now and it's without a doubt the best i've used. The 18650 cells can be changed over if they don't last the whole day and the head band can be changed over quick when it starts to Rinky Dink. Got some 1 inch jacquard elastic for that from eBay, cut it to about 1200mm and no sewing required. I got about 3 of those ones you're on about the first time you brought them up on YT and always have a couple of them nearby. The downward angle on the pivot thing doesn't go far enough for me, but they still work really well, even after all this time. So, cheers for the tips. Give the MH10 a go if you want something you have to wear all day for working all day on those DB's Have fun 🙂🙂
Hi Clive. Unlike you I always avoided rechargeable head lamps. They had a bad habit of going flat at the worst possible moment. I chose instead to buy lamps that took AA cells. I always carried a box of spare batteries and cells for all my gear. My last job was exclusively diesel powergen and nobody ever lit their plant rooms well enough to do anything but basic servicing.
@@rexsceleratorum1632 since I am now seventy and five years out of the workforce I don't care any more. I was in the diesel powergen industry exclusively for twelve years beffore I retired. I can assure you there was nothing worthwhile around in rechargeable back then. I know because I bought the best I could find and they lasted only a few hours. If you have your head in a control cubicle for a day you would need too many lamps to get through the day. One of my toys they let me play with was a diesel peaking power station. There are 16 gensets each pumping out 1.8 megawatts. Each one burned 427 litres of diesel an hour at full power. I spent a large proportion of my time there with a headlamp on.
If the rechargeable headlight is good, I buy 2... If you HAVE to carry something (extra box of batteries) I'd just rather carry a whole extra headlamp.. 🤷🏻
I'm also picky about my head lamps.... Nitecore NU25 is the best! I gig with this on a regular basis and is extremely light. USB charge. Fits in your pocket and has a great selection of brightness and types of LED lighting. No gimmicks. Just great!
My headlight I love is the Coast Flashlight HL8R, as the rechargeable battery pack can be moved away from the back of the head to a belt with the included extension, or replaced with the included AA battery pack. 3 levels of brightness, can twist to focus, and tilt :) It also works with their filter kit, so can use coloured filters
Looks good for mechanics. Decathlon made the best one I have used, being into outdoors stuff they got the switching right off-red(keeps night sight)-low-med-high USB charging. The only extra it could have is the autoadjust. The ones that start at insane bright just blind you and even worse if you have to cycle through strobe too.
Update. Been using the headtorch most days. Only downsides, downwards angle is a little limited or maybe my forehead is at the wrong angle? and the on/off/infrared button can be a little difficult to locate with cold hands. Could do with a nobble on the switch, so you can find it by feel.
another update. Been using this headtorch most days for over a year now. Still love it !! Also did the Clive reduced power resistor hack recently, just cut the track to one of the pair, easy to redo if I change my mind. Slightly different PCB, the two resistors are on the back but roughly the same location.
As an ENT surgeon I spent much of my time using a headlamp to look into noses and throats. To see inside a cavity the lamp needs to be on the same level as the eyes. I have a lamp mounted to the bridge piece of a spectacle frame; wherever I look the light points
Some people have servants , lighting , heating and live indoors Others have head lamps , torches , tents , and go camping True those that live indoors need to have head lamps for power outages
I see a lot of event crew that hold torches in their teeth and just wonder "WHY?" there also seems to be a lot of willy waving about having the most pointlessly stupid bright "tactical" torches.
ha hah got one Clive done the hack also easy to do many many thanks Clive it now 02 :12 am can't sleep am a night owl took me about under five minuets works a treat thake care keep them flowing 💥👍
I just bought a couple of these from Tiso for £12 each. Nice lights. I charged one while I "low power modded" the other. Comparing the two, the low power version at full is about the same as the normal one at mid power. The modded one is still plenty bright enough for use at hand working distance and throws useful light out to about 5m+. It's a very useful step down in power with the mod so I will do the same to the other one too. The PWM flashing on mid and low power (Both original and modded) is annoying for me though. It's pretty obvious on moving parts but I can forgive it given the overall price and performance. My one didn't have the issue with the plastic case marking the battery thankfully.
I've got the "original" Chinese one you recommend long time ago. The only bad point is very focused beam. Reaches very far, but a head lamp should have wide beam so you can shine at your hands and under your feet.
I have a few of these that I use regularly, mainly for work and hobbies. Use some cheapy petzl and a led lenser H7 for work, petzl Myo XP and led lenser h14 for hobbies. It's just a shame that battery technology really isn't where it needs to be, rechargable is great if you have access to a power supply and the time to recharge. Interesting enough you have to be careful with LED lamps when inspecting certain metals as the white light can tend to hide metal fatigue and cracks. Thanks for sharing this video, interesting stuff.
The IR on/off feature would drive me nuts, otherwise, it seems like a decent light, though my go-to is an Energizer HDB322 head torch I got from tesco some years back that found its' way onto the reduced shelf due to packaging molestation, and I hid it amongst other stuff on the shelves 'til I had the money to buy it a few weeks later, really handy thing, been using it recently on fixing CRT TV & monitor stuff... :D
Isle of Man? They should rename it the Isle Of The Man, after you, Clive! I mean it. You're a great guy, with a wonderful personality and voice, and you know what you're talking about. And you help out all of us plebs! Thanks, and have a great day, Sir! o7
Now that it gets dark outside pretty early I also have a head lamp in my bag at all times. Mine is a Petzl with rechargeable AAA batteries in it. I have had this lamp for quite a while now and there’s nothing wrong with it at all despite the abuse on festivals, hikes etc. Once this thing breaks or I lose it, I might upgrade - but somehow I like the option to put in regular batteries as I can get those practically everywhere in a pinch.
3xAAA headlamps are the worst IMO, lithium-ion have much higher power density and I would rather have a 2xAA headlamp or rechargeable lion, swapping and charging 3xAAA gets old fast.
