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Posts: 1144
Location: Minnesota. | Looking for some good headlamp for our night fishing stuffs. I don't need the ultra- best but cheap is fools play.... Anyone really happy with there's? Rechargeable would be preferred. Thanks tons....
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Posts: 1304
| I would really like to know, as well. I've gone through a few cheap ones. Batteries don't last, break easy, etc. I'm willing to spend more, but don't want to swing and miss if laying out more cash. |
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| I keep two headlamps in the boat, put good batteries in them. I also have a Stanley rechargeable spotlight that has different intensities. Use that for navigating channels and docking. That was a good value from Menards. |
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Posts: 789
Location: Delavan, WI | Streamlight makes a rechargeable led headlamp I believe it's around $30 been working great for me for 2 seasons I also have a black diamond that was similar in price that takes a AAA battery as a backup or if someone forgets theirs both are excellent options that won't break the bank |
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Posts: 1091
Location: Hayward, WI | Cabela's by Princeton Tec Alaskan Guide XP Green Headlamp
I have 2 of these. I like that they run on AA batteries, I have had bad luck with rechargeable head lamps. The green light is nice for when the bug are bad, doesn't seem to attract as many bug as the white light. |
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Location: PA Angler | Headlamps aren’t the greatest. The only thing I have that’s been great is a hat with the light on it. |
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Posts: 536
Location: NW WI | Waterfowling can be brutal on headlamps. Water,ice,impact, doesn't mix with electronics of course. With the possibility of lights overboard both night fishing and Waterfowling; We tend to lean towards high powered rechargeables from Amazon. They get about 1-2 seasons of life. I'm not sure what models they have but my dad and brother both just switched to streamlights, lighter weight but less output. My longest living headlamp is a UST 550 at probably 8-10years of use, and it's my most used and abused. But in specific regards to fishing, I really prefer something with a red light option and have just used Energizer battery powered for inboat use. I know you said you want rechargeable but I agree with kjgmn, battery powered is the way to go. The charging ports on rechargeable seems to be the weak spot of every rechargeable we've ever owned. Plus with batteries you can carry basically endless life with you wherever your journeys take you. Just make the small investment for rechargeable batteries and a charger and you'll be set. |
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Posts: 333
Location: SE Wisc | I run a Black Diamond headlamp. Petzl is also supposed to be good but no first hand experience with them. I also keep a Makita spot light on hand that takes my Makita tool batteries. That thing is amazing and great for navigation. |
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Posts: 333
Location: SE Wisc | A good tip… take your batteries out at the end of season of if you won’t be using the piece for an extended amount of time.
Especially if it’s an expensive piece of gear. I left the batteries in my old Garmin GPS after an elk hunt and forgot about it. A year later I need it and doesn’t work, batteries leaked inside and it’s junk now. Probably not so much an issue with a headlamp cause it may get used more often but something to remember |
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Posts: 422
Location: MN | I fish at night a lot, more hours total than during daylight. For me the priorities are:
- one big and easy to find button, minimum number of modes
- small, light, simple and easy to get on and off, doesn't fall off
- cheap, widely available
I use energizers. They use a simple single adjustable strap. The cheaper ones have just one button. You can buy them for under $10/ea.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B092RHC2FY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_ti...
I keep 4 in the boat, never have to worry about people jumping in without a headlamp and easy switch if batteries run out on one of them. I've owned 6 of them, 2/6 stopped working after 3-4 years of heavy use and the rest are still going. |
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Posts: 62
| Nebo is by far the best that I have found and I have tried many. Really can’t go wrong with any of the lights they got and they are versatile |
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Posts: 3483
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya!!
I would agree with Nar here. I have a couple of energizer lights that I keep. They have a couple of settings on them (red, bright white, low white) and I can adjust the direction of the light as well. Out of the way, and no over the top head band, so it works well if you like to wear a baseball cap. I use mine for deer hunting as well...love the red for walking in on morning hunts... My suggestion if you go this route...get the brightest ones you can get (I think mine go to 400 lumens). They take 3 AAA batteries. I would agree that if you plan on putting them in storage for a while...remove the batteries...I'd bet we have all done that at some point...I know I have!!
Steve |
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Posts: 10
| Petzl's never seemed to last for me. Someone recommended Fenix to me years ago and gave them a try. It's rechargeable, has been dropped tons, in the rain etc, and I use it almost daily on top of fishing, hunting, hiking. It's on the higher end of what I would think to spend on a headlamp but was definitely worth the money in my opinion. Maybe worth a look. |
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Posts: 1144
Location: Minnesota. | Wow, thanks to all of you who replied. Lots of great info. that I'll have some time to sift thru... I'm a "light-weight" night fisher but I also prefer good stuff so I'll try to make an informed decision here and all these replies will help one heckuva lot!!
Thanks very much indeed....
