I use a headlamp A LOT. They’re worth their weight in gold for most forms of mechanical and automotive work, and a lot of maintenance and carpentry too.
Dimly lit places where you need both hands free abound in most of the work, and play that I do.
It’s also dark 1/2 to 3/4 of the day for a good 6 months out of the year here. I never go anywhere without a flashlight year round. But in the winter I never go without a headlamp as well. I really do get that much use from one in general, and I’ve found that 9 out of 10 emergencies/mishaps/adventures happen in the dark.
I decided after my moose hunting trip this year that I needed a newer, brighter headlamp. The one I have works great, and has for about 10 years now. It’s bright enough and has taken anything I’ve thrown at it.
But compared to what the other guys were using, it’s a candle to a locomotive! LEDs have progressed a lot in the last decade, and this light was the older style bubble LED lamps, the older tech when I got it.
On the highest mode out of three, it’s a good 50 lumens at the most. Enough for general work in pitch black, but at dusk it leaves a little to be desired. And sometimes more light is simply better in the deepest dark.
So, I did some digging, research, and browsing but didn’t really get anywhere.
Figured I’d post a thread @ the edc community forum soon, and ask for recamendations.
I never got that far.
In one guys thread a couple weeks later, he posted his new headlamp. Two friends started asking questions about it, both also looking for something new. Within a few days they’d ordered theirs. They both loved them.
3 glowing reviews, and a feature set I liked, I couldn’t go wrong, I went ahead and ordered it!
Box contents;
With my older Browning light;
The specs on the Thrunite TH20;
Firely mode 0.3 lumen
Infinity low; 1.6 lumens
Infinity high; 230 lumens
Turbo high on an alkaline or Ni-MH AA; 250 lumens
Turbo high on an lithium ion 14500 rechargeable “AA”; 520 lumens (!)
The light is aluminum housed, and runs on a single AA cell, or a rechargeable 14500 cell.
Now, you might be asking “what’s infinity mode?” Put simply, the light doesn’t have previously set brightness levels for normal use. It has one main mode, and an infinite adjustment within it. Lowest is 1.6 lum, highest is 230.
Press and hold the switch and it slowly ramps up through the range, simply stop at the level of light you want!
Operation is simple.
From Off, long press to get the