I use head torches camping, (plural), a decent waterproof one and a tiny cheapo, lightweight one from the poundshop as backup, low power mode important as I wild camp and something bright will give away location, red light a useful feature, but flashing red light utterly pointless, angle important, I tried the IR feature on one, its good and bad in a tent, handy if cant find torch but comes on when you dont want to, so can do without. If we do get powercuts this winter, these gadgets will be handy, as well as Candles, Diesel Heaters, Paraffin lamps etc, will be just like camping!
I have a similar head torch from Rothenburger.... All the same features, but added 5 led charge state indicator, and red constant (or flashing) light, instead of white... for use when you need to see something like a map, without ruining your night vision... or worn backwards for night cycling.. A bit more expensive at £17, but very very good.
What drives me crazy is having to cycle through the bright stage, to access lower power lighting. It's like pouring a gallon every time I just need a quart. At least some engineer could make it ramp up, low power first, press to turn off... thus no big power draw(s) when not needed. It's about energy conservation. One of these companies could easily lmake one with a slider/dial to choose brightness, with a seperate on/off buton/switch.
I think there's a COB LED carabiner light possibly made by the same company (although branding varies) that's actually nice enough for how long it runs on a charge for its given light output. Not quite as weatherproof as some would like, but you can't have everything given the low price it's available for. (Still a very good deal when it makes it to Walmart's discount bin.)
I made my own rechargeable headtorch for £3, built from a £1 3xAAA LED COB Poundland headtorch, a £2 Poundland USB battery bank, two diodes (simply for voltage dropping) all sitting in a 3D printed shell I designed. Works very well, full brightness for 4 hours or an entire night on the lower brightness setting.
Mine is two 18650's out of a scrapped laptop battery and a 3d printed case. The light I used came from a scrapped LED headlamp (one with a sealed lead acid battery that gets dumped here in India while the good stuff goes to the West), so I didn't buy anything other than a USD 0.35 TC4056 module.
@@licensetodrive9930 I do have to point out that you are wasting some power in stepping up to 5V and then resistively stepping down the voltage. That's a waste of almost half the power when the cells are near empty. I prefer the cheap and simple AMC7135 out of China for directly driving LEDs from lithium cells in 1W increments with much less wastage. Although I'm having trouble sourcing more after Covid and increased tensions with China. You can also use a resistor if you don't mind it dimming slightly as the charge goes down.
@@rexsceleratorum1632 You're absolutely right on the loss of efficiency boosting the lithium cell to 5v USB and then cutting it down to around 4.5v to drive the LED torch. I chose the diode voltage dropping method because it was simple, clean & quick to achieve, and importantly it gives me constant brightness right up until the battery runs dry. Even with the efficiency loss of boosting & cutting the voltage, 4 hours at full brightness and more than an entire night at the lower brightness setting is perfectly adequate for my needs. I just wish the Chinese manufacturers would stop putting the strobe flashing mode in their torches...
i love your videos !! I would love to see a tear up of one of those Battery free scale, hand cranked, to see the schematics ! I send you one if you want ! I would like to see if it's possible to use the same system for other devices, like a remote control for example...
The build must vary depending on production dates etc. I have the exact same light, same packaging but the battery is thinner and labelled 600mah , the PCB is the same, while the top was off I snipped off a resistor to extend the charge.
Excellent as ever, I would note only one possible (mechanical) problem with the design; the double pole switch? That might be a weakness but I don't know anything about the MCU, if the 'pull to ground' is not simultaneous, might that be an issue? Pax and respect 'oh mighty High-Heidyin of the confused electron'
If we have blackouts we will all need alternative ways to supply light etc....i think it would be a fantastic idea and very helpful if you could do a video or two with any tips or ideas you have.....maybe get viewers to chip in with their own ideas and tips just in case the worst happens.....i would rather be prepared in case something happened than not be....im sure we all would.....blackbeltbarrister has done a couple of videos explaining the situation that the government and news etc are keeping quiet....many thanks and stay safe.....dave 😊
That looks like a decent bit of kit! I may see if I can get one locally. I have an old and tired "LED LIGHTS" photon pump headlight. It's a damnably good light, but it sticks out about two inches in front your forehead. I can see where this Core light is going to be much handier in small spaces. Also, my old light isn't rechargeable, which is not very handy when the battery goes flat. Yeas! I like this one...... Does it get warm against your nut?
A class vid as always Clive. Could you please make a short vid of how to do the power down hack you've mentioned in this video and thanks for all your interesting works and the fun laughs with your brother over the years. ;) I linked with your vids many years ago when you made the one about a cheap sim tracker and your dear old Mum; I used from that vid one of those trackers for a few years until Australia sadly turned off 2G other than on Christmas Island which I be believe is a bit of a crabby place ;) I now use a completely totally overpriced running costs tracker that is no better than your original tracker that you called into and then Google-Mapped the grid reference from the text return. So Clive have you got any cheap tracker ideas that run on 3G and 4G Australian network sims or any other system methods that you reckon are OK with reasonable running costs today ¿?
About 10 years ago when I discovered single-cell 18650 headlamps I haven't bought anything else since. I do wonder about the safety of having an 18650 in a sealed metal tube on my forehead though. Especially with some of the amazon-ebay special headlamps I've bought (and been generally happy with).
I prefer the ones which also have a fill-light (wide angle). We even have some with an additional red light function (less important as you need two anyway for bike)
I like the Petyl ATEX Pixa headtorch but use it with USB rechargeable lithium AA's as otherwise it eats batteries. It has no bells and whistles (stupid flashing modes etc.), very rugged, won't turn on accidentally in your bag when in it's storage position and you can change the batteries. I hate torches with fixed batteries.
I personally dislike the IR auto-sense ones, as I'm often working close to machines/ walls/ etc and the auto-sense keeps turning off the light... If you just put a bit of insulation tape over the IR bits, then they work without issues.
