# LED Headlamps



## shootnmiss09 (Sep 15, 2006)

Hey Guys!

Just wondering what if you guys use LED headlamps to set up decoys or whatever. If so I Could use some help! Im looking at getting a new one, what is the brightest one that you have used? Other comments you have? I currently just have a cheap walmart one but looking at getting a better one, just tryin to do a little research.

thanks!


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## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

I bought a 2 pak from Cabelas or Gander. It has 1 white and 1 green. Seem to be bright, the green is supposed to be easier on the eyes. I really only use them in the trailer to see what I'm grabbing. I really hardly ever use them because it's not really that dark while I'm setting up. I don't set that many decoys. Plus I use the headlights on the truck, and I put dome light in the trailer.


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## Bucky Goldstein (Jun 23, 2007)

although cheap and from walmart the $25 energizers are pretty tough to beat


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## rottengander (Oct 2, 2010)

Found one at the local runnings farm and fleet store for $6. Works great.


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## cut'em (Oct 23, 2004)

Have you considered the camo ball cap with the lights built in the visor? That what I've switched to and it's great not having to worry about loosing the headlamp.


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## coyote sniper (Apr 15, 2009)

I use a COAST H7 if i remember right it is 150 lumen and runs about $45-50 awsome light really worth it. I have a energizer one also and they aren't even in the same league!!!!!


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## JRinNE (Dec 31, 2010)

Another vote for the Energizer one.


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## nryan (Jul 14, 2010)

if price isnt an issue get a Surefire Saint Minimus, crazy bright, brighter than most flashlights i use plus its a true whit light not tinted blue, i love this headlamp cant say enough about it

other than that Streamlight Septor are great headlamps and only run like $40 bucks


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## sd5.0. (Mar 13, 2008)

I have the energizer and cabelas brand LED headlamps. If i had to pick i would always go with the energizer lamp. the cabelas lamp works good but mine has the battery pack on the back of the head which wouldn't be a problem except there are a few dim green lights on the battery pack that are turned on by a small button that is way to easy to push on the battery pack. i cant count the number of times my batteries have been dead on my cabelas head lamp because I shut it off and tossed it into my blind bag and the little green lights button gets pushed while in the blind bag. energizer gets my vote.


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## Andy Weber (Nov 18, 2009)

nryan said:


> if price isnt an issue get a Surefire Saint Minimus, crazy bright, brighter than most flashlights i use plus its a true whit light not tinted blue, i love this headlamp cant say enough about it


x5000. Adjustable brightness..ultra light.


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## dsm16428 (Feb 19, 2009)

I have 3 of the Energizer lights and love them but not sure where some of you guys are paying 25 bucks for them??!! I got mine at Wal Mart for no more than $19.99 and 2 of them on christmas sale for $12.97. :thumb: Very bright, durable and the batteries last forever! I just now changed the batteries in one of them after 2 straight years of use in the blind and in the treestand.


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## shootnmiss09 (Sep 15, 2006)

I just checked out the surefire minimus, and taht does look like a aweome headlamp! I see it puts outs 100 lumens max. The other one i was looking at was the Princeton Tech Apex Pro, and that says it puts out 200 lumens max. Just curious, does the more lumens mean the brighter it is gonna be? These are the 2 models i have narrowed it down to

Some of the headlamps tath you can find taht are fairly cheap, seem to be decently bright. So is the surefire going to be noticeably brighter then some of those?


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## weuk (Dec 19, 2010)

black diamond from cabelas I would definitely recommend it. One thing is some of these headlamps are hard to turn on and off with thick gloves when its cold. I used 3 AA batteries the whole season and on the ranch farming all year before I needed new batteries. REally good bright beam and good soft light as well. very comfortable. Don't go cheap. You will go through more of them than they are worth.


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## dsm16428 (Feb 19, 2009)

shootnmiss09 said:


> I just checked out the surefire minimus, and taht does look like a aweome headlamp! I see it puts outs 100 lumens max. The other one i was looking at was the Princeton Tech Apex Pro, and that says it puts out 200 lumens max. Just curious, does the more lumens mean the brighter it is gonna be? These are the 2 models i have narrowed it down to
> 
> Some of the headlamps tath you can find taht are fairly cheap, seem to be decently bright. So is the surefire going to be noticeably brighter then some of those?


The thing I have found with the ultra bright head lamps is battery life suffers. Where you can usually get a full season of use out of the less bright models, the 100-200 lumen lights might give you a few hunts (few hours) worth of life even with lithium batteries. I like surefire products. I have 3 of their tactical lights and they are bullet proof. That being said, battery life compared to the rediculous price of C-123 lithium batteries is horrendous.


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## teamshakeandbake (Oct 14, 2008)

i have an alaskan guide i bought for 30.00 seems to work very well!!


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## nryan (Jul 14, 2010)

shootnmiss09 said:


> does the more lumens mean the brighter it is gonna be? These are the 2 models i have narrowed it down to
> 
> Some of the headlamps tath you can find taht are fairly cheap, seem to be decently bright. So is the surefire going to be noticeably brighter then some of those?


The rating manufacturers put on their lights really has no usable information for the consumer. Lumens is just a measure of total light output. Yes the more lumens the more light the light emits but the problem is that most cheap lights also have cheap reflectors which in turn greatly diminishes the value of the light actually being emitted by the bulb or diode. It be like if you put a 300hp engine on a gokart, no way to really use all that power effectively, so in turn it mainly goes to waste. Also the way the reflector is shaped has an affect on if you have dead spots in the beam or if the beam is concentrated or more of a flood.

Also on the miniums i have used it at half to a third power all hunting season on the first battery without it dying on me. Prob a could 20 hours on it right now.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

This is the best one I found....

http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/p ... rchID=4005


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## farmerj (Jun 19, 2004)

I don't use it for decoys....

But I use it at work for pre-tripping my truck before using it and also for using it to do work on the side of the roads repairing guardrail and such at night. I have used it for about 10 nights now, burning 2-8 hours a night. still going strong.

Got it from Runnings farm & fleet in the archery section for $5.


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## drjongy (Oct 13, 2003)

dsm16428 said:


> I like surefire products. I have 3 of their tactical lights and they are bullet proof. That being said, battery life compared to the rediculous price of C-123 lithium batteries is horrendous.


-3

I used to buy the batteries from Surefire, but have started using Energizer, which are a little cheaper at least, and I can't tell any difference in battery life.


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