@@MichaelMantion The purpose is to determine who is fibbing about specs and which is a better deal, we test vs what they advertise on this channel. If they need help to meet their advertised specs, that's sort of on them.
Great suggestion for the Coast and a bit funny; bought the exact same one about 6-8 months ago, and did exactly that; swapped the batteries immediately, knowing I'd be wearing it all day and wanted battery swaps anyway. HUGE difference. GREAT light!! I think it would sweep the charts with a high-cap in your tests.
Great video as always. I would recommend going to loves travel stop. And testing out their 1000 lumes headlamp for 40bucks. As well as going to autozone and testing their 970 lumes for 35 bucks
Could we get a comparison between the Harbor freight 1 inch and 3/4 inch Earthquake and Central Pneumatic? If you could get them compared to an IR or Aircat that would be great to see how much value you are getting. The Snap-on is pretty scary at $2800 for the "Coolest" 1 inch (For that kinda money it should take the tire off for me).
Man I am so glad you guys started testing lights. I cannot tell you how annoyed I am at the sheer number of lights I've bought over the years that didn't come even remotely close to their claims. Now I have something I can take a quick glance at and know exactly what I am going to get before even opening the package.
There some budget brand such as sofirn and astrolux that perform just as good as nitecore and olight..$25 astrolux ec01 is really my favourite, it perform far better than my $150 surefire.. and while out hunting or camping, i like to bring sofirn q8 pro, it can light up the entire field with those 11k lumen they claimed.. but some channel such as flashaholic had do their own tested with lumen tube and it exceed 14k lumen.. it's crazy because it only cost $60 in aliexpress.
@@reahs4815 build quality ofcourse nitecore and fenix seem better, but for beam profile and overall brightness it can perform better than nitecore and fenix.. you should check them out, these light the company create while having collab with flashaholic from budgetlight forum, check for sofirn sp33 v3, astrolux ea01 and q8 pro, many video review about this brand in youtube.. in flashaholic yt channel some of his video even compare these budget brand with big brand from olight, nitecore and fenix..
For those of you who are considering a headlight. Get one that fit your needs. Not the brightest one. I work as an electrician, and I use the Petzl on almost a daily basis. And I use it A LOT since it's basicly my job to work in the dark. It's super light weight so I can carry it with me at all times (not on the head). It's been dropped countless times, and never broke. I guess it's the light weight that is saving it, and the plastic is not the easily cracking kind. It's also small and not in the way when working in cramped spaces. Huge bonus for being 100% plastic as it is isolated and won't shock my head if it, god forbid, would come in contact with anything that it shouldn't. If the battery would run out at a bad time you can always temporarily change it to x3AAA. This sounds like I'm paid to say, but it's honestly just a recommendation from someone who actually use it.
I need a pretty bright light but honestly it's way better for me to have a less bright light that doesn't light up my eyes/face/hair, or give me a headache, or make me press the button 7 times to turn it off. I have a bunch of headlamps and they're mostly fine for camping or dog park or whatever but I do high volume delivery driving and have to turn the thing off and on every 10 seconds lol. I think one of the best tactics is get a cheap Energizer or Eveready light (or even the $21 petzl) then figure out what bothers them about it and upgrade to a light without those issues
Plumber here.. always in the dark corners. Petzl are great but I found a Duracell $20 headlamp that owns all of them, has 2 lights, point and wide angle, 2 different intensity for each and runs on aa batteries. I love it I'd take a petzyl over any of these tested brands ( except the cheap Duracell ) anyday
We understand a lot of people wished we would have tested X brand or model, but these are all from our viewers' cumulative comments. We tested 8 different ones (2 didn't test well due to sensors) all on the channel's dime. Let us know if we should continue to do more lights and light types? (They take 2-4X the resources to make each vs other episodes) Torque of TTC is working for Astro Tools who make lights as well, just like the Matco and others. Always consider multiple sources when considering a tool!.
One of the things I noticed, when I first started using a headlamp, is some of them are built with optics for throw (for cycling, hiking, etc,) and some have a wider beam spread, which I found much more friendly to "hand-work" use... With the "focused" beam, I was constantly turning my entire head to direct the beam, while wider spread optics allowed a noticably more natural/transparent action, where I wasn't forced to turn/point my head all the time. This might be a good metric to address, as your audience is most likely in the "hand-work" camp. I keep a couple Streamlight bandits close by, for unplanned needs, and a big Nitecore for regular needs.
Yeah, you can sort that out usually via their candela rating (how focused the beam is). In order of wide to narrow beam in this video: Milwaukee, Matco (flood mode), Coast (adjusted wide), Slonik, Petzl, Nitecore (we mentioned its more focused high candela beam). See them all here: 19:34
@@TorqueTestChannel Additionally, you can "calculate" how focused a headlamp will be based on the candela and lumen numbers. Candela / Lumen ratio will tell you just that. 1-5 cd/lm should be a very diffused beam. +15 cd/lm could be a bit too focused for work close-up.
That's one of the reasons I bought the Coast: the beam is adjustable. They're right: Buy battery swaps (high caps) and you'll have the best light on the market in my opinion.
Look at Zebralight, they have flood lense models. Zebralight have been my go to for over a decade now for lights and headlamps I actually carry and use. They are compact, durable, bright, high quality lights. Between 3 Army deployments and 7 years contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan I have legitimately used them for 10 years in some pretty harsh environments. I generally use them in medium modes and while I haven't measured runtime, they seem to be pretty easy on batteries. Personally, I find turbo/high modes over 300 lumens excessive and not all that practically useful, especially on small lights.
I use the Milwaukee headlamp as an auto tech and I love it. The true view color is a life saver on your eyes and the low mode provides more than enough light for me. Run time is great and having the ability to swap out for another battery means I can working.
Same here, I have a couple of them for working on the acreage and in the garage. I don't have any of the fitment issues they found. I also like the battery in the back ( i get irritated with heavy thing on the front of my head). Were well worth the money.
ProjectFarm has a test oif 18650 batteries that would go well with this review. Due to the huge disparity among 18650 batteries (similar to the Lumen-lies, heh), when TTC is testing how long a light lasts, I can't help but wonder whether or not he should have used the same 18650 for each.
For the battery charging tests, you need to be aware of one thing: some chargers/lights have a linear regulator (charging current stays constant), others a switching regulator (charging current increases with cell voltage / charge level). For a linear regulator, you need to take the mAh reading directly (the extra voltage between 5V and the cell voltage is just being burned off), for switching regulators you need to consider the mWh reading and divide by the nominal voltage (they have a buck converter, that keeps the current into the cell constant). That means that the cheaper linear regulator design will get hotter during use, while also seemingly having more capacity (being less efficient with the charge supplied to it)
Yes this came to mind when they said the nitecore had almost 4 Ah of capacity. That's impossible with current 18650 tech. Looking closely the capacity delta was around 3.5 Ah which is realistic, so clearly it's using a linear regulator as you said. Using Wh can be very misleading when the charging circuit and battery DCIR impacts this directly.
Stumbled onto this by accident, ended up watching the whole flashlight series, then subbed. Supremely useful data and the way it was presented was superb. Great job.
The selling point for me on the Petzl is the red light, the low lumen setting, lightweight, and can use 3x AAA if needed instead of the rechargeable battery. I’ve been very happy with my petzl but would love a lightweight but brighter and less pricey option. Thanks for these tests and sharing the results. The right tools for the job make a huge difference!
The Petzl headlamps are surprisingly durable. I have never broken one either in the military or using them as a Bat Biologist. Racked up a lot of hours of use and the only reason I've replaced them is to get the newer models. They have brighter headlamps as well as ones with larger batteries. Petzl focuses on more of a tailor made lighting approach.
Great video, thank you. I've got a Fenix HP25R I've used the heck out of, mostly with the warm-temp high-spread light for close in working on projects. I really really like it, only downside is that over time the headband has gotten a little loosey-goosey. The HP25R has the separate battery case at the back with a micro USB to charge it, and it can run while being charged. Kind of a niche use case, but I have gone on a longer winter hike where I had a 3' usb cord powering/charging it from a powerbank in my pocket.
The low setting on the Petzl is really nice when you are backpacking at night (intentionally or unintentionally). The battery last forever and it lets your eyes adjust to the surroundings so you can see where your stepping but doesn’t blind you to thing in the distance. I have a much cheaper Dorsey for that sole purpose. I use the Milwaukee at work because I like the color of the light (took some getting used too though now I wouldn’t want to use anything else).
I use a headlamp every working day. I use a Milwaukee but forget the model. The battery is mounted to the rear of the lamp and it’s $60ish. Pretty good quality for the price and it charges quickly. My only complaint is that the strap needs and overhead band because it slips off of my hat and it’s a struggle between band tightness head ache and the lamp falling off. Also to everyone complaining that they didn’t test headlamp X there are so many headlamps out there that they have to pick a batch and test them. They are spending their own money on these products as well. If you want it tested buy it for them or donate.
