Good review Justin. This headlamp is a real step forward for the backpackers/campers. The only changes I would make are 1) Have a higher power red light, say 130 lumens, to reduce attracting the bugs. 2) Ditch the 5 lumen SOS feature and provide SOS/blinker on the white 400 lumen output. The object of the exercise is to be seen from afar. I think Fenix are on to a winner here.
You didnt mention the built in whistle! I have the HM65R-T. Its a great headlamp but i agree that the fenix models in this sort of style are heavy. I almost exclusively use the warm floodlight which on its highest setting will last a whole night. This looks like it could be a good slimmed down option
It adds 0 weight so I guess I'm for it, but I *am* a little bemused that every gear company wants to make sure I'm provisioned with a whistle. On the followup video, I'm going crunch some numbers about weight. There may be a sweet spot where bringing this heavier headlamp + batteries makes sense if you need lots and lots of runtime when compared to a different headlamp with a non-replaceable battery that requires you to charge it. I bet it's still like 6-10 days where you'll see a benefit over a super ultralight headlamp.
@@TheLongRanger might be less awkward and rattling than the usual vest whistle. But do you want to have to take your headlamp off to use your whistle? Maybe not I find on mine you have to do the boa quite tight with the lamp being heavy. They wouldn't have to reduce weight much to help with that. The 400 lumens with 12 hours run time is equivalent to what I'm getting using the flood on my model. I guess if I get one will depend on what the spread of the light is like on this model. A nice wide beam is much better on the mountains.
Good ideas. Is there another RU-vidr or reviewer that has good setup you like that I can get… inspiration from? This headlamp does throw pretty narrow - def spot rather than flood. I’ll measure the temp in a second…
@@TheLongRanger Great info, thank you. Enough for my needs. In terms of the reviews I find valuable it's the Run4adventure channel. Guy shows all the modes and the throw of each light with locked exposure behind his back so at least comparatively the viewer gets a rough sense outside of the numbers.
Great an simple headlamp. As a backpacker I only miss a memory function and a warmwhite LED (XP-G2 HE) using it in an campsite. There is only one problem charching the battery with USB-C Port. For a 6 time longer lifetime of the batterie you should use the battery between 20 - 70 %. You need then an intelligent charcher with refreshing function which indicate the capacaty of the battery too. The only advantage of a battery with USB-C port is, that you can use it as a power station in case of an emergency.
OH GAWD. One of the weirdo things that has happened to me -- or maybe I've allowed to self-admit -- is I have some sensory issues related with sound. I've actually never been able to get more than 5 seconds into one of those actual videos without having to turn it off.
I was wondering that too. I may go to Neptune and grab some very thin bungee and play with some ideas. For the curious, the band is 23 grams, so there's gainz (or... losses?) to be had!
One big reason is that I lost the Zebralight somewhere in Wild Basin in Rocky Mountain National Park in the Winter. Just popped off my head in the morning before I had put it away. It also wouldn't stay on its high setting (tripped probably a temperature safety circuit), which was really frustrating in some marathon climbing projects that went into the night. So I looked for alternatives, and settled on the Fenix HM65R and that light has never failed me.