I've got a black diamond. I thionk it's an Ion., Has a bright (but multi level) big spot, and two small leds for gentler lighting. It;'s very small and light but has a separate battery pack that goes at the back. Runs off 2 AAs so has a long life and easy to replace. However I've had it some years and the elastic strapping has gone limp.
If you're in complete darkness, low light is very bright. I have two head lamps, and they just don't wear out. The rechargeable seems nice, but once the battery is dead, the head lamp is dead.
We need a "One Moment Please" Big Clive Tee Shirt 😀
yes! that would be amazing haha
And "Watch Your Eyes"
I would buy one for sure.
“One moment please” on one side and “Watch your eyes” on the other.
Yea! Big Clive we need merch
BigClive, you’re perfection man. Been watching your vids for years, do I know what’s going on, nah not really. But I do love taking stuff apart to see what’s inside as well, more so on the mechanical side of things.
Your videos for some reason are so relaxing. You know your stuff, and can hear the pure joy and excitement in your voice when you’re doing surgery on these things.
Love it, never stop!
I appreciate the feedback on this Headlamp. Due to your teardown and review of this brand , I ordered and now have used the 300 lumen version. I love it ! My model is the 40079 version. Thanks Big Clive for doing what you do.
I have been using the Energizer 350 lumen for the last few years and it has been very good. Takes batteries, so you can carry more with you. Dimming mode, IR twin lights plus a main clear led and two more independant frosted smaller white lights £15 on Amazon uk. Good vid.
I was going to mention this one, it's pretty similar aside from the exchangeable batteries.
Would like to see a video sometime of reverse engineering in practice, from analyzing the PCB to drawing the schematic.
Excellent idea. :)
Bought two of these on the back of this video (because Big Clive is never wrong)! Great job! The battery managed to last pretty much the whole day today on the 'medium' light setting while I did a bit of wiring. Have a second for my workshop which is great for working on cars. Unfortunately I was about a day late because presumably lots of others had the same idea as me and they were not that cheap on eBay lol
I recently bought a Nitecore NU17 which I was very impressed with. By far the best control scheme I’ve found.
Just three modes, low med hi, starts on low. After a few seconds the next press will turn it off instead of cycling. It does have an sos mode by long pressing, but you won’t ever accidentally activate it which is wonderful.
Rechargeable, very small, smaller than the ones you have there, bright, not too blue, and about £15.
I recently bought a new head light for a relatively cheap price(15€). I didn't think much of it, but I risked it anyways just to see. When I saw it in action though I was quite impressed.
-It has a sensor to activate and deactivate the super bright main light, which also can be deactivated so that it works without the sensor.
- it has an optional red light mode, which is great for fishing when you don't want to spook the fish, which is mainly why I bought it.
-it also has several dimming settings and an "on/off mode"
- but the most amazing thing that I found out about the lamp is, the rechargeable lipo battery pack is easily accessible, with just one click the back cover opens, and the battery pack is plugged in and not soldered in, which makes a battery swap super easy.
They didn't even mention that feature on the packaging, but I think they should, because that's not so common to be able to swap the whole lipo pack in such an easy way.
The importers brand is "EasyMaxx" but the problem is that I couldn't find it online, so I can't tell you where to get one unfortunately 😔
Always wondered why they called those packages blister packs. I would have thought laceration packs would have been more appropriate, given my experiences trying to open them.
I remember the time Patrick Moore was a guest on Room 101 and blister packs were one of his items to go in!
Originally, blister packs were made like this but the cardboard at the back was perforated so you could easily push out your actual product. Over time, this was omitted. I think due to cost measures just so save a few 0.2 ct per unit... In Europe, pills are distributed in blister packs, too. You push them out through a blistering aluminum foil at the back which sometimes needs excessive force. In NZ, pharmacists push them out for you into a little container, useful for older patients who don't have the force in their hands to get to their important medication...
it's because of the blistering streams of invective they inspire
@@kyoudaikenI suspect the increased difficulty in removing items from packaging was intended as a theft deterrent. It’s harder to conceal an item in its packaging. Also, the packaging sometimes contains an alarm tag.
@@WhatYouHaventSeen Could be.
I highly recommend the Petzl Swift RL, which automatically adjusts the beam type and output power based on the reflected light, and I must admit that this system is very precise and sensitive. You can find many good deals for this model because people don't understand RL technology and think that this is thesama as FacetoFace which was implemented in Pixa series of Petzl headlamps. I have try many brands but I ALWAYS back to Petzl because of the quality of their products.
That, and Black Diamond. I actually even find Black Diamond slightly better, but they're basically on par with one another. The only thing I don't like about them is the lack of high power high battery capacity headlamps from either manufacturer. I occasionally go caving, and for that I need a headlamp with both a wide-angle dimmable floodlight and a powerful but dimmable focused beam for far away, and it needs to have as much battery capacity as possible which pretty much excludes AA and AAA batteries and only leaves 18650's. However there isn't a single headlamp from either Petzl or Black Diamond which fulfills that requirement, the few headlamps which do have a high power dimmable floodlight and beam light are not just incredibly expensive (€100-300), they only run on AAA or a small Li-Po as well which doesn't produce more than 1200-1500 mAh. Meanwhile my cheap Chinese headlamp does have all of these qualities, both the dimmable floodlight and beam light and it also takes a pair of 18650's which in my case are 3450 mAh a piece. But these headlamps being cheap-ish Chinese ones their quality is definitely inferior, and they're incredibly bulky, much more so than a comparable Western-made one. Fortunately I recently discovered Fenix headlamps and they do have almost all the required qualities and takes 18650 or even bigger Li-ion batteries, just not dual or triple batteries, but you can't have all it seems....