@@TorqueTestChannel I would suggest you test the ones recommended on the flashlight sub on Reddit, at least. Much cheaper, and pretty incredible - the Wiki is hugely educational and they even programmed a "bot" that gives recommendations. I have a D25S 1200 lumens headlamp, for reference. It's pretty incredible, and the headband can be washed!!! CRI? Lumens? Reflector type? Beam pattern? All of these things matter. As far as brands go, Sofirn, Wurkkos, Thrunite, Skilhunt, etc., are all massive improvements over the "top shelf brands". I also have a barrel-type 6k lumen Sofirn flashlight and it is phenomenal for the dark - 90+CRI so I can see everything in great colors and doesn't ruin my depth perception. It throws about a half mile easily. A HALF mile! The Milwaukee 600 lumens probably doesn't even illuminate past 200ft in my neck of the woods (actual forest next door) because a basic Duracell flashlight from Costco is 500 lumens and with that one you can't even see the deer at 100 feet, barely bright.
This was awesome. thank you. The drops in lumens shocked me. I just came here from a Petzl Bindi vs Nitecore NU25 video, and I think I'm not the only one who would watch these before buying something.
I love the review!! I personally own the coast. I feel like you may not have had it on the high setting for the run time test. If you put it on turbo mode while on the low setting you will drop back down to the low setting. I use it almost everyday and would not use it if the high setting wasn’t bright. Regardless I like the recommendation of getting a better battery to try. I also got it on sale for half price so the value is there even if it’s not the brightest because turbo mode is temporary.
one thing to keep in mind is that high charging current isn't always desirable, a lower charging current will increase the lifespan of the cell because it stresses the cell less. personally, i prefer to charge slower because i always get a spare battery anyway
I have the Slonik. It came with a free second battery which is nice. I just had to go to their website and request it. I live at 4,000' on the U.S./CA border and have discovered that once the outside temps get below zero (F), the on/off switch can stop working until you warm it up. Based on your review/test, I'm glad I got the Slonik. I'm out a lot at night and have always found it to be bright enough for my needs.
I've had the home depot coast headlamp for about a year now. And I love it, it has saved me a lot times. I usually keep it the middle to lowest setting most of the time and it does last me about 8 hours. With some off time so hard to know the actual run time on low. But it does work better than the milwaukee, not going back to them in headlamps. Thanks.
I have an older Petzl rechargeable head touch and quite frankly its been brilliant. They might feel cheap but are one of the top names in the outdoor world for a good reason.
As a Petzl fanboy, the Actik really isn't set out for being an automotive/ industry lamp. It's an outdoor recreation headlamp where volume/weight concerns are at a premium. If you had to ruck any of these through a long hike or multi-day hunt, you'll be begging for a sub 3 oz lamp. All that being said, thanks for shining some light on this lumen industry clouded in BS.
Had the slonik for about 7-8 years or so. Using a 3000mAh 18650 batteries with external charger. Still works great but getting another one because bracket broke. Even tho at 600lumens like you guys tested. Light is plenty bright for a diesel tech.
Dear TTC, Please don't take any of these guys's criticisms personally. You guys are legends. Right up there with Project Farm, only more so. Just read the crap and throw it overboard. Don't stew in it. Thanks for all your hard work this year and thanks again for all your objectiveness and tenacity. You guys are BONUS GRADE!
Love the testing. Battery capacity is usually measured with a discharge test, not a charge test. I know, harder to do with some, but there are good battery charger / testers out there that will measure true discharge capacity. I have some AAA batteries with a true capacity of about 700mAh, but yesterday they took 2Ah to charge... Huge difference.
Glad you’ve expanded into lights. It’s nice to see Nitecore exceeding claimed output. I have one of their 900lumen lights and that thing is crazy bright with a crazy long throw. Now your going to have to do Olight and Fenix.
@@christopher6895 I have one of their headlamps and it’s good as well. I haven’t tried any of their flashlights yet but plan on it. Olight I’ve seen testing and complaints where they really don’t live up to the lumen claims. I have one of their lights and I don’t feel it outputs what it claims.
When testing lights that use an 18650, please consider using the same 18650 for each test. There is a huge disparity among 18650 mAh ratings (some are blad-faced lies, IMO).
Two lumens is shockingly usable when you're in the middle of the mountains trying to find your campsite at one AM. Really says something about the dynamic range of the human eye and how dark things get when you're not near a city or highway or other major source of light pollution.
For sure. I use my petzls on low all the time for looking in packs, reading, and other close tasks. I really wouldn't want low any brighter than maybe 20 lumens.
Pro tip. Use a red lens or cut a peice of red plastic. Human eye sees In the dark almost as good as a cat but takes 2-3 hours to get to that, any light disrupts this except red light. That's why the army uses red lights ( also cause hard to spot at distance )
The creator mentions "keychain lights" in passing as though being too dim to be usable but on a backpacking trip I was looking to save weight /space in my pack. So for ten days I in late April /early May on Isle Royale I only used a Nite Ize keychain light for all my nighttime needs. (Single led squeeze light from a CR2032 with a locking switch) Super easy to work with, not even noticeable in weight, just click it on and hold it in your teeth or shine it at a opaque water bottle for an area light. 20+ years later, it is still on my keychain. Awesome little workhorse.
My 2 year review on the 2115 milwaukee light, the headband stretched alot and requires frequent adjusting, the runtime seems to be the same, the hinge still clicks and stay firmly in place, battery cap is still tight, sometime the charging port have some issue recharging the battery removing and reinstalling the battery and plug usually fix it. If you are doing any work on a creeper bed, this isnt a light for you as you wont be able to easily rest your head.
Battery pack in the back is mega important on a hard hat. I used one for years every day and I can tell you with total certainty that all the weight in front sux severely. I used a Coast with a 3X AAA pack in back. It was balanced front to back so my hardhat was not always tipping to the front blinding me to overhead obstacles.
I have that Petzl and it is a champ. Owned it, or the original model I guess, for several years. The battery is a no issue example of functionality and quality.
I guarantee that coast is using lumens measured at the LED, not "out the front" lumens per the ANSI standard. The focusable optic on the coast is a neat party trick (for some folks) but it subtracts massive lumens from the output. Focusable flashlights using aspheric lenses (Coast/LEDlenser aren't "plain" aspheric) are similarly handicapped in the gross lumen metric, where a 1000lm LED might do 600 OTF in flood mode and only 300 OTF in focused mode.
I've used Zebra lights for years. They've taken a beating and kept on working. The UI can be as simple or complicated as the user needs. You can use whatever battery you want and best of all the type of light output is excellent with a high CRI.
@@tjackman I've never heard of Skilhunt before. Did some research on them and they look like they're easily a match for Zebralight. Being in Canada and Zebralight no longer ships outside the US I might just have to try a Skilhunt. Thanks for the headsup on this brand. What model(s) do you have and what lens and led you using?
At 11:37 you quote the manufacturer's run time for "high" power, but then say that you started on "turbo" for the runtime test. That is probably why the lumen output dropped so sharply early in the test. Modern high-power flashlights are usually programmed to drop out of "Turbo" mode after a fixed amount of time to prevent overheating. When that happens they will often drop down to a level even lower than their normal "high" setting (to allow the light to cool off). You may find that by starting in "high" mode instead of "turbo" the initial light output will be lower, but will stay more steady over time. Decreasing gradually as the battery runs out, rather than dropping off suddenly when the thermal protection kicks in.
I’m glad I just got the Milwaukee. I’m a painter so the true view color light will be very helpful in differentiation of colors as well as sanding drywall patches.
I have a petzl I have used doing industrial electrical work in rain , sleet, snow, and lots of dirt, grease, and dust. I paid over 125 bucks for that thing at cabela's over 25 yrs ago. It isn't rechargeable but 3 triple A's will run for months even in subzero temps. It has even been used in spray chambers at steel mills where molten glowing steel was 10' feet away. There is a reason all emergency services used to use petzl exclusively. Also the fact that A LOT of mountaineering and climbing gear is made by the same company.
Zebralight. Best hands down. Bright, light weight, durable. Been using then exclusively for over a decade from home renovation, car repair, camping, hiking, fishing and everything between.
As a first responder I rely on Nitecore exclusively. I have the HC60M and it mounts to my bump helmet. Glad to see she works as well as I know it does. Great scientific work, y'all!
I’ve gone through two of the Coast ones so far, as they both have flickering issues. First one got super, super bad after time, the other was flickering day one out of the box. Otherwise, I LOVE the twist and the magnet. Holy hell that magnet is so handy
Am starting to use the 180 degree type for in my home, better in power failure, under the sink, outside making repairs. The spot type is good for trails and walking. Thanks
As a painter and finisher, I swear by the Milwaukee headlamps. When going over painted woodwork, the light they produce makes every little imperfection jump out.
