Best rechargeable headlamp batteries?

Pierre Proulx wrote:

I used a BD sprinter for trail running for the past year, but after having it replaced 3 times on warranty by BD I switched to the Fenix HM65R-T. BD’s warranty is great, but it’s not enough to make up for a clearly faulty design.

For rock climbing the standard HM65R might be better than the trail version since the wider headband is not really required. 

What issues did you have? Curious as to what issues I might expect. Although it could be a QC issue as well (e.g., you were unlucky).

Ricky Harline wrote:

I'll try the Eneloop Pros I guess and if those don't work out too well 

They work fine for everything but long alpine approaches, cold weather and route finding in the dark.  I think those charts above are on the optimistic side.  However - they’re definitely good enough to call a replacement for all my other AAA and AA needs.  I’ve been using them for several years, large pile in a drawer.  The charger brings them to 1.5V, but after charging they often sit for days or weeks until I need them - volts will be about 1.35 at this point - which is fine.  I can work for maybe 2 hours with a headlamp on high, maybe 3-5 middle setting, will produce usable light for a few more - but I’ve probably already swapped them out before then.  I have the BQ-CC65 charger, which is nice - lots of reviews on the advantages, but for some reason you pretty much have to get it shipped from overseas.  

I stopped using Eneloops after experiencing poor low temp (sub 10°F) performance. Now it's always lithium AAA's I order on Amazon. I might go the Zebralight way some time in the future, used to have one actually but I didn't like being dependent on the 18650s (can't get them at a gas station etc.). Maybe I should go back.

Love the BD Sprinter 500 for city/trail running. Battery in the back design is way more stable. No bounce even with rain/sweat.

Franck Vee wrote:

What issues did you have? Curious as to what issues I might expect. Although it could be a QC issue as well (e.g., you were unlucky).

The first one had a battery issue where the battery wouldn’t charge no matter how long it remained plugged in. The second one had a faulty power management module and would automatically go into power saving mode even with a full battery (first occured during a 55km Ultra, which lead to some serious swearing). Last one worked fine for several months but the battery leaked out of the blue and corroded the inner circuits. The fourth one is sitting in its box unused. 

I have a 18650 lamp that also runs on a pair of lithium 123’s as backups and for cold weather. Much brighter than the aaa lithium lamps I have. You can see to the end of the rope.

BD came out with the Storm 500-R(echargeable) headlamp which can output 500 lumens at 7 hours, shown in the table below. Zebralight H600fc does 562 lumens at 3.1 hours. How is the BD able to run so much longer? Because the output is unregulated?

James C wrote:

BD came out with the Storm 500-R(echargeable) headlamp which can output 500 lumens at 7 hours, shown in the table below. Zebralight H600fc does 562 lumens at 3.1 hours. How is the BD able to run so much longer? Because the output is unregulated?

The FL-1 standard for runtime is defined as when it drops below 10% brightness. So yes, it probably gets much dimmer but is still counting it.

Also that Zebralight value is also not "real" as it thermally regulates to a lower brightness after a while (the 562lm runtime has a "PID" label on it).

An 18650 battery has about 50% more capacity as the battery in the Storm 500-R, which is what I would base my runtime expectations on. A newer headlamp probably uses more efficient LEDs though, but I have no real idea how much.

Austin Donisan wrote:

The FL-1 standard for runtime is defined as when it drops below 10% brightness. So yes, it probably gets much dimmer but is still counting it.

Also that Zebralight value is also not "real" as it thermally regulates to a lower brightness after a while (the 562lm runtime has a "PID" label on it).

An 18650 battery has about 50% more capacity as the battery in the Storm 500-R, which is what I would base my runtime expectations on. A newer headlamp probably uses more efficient LEDs though, but I have no real idea how much.

The capacity of 18650 batteries is all over the map, from 2000 mAh to about 3500 mAh.  Your performance will depend on the battery you buy for the Zebralight or other 18650 lights.  The battery for the Storm 500-r is 2400 mAh.

I suspect Austin is right about more efficient LEDs. 

My big headlamp is a 18650 powered fenix HM61R (also accepts 2X cr123a for extreme cold). This runtime chart is accurate with the included 3400mAh, there is a voltage regulator so brightness stays constant over the runtime (with the exception of the 1200lm turbo, which is thermally limited). Any headlamp that is claiming substantially more runtime out of an 18650 won’t have constant brightness.

Eli W wrote:

My big headlamp is a 18650 powered fenix HM61R (also accepts 2X cr123a for extreme cold). This runtime chart is accurate with the included 3400mAh, there is a voltage regulator so brightness stays constant over the runtime (with the exception of the 1200lm turbo, which is thermally limited). Any headlamp that is claiming substantially more runtime out of an 18650 won’t have constant brightness.

I have this same headlamp.  

Best headlamp I've ever used by a large margin.  

There are specific cold weather batteries available for it as well for really cold, sub-zero days.

I regularly run before work in the dark and use this headlamp.  So bright and charged via usb.

Something I didn't pay much mind to was the optical clarity of the lens/LED (Not really sure what drives this) of my headlamps until I got a Zebralight. Such an even beam of light, its quite surreal.

I got two of these batteries with my Zebralight H600Fc Mk IV 18650 XHP50.2 Floody 4000K High CRI Headlamp. What a terrible fucking name though, barf. 

About an Oz heavier than the Storm 500-R and the one Rob posted above.