Look into higher end Sigma bicycle lights. Very interesting and impressive engineering (and mounting options). USB charging and they can be driven via an external powerbank. I’ve experimented with various lenses and the beam can be widened some simple optical wide angle adapters. You might be able to adapt smartphone lens adapters as well. They run about 2x what the Black Diamond (cheapest) lights cost. Random idea
I bought one of these for work after watching your teardown. Luckily, mine had no issues with casing flash against the battery, I did your mod and am very pleased with this light. Love all your videos. Keep up the great work.
My headworn lamp uses a 6Ah lead acid battery. Although it's very heavy on the head, it gives me great deportment when walking around Aldi
you should upgrade to a 20Ah AGM strapped to your forehead.
not only will it have crazy runtime but you'll also get a real bullsneck from wearing it. 🤣
Reading the "User Guide", it say "3W CREEE LED" on the front, but "3W CREE LED" on the back in the Specifications. So it might be a genuine CREE LED after all.
My resistor is now desoldered and plastic bump smoothed out. Thank you for this advice🙂
I prefer headlights to. As a midnight gardener. That is when earwigs come out. I however hate the fact alot of headlights are designed to use alkaline. So what happens when you use a rechargeable? You obviously get a dimmer light. Mine uses 3 AAA with 2 white in parallel, or one red(ancient Brinkman brand). In the many years I have used it. I had to replace both white leds, and the headband is no longer elastic. I have yet to modify the limiting resistors for more brightness, or use a 4 series AA holder with extension wire for rechargeable use. Maybe also convert to 4 D cells because frequently recharging AAA cells gets old fast for a couple hours of decent brightness. Having many rechargeable's on hand helps. It has worked so I procrastinate on modifying it. I also have one of those 3 x 5 led matrix cob versions. It is blinding with fresh alkaline's, but sucks the power.
Bought one on the back of this review which arrived today. I have yet to use it for work but so far I'm impressed with it and under £10 is a win
The SOS modes are for people who go hiking in mountains when there is no phone reception. You can shine the SOS down the mountain to the next village and hope somebody who is looking for you sees it. With ubiquitous cell coverage even on mountains and power banks, this has become less useful nowadays though.
Yep, I'd rather have SOS than strobe... Always good to have a backup in the hills.
I'd rather wave mine hand in front of it achieving same result, then having to circle through modes every time I want to switch the light off... the likelihood of me mistakenly switching the light to different mode and then then missing it because it got discharged is at-lest to me more likely then a chance of breaking both hands unable to cover the torch and uncover at the right intervals. I would have said that most of these modes are targeted for the same people. People who like shiny features...
When up on the mountain near me here in Wyoming there no cell service. It's satellite service or nothing.
I've been using Boruit head torches for years now. They're bigger than the torch in your video but their light output is pretty good, and goes between middle, 2 sides, all three, or SOS.
I got a new one recently that also has a red LED which can be switched on with a long press, also the main LED (and red as it's in the centre fixing) can be focussed using the ring around the light.
I like how they just gradually get dimmer as the voltage lowers rather than just abruptly cutting out.
I use mine for walking down country lanes, so very much need it as bright as possible to be seen.
I like the ones with the red LED. Good for nighttime telescope sessions.
@@carbonstar9091 yep, I too had the Boruit D10 for years, recently upgraded to the Sofirn D25LR, essentially the same headlamp but Samsung CRI90 white+SST20 red
I'd never considered using a diode for noise reduction before. I may give that a try since I have some PIRs that false-triggers due to being on the same line as a servo motor.
Yeah, a Shotty for noise reduction? new to me. I gotta love the 'big Yin's' breakdowns, he do be the man!
Pax
Thanks Big Clive I've hacked a couple of these very handy. Eventually the hinge and pivots gets loose and one broke off, a gob of epoxy will bond it in the fully open position, it won't hinge anymore but the angle of light downwards works just fine. Cheers
This is still the first head torch that I grab when I need some extra light.
That reminds me I need to get a new headlamp after I dropped mine last summer. I really liked it because it used two 18650s which gave you insane run time on the lower settings or a really bright light if you need it. The 18650s do add weight to it but the run time is worth it especially when I have to go clear the driveway before work after it snows or during a power outage.
Have a look at the Skilhunt H04. Really good headlamp, a single 18650 and metal casing makes it a bit on the heavy side. 8 different brightness modes, from extremely low to dazzling. Still i am ordering the one Clive featured here. Having options is useful.
I’ve got a nitecore HC68 that takes a single 18650 but also has a usb c charging port under a waterproof screw cap on one end
Incredibly bright on high but lasts forever on low
I have the now discontinued Nitecore HC65, it has a bright LED with various settings, single 18650 - however it has a high CRI very wide angle light on there too which I really love - gives a wide very natural light. They run their circuity without PWM (it's constant current, so it's not actually flickering fast. Which means if you're out in the rain the rain drops don't turn into dots in the air with the pulses from the light, like they do on many head torches I've tried. Unsure which of the current range is comparable. Only downside to mine is microUSB (slow) built in charging.
Same, bought a load of them for under £5 (could have even been less), a few years back and gave them away as Xmas pressies. 2x 2000mAh li 18650 batts, three LEDs, centre, sides only, all and strobe (why I'll never know). Certainly not waterproof, but they had the red led glow on the battery box which was on the back of your head. So thumbs up from me, and they (3 that I know about) are still in good use. 👍(Non branded lights and batteries)
Single 3000mAh 18650 gives pretty long runtime already imo, I'm rocking a Sofirn D25LR now, high CRI+red LED, 80g only without the battery
New favorite budget headlamp is the Sofirn D25LR, Samsung LH351D 5000k high CRI 90 LED emitter, Luminus SST-20 red LED, removable 18650 cell, type-C charging, for just $20 or so, tail cap also shows SoC (green > 60%, yellow > 30% and red < 10%)
Thanks for the presentation, Big Guy. I have joined your cup a month tier; wish I could pay the full value of tuition, so I am grateful for your generosity! Thanking you from the extreme southwestest corner of the U.S. ...