@@rlmares I got mine when there were only 2 models. I would suggest reading cutomer reviews. They all emit the same white light, its just a matter of the features you are looking for
coast are the ONLY lights i have bought that have lasted more that a few months . the ones i have are between 2 and 6ish years old and work perfectly fine . happy new year dude , jeff
I'd add some Black Diamond headlamp. Lots of options, extra touch button to have quick max brightness, lots of light modes, red light easy on the eyes to adjust, waterproof. Overall the single strap ones will move move more, the straps wear a lot faster and more tension is needed giving forehead imprints. Even if takes more initial adjustments, for long hours I'd take the top strap variants. The petzl's light weight is great for camping, climbing and they got lots of high end models for alpine use. The option to use two types of batteries can save one's butt. Let the job choose the lamp.
Out on our remote ranch we use headlamps but find that one certain weakness is the elastic wearing out. Not sure how many manufacturers offer replacement head bands at reasonable price.
A second, over the top of the head strap, is a must. I know some don't like that but nothing is more annoying than a headlight that falls down. Or trying to keep the band tighter (and getting a headache) trying to keep the light up.
I've had the slonik on my hard hat for the past half a year or so. She's been good to me, lumens aside as a mechanic it's need really good. I've likes how I can just rip it off the mount and use as a flashlight when needed
I have the coast light and love it for work. But the magnet does pull your head to the side and stick it to the side of anything iron if you get to close
I used milwaukee for when I was a cable guy. I loved the true color light as I can see the colors of the cables really well. The problem is that it just drains batteries like you wouldn't believe it, and I was caught in the dark (thank you back up light!). So far my favorite is the black diamond spot, great price, weight, output and runtime!
The Matco interests me because it's thinking about mechanics in a shop. Stick it on, do the work you need, take it off and slap it up against the charger so that when you're not wearing it and its placed in its storage location, it can always be charging and with that charger, two or three guys can have one and always expect it to be near its top capacity. That, I think, is a really nice consideration and from that standpoint gives it a leg up, IMO.
I use the Milwaukee and love it compared to the last version. Once adjusted it's comfortable all day and honestly when you are close to a white wall doing switch/ plug install you use it on low. When on low its 1.5 to 2 days of use. Or put on high to blast a hole site while others work.
13:20 Be careful when considerung Energy vs Charge. The figure you want to look at depends heavily on the technology utilized by the charger. A lot of devices will be using chargers that function as linear regulators. They just dissipate some power as heat and charge the battery at the same current they draw from the 5V power source. Thus one needs to look at the charge in mAh to determine battery capacity here. On the other hand more efficient chargers will use a switch mode converter to charge the battery. Here almost all power is delivered into the battery. Thus the overall energy in mWh consumed by the charger will be almost equal to the energy contents of the charged battery. Thus the capacity of the Lithium cell must be calculated based on the energy measurement shown by the USB analyzer in this and only this case.
Great video. I purchased a flashlight last year from Amazon that was advertised as 100,000 lumens. I told them the light was defective and nowhere near 100,000 lumens. I returned the light 2 times before I think they finally caught one and refunded my money. Maybe if more people did this they would crack down on the false numbers.
I don't know what it takes to measure it, but having the Color Rendition Index and color temperature would be nice. I don't care for LED flashlights that have a blue tint to them. Probably most of the quality ones these days don't have that issue, but still, it'd be nice to know.
Color rendering makes a big difference if you are using a light for a long time, very blue lights are harsh on the eyes leading to eye fatigue and headaches.
This exactly why i like the Milwaukee line of lights so much. Very little blue aspect to the light. I honestly feel half blind in the blue tinted lights.
I agree, I like hi cri lights and warmer tints and it's important that we do our homework and check on those things before making a purchase. Luckily it's usually easy to find this information online in reviews or at least specs from the manufacturer.
I would say the Milwaukee 2111-21 is much more intended for being worn directly on the head than the 2115-21 is. Downside is it's only rated for 475 lumins, but it fits on the head nice and secure with its rubberized nonslip headband.
I am a design engineer which has experience with lithium applications so with that said, I can tell you that rapid charging might be nice but it is not nice to the battery life. I recommend the Astro black diamond headlamp. The variable output is useful because you don’t always need all that light. The light is pretty versatile for hiking with long lasting low mode operation while at the same time it gives you quick access to high mode when you need it. I cannot stress the importance of having low mode for a long operation in hiking applications. It’s pretty light with 3 AAA. The one thing that I wish most lights would have is a very low power mode red LED light. This is used for for many applications since red light does not interfere with your eyes adapting to low light. I also recommend testing them in low mode. This is how people mostly use lights. Also, the rating of the lumens should be rated based on average lumen output throughout usage and not for the first minute when the battery is fully charged. The equivalent is saying that your car will make 500 hp for the first five seconds and then 100 for the rest, if that makes any sense. Please also use temperature as a deciding factor in your charts. If flashlights get too hot, it is not very practical. Just a friendly tip, never charge your batteries which are lithium based below 32°. This is the worst thing you can do to lithium, charge it when it is cold. It will reduce its capacity quickly. Also, prefer slower charging time. This will reduce the internal heating of the battery which will increase the battery life. Finally, I recommend water testing for headlamps as well since they are used externally a lot with adverse weather conditions.
Absolutely LOVE my coast xph30r light. Daily use in my shop for 5 months. Battery life is badass, because medium is very capable... Comfortable and easy to unhook/deploy. Headband hasnt stretched or done anything stupid - it grips, comfortably
Would you like to know the best headlight (yes I am from the UK so it's a headlight not a headlamp!) for making efficient use of whatever 18650 you put in it? It's a Zebralight. They'll run for a month on moonlight level! When your hiking the Cairngorm Plateau overnight in the middle of winter, a battery life of 2 or 3 hours doesn't cut it. I use the Zebralight H600FC which is high CRI and has a beam which is short range but floods the whole near area with light. For long range, I also carry a small 18650 torch that has a very narrow beam that reaches very far. Ideal for searching a river for a suitable crossing place or looking for that bothy on the side of a hill. The headlight also does sterling service for working on cars!
So based on your thorough testing I went and purchased the Slonik as it seemed to have the best bang for you buck even though it is 600 lumens and everyone on Amazon cries about not getting the indexed bracket. I received it in a couple of days and I’m not disappointed. It is a well made little headlamp.
Mine lived on my hard hat (strap was tie wrapped onto the hard hat) for over a year and wasn’t a day I didn’t need it. I found it to be durable. I especially like that it has 6 (I think) brightness levels to chose from and has many beam adjustments that hold firmly yet are easily adjustable. Is also easy to remove and reinstall from its cradle if you want to use it as a handheld at any given moment. Their advertised lumens are way off but 600 I find is plenty. I’m almost always toggled down a couple of levels. I couldn’t be happier with it and even bought another as a back up just in case.
I just got the coast brand headlamp today. If I were to swap the battery for one with a better mAh rating would that also improve the lumen output over prolonged use? Or are they separate issues?
I've used the Nitecore HC65 (basically identical) for 3 years. Light output is great but it's heavy. I recently bought the NU35. 460Lumen on turbo. 210 on high (which is where I use it 99% of the time since that's all you really need up close) Smaller. Lightweight. Dual power AAA + USB-C rechargeable internal battery. And most Importantly....a FLOOD beam for close up work. So far it's been great! I have all my stuff running off USB-C in my work truck now. Headlamp. Flashlights. Phone. Infrared Cameras etc. So just plug in while going between jobs to charge.
Great video. As always. I feel you missed out highlighting that the petzl battery is indeed swappable, as you can not only buy multiple "core" batteries (but they are spendy at $30), but also swappable with regular AAA which are ubiquitous. I know you mentioned it in the video, but it didn't show up in the final chart and for something like backpacking or traveling, or keeping in a big out bag - it can be a great selling point
Before reading most the comments, I hadn't realized how much people are into their headlamps. Ive used my husky headlamp for work and at home. Today I bought a h.f (about 2.99) headlamp. I used it a bit and honestly didnt realize much of a difference (although I wasnt particularly comparing). If it lights the area so I can see enough to work with my hands, it good enough for me. Ymmv.
Nite core tip2 is the best head mounted lite. It's tiny, magnetic, and water resistant with a good charge time for its size. Very bright and I've used mine daily for 30 months with zero issues.
Not surprised by the Milwaukee. I just bought one 3 weeks ago. It was a little bit different and came with another battery. Total cost was $113. I was very disappointed by it. Does not seem bright at all. Also there is no way to charge the battery without it being in the light itself. Milwaukee suggests buying their "power source" to charge it. I am sure they would as it costs another $30. I like Milwaukee tools and use them daily but they definitely failed with their headlamps. I work afternoons as a mobile heavy equipment mechanic. My work is always outside and often dark in the northern states in the winter. So I use headlamps everyday and have had 4 different ones now. The Streamlight 61601 isnt bad. Not the brightest but its lightweight and you can plug an extra battery in directly. Last time I purchased one little over a year ago they were $29. I see now they have jumped up in price so may not be a good buy now.
someone got me a rechargeable headlamp as a gift. i hadn't even considered buying one before that. i didn't think i had a use for one. but i grabbed it a couple times when i was trying to fix small parts in some electronics and, although it was cheap, it really wowed me with how useful it was to have a light that goes wherever your eyes go. i was using a very expensive, super bright LED utility lamp before but the headlamp proved to be more useful. of course i still use that lamp but i've found so many use cases for a headlamp that i never considered that now i usually keep one balled up in my pocket and it gets used often.