Overall I have been very happy with them and they have been great for evening skins at the resort. I would be very hard pressed to go back to a climbing company for any lighting needs.

BD headlamps are the Trango cams of headlamps

Nolan Nolan wrote:

Something I didn't pay much mind to was the optical clarity of the lens/LED (Not really sure what drives this) of my headlamps until I got a Zebralight. Such an even beam of light, its quite surreal.

I got two of these batteries with my Zebralight H600Fc Mk IV 18650 XHP50.2 Floody 4000K High CRI Headlamp. What a terrible fucking name though, barf. 

About an Oz heavier than the Storm 500-R and the one Rob posted above.

Overall I have been very happy with them and they have been great for evening skins at the resort. I would be very hard pressed to go back to a climbing company for any lighting needs.

BD headlamps are the Trango cams of headlamps

My only complaint about zebra light is that they don’t offer an integrated charging solution. If they release an amber (less glare off snow) model I’ll be all over it.

Nolan Nolan wrote:

Something I didn't pay much mind to was the optical clarity of the lens/LED (Not really sure what drives this) of my headlamps until I got a Zebralight. Such an even beam of light, its quite surreal.

I got two of these batteries with my Zebralight H600Fc Mk IV 18650 XHP50.2 Floody 4000K High CRI Headlamp. What a terrible fucking name though, barf. 

About an Oz heavier than the Storm 500-R and the one Rob posted above.

Overall I have been very happy with them and they have been great for evening skins at the resort. I would be very hard pressed to go back to a climbing company for any lighting needs.

BD headlamps are the Trango cams of headlamps

I bought the Zebralight H600w last year and am absolutely in love with it. Do you know what the practical difference is between the H600Fc and the H600w? It seems like they stopped manufacturing the H600w..their specs are confusing for someone who has no idea about flashlights. The w seems to produce more a "spot light" while the Fc is "floody"? Does your produce very diffuse light or something?

Pugnacious Slab wrote:

I bought the Zebralight H600w last year and am absolutely in love with it. Do you know what the practical difference is between the H600Fc and the H600w? It seems like they stopped manufacturing the H600w..their specs are confusing for someone who has no idea about flashlights. The w seems to produce more a "spot light" while the Fc is "floody"? Does your produce very diffuse light or something?

The naming is all over the place, but there is a "system":

"F" means "floody" which is a even 90 degree spread. Standard is a ~80 degree spread with a ~15 degree hotspot in the middle. ("Flood" is a 120 degree spread and those are the "604" models).

The lower case letter is the color:
No letter was daylight (~5500k).
"w" was natural white (~4500k)
"c" and "d" are new high CRI versions in 4000k and 5000k

Basically the H600c and H600d replaced the H600w. These are the ones you want as a general purpose headlamp.

If you only care about climbing (and not routefinding, hiking, etc) then you want either a Floody (H600Fc/H600Fd) or Flood (H604c/H604d) one.

I had an older Fenix 18650 headlamp and loved it, so I bought 2 more - one headlamp and one hand held. Both of them have had weird electronics issues. One basically never worked and I spent hours on the phone with someone in India who just repeated the same troubleshooting step over and over before I gave up, the other I have to loosen and re-tighten the battery cap basically any time I want to use it. I’m going to try a different brand and hope someone else’s QC is better. 2 of 3 Fenix lights I wouldn’t trust when I *need* a light. 

I've been using eneloops for years. The great thing about them is that they stay charged forever if you're not using them. So for example for multipitch at Tahquitz, I don't expect to hike out in the dark, but in case it's necessary, I want to have a headlamp. I just leave a headlamp in my climbing pack with eneloops in it. It doesn't matter if I don't use the headlamp for a year. The batteries will still be charged on the day when I need the headlamp.

It all depends on the use case. If you're caving, you have different requirements.

Another common use case for me is that when I go trail running, I often try to time it so that when I actually start the run, it's light enough that I don't need a headlamp. However, I will often need to use the bathroom at the trailhead before that, so I just need some light for a short period of time. So I just keep a headlamp in the car with eneloops, and it lasts for months when this is all I'm using it for.

Pugnacious Slab wrote:

I bought the Zebralight H600w last year and am absolutely in love with it. Do you know what the practical difference is between the H600Fc and the H600w? It seems like they stopped manufacturing the H600w..their specs are confusing for someone who has no idea about flashlights. The w seems to produce more a "spot light" while the Fc is "floody"? Does your produce very diffuse light or something?

As Austin said above, its a 90deg "flood" with no hot spot. Remarkably, its almost a perfectly even brightness from one edge to the other. A friend has all three beam types, Spot, Floody, and Flood. I found Floody to be the best of both world.

The petzl headlamp I have is the bomb, it's cool to be able to substitute aaa's if you need. My friends love theirs too. Worth the bills. 

Austin Donisan wrote:

The naming is all over the place, but there is a "system":

"F" means "floody" which is a even 90 degree spread. Standard is a ~80 degree spread with a ~15 degree hotspot in the middle. ("Flood" is a 120 degree spread and those are the "604" models).

The lower case letter is the color:
No letter was daylight (~5500k).
"w" was natural white (~4500k)
"c" and "d" are new high CRI versions in 4000k and 5000k

Basically the H600c and H600d replaced the H600w. These are the ones you want as a general purpose headlamp.

If you only care about climbing (and not routefinding, hiking, etc) then you want either a Floody (H600Fc/H600Fd) or Flood (H604c/H604d) one.

Thank you!!! Appreciate the info