UKC

Hi, I'm after a new torch that's light and has at least 200 lumen of brightness.

Any recommendations? Here's my ideas so far.

Nao: don't want fancy reactive lighting and USB charging really
BD Icon & Polar: too heavy
LED Lenser etc: don't like the design & had too many problems with these torches in the past
Tikka RXP - too fancy, don't want reactive lighting
Mammut X-Shot: anyone tried one?

Any others?

In reply to iamaclimber:

http://www.zebralight.com/H600w-Mk-II-18650-XM-L2-Headlamp-Neutral-White_p_...

In reply to iamaclimber:

I guess it's what you want from it - but you can use the petzl on constant lighting I think?

In reply to iamaclimber:

Nitecore HC50. Bought it and have no regrets whatsoever.
Fully waterproof, regulated lighting.
You need to buy a separate charger and rechargable 18650 batteries but it's worth it.
Used for UK and alps (where it may have saved my life, allowing me to see a bergshrund crossing and stopping me from freezing to death in -15).

Only disadvantage is the weight, which is noticeable but not prohibitive.

In reply to blackreaver:
New Petzl Myo Rxp out anytime now upgraded to 280 Lumens
370 Boost Mode should do nicely

In reply to iamaclimber:

Consider Princeton Tec Apex - http://princetontec.com/apex ? I use one for fell running at night, caving, winter climbing, DIY - everything. 4 x AA batteries for lots of run time but does make for a slightly heavier torch. Not that you notice with the comfy straps and it is well balanced front to back. 275 lumens quoted. Mine has been abused heavily for 3 years now and is still going OK.

In reply to thedatastream:

Thanks for the recommendation.

How do you find the burn time? I need something that is going to last at least 6 hours at a reasonable brightness. For example, although heavy, the BD Icon claims 80 hours on 'high' where as the Apex says 1.5 hours 'regulated' but 90 hours 'total burn time'.

Not sure what all this is saying as a like for like comparison.

In reply to iamaclimber:

When did you have problems with the LED lenser? I had issues with mine but they've all been corrected now and the replacement I was sent has been going a few years with no problems.

In reply to iamaclimber:

Burn time is generally good but I don't run it on full brightness all the time, mostly just for "where's the path going", running/biking downhill or night-O "where's the control" type of thing. Also I don't have another headtorch to compare it to I'm afraid.

The battery type will dictate in what manner and how quickly the light reduces when it is out of regulating mode. In my experience, NiMH rechargeables tend to "fall of a cliff" when near the end of their life with the voltage dropping quickly whereas alkalines tend to peter out more gradually.

The lower brightness spot beam is more than OK for fell running at night over flat terrain and the high brightness wide beam is perfect for walking/nav.

What's your intended use for the torch?

Tell you what, I'll try and remember to stick some fresh batteries in it tonight and time it for you

In reply to iamaclimber:
This is a good resource for Which type testing. The review is a year old now and with the year on year improvements that does date it a bit, and I don't necessarily agree with where their scoring system takes them - but the info is all there to make up your own mind. The graphs allowing you to compare graphs is a good feature.

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/headlamp-reviews

the graph for icon and apex
http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Headlamp-Reviews/Beam-Test?beamA=49017&v=...

Another issue with outdoor gear lab on this test is not testing on different settings - it probably would have been useful to test the apex on "maxbright low" to see if you got 22 hours of 72m. Guess they don't have infinite time and resources.

Personally I went for the new BD Storm - 160L not 200. But reasonable burn times at its default 100L, regulated, waterproof, 4 AAA battery giving a reasonably light and compact unit.