I have tried several headlamps, and ive settled on milwaukee for working in cabinets, using the one with 3x aaa batteries and run it on high/med for the better part of 8-10hrs for a few days before having to swap out, and i have a coast on another hard hat that i used in a job where i needed a brighter light
My best headlamps have been the Walmart hyper tough rechargeable Mine are 2 years old, and both have 3000mah batteries and still chug along. It’s great cause they were cheap cheap.
I have a Gerber headlamp that lives in my electrical toolbox, does what I need. But best is one that came in a kit of cheap torches years ago, cost a third of £5 always works, single red beam or twin white, good enough to rewire a switch in the dark !
Great review. The only ones I am familiar with is the Petzl and Milwaukee. I currently use the Milwaukee and love it. I agree with your fit assessment, as I am often readjusting. However, one thing that I think you missed is that the Milwaukee feels great for me (no hard hat) with the battery in back. The size on your forehead for me is why I use it most. I have another Milwaukee that has the larger single light/battery on your forehead and I do not like it. I will wear it for hours at a time, so I am willing to adjust it to get the more comfortable feel. Keep up the great work.
I had the slonik light, broke 2 of them in 6 months, and got the coast about a year ago. Beat the hell out of it working on tugboats. Loved it so much I’ve bought 3 as gifts and 1 for home use. I’m surprised at its performance in your tests, I’m curious if you got a bad battery/how it would do with a high performance battery. Either way, I’m quite gruntled with your work. Keep it up
I've had the Coast for 3 years of constant duty! This one tested is my next choice, because I have 2 helmets and need one band for myself. I really like the fact that you can disconnect it from it's base easily. With a battery upgrade this is my choice! Thanks for this review!
Probably already too late for more headlights. But I'd love to see the Klein headlamps tested. They make some great gear and I'd love to see how my lights would stack up against others.
Owned a handful of Petzl head lamps and despite them being made of plastic they are pretty tough. I climb and I have dropped them on on rocks and into water and they've never failed me. Losing them on the other hand has been a battle, but you can't stop stupid...
Nice work, we really appreciate your efforts, but there was some bias regarding the Coast XP30r when you tested the runtime at 1000lm level, which is considered "Turbo" that lasts for 1-2 minutes then significantly decreases.. so you should test it at "High" level to check their adv claim.. however, observations were great.
All the lights on the manakin head at 19:50 in this video: grouped together, kind of unevenly spaced and weird, immediately made me think of this being a rejected design pitch or concept for one of the Cenebite characters from Hellraiser! This test was interesting, Milwaukee doing very good as per usual but not sure it is my no 1 on the list... I think i have to go with the Slonik and i agree with your summary on it. The price is by far the best and even though they are way off on advertised specs, the actual performance amongst the peer group was very good in several categories. Also in some cases the brightest lights in this case might actually be TOO bright. I am thinking of being under a car, with the parts and components close to my head and the light being too intense reflecting back from all over. But if i was say in a warehouse or factory then those would be the top picks. Thanks for doing all of this testing, i do have a great headlamp that i bought on a trip this year, it is a brand that i was not familiar with before i found it and i cant' think of the name right now and if i wasn't lazy i would go downstairs to find it.. OK now i am pissed, I can't find the light, can't remember the name for the life of me and that stuff drives me bananas... Sheez it is already 2am. When i do find it i will edit this message. It is Green and Gray in color, that is a clue, not a good one. Bought it in Alabama at a sporting goods store... now i can't think of the name of the store!!! Time to go to sleep. Cheers.
I've been using Fenix lights for a few years and have worn them camping in the Grand Canyon, North Carolina and up and down Florida from mangroves to beaches in the Keys up to Ocala National Forest. The build quality is decent, though on the heavy side versus other lights. I get that plastic lights feel cheap too, but after wearing a heavy headlamp for a few hours I do understand why many opt for the lighter, less durable lights.
I've been using a stream lite rechargeable from amazon, and a snap on that is pretty cool, it sits on magnet on the band and can be taken off and placed on magnetic surface that you maybe can't put your head in.
amazing review. I love your integrating sphere. Hope you plan to review more powerful headlamps like Fenix HP30R v2.0, Fenix HP25R v2.0, Acebeam H30, Ledlenser H19R, Coast KPH34R or Petzl duo S. Especially the fisrt one 😉 congrats for the channel!
Never been impressed with the few Coast lights myself and friends have owned. I would like to see you testing Nebo brand lights. I have a couple, including a headlamp which I really like.
Wonderful comparison, lovely to see my most important tool get some attention. Criticism: performance at 1000 lumens (eye burn mode) is mostly irrelevant, it's too bright for most work. I run a single LED Slonik, guessing it might be 250 lumens on normal high, unlikely it hits the advertised 500 lumens on max. I only bother with max when riding bike, where the extra distance helps. Which begs the question about how long all these lights last, how the output holds up, at lower and longer burning settings. My Slonik won't make 8h on normal high, but I wonder if some of the competition could, at comparable middle settings that are realistic for many work settings.
There are many 18650 batteries available that can provide longer run time than the one that comes with the Slonic but the provided battery is actually pretty good. I don’t have a lot of experience with the batteries but did some research on them so I can’t say how much more run time is available with this type of battery. It seems like a balancing act between run time and how much heat they generate. Not to mention recharge times. If one wanted to make a comparison of each lamps abilities, one could change out the batteries so they all matched but this test was what is advertised vs what was actually provided.
Steelman Pro hands down the best ive used. $30 on Amazon. Rechargeable and has infrared feature to turn on and off without touching it. Three bright settings, hard hat clips built in and the battery lasts hours
I use the Petzl Reactic for work a lot, but I hardly ever use it on the Reactic light metering mode, I just use it on the constant light modes, definitely nice when you can pop the battery pack out of it and swap in a fresh one, the Reactic mode just doesn’t work well with shiny/chrome materials and or IR heat sources
I just bought a Husky brand one with rechargeable battery for $16 and it performs pretty well. Takes a while to charge up but I haven’t had to charge it back up yet.
I have the EZ Red...( they call them neck lights but most people put them on their head)..and use them... they work really well and hold a decent charge Not the same class as this type..but wear them in my backyard and they light up everything...
Slonik: amzn.to/3pHEbIQ
Nitecore (latest) : amzn.to/3txI0kC
Petzl: amzn.to/3hH6DZD
Coast: amzn.to/34bjzjN
USB Gizmo: amzn.to/3wdlRYg
Matco: bit.ly/32NtBXq
@@MichaelMantion The purpose is to determine who is fibbing about specs and which is a better deal, we test vs what they advertise on this channel. If they need help to meet their advertised specs, that's sort of on them.
Great suggestion for the Coast and a bit funny; bought the exact same one about 6-8 months ago, and did exactly that; swapped the batteries immediately, knowing I'd be wearing it all day and wanted battery swaps anyway. HUGE difference. GREAT light!! I think it would sweep the charts with a high-cap in your tests.
I know unrelated to the torch series... But have you ever considered testing 2 stroke impact wrenches?
Great video as always. I would recommend going to loves travel stop. And testing out their 1000 lumes headlamp for 40bucks. As well as going to autozone and testing their 970 lumes for 35 bucks
Could we get a comparison between the Harbor freight 1 inch and 3/4 inch Earthquake and Central Pneumatic? If you could get them compared to an IR or Aircat that would be great to see how much value you are getting. The Snap-on is pretty scary at $2800 for the "Coolest" 1 inch (For that kinda money it should take the tire off for me).
Man I am so glad you guys started testing lights. I cannot tell you how annoyed I am at the sheer number of lights I've bought over the years that didn't come even remotely close to their claims. Now I have something I can take a quick glance at and know exactly what I am going to get before even opening the package.
anything that's from Fenix works at claimed specs from my experience
There some budget brand such as sofirn and astrolux that perform just as good as nitecore and olight..$25 astrolux ec01 is really my favourite, it perform far better than my $150 surefire.. and while out hunting or camping, i like to bring sofirn q8 pro, it can light up the entire field with those 11k lumen they claimed.. but some channel such as flashaholic had do their own tested with lumen tube and it exceed 14k lumen.. it's crazy because it only cost $60 in aliexpress.
@@harisyoung4110 well surefire is way overpriced and I doubt budget brands have the same/better performance for 1/4 the price of Olight/Fenix/nitecore
@@reahs4815 build quality ofcourse nitecore and fenix seem better, but for beam profile and overall brightness it can perform better than nitecore and fenix.. you should check them out, these light the company create while having collab with flashaholic from budgetlight forum, check for sofirn sp33 v3, astrolux ea01 and q8 pro, many video review about this brand in youtube.. in flashaholic yt channel some of his video even compare these budget brand with big brand from olight, nitecore and fenix..
@@harisyoung4110 start with sofirn, slowly u'll end up with bunch of hank light
For those of you who are considering a headlight. Get one that fit your needs. Not the brightest one.