~ Jeremy. |
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Posts: 1249
Location: Walker, MN | I have Petzls that are 20 years old and still work like new. I run 4 Petzl TIKKA on ice fishing trips, and take them for early mornings, and evenings in the boat. The rechargeable Core batteries replace AAA's and are really great. They charge with a standard usb cable at home, in the truck, or in the boat. Five stars from me. |
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Posts: 10
| To be fair to petzl, I've been through 4 or 5 but they were all the 20-30$ range; battery doors would break off, batteries left in ruining them (my fault), and one my kids play with that works randomly. If I spent the same price point as my current headlamp on a petzl probably would have much better quality but after so many issues with their cheap ones I wanted to try a higher quality one and current fenix hasnt needed replacing yet. |
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Posts: 333
Location: SE Wisc | Unfortunately, now a days you have to spend some coin to get anything that will last or isn’t made in china. That Energizer light may be a great option if your a guide and need multiple lights and don’t want to spend too much. I think what you want to look for is a light that has a strong high beam, a low power beam(preferably that dims from high to low throughout), and has some color changes that use the same settings, and is simple to use. The more options you have , the more complicated it will be but typically doesn’t take much time to figure out. I like having red or green for low light, blue is too close to the standard white for me to make any kind of a difference. Lots of good ones out there. I’ve always had the mindset of buy once, cry once. Unless you leave the batteries in too long! |
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Posts: 24
| I've used several top of the line Princetontec annd Black Diamond headlights over the last 20 years. The Princetontec's are great but I've had several that have had the circuit boards fail.
As others have noted the Black Diamond's have issues with the door hasps breaking off. These days hands down the best value and perfomance has been the a $20 Braun brand light available through Harbor Freight. I know, Harbor Freight. it's 500 lumens on 3 triple AAAs and has red light. The button system for selecting modes is straightforward and easy to access. The unit has a yellow housing so they its easy to spot and the hasp on the door holds up. My only complaint, and this applies to most manufacturers anymore is that the battery compartment lacks that handy ribbon pull tab that lays underneath the batteries so that you don't have to prize them out by the ends and risk bunging them up. At $20 a pop, buy two and you'll have a back up or loaner. |
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Posts: 24
| I've used several top of the line Princetontec and Black Diamond headlights over the last 20 years. The Princetontec's are great but I've had several that have had the circuit boards fail.
As others have noted the Black Diamond's have issues with the door hasps breaking off. These days hands down the best value and perfomance has been the $20 Braun brand headlight available through Harbor Freight. I know, Harbor Freight. It's 500 lumens on 3 triple AAAs and has red light. The button system for selecting modes is straightforward and easy to access. The unit has a yellow housing so it's easy to spot, and the hasp on the door holds up. My only complaint, and this applies to most manufacturers anymore, is that the battery compartment lacks that handy ribbon pull tab that lays underneath the batteries so that you don't have to prize them out by the ends and risk bunging them up. At $20 a pop, buy two and you'll have a back up or loaner. |
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Posts: 22
| Coast xph30r. Rechargeable, lasts all night. Built like a tank. It's been underwater countless times and has spent days in the rain. Only $45 on amazon |
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Posts: 330
| Lightbar Pro.
Light up the lake if u wish.In white or red light.Rechargeable.On my 3rd year primarily for waterfowl.Used hard. |
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Posts: 3870
| After a zillion hours fishing at night I have a battery powered LL Bean LED cap with high/low white and green options. Best I ever used. |
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Posts: 299
Location: Not where I want to be! | These work awesome. Rechargeable and super bright. Been using for a long time. https://www.amazon.com/Rechargeable-Accessories-Flashlight-Waterproof-Headlight/dp/B0CCNTFDJ4/ref=sr_1_81?crid=3BVWHCPWJ96II&keywords=rechargeab |
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Posts: 299
Location: Not where I want to be! | These work awesome. Rechargeable and super bright. Been using for a long time. https://www.amazon.com/Rechargeable-Accessories-Flashlight-Waterproof-Headlight/dp/B0CCNTFDJ4/ref=sr_1_81?crid=3BVWHCPWJ96II&keywords=rechargeab |
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Location: Contrarian Island | I've tried a ton of them over the last 20 yrs, from the spendy Petzls to the cheapies. I use the browning below as it has a very bright halogen as well as a small red LED type light that doesn't seem to spook fish so I leave that on at night to see follows... a lot of my friends now use the same one after trying mine as I keep a few in the boat....
https://www.amazon.com/Browning-Hunter-Light-Maxus-Headlamp/dp/B00AA... |
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Posts: 1430
Location: Brighton CO. | I use to use one I bought from musky Hunter, I have not been in years, but if I was to go I would buy a baseball type hat with the LED's right in the brim. and carry a Mag light. Your buddy hooks a fish get the Mag light and point it at the rod tip a follow the line down to the fish. When you net the fish hold the light against the net handle. |
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Posts: 2335
Location: Chisholm, MN | Petzl or whatever junk I pick up from the gas station. I wouldn’t overthink it because as soon as you buy a nice one, you’ll loose it, break it or drop it over the side of the boat. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | I night fish alot. I am on year 10 on my Princeton Tec Vizz industrial. I prefer the industrial as it has fewer modes. First button push is the strobe, a button hold brings up the flood lights and holding it longer dims it infinitely down to tent reading light.
Last year, I went to Amazon and picked up a 2 pack of rechargeable headlamps that we 2 for 18 bucks. They're pretty good and I don't have to worry when the kids leave them on all the time. They have a few modes/red light but first and second button push are the common modes so i don't have to cycle through. Recharge after each use.
Honestly, based on how well the rechargeable works, I will be shopping for a slightly longer battery life model with USBC charging and could be pursuaded to keep the PT in my backup pack. |
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Posts: 1727
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | https://a.co/d/6uMm8cs
These have never let me down. I use them for working on cars, electrical work, night fishing, etc. |
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Posts: 122
Location: Roscoe IL | id suggest something by Fenix, i use them for work/hunting/fishing. 18650 rechargables, theyre not cheap, but they take a heck of a beating, i use mine daily. |
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