Edit: thanks to those who comment here, very educational, as well...
Cool video. I just bought one of the core head torch’s. I want a couple more for family members. Cheers for the content Clive
Bought this light after seeing your video. Did the same mod and I am very happy with the result as well. The only thing I would change about this light is the fact that it doesn't tilt downwards very far. The fully-up angle is basically useless since it points skywards. Would be easy to 3D print a better plastic hinge for this. Good shout Clive.
If you do 3D print a better hinge I'd love one! It's the only problem with it. The main beam misses your hands when working with it, even on maximum deflection down!
How'd your mod go? Did you break the resistor with side cutters or de-solder one of them?
I'm about to try this on mine... Any tips?
@@Aengus42 I decided against 3D printing, the details would be too small and fiddly to replicate and would be fragile. So instead I simply took a small piece of neoprene and shaped it into a thin wedge and then glued it to the plastic surface where your forehead goes, under the elastic strap. Thick part at the top causes the whole light to tilt down just enough to make it comfortable on the lowest click of the ratchet. Actually works perfectly now (battery lasts ages on middle and low brightness) and didn't cost a penny to fix :) Regarding the resistor, yeah I just desoldered one of them, I didn't cut it with side cutters because we are not at home to barbarians :) hehe. Good luck with your unit.
@@CasualInventor Thanks for the tips, much appreciated 😃
I still use an old led headlight I bought (from China) 8 years ago. It cost me £3.40 delivered. Mine runs off an 18650 that slots into a rear box. The light has an adjustable angle and 3 intensity settings. I love it because I can carry spare batteries, it runs on full power for hours, the light output is really good with a white colour, no flicker and puts plenty onto the ground before me. Mine's good enough to wear as a cycle light at night. It's not of a known type or make and was simply a lucky purchase back in the days when I had a light buying 'fetish'. I have many other known lights like the one in this video but honestly they just don't cut it for me.
That battery is huge!
My headlamp is a Bushnell and is run with 3 AAA batteries...I use rechargeable (Eneloop) cells for it.
I'm always wary of LED lights that run on three AAA batteries as some of them have literally no drive circuitry whatsoever, which eventually fries the LEDS.
I did a quick google and it appears these are being sold by tool shops, marine chandlers and garden tool suppliers for prices from £9-16 so if people are looking for one it shouldn't be too hard to find something local. Not that I'm discouraging people from visiting Ramsey, I went their once and its a charming place.
Only Thing missing is a usb c port. I've modded the old one with one, it works great and it's one cable less in my bag
Sofirn sells some headlamps with USB-C and replacable 3000mAh 18650 battery for the same price as this one. About 1000 lumens, variable brightness, dual 4000/5000K high CRI LEDs and it's lightweight, small and angleable.
Olight Perun Perun/2 come with a magnetic Charger I believe. At least their other lights use magnetic USB charger. It could be a micro USB charger too IDK, been a minute since I used mine, and I don’t have the new one. But Olight make top notch Flashlights. I have an FDE Valkyrie Mini on my Glock 19X. Not Surefire, but I trust them.
Everything should be USBC, and will be at some point. All electronics, TVs radios, even lamps at home. Basically anything in a house that doesn't have a motor or a heater. Makes no sense for every device to have its own rectifier and DC power supply
@@Autunite I prefer the D25LR with the red LED
Are there footprints interchangeable type-C ports with micro or even mini-USB? I have modded a Nintendo DS with a micro-USB port but it wasn't that easy lol
Love it. Thanks Big Clive. I have one of the "older" ones like yours and It's my favorite right now. I have a couple of the bulkier ones like these too. I have been thinking about adapting one of them with an LED strip to create more of a wash than a spot which if you're just sitting there reading is annoying. A wash would be different wouldn't it? Perhaps I could also just put a bit of Spun or Diffusion in front of the LED as well.
Piece of scotch tape will work but you lose some efficiency, best would be a TIR lens, the Boruit D10 can be easily modded with a wide flood TIR with 85%+ efficiency
@@Kevin-mp5of Nice Kevin. I will try that.
I've dismantled various back-lit LCD displays and found that many of them incorporate special films behind the colour layer to diffuse the LED backlight. Some of these films can be excellent for incorporating into LED lights to diffuse the beam, they are easily cut to size with scissors and can be fitted behind the lens in so e torches and lights. Sometimes you will find films in side-lit displays that diffuse an LED's beam sideways only which can be very useful in some applications, for instance I improved a bike front light by diffusing the beam sideways so that the full width of the paths I ride on was illuminated while little light was wasted in useless vertical 'spill' of the beam. Such films might be useful on a head-torch if you could attach them neatly.
@@robm8809 Very cool.
Nice explanation. It's crazy how many jobs the 8 pin device deals with.
I wonder which chip it may be?
You have presented this headlight in the past, I ordered it and I am really extremely satisfied with it.
Mine (from ebay) arrived this evening. Very nice! Thank you. 🙂
My dad has an LLBEAN headlamp and it is very good! It even is magnetically attached to the swivel it is on so you can use it as a flashlight!
Lovely little light, and an awesome battery capacity! Plenty available via the "usual sources", and an acceptable back up light for us pot-holers!
Cheers Clive. It's a pleasure to see a cheap thing someone's clearly put some time & thought into.
As a kid I used to love going night fishing with my Dad at The Quarry on Berry Head, Brixham.
This was 1974 or so...
Anyway, one xmas I got given a head lamp. It had an elastic strap like the one above but the light looked like a black plastic, mini 2CV rectangular headlamp with a 6V incandescent bulb & chromed plastic reflector.
It had some stout black sheathed cable going over your head to a clip at the back of your head & then down to a battery pack of four D cells that must've weighed nearly a kilo!