I work as an electrician, and I use the Petzl on almost a daily basis. And I use it A LOT since it's basicly my job to work in the dark. It's super light weight so I can carry it with me at all times (not on the head). It's been dropped countless times, and never broke. I guess it's the light weight that is saving it, and the plastic is not the easily cracking kind. It's also small and not in the way when working in cramped spaces. Huge bonus for being 100% plastic as it is isolated and won't shock my head if it, god forbid, would come in contact with anything that it shouldn't. If the battery would run out at a bad time you can always temporarily change it to x3AAA.
This sounds like I'm paid to say, but it's honestly just a recommendation from someone who actually use it.
I need a pretty bright light but honestly it's way better for me to have a less bright light that doesn't light up my eyes/face/hair, or give me a headache, or make me press the button 7 times to turn it off. I have a bunch of headlamps and they're mostly fine for camping or dog park or whatever but I do high volume delivery driving and have to turn the thing off and on every 10 seconds lol. I think one of the best tactics is get a cheap Energizer or Eveready light (or even the $21 petzl) then figure out what bothers them about it and upgrade to a light without those issues
if you are afraid of buying-the-wrong-experiment take a petzl and enjoy a guaranteed peace of mind.
This is some really good info. Thanks. Based on this think I'll get the Slonik.
Plumber here.. always in the dark corners. Petzl are great but I found a Duracell $20 headlamp that owns all of them, has 2 lights, point and wide angle, 2 different intensity for each and runs on aa batteries. I love it I'd take a petzyl over any of these tested brands ( except the cheap Duracell ) anyday
@@MrDmadness What is the model number on that Duracell? All of their current lineup runs on AAA batteries now.
We understand a lot of people wished we would have tested X brand or model, but these are all from our viewers' cumulative comments. We tested 8 different ones (2 didn't test well due to sensors) all on the channel's dime. Let us know if we should continue to do more lights and light types? (They take 2-4X the resources to make each vs other episodes)
Torque of TTC is working for Astro Tools who make lights as well, just like the Matco and others. Always consider multiple sources when considering a tool!.
You should test out firefighter helmet lights pretty please. I'm currently using the Streamlight Vantage II.
Klarus flashlights would be a good contester
It would be great!! But you guys should do what you wanna do! We really appreciate the time, effort, and cost of all of it!!
I'd definitely like to see more lights and light types.
One of the things I noticed, when I first started using a headlamp, is some of them are built with optics for throw (for cycling, hiking, etc,) and some have a wider beam spread, which I found much more friendly to "hand-work" use... With the "focused" beam, I was constantly turning my entire head to direct the beam, while wider spread optics allowed a noticably more natural/transparent action, where I wasn't forced to turn/point my head all the time.
This might be a good metric to address, as your audience is most likely in the "hand-work" camp.
I keep a couple Streamlight bandits close by, for unplanned needs, and a big Nitecore for regular needs.
Yeah, you can sort that out usually via their candela rating (how focused the beam is). In order of wide to narrow beam in this video: Milwaukee, Matco (flood mode), Coast (adjusted wide), Slonik, Petzl, Nitecore (we mentioned its more focused high candela beam). See them all here: 19:34
@@TorqueTestChannel Additionally, you can "calculate" how focused a headlamp will be based on the candela and lumen numbers.
Candela / Lumen ratio will tell you just that.
1-5 cd/lm should be a very diffused beam. +15 cd/lm could be a bit too focused for work close-up.
That's one of the reasons I bought the Coast: the beam is adjustable. They're right: Buy battery swaps (high caps) and you'll have the best light on the market in my opinion.
check out the mule lights from Zebralight if you like wide, even beam patterns. I could never go back to a reflector based headlamp.
Look at Zebralight, they have flood lense models. Zebralight have been my go to for over a decade now for lights and headlamps I actually carry and use. They are compact, durable, bright, high quality lights. Between 3 Army deployments and 7 years contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan I have legitimately used them for 10 years in some pretty harsh environments. I generally use them in medium modes and while I haven't measured runtime, they seem to be pretty easy on batteries. Personally, I find turbo/high modes over 300 lumens excessive and not all that practically useful, especially on small lights.
I use the Milwaukee headlamp as an auto tech and I love it. The true view color is a life saver on your eyes and the low mode provides more than enough light for me. Run time is great and having the ability to swap out for another battery means I can working.
Same here, I have a couple of them for working on the acreage and in the garage. I don't have any of the fitment issues they found. I also like the battery in the back ( i get irritated with heavy thing on the front of my head). Were well worth the money.
Big fan of the channel. This is "Project Farm" level testing. Outstanding! You guys could head towards a million subs!
"One thousand lumens? We'll test that!"
ProjectFarm has a test oif 18650 batteries that would go well with this review. Due to the huge disparity among 18650 batteries (similar to the Lumen-lies, heh), when TTC is testing how long a light lasts, I can't help but wonder whether or not he should have used the same 18650 for each.
Very impressive!
For the battery charging tests, you need to be aware of one thing: some chargers/lights have a linear regulator (charging current stays constant), others a switching regulator (charging current increases with cell voltage / charge level).
For a linear regulator, you need to take the mAh reading directly (the extra voltage between 5V and the cell voltage is just being burned off), for switching regulators you need to consider the mWh reading and divide by the nominal voltage (they have a buck converter, that keeps the current into the cell constant).
That means that the cheaper linear regulator design will get hotter during use, while also seemingly having more capacity (being less efficient with the charge supplied to it)
Yes this came to mind when they said the nitecore had almost 4 Ah of capacity. That's impossible with current 18650 tech. Looking closely the capacity delta was around 3.5 Ah which is realistic, so clearly it's using a linear regulator as you said. Using Wh can be very misleading when the charging circuit and battery DCIR impacts this directly.
Stumbled onto this by accident, ended up watching the whole flashlight series, then subbed. Supremely useful data and the way it was presented was superb. Great job.
Thank you!
Love your name bro
The selling point for me on the Petzl is the red light, the low lumen setting, lightweight, and can use 3x AAA if needed instead of the rechargeable battery. I’ve been very happy with my petzl but would love a lightweight but brighter and less pricey option. Thanks for these tests and sharing the results. The right tools for the job make a huge difference!
Try the Iko core
The Petzl headlamps are surprisingly durable. I have never broken one either in the military or using them as a Bat Biologist. Racked up a lot of hours of use and the only reason I've replaced them is to get the newer models. They have brighter headlamps as well as ones with larger batteries. Petzl focuses on more of a tailor made lighting approach.
I agree. I have a few, and they are quirky at first, but very useful. Weird switches. Black Diamond makes a few good ones too.
You got an audible laugh from me right at the end with the "tacticool" "wear all the headlamps!" bit. 🤣
Great video, thank you. I've got a Fenix HP25R I've used the heck out of, mostly with the warm-temp high-spread light for close in working on projects. I really really like it, only downside is that over time the headband has gotten a little loosey-goosey.
The HP25R has the separate battery case at the back with a micro USB to charge it, and it can run while being charged. Kind of a niche use case, but I have gone on a longer winter hike where I had a 3' usb cord powering/charging it from a powerbank in my pocket.
The low setting on the Petzl is really nice when you are backpacking at night (intentionally or unintentionally). The battery last forever and it lets your eyes adjust to the surroundings so you can see where your stepping but doesn’t blind you to thing in the distance. I have a much cheaper Dorsey for that sole purpose. I use the Milwaukee at work because I like the color of the light (took some getting used too though now I wouldn’t want to use anything else).
I use a headlamp every working day. I use a Milwaukee but forget the model. The battery is mounted to the rear of the lamp and it’s $60ish. Pretty good quality for the price and it charges quickly. My only complaint is that the strap needs and overhead band because it slips off of my hat and it’s a struggle between band tightness head ache and the lamp falling off.
Also to everyone complaining that they didn’t test headlamp X there are so many headlamps out there that they have to pick a batch and test them. They are spending their own money on these products as well. If you want it tested buy it for them or donate.
Thank you
@@TorqueTestChannel I would suggest you test the ones recommended on the flashlight sub on Reddit, at least. Much cheaper, and pretty incredible - the Wiki is hugely educational and they even programmed a "bot" that gives recommendations. I have a D25S 1200 lumens headlamp, for reference. It's pretty incredible, and the headband can be washed!!!
CRI? Lumens? Reflector type? Beam pattern? All of these things matter. As far as brands go, Sofirn, Wurkkos, Thrunite, Skilhunt, etc., are all massive improvements over the "top shelf brands". I also have a barrel-type 6k lumen Sofirn flashlight and it is phenomenal for the dark - 90+CRI so I can see everything in great colors and doesn't ruin my depth perception. It throws about a half mile easily. A HALF mile!
The Milwaukee 600 lumens probably doesn't even illuminate past 200ft in my neck of the woods (actual forest next door) because a basic Duracell flashlight from Costco is 500 lumens and with that one you can't even see the deer at 100 feet, barely bright.
