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Petzl e+LITE Headlamp REVIEW

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Edited by pj on 12/06/2006 04:10:09 MST.

Rick,

excellent review. i really enjoy reading a Pro's review of headlamps.


i agree that the e+LITE will never replace my '06 ZipkaPlus as my always_carried_in_my_pocket lighting device, particularly for the reasons you mentioned regarding battery life of the Li coin cells.



some questions:

1) have you come across a Petzl stated or empircally determined length of "burn" time for the single RED LED? If not, any guesses?

2) can you please share your source for thirty cent CR2032 batts? i can find them in any Qty, even just one, for ~$0.90 each (BrightGuy.com), $0.69 each for 10-90 qty, and in >100 qty for $0.49 each - both larger Qty prices from InfiniteLights.com

3) does it really take hours and not just 10-20 minutes (or even less) for the batteries to cool enough so that aspect of any battery's internal resistance is reduced, thereby allowing brighter light output once again? i've never tried this with a Li coin cell light, but have tried it AA alkaline batts and it's usually just a few minutes (10-20 min yielding much better results than 2-3 min, IME). Of course, the shorter the cool-down time allowed, the shorter time the brighter light is output (subject to inherent upper limits of time, depending upon how long it takes to cool and how much stored energy is left in the battery).

i would have thought that given Li batts low thermal mass coupled with the higher surface area to volume ratio of a tiny Li coin cell, which affects heat transfer, that it might have been faster to recover. i understand that other factors, such as packaging and air volume/flow near the batts come into play also. i've never tried, so i'm probably mistaken for some reason i haven't yet reasoned out.



again, many thanks for such a fine, professionally performed and well written Review.

Great review! I might get this as a gift for my friend who almost always wears a ballcap, which makes a regular strap-mounted headlamp hard to wear without the brim casting a shadow right at your feet.

For myself, I require a red LED in any headlamp I use. It makes it so much nicer when you're not blinding your companions every time you look in their direction, and it's nice to walk through the moonlight, only flipping on the red lamp when you need it, and much less adjustment time for your eyes. Which brings me to the next revelation I had about headlamps- I really like to be able to go from "off" to "red" without intermediate clicks through the white settings. The cheap (~$10) Energizer 3-LED light at Wally world has this feature, but the 6-LED version requires button clicks through all the settings, getting to red last. I'm glad to see that this unit has such a feature.

I just added a flip-up red filter on the 1W LED on my Black Diamond Zenix IQ, makes the light so much more useful to me. Just as I try to buy gear in muted colors to avoid jarring the eyes, I try to avoid blazing white light lancing around the nighttime forest, especially if there are others about, possibly trying to rest. Of course, the white is a requirement if you need to see hazards or perform detailed tasks at night.

Kevin,

our requirements in a headlamp differ a bit (me, old man, dark forests, lots
of white light & no need to preseve dark adapation). your needs are justifiably different.

i too, just like your friend, nearly always wear a ballcap.

sometimes, i turn the cap around backwards (rally cap time!!!) if it's not raining and wear a larger headlamp normally.

other times, i either use a smaller headlamp that fits under my cap brim (a
ZipkaPlus for proximity/task lighting), or adjust the cap on my head so that
a larger headlamp fits underneath (i know, some tradeoffs at work here) and
the cap brim is pointing up at an angle. In the rain i probably have my head
angled down a bit and only lift it up periodically to spot blazes on rocks or
trees.

i'm with you, wearing a normal headlamp above the ballcap brim almost never
produces good results for the reason you stated.

also, i've done the following with the PTScout with good results, and will try
it with the e+LITE. i often attach the Scout to the capbrim so that it is on
the underside of the brim and not above the brim as is pictured in the e+LITE
review. for some reason, i know that it sounds weird (maybe, i'm just
weird???) for me i don't find this objectionable. my eyes don't cross trying to focus on the back of the light and i quickly don't even notice it (perhaps b/c the darkness doesn't offer sufficient contrast to the dark back of the Scout). also, i don't find that enough light "spills" back towards me to
really make doing this a problem. Such an arrangment also keeps water off of
the headlamp, though the e+LITE has a -1m waterproof rating so this isn't a
compelling argument for mounting the e+LITe under the capbrim instead of above it.

Edited by pj on 12/06/2006 07:43:10 MST.

Thanks for your comments Paul,

I downloaded the latest user's guide to be sure, and it only addresses "maximum" and "economic" and not the red mode. I know life's too complicated to just divide by three, but for lack of a better idea I'd start there to extrapolate red mode battery life.

Battery Station has CR2032s for thirty cents in bulk (200x), fifty cents individually. They're name brands, too. I've been surprised to find that CR2016s aren't sold as cheaply as 2032s.

I don't think battery rebound is strictly a function of heat, but also chemical. However, with all the many battery formulations out there, I'd gladly defer to somebody more versed in the topic than I.

all this is well and good, but you can google microlites and find a small lite with on off and momentary switch from over seas(China I believe) for 79 cents each, plus a bunch of shipping. buy a 100 and they are less than 1.00 each use and throw away. they last well and use 2 if you need too. Jeeezzz 29.00the gnome of blue island

i've used cheaper microlights.

one would probably have to carry and use simultaneously several of the cheaper lights and you still wouldn't have the throw or distance lighting of the e+LITE. it really is quite bright for the first 30min and then it dims. The cheaper lights you are referring to will similarly dim.

Also, the newer generation of brigher 5mm LEDs do really produce dimmer, but still usable light for a lot longer than the prev. generation of microlights. These earlier, lower output 5mm LEDs are probably still being used in the cheaper lights.

Lastly, consider the weight difference (albeit minor in terms of absolute weight) between carrying six or eight or more of these cheaper lights to make up for the increased brightness and longer burn time of the cheaper lights.

Think about the newer LEDs used in the e+LITE this way: 2x as bright and burns 2x as long PER LED. The e+LITE has 3LEDS vs. one in many cheaper microlights. Hence, i would need to carry 12 microlights to have the same brightness (at least 6 cheaper lights) and same burn time (the other 6 out of the 12 being carried).

Edited by pj on 12/07/2006 04:27:43 MST.

Hi,
What is the yellow bottle that the light is attached to.
Thanks

frederik

is the typical lemon juice bottle

;)

Rick,

I haven't gotten that PM from you yet. Did you forget?

I've been using the Petzl d+LITE daily for a couple of years.

The high-mode dropoff sometimes occurs within just a few minutes, as stated in the review. But it more often occurs at fifteen or thirty minutes. I assume this is some battery or temperature variable.

The e+LITE can stand on its big foot, and can be pointed in any direction from its stand. It can also solidly clip to a baseball cap or any strap. Two e+LITEs on one strap around a helmet make a good bicycle headlamp/red flashing taillamp.

The low beam really should be lower. It is too bright for reading - and I read a lot with it. But I have to point the center of the light way off the page.


Neither the switch nor the ball mount shows wear.

I would compare it not to the Photon (which I used for years), but to the Black Diamond Ion headlamp, which I also used for years. The Ion doesn't care about orientation on your head, while the e+LITE has to be placed upright, or the beam won't be able to be pointed down enough. But: The Ion's battery is not available from supermarkets or drugstores - I bought them in bulk at about $80 per order. The Ion's switch wears out. The Ion's battery contacts are undependable (though easily re-bent). The Ion isn't at all waterproof. The Ion is dimmer. The Ion runs for a shorter time on a battery.