Four D cells weigh over 700g on their own & this huge battery pack, dangling off of my jeans & my hip & happening elastic rainbow snake belt used to drag my jeans down as I walked.
I was so proud to have a headlamp just like my Dad & his mates had (I was 10 ish) and I was so scared of dropping this brittle plastic case full of heavy, expensive batteries that it really spoiled the fishing!
The headlamp gave out just enough light so you wouldn't drop the damned thing on the rocks! Just!
I'm writing this to try & explain what a leap in technology Clive's new favourite headlight is!
The brightness! It's easily ten times brighter than my old fishing light.
Its light! Light enough so the light & battery can sit on your forehead. No 1kg battery cases hanging off your belt.
It's duration! Those old zinc carbon D cells went flat very quickly. Once we had set up our rods & cast out we'd turn our headlamps off to save the batteries (they were pretty expensive too!)
Putting this headlight on dredged up that nearly 50 year old memory. Comparing the two side by side surprised me! I hadn't thought of those nights & that equipment for donkey's years!
The LED lights blow our childhood tungsten ones out of the water.
@@bigclivedotcom Yup, totally!
We all moan about the lack of silver hot pants & Gabrielle Drake in a purple wig in a base on the moon but we really are living in the future.
It's just that, as always, the present seems mundane unless you compare things like these head torches.
(He wrote on a tablet exactly like those on Discovery 1 in 2001)
Alright Big Clive
Been using the LEDLenser MH10 for a while now and it's without a doubt the best i've used. The 18650 cells can be changed over if they don't last the whole day and the head band can be changed over quick when it starts to Rinky Dink.
Got some 1 inch jacquard elastic for that from eBay, cut it to about 1200mm and no sewing required.
I got about 3 of those ones you're on about the first time you brought them up on YT and always have a couple of them nearby. The downward angle on the pivot thing doesn't go far enough for me, but they still work really well, even after all this time.
So, cheers for the tips. Give the MH10 a go if you want something you have to wear all day for working all day on those DB's
Have fun 🙂🙂
Hi Clive. Unlike you I always avoided rechargeable head lamps. They had a bad habit of going flat at the worst possible moment. I chose instead to buy lamps that took AA cells. I always carried a box of spare batteries and cells for all my gear. My last job was exclusively diesel powergen and nobody ever lit their plant rooms well enough to do anything but basic servicing.
You can probably carry a spare headlamp (the detachable part) instead of the spare batteries given their size and the efficient lithium batteries
@@rexsceleratorum1632 since I am now seventy and five years out of the workforce I don't care any more. I was in the diesel powergen industry exclusively for twelve years beffore I retired. I can assure you there was nothing worthwhile around in rechargeable back then. I know because I bought the best I could find and they lasted only a few hours. If you have your head in a control cubicle for a day you would need too many lamps to get through the day. One of my toys they let me play with was a diesel peaking power station. There are 16 gensets each pumping out 1.8 megawatts. Each one burned 427 litres of diesel an hour at full power. I spent a large proportion of my time there with a headlamp on.
If the rechargeable headlight is good, I buy 2... If you HAVE to carry something (extra box of batteries) I'd just rather carry a whole extra headlamp.. 🤷🏻
I'm also picky about my head lamps.... Nitecore NU25 is the best! I gig with this on a regular basis and is extremely light. USB charge. Fits in your pocket and has a great selection of brightness and types of LED lighting. No gimmicks. Just great!
I have been loving the Nitecore NU25. Small, rechargeable, bright.
My headlight I love is the Coast Flashlight HL8R, as the rechargeable battery pack can be moved away from the back of the head to a belt with the included extension, or replaced with the included AA battery pack. 3 levels of brightness, can twist to focus, and tilt :) It also works with their filter kit, so can use coloured filters
Fancy headlamp, can't find a single site that has stock and ships to the US. Good video as always.
Maybe sold under a different brand.
Looks good for mechanics.
Decathlon made the best one I have used, being into outdoors stuff they got the switching right off-red(keeps night sight)-low-med-high USB charging. The only extra it could have is the autoadjust.
The ones that start at insane bright just blind you and even worse if you have to cycle through strobe too.
I ordered one just from seeing the thumbnail, even before watching the video. If it’s got big Clive’s recommendation then that’s good enough for me!
Just been shopping (on line) and bought a couple of them. Difficult finding good, simple head torches, without stupid "features" Thanks Clive :o)
@@GeneCash The red LED is handy when Wild Camping, but dont use it otherwise
Update. Been using the headtorch most days. Only downsides, downwards angle is a little limited or maybe my forehead is at the wrong angle? and the on/off/infrared button can be a little difficult to locate with cold hands. Could do with a nobble on the switch, so you can find it by feel.
another update. Been using this headtorch most days for over a year now. Still love it !! Also did the Clive reduced power resistor hack recently, just cut the track to one of the pair, easy to redo if I change my mind. Slightly different PCB, the two resistors are on the back but roughly the same location.
As an ENT surgeon I spent much of my time using a headlamp to look into noses and throats. To see inside a cavity the lamp needs to be on the same level as the eyes. I have a lamp mounted to the bridge piece of a spectacle frame; wherever I look the light points
I'm grateful people like you exist.
I cant understand why more people dont use head lights, they are so invaluable!
Some people have servants , lighting , heating and live indoors
Others have head lamps , torches , tents , and go camping
True those that live indoors need to have head lamps for power outages
@@boboften9952 I think meant headlamp as opposed to a flashlight...frees your hand
I see a lot of event crew that hold torches in their teeth and just wonder "WHY?" there also seems to be a lot of willy waving about having the most pointlessly stupid bright "tactical" torches.