Look into night running and climbing headlamps. I use one everyday and ended up with a Fenix. 18650 battery, crazy bright, 2 10hr shifts on a charge
This was awesome. thank you. The drops in lumens shocked me. I just came here from a Petzl Bindi vs Nitecore NU25 video, and I think I'm not the only one who would watch these before buying something.
I love the review!! I personally own the coast. I feel like you may not have had it on the high setting for the run time test. If you put it on turbo mode while on the low setting you will drop back down to the low setting. I use it almost everyday and would not use it if the high setting wasn’t bright. Regardless I like the recommendation of getting a better battery to try. I also got it on sale for half price so the value is there even if it’s not the brightest because turbo mode is temporary.
Missed a collab opportunity with Project Farm. You could have had cousin Eddie wear the headlamps!
one thing to keep in mind is that high charging current isn't always desirable, a lower charging current will increase the lifespan of the cell because it stresses the cell less. personally, i prefer to charge slower because i always get a spare battery anyway
I have the Slonik. It came with a free second battery which is nice. I just had to go to their website and request it. I live at 4,000' on the U.S./CA border and have discovered that once the outside temps get below zero (F), the on/off switch can stop working until you warm it up. Based on your review/test, I'm glad I got the Slonik. I'm out a lot at night and have always found it to be bright enough for my needs.
I've had the home depot coast headlamp for about a year now. And I love it, it has saved me a lot times. I usually keep it the middle to lowest setting most of the time and it does last me about 8 hours. With some off time so hard to know the actual run time on low. But it does work better than the milwaukee, not going back to them in headlamps.
Thanks.
I use Coast headlamps exclusively. They stand up to abuse.
I have an older Petzl rechargeable head touch and quite frankly its been brilliant. They might feel cheap but are one of the top names in the outdoor world for a good reason.
As a Petzl fanboy, the Actik really isn't set out for being an automotive/ industry lamp. It's an outdoor recreation headlamp where volume/weight concerns are at a premium. If you had to ruck any of these through a long hike or multi-day hunt, you'll be begging for a sub 3 oz lamp. All that being said, thanks for shining some light on this lumen industry clouded in BS.
It's a tradeoff as more power with battery life is more weight
Also low lumen / red light only modes are usefull for the outdoors to protect nightvision. Max lumen is less relevant.
I've worn my heavy ass headlamps for 8+ hrs 5 days /wk for years the weight never bothered me once. Do you have trouble holding your head up?
you sound like a super human with epic neck strength. we are all lesser than you obv.
@@marambula maybe he has no neck like Butterbean.
Had the slonik for about 7-8 years or so. Using a 3000mAh 18650 batteries with external charger. Still works great but getting another one because bracket broke. Even tho at 600lumens like you guys tested. Light is plenty bright for a diesel tech.
Dear TTC,
Please don't take any of these guys's criticisms personally. You guys are legends. Right up there with Project Farm, only more so. Just read the crap and throw it overboard. Don't stew in it.
Thanks for all your hard work this year and thanks again for all your objectiveness and tenacity. You guys are BONUS GRADE!
Love the testing. Battery capacity is usually measured with a discharge test, not a charge test. I know, harder to do with some, but there are good battery charger / testers out there that will measure true discharge capacity.
I have some AAA batteries with a true capacity of about 700mAh, but yesterday they took 2Ah to charge... Huge difference.
This is the sort of content I don't press skip ad for.
Top quality and informative.
Hey thanks! But def skip the ads, it's not a big deal. Just appreciate you watching!
Glad you’ve expanded into lights. It’s nice to see Nitecore exceeding claimed output. I have one of their 900lumen lights and that thing is crazy bright with a crazy long throw.
Now your going to have to do Olight and Fenix.
I’m confident the fenix ratings are legit. My 900 lumen fenix is insanely bright and doesn’t throttle down at all.
@@christopher6895 I have one of their headlamps and it’s good as well. I haven’t tried any of their flashlights yet but plan on it.
Olight I’ve seen testing and complaints where they really don’t live up to the lumen claims. I have one of their lights and I don’t feel it outputs what it claims.
When testing lights that use an 18650, please consider using the same 18650 for each test. There is a huge disparity among 18650 mAh ratings (some are blad-faced lies, IMO).
Two lumens is shockingly usable when you're in the middle of the mountains trying to find your campsite at one AM. Really says something about the dynamic range of the human eye and how dark things get when you're not near a city or highway or other major source of light pollution.
For sure. I use my petzls on low all the time for looking in packs, reading, and other close tasks. I really wouldn't want low any brighter than maybe 20 lumens.
Pro tip. Use a red lens or cut a peice of red plastic. Human eye sees In the dark almost as good as a cat but takes 2-3 hours to get to that, any light disrupts this except red light. That's why the army uses red lights ( also cause hard to spot at distance )
The creator mentions "keychain lights" in passing as though being too dim to be usable but on a backpacking trip I was looking to save weight /space in my pack. So for ten days I in late April /early May on Isle Royale I only used a Nite Ize keychain light for all my nighttime needs. (Single led squeeze light from a CR2032 with a locking switch) Super easy to work with, not even noticeable in weight, just click it on and hold it in your teeth or shine it at a opaque water bottle for an area light. 20+ years later, it is still on my keychain. Awesome little workhorse.
The human eye can see a single photon of light in a completely dark space!
My 2 year review on the 2115 milwaukee light, the headband stretched alot and requires frequent adjusting, the runtime seems to be the same, the hinge still clicks and stay firmly in place, battery cap is still tight, sometime the charging port have some issue recharging the battery removing and reinstalling the battery and plug usually fix it. If you are doing any work on a creeper bed, this isnt a light for you as you wont be able to easily rest your head.
Battery pack in the back is mega important on a hard hat. I used one for years every day and I can tell you with total certainty that all the weight in front sux severely. I used a Coast with a 3X AAA pack in back. It was balanced front to back so my hardhat was not always tipping to the front blinding me to overhead obstacles.
That sounds a little too loose a fit on the headgear
I have that Petzl and it is a champ. Owned it, or the original model I guess, for several years. The battery is a no issue example of functionality and quality.
I guarantee that coast is using lumens measured at the LED, not "out the front" lumens per the ANSI standard. The focusable optic on the coast is a neat party trick (for some folks) but it subtracts massive lumens from the output.
Focusable flashlights using aspheric lenses (Coast/LEDlenser aren't "plain" aspheric) are similarly handicapped in the gross lumen metric, where a 1000lm LED might do 600 OTF in flood mode and only 300 OTF in focused mode.
Spot on!
I've used Zebra lights for years. They've taken a beating and kept on working. The UI can be as simple or complicated as the user needs. You can use whatever battery you want and best of all the type of light output is excellent with a high CRI.
I think Zebralights are amazing, but for headlamps I absolutely love some Skillhunt lights too.
I second this, can't beat the simplicity, durability, and constant and high output
@@tjackman I've never heard of Skilhunt before. Did some research on them and they look like they're easily a match for Zebralight. Being in Canada and Zebralight no longer ships outside the US I might just have to try a Skilhunt. Thanks for the headsup on this brand. What model(s) do you have and what lens and led you using?
@@daifeichu the skillhunt h04rc is amazing! Neutral white with high cri is definitely my go to!
At 11:37 you quote the manufacturer's run time for "high" power, but then say that you started on "turbo" for the runtime test. That is probably why the lumen output dropped so sharply early in the test. Modern high-power flashlights are usually programmed to drop out of "Turbo" mode after a fixed amount of time to prevent overheating. When that happens they will often drop down to a level even lower than their normal "high" setting (to allow the light to cool off). You may find that by starting in "high" mode instead of "turbo" the initial light output will be lower, but will stay more steady over time. Decreasing gradually as the battery runs out, rather than dropping off suddenly when the thermal protection kicks in.
I’m glad I just got the Milwaukee. I’m a painter so the true view color light will be very helpful in differentiation of colors as well as sanding drywall patches.
I have a petzl I have used doing industrial electrical work in rain , sleet, snow, and lots of dirt, grease, and dust. I paid over 125 bucks for that thing at cabela's over 25 yrs ago. It isn't rechargeable but 3 triple A's will run for months even in subzero temps. It has even been used in spray chambers at steel mills where molten glowing steel was 10' feet away. There is a reason all emergency services used to use petzl exclusively. Also the fact that A LOT of mountaineering and climbing gear is made by the same company.
Zebralight. Best hands down. Bright, light weight, durable. Been using then exclusively for over a decade from home renovation, car repair, camping, hiking, fishing and everything between.
I have a Petzl headlamp that is 30 years old, has been through hell caving and still works. If you need something your life depends on, get the Petzl.
As a first responder I rely on Nitecore exclusively. I have the HC60M and it mounts to my bump helmet. Glad to see she works as well as I know it does. Great scientific work, y'all!
I’ve gone through two of the Coast ones so far, as they both have flickering issues. First one got super, super bad after time, the other was flickering day one out of the box. Otherwise, I LOVE the twist and the magnet. Holy hell that magnet is so handy
I’ll go yell at them for you, the company is based 15 minutes from my house lol
I have several of the ones you tested, as well as my favorites that you didn't: Streamlight and Olight headlamps.
Armytek and Zebralight headlamps are the best that I'm aware off, would be great if those got included too.
Am starting to use the 180 degree type for in my home, better in power failure, under the sink, outside making repairs. The spot type is good for trails and walking. Thanks
As a painter and finisher, I swear by the Milwaukee headlamps. When going over painted woodwork, the light they produce makes every little imperfection jump out.
Ok just what I was looking for I'm a painter as well and looking for something when shooting cabinets and trim in new construction.
What model do you recommend?
@@rlmares I got mine when there were only 2 models. I would suggest reading cutomer reviews. They all emit the same white light, its just a matter of the features you are looking for
coast are the ONLY lights i have bought that have lasted more that a few months . the ones i have are between 2 and 6ish years old and work perfectly fine . happy new year dude , jeff
I'd add some Black Diamond headlamp. Lots of options, extra touch button to have quick max brightness, lots of light modes, red light easy on the eyes to adjust, waterproof. Overall the single strap ones will move move more, the straps wear a lot faster and more tension is needed giving forehead imprints. Even if takes more initial adjustments, for long hours I'd take the top strap variants. The petzl's light weight is great for camping, climbing and they got lots of high end models for alpine use. The option to use two types of batteries can save one's butt. Let the job choose the lamp.
Out on our remote ranch we use headlamps but find that one certain weakness is the elastic wearing out. Not sure how many manufacturers offer replacement head bands at reasonable price.
Agree all of me petzle headlamps have ended up useless for this reason
A second, over the top of the head strap, is a must. I know some don't like that but nothing is more annoying than a headlight that falls down. Or trying to keep the band tighter (and getting a headache) trying to keep the light up.
I've had the slonik on my hard hat for the past half a year or so. She's been good to me, lumens aside as a mechanic it's need really good. I've likes how I can just rip it off the mount and use as a flashlight when needed
I have the coast light and love it for work. But the magnet does pull your head to the side and stick it to the side of anything iron if you get to close
I used milwaukee for when I was a cable guy. I loved the true color light as I can see the colors of the cables really well. The problem is that it just drains batteries like you wouldn't believe it, and I was caught in the dark (thank you back up light!). So far my favorite is the black diamond spot, great price, weight, output and runtime!
The Matco interests me because it's thinking about mechanics in a shop. Stick it on, do the work you need, take it off and slap it up against the charger so that when you're not wearing it and its placed in its storage location, it can always be charging and with that charger, two or three guys can have one and always expect it to be near its top capacity. That, I think, is a really nice consideration and from that standpoint gives it a leg up, IMO.
I use the Milwaukee and love it compared to the last version. Once adjusted it's comfortable all day and honestly when you are close to a white wall doing switch/ plug install you use it on low. When on low its 1.5 to 2 days of use. Or put on high to blast a hole site while others work.
13:20 Be careful when considerung Energy vs Charge. The figure you want to look at depends heavily on the technology utilized by the charger.
A lot of devices will be using chargers that function as linear regulators. They just dissipate some power as heat and charge the battery at the same current they draw from the 5V power source. Thus one needs to look at the charge in mAh to determine battery capacity here.
On the other hand more efficient chargers will use a switch mode converter to charge the battery. Here almost all power is delivered into the battery. Thus the overall energy in mWh consumed by the charger will be almost equal to the energy contents of the charged battery. Thus the capacity of the Lithium cell must be calculated based on the energy measurement shown by the USB analyzer in this and only this case.
Great video. I purchased a flashlight last year from Amazon that was advertised as 100,000 lumens. I told them the light was defective and nowhere near 100,000 lumens. I returned the light 2 times before I think they finally caught one and refunded my money. Maybe if more people did this they would crack down on the false numbers.
I don't know what it takes to measure it, but having the Color Rendition Index and color temperature would be nice. I don't care for LED flashlights that have a blue tint to them. Probably most of the quality ones these days don't have that issue, but still, it'd be nice to know.
Color rendering makes a big difference if you are using a light for a long time, very blue lights are harsh on the eyes leading to eye fatigue and headaches.
The device is a few thousand dollars :P
This exactly why i like the Milwaukee line of lights so much. Very little blue aspect to the light. I honestly feel half blind in the blue tinted lights.
@@TorqueTestChannel It's only money. I'll buy another T-shirt if that'll help :)
I agree, I like hi cri lights and warmer tints and it's important that we do our homework and check on those things before making a purchase. Luckily it's usually easy to find this information online in reviews or at least specs from the manufacturer.
I would say the Milwaukee 2111-21 is much more intended for being worn directly on the head than the 2115-21 is. Downside is it's only rated for 475 lumins, but it fits on the head nice and secure with its rubberized nonslip headband.
agreed i have 2 of them one for my hardhat and one i keep for home use w/o a hardhat love this light great runtime comfy and plenty bright
As a production operator at nestle i love my coast xph34r head lamp. Never have any problems! Not the one in the video but similar.
I am a design engineer which has experience with lithium applications so with that said, I can tell you that rapid charging might be nice but it is not nice to the battery life.
I recommend the Astro black diamond headlamp. The variable output is useful because you don’t always need all that light. The light is pretty versatile for hiking with long lasting low mode operation while at the same time it gives you quick access to high mode when you need it. I cannot stress the importance of having low mode for a long operation in hiking applications. It’s pretty light with 3 AAA.
The one thing that I wish most lights would have is a very low power mode red LED light. This is used for for many applications since red light does not interfere with your eyes adapting to low light.
I also recommend testing them in low mode. This is how people mostly use lights. Also, the rating of the lumens should be rated based on average lumen output throughout usage and not for the first minute when the battery is fully charged. The equivalent is saying that your car will make 500 hp for the first five seconds and then 100 for the rest, if that makes any sense.
Please also use temperature as a deciding factor in your charts. If flashlights get too hot, it is not very practical.
Just a friendly tip, never charge your batteries which are lithium based below 32°. This is the worst thing you can do to lithium, charge it when it is cold. It will reduce its capacity quickly. Also, prefer slower charging time. This will reduce the internal heating of the battery which will increase the battery life.
Finally, I recommend water testing for headlamps as well since they are used externally a lot with adverse weather conditions.
Happy new year TTC and fans! Brought in 2022 with this video. Here is to a great year! 🍻
Absolutely LOVE my coast xph30r light. Daily use in my shop for 5 months. Battery life is badass, because medium is very capable... Comfortable and easy to unhook/deploy. Headband hasnt stretched or done anything stupid - it grips, comfortably
Would you like to know the best headlight (yes I am from the UK so it's a headlight not a headlamp!) for making efficient use of whatever 18650 you put in it? It's a Zebralight. They'll run for a month on moonlight level! When your hiking the Cairngorm Plateau overnight in the middle of winter, a battery life of 2 or 3 hours doesn't cut it. I use the Zebralight H600FC which is high CRI and has a beam which is short range but floods the whole near area with light. For long range, I also carry a small 18650 torch that has a very narrow beam that reaches very far. Ideal for searching a river for a suitable crossing place or looking for that bothy on the side of a hill.
The headlight also does sterling service for working on cars!
So based on your thorough testing I went and purchased the Slonik as it seemed to have the best bang for you buck even though it is 600 lumens and everyone on Amazon cries about not getting the indexed bracket. I received it in a couple of days and I’m not disappointed. It is a well made little headlamp.
Mine lived on my hard hat (strap was tie wrapped onto the hard hat) for over a year and wasn’t a day I didn’t need it. I found it to be durable. I especially like that it has 6 (I think) brightness levels to chose from and has many beam adjustments that hold firmly yet are easily adjustable. Is also easy to remove and reinstall from its cradle if you want to use it as a handheld at any given moment. Their advertised lumens are way off but 600 I find is plenty. I’m almost always toggled down a couple of levels. I couldn’t be happier with it and even bought another as a back up just in case.
I just got the coast brand headlamp today. If I were to swap the battery for one with a better mAh rating would that also improve the lumen output over prolonged use? Or are they separate issues?
Interested in any responses to this
I've used the Nitecore HC65 (basically identical) for 3 years. Light output is great but it's heavy.
I recently bought the NU35. 460Lumen on turbo. 210 on high (which is where I use it 99% of the time since that's all you really need up close) Smaller. Lightweight. Dual power AAA + USB-C rechargeable internal battery. And most Importantly....a FLOOD beam for close up work.
So far it's been great! I have all my stuff running off USB-C in my work truck now. Headlamp. Flashlights. Phone. Infrared Cameras etc. So just plug in while going between jobs to charge.
Great video. As always.
I feel you missed out highlighting that the petzl battery is indeed swappable, as you can not only buy multiple "core" batteries (but they are spendy at $30), but also swappable with regular AAA which are ubiquitous. I know you mentioned it in the video, but it didn't show up in the final chart and for something like backpacking or traveling, or keeping in a big out bag - it can be a great selling point
Before reading most the comments, I hadn't realized how much people are into their headlamps. Ive used my husky headlamp for work and at home. Today I bought a h.f (about 2.99) headlamp. I used it a bit and honestly didnt realize much of a difference (although I wasnt particularly comparing). If it lights the area so I can see enough to work with my hands, it good enough for me. Ymmv.