@@daijoubu4529
I'm taking the mickey
Yes he does mean that head lamps are more useful , enabling limbs to be utilized as opposed to not
Some people like the way flashlights taste 🤷
Another great video. I've learnt so much from your videos. Thank you, it's much appreciated.
I've had to order one, of course!
Thanks for the good review.. I see I can get one here in South Africa. Gonna order it.👍
ha hah got one Clive done the hack also easy to do many many thanks Clive it now 02 :12 am can't sleep am a night owl took me about under five minuets works a treat thake care keep them flowing 💥👍
I just bought a couple of these from Tiso for £12 each. Nice lights. I charged one while I "low power modded" the other.
Comparing the two, the low power version at full is about the same as the normal one at mid power. The modded one is still plenty bright enough for use at hand working distance and throws useful light out to about 5m+. It's a very useful step down in power with the mod so I will do the same to the other one too.
The PWM flashing on mid and low power (Both original and modded) is annoying for me though. It's pretty obvious on moving parts but I can forgive it given the overall price and performance.
My one didn't have the issue with the plastic case marking the battery thankfully.
I've got the "original" Chinese one you recommend long time ago. The only bad point is very focused beam. Reaches very far, but a head lamp should have wide beam so you can shine at your hands and under your feet.
May I recommend some frosty tape over the lens?
The focused beam makes it great for use as a work light. I have been very pleased with mine which I bought after watching Clive's first video.
Just arrived the big brother, CHL 320, 320 Lumens, 1800mAh battery, bought it on eBay for £16.29, an absolute delight, uno momento!
Always remember to wear one when flying. :-)
I have about 6 months of your videos to catch up on. It's a treat for me (like heroin is a treat). It's my Christmas present to me.
Looks very similar to one I bought in Lidl recently, but that one had a pair of red leds (I guess for night bike riding).
It seems to have been replaced by the CLH3200 which I've ordered. I hope it's as well designed as the CLH200. Thanks for the video Clive.
Use headlamps every day (night) can't wait to check this one out
I have a few of these that I use regularly, mainly for work and hobbies. Use some cheapy petzl and a led lenser H7 for work, petzl Myo XP and led lenser h14 for hobbies.
It's just a shame that battery technology really isn't where it needs to be, rechargable is great if you have access to a power supply and the time to recharge.
Interesting enough you have to be careful with LED lamps when inspecting certain metals as the white light can tend to hide metal fatigue and cracks.
Thanks for sharing this video, interesting stuff.
The IR on/off feature would drive me nuts, otherwise, it seems like a decent light, though my go-to is an Energizer HDB322 head torch I got from tesco some years back that found its' way onto the reduced shelf due to packaging molestation, and I hid it amongst other stuff on the shelves 'til I had the money to buy it a few weeks later, really handy thing, been using it recently on fixing CRT TV & monitor stuff... :D
Isle of Man? They should rename it the Isle Of The Man, after you, Clive!
I mean it. You're a great guy, with a wonderful personality and voice, and you know what you're talking about. And you help out all of us plebs!
Thanks, and have a great day, Sir! o7
Now that it gets dark outside pretty early I also have a head lamp in my bag at all times. Mine is a Petzl with rechargeable AAA batteries in it. I have had this lamp for quite a while now and there’s nothing wrong with it at all despite the abuse on festivals, hikes etc. Once this thing breaks or I lose it, I might upgrade - but somehow I like the option to put in regular batteries as I can get those practically everywhere in a pinch.
3xAAA headlamps are the worst IMO, lithium-ion have much higher power density and I would rather have a 2xAA headlamp or rechargeable lion, swapping and charging 3xAAA gets old fast.
I finally googled Isle of Man, and I'm glad, because I had it confused with Isle of Wight. Very pretty over there!
I use head torches camping, (plural), a decent waterproof one and a tiny cheapo, lightweight one from the poundshop as backup, low power mode important as I wild camp and something bright will give away location, red light a useful feature, but flashing red light utterly pointless, angle important, I tried the IR feature on one, its good and bad in a tent, handy if cant find torch but comes on when you dont want to, so can do without. If we do get powercuts this winter, these gadgets will be handy, as well as Candles, Diesel Heaters, Paraffin lamps etc, will be just like camping!
hi clive, many thanks for the review and teardown analysis.
the energizer vision ultra rechargeable led head torch is also worth a look.
kind regards.
I have a similar head torch from Rothenburger.... All the same features, but added 5 led charge state indicator, and red constant (or flashing) light, instead of white... for use when you need to see something like a map, without ruining your night vision... or worn backwards for night cycling.. A bit more expensive at £17, but very very good.
Clive a hint for opening that type of packaging. If you have a good can opener "sharp" it will run around and cut it open! Cheers from OZ
What drives me crazy is having to cycle through the bright stage, to access lower power lighting. It's like pouring a gallon every time I just need a quart. At least some engineer could make it ramp up, low power first, press to turn off... thus no big power draw(s) when not needed. It's about energy conservation. One of these companies could easily lmake one with a slider/dial to choose brightness, with a seperate on/off buton/switch.
I think there's a COB LED carabiner light possibly made by the same company (although branding varies) that's actually nice enough for how long it runs on a charge for its given light output. Not quite as weatherproof as some would like, but you can't have everything given the low price it's available for. (Still a very good deal when it makes it to Walmart's discount bin.)
Please get yourself an Ifixit set. You will love it when in need of small bits.
I made my own rechargeable headtorch for £3, built from a £1 3xAAA LED COB Poundland headtorch, a £2 Poundland USB battery bank, two diodes (simply for voltage dropping) all sitting in a 3D printed shell I designed.
Works very well, full brightness for 4 hours or an entire night on the lower brightness setting.
Mine is two 18650's out of a scrapped laptop battery and a 3d printed case. The light I used came from a scrapped LED headlamp (one with a sealed lead acid battery that gets dumped here in India while the good stuff goes to the West), so I didn't buy anything other than a USD 0.35 TC4056 module.
@@rexsceleratorum1632 Great stuff! I love being able to look at the world and see how I can modify/combine/enhance/create things like this.
@@licensetodrive9930 I do have to point out that you are wasting some power in stepping up to 5V and then resistively stepping down the voltage. That's a waste of almost half the power when the cells are near empty. I prefer the cheap and simple AMC7135 out of China for directly driving LEDs from lithium cells in 1W increments with much less wastage. Although I'm having trouble sourcing more after Covid and increased tensions with China. You can also use a resistor if you don't mind it dimming slightly as the charge goes down.
@@rexsceleratorum1632 You're absolutely right on the loss of efficiency boosting the lithium cell to 5v USB and then cutting it down to around 4.5v to drive the LED torch.
I chose the diode voltage dropping method because it was simple, clean & quick to achieve, and importantly it gives me constant brightness right up until the battery runs dry.
Even with the efficiency loss of boosting & cutting the voltage, 4 hours at full brightness and more than an entire night at the lower brightness setting is perfectly adequate for my needs.
I just wish the Chinese manufacturers would stop putting the strobe flashing mode in their torches...
i love your videos !!
I would love to see a tear up of one of those Battery free scale, hand cranked, to see the schematics !
I send you one if you want !
I would like to see if it's possible to use the same system for other devices, like a remote control for example...
The build must vary depending on production dates etc. I have the exact same light, same packaging but the battery is thinner and labelled 600mah , the PCB is the same, while the top was off I snipped off a resistor to extend the charge.
Nice light indeed. Small, packed, practical.
5:27 "Jaffa! Kree!" :)
Excellent as ever, I would note only one possible (mechanical) problem with the design; the double pole switch? That might be a weakness but I don't know anything about the MCU, if the 'pull to ground' is not simultaneous, might that be an issue?
Pax and respect 'oh mighty High-Heidyin of the confused electron'
If we have blackouts we will all need alternative ways to supply light etc....i think it would be a fantastic idea and very helpful if you could do a video or two with any tips or ideas you have.....maybe get viewers to chip in with their own ideas and tips just in case the worst happens.....i would rather be prepared in case something happened than not be....im sure we all would.....blackbeltbarrister has done a couple of videos explaining the situation that the government and news etc are keeping quiet....many thanks and stay safe.....dave 😊
Just got a Nightcore headlamp and I love it wearing it right now.
I think I saw a special offers sign at Tesco fuel stations last week offering the Core headtorch.
Its all about I^2T.
Perhaps the 'Big Clive' avatar could be blessed with a cherished 'head-torch'?
long time no see ...
good as ever...
That looks like a decent bit of kit! I may see if I can get one locally.
I have an old and tired "LED LIGHTS" photon pump headlight. It's a damnably good light, but it sticks out about two inches in front your forehead.
I can see where this Core light is going to be much handier in small spaces. Also, my old light isn't rechargeable, which is not very handy when the battery goes flat.
Yeas! I like this one......
Does it get warm against your nut?
Those lamps are cool, but having one is as close to it as I got. I prefer larger area lights. Good luck. 👍
Another top quality video Clive 😜
12:10
Did you just drop an n bomb?
Respect.
Niggle means slight annoyance.
@@bigclivedotcom ik I was just playing.
I can't say niggle out here without judgement lol
A class vid as always Clive. Could you please make a short vid of how to do the power down hack you've mentioned in this video and thanks for all your interesting works and the fun laughs with your brother over the years. ;)
I linked with your vids many years ago when you made the one about a cheap sim tracker and your dear old Mum; I used from that vid one of those trackers for a few years until Australia sadly turned off 2G other than on Christmas Island which I be believe is a bit of a crabby place ;) I now use a completely totally overpriced running costs tracker that is no better than your original tracker that you called into and then Google-Mapped the grid reference from the text return. So Clive have you got any cheap tracker ideas that run on 3G and 4G Australian network sims or any other system methods that you reckon are OK with reasonable running costs today ¿?
About 10 years ago when I discovered single-cell 18650 headlamps I haven't bought anything else since. I do wonder about the safety of having an 18650 in a sealed metal tube on my forehead though. Especially with some of the amazon-ebay special headlamps I've bought (and been generally happy with).
Handy little light, nice video 2X👍
I prefer the ones which also have a fill-light (wide angle). We even have some with an additional red light function (less important as you need two anyway for bike)
Anyone else muttering 'enhance, enhance' to themselves while Clive zooms in...
I like the Petyl ATEX Pixa headtorch but use it with USB rechargeable lithium AA's as otherwise it eats batteries. It has no bells and whistles (stupid flashing modes etc.), very rugged, won't turn on accidentally in your bag when in it's storage position and you can change the batteries. I hate torches with fixed batteries.
Thanks Clive, now I have to get this one too! 🍺Drink🍻
I personally dislike the IR auto-sense ones, as I'm often working close to machines/ walls/ etc and the auto-sense keeps turning off the light... If you just put a bit of insulation tape over the IR bits, then they work without issues.
It's optional. You can activate it or not.
I've got a black diamond. I thionk it's an Ion., Has a bright (but multi level) big spot, and two small leds for gentler lighting. It;'s very small and light but has a separate battery pack that goes at the back. Runs off 2 AAs so has a long life and easy to replace. However I've had it some years and the elastic strapping has gone limp.
Nice find Clive !
Hate a wee screw.
;)
Just been on ebay nice selection my first project
Just looked... the CLH200 is under a tenner in my local hardware store... I may have to invest in one.
"I'm very fussy about the type of headlight"
Proceeds to describe 85% of available headlights.
They may have similar functionality, but when you use a light like this at work you have high expectations for specific styles.
If you're in complete darkness, low light is very bright. I have two head lamps, and they just don't wear out. The rechargeable seems nice, but once the battery is dead, the head lamp is dead.