Eyy, the HC60. I have one of those and absolutely love it when I'm working in the dark, the medium setting is plenty bright for most of the work I do.
Nite core tip2 is the best head mounted lite. It's tiny, magnetic, and water resistant with a good charge time for its size. Very bright and I've used mine daily for 30 months with zero issues.
Not surprised by the Milwaukee. I just bought one 3 weeks ago. It was a little bit different and came with another battery. Total cost was $113. I was very disappointed by it. Does not seem bright at all. Also there is no way to charge the battery without it being in the light itself. Milwaukee suggests buying their "power source" to charge it. I am sure they would as it costs another $30. I like Milwaukee tools and use them daily but they definitely failed with their headlamps. I work afternoons as a mobile heavy equipment mechanic. My work is always outside and often dark in the northern states in the winter. So I use headlamps everyday and have had 4 different ones now. The Streamlight 61601 isnt bad. Not the brightest but its lightweight and you can plug an extra battery in directly. Last time I purchased one little over a year ago they were $29. I see now they have jumped up in price so may not be a good buy now.
Hello again Torque Test channel
Thank you for another Great Video.
someone got me a rechargeable headlamp as a gift. i hadn't even considered buying one before that. i didn't think i had a use for one. but i grabbed it a couple times when i was trying to fix small parts in some electronics and, although it was cheap, it really wowed me with how useful it was to have a light that goes wherever your eyes go. i was using a very expensive, super bright LED utility lamp before but the headlamp proved to be more useful. of course i still use that lamp but i've found so many use cases for a headlamp that i never considered that now i usually keep one balled up in my pocket and it gets used often.
I have tried several headlamps, and ive settled on milwaukee for working in cabinets, using the one with 3x aaa batteries and run it on high/med for the better part of 8-10hrs for a few days before having to swap out, and i have a coast on another hard hat that i used in a job where i needed a brighter light
I'd love to see you guys test the acebeam headlights. By far the best headlamp I've ever used or seen so far.
Word, true.
Great video i have the nitecore and would recommended this, very high quality after owning it for a year plus.
My best headlamps have been the Walmart hyper tough rechargeable
Mine are 2 years old, and both have 3000mah batteries and still chug along. It’s great cause they were cheap cheap.
I have a Gerber headlamp that lives in my electrical toolbox, does what I need. But best is one that came in a kit of cheap torches years ago, cost a third of £5 always works, single red beam or twin white, good enough to rewire a switch in the dark !
Great review. The only ones I am familiar with is the Petzl and Milwaukee. I currently use the Milwaukee and love it. I agree with your fit assessment, as I am often readjusting. However, one thing that I think you missed is that the Milwaukee feels great for me (no hard hat) with the battery in back. The size on your forehead for me is why I use it most. I have another Milwaukee that has the larger single light/battery on your forehead and I do not like it. I will wear it for hours at a time, so I am willing to adjust it to get the more comfortable feel. Keep up the great work.
It would be interesting to see beam shape and light hotspot comparisons, also performance at different temperatures.
I had the slonik light, broke 2 of them in 6 months, and got the coast about a year ago. Beat the hell out of it working on tugboats. Loved it so much I’ve bought 3 as gifts and 1 for home use. I’m surprised at its performance in your tests, I’m curious if you got a bad battery/how it would do with a high performance battery. Either way, I’m quite gruntled with your work. Keep it up
I've had the Coast for 3 years of constant duty! This one tested is my next choice, because I have 2 helmets and need one band for myself. I really like the fact that you can disconnect it from it's base easily. With a battery upgrade this is my choice! Thanks for this review!
Probably already too late for more headlights. But I'd love to see the Klein headlamps tested. They make some great gear and I'd love to see how my lights would stack up against others.
Same. I’ve been surprised with how good the usb-c head and flashlight lineup is from Klein.
Owned a handful of Petzl head lamps and despite them being made of plastic they are pretty tough. I climb and I have dropped them on on rocks and into water and they've never failed me. Losing them on the other hand has been a battle, but you can't stop stupid...
Nice work, we really appreciate your efforts, but there was some bias regarding the Coast XP30r when you tested the runtime at 1000lm level, which is considered "Turbo" that lasts for 1-2 minutes then significantly decreases.. so you should test it at "High" level to check their adv claim.. however, observations were great.
All the lights on the manakin head at 19:50 in this video: grouped together, kind of unevenly spaced and weird, immediately made me think of this being a rejected design pitch or concept for one of the Cenebite characters from Hellraiser!
This test was interesting, Milwaukee doing very good as per usual but not sure it is my no 1 on the list... I think i have to go with the Slonik and i agree with your summary on it. The price is by far the best and even though they are way off on advertised specs, the actual performance amongst the peer group was very good in several categories.
Also in some cases the brightest lights in this case might actually be TOO bright. I am thinking of being under a car, with the parts and components close to my head and the light being too intense reflecting back from all over. But if i was say in a warehouse or factory then those would be the top picks.
Thanks for doing all of this testing, i do have a great headlamp that i bought on a trip this year, it is a brand that i was not familiar with before i found it and i cant' think of the name right now and if i wasn't lazy i would go downstairs to find it.. OK now i am pissed, I can't find the light, can't remember the name for the life of me and that stuff drives me bananas... Sheez it is already 2am. When i do find it i will edit this message. It is Green and Gray in color, that is a clue, not a good one. Bought it in Alabama at a sporting goods store... now i can't think of the name of the store!!! Time to go to sleep. Cheers.
I've been using Fenix lights for a few years and have worn them camping in the Grand Canyon, North Carolina and up and down Florida from mangroves to beaches in the Keys up to Ocala National Forest. The build quality is decent, though on the heavy side versus other lights. I get that plastic lights feel cheap too, but after wearing a heavy headlamp for a few hours I do understand why many opt for the lighter, less durable lights.
I've been using a stream lite rechargeable from amazon, and a snap on that is pretty cool, it sits on magnet on the band and can be taken off and placed on magnetic surface that you maybe can't put your head in.
amazing review. I love your integrating sphere. Hope you plan to review more powerful headlamps like Fenix HP30R v2.0, Fenix HP25R v2.0, Acebeam H30, Ledlenser H19R, Coast KPH34R or Petzl duo S. Especially the fisrt one 😉 congrats for the channel!
Never been impressed with the few Coast lights myself and friends have owned. I would like to see you testing Nebo brand lights. I have a couple, including a headlamp which I really like.
Wonderful comparison, lovely to see my most important tool get some attention. Criticism: performance at 1000 lumens (eye burn mode) is mostly irrelevant, it's too bright for most work. I run a single LED Slonik, guessing it might be 250 lumens on normal high, unlikely it hits the advertised 500 lumens on max. I only bother with max when riding bike, where the extra distance helps. Which begs the question about how long all these lights last, how the output holds up, at lower and longer burning settings. My Slonik won't make 8h on normal high, but I wonder if some of the competition could, at comparable middle settings that are realistic for many work settings.
There are many 18650 batteries available that can provide longer run time than the one that comes with the Slonic but the provided battery is actually pretty good. I don’t have a lot of experience with the batteries but did some research on them so I can’t say how much more run time is available with this type of battery. It seems like a balancing act between run time and how much heat they generate. Not to mention recharge times. If one wanted to make a comparison of each lamps abilities, one could change out the batteries so they all matched but this test was what is advertised vs what was actually provided.
Great video! I ordered the Slonik. I already have some high capacity 18650 cells that will make it a champ.
Where can I find that little device that you were using to check current draw on the headlamps at 13:15? Also is there a name for it?
Steelman Pro hands down the best ive used.
$30 on Amazon. Rechargeable and has infrared feature to turn on and off without touching it. Three bright settings, hard hat clips built in and the battery lasts hours
I use the Petzl Reactic for work a lot, but I hardly ever use it on the Reactic light metering mode, I just use it on the constant light modes, definitely nice when you can pop the battery pack out of it and swap in a fresh one, the Reactic mode just doesn’t work well with shiny/chrome materials and or IR heat sources
I got 5 Milwaukee head lamp in service right now. I should wear the all at one time. Thanks for the ideas 💡
Thank you for this. Companies with BS advertising should be shamed and sued.
LEDLenser MH10 comes with an 18650, a green and red filter.
Can be adjusted from tight beam to flood by twisting the bezel.
I just bought a Husky brand one with rechargeable battery for $16 and it performs pretty well. Takes a while to charge up but I haven’t had to charge it back up yet.
Fenix hm70r good output and endurance with USB C charging and 21700 batteries.
I have the HP25R and it's excellent
I have the EZ Red...( they call them neck lights but most people put them on their head)..and use them... they work really well and hold a decent charge
Not the same class as this type..but wear them in my backyard and they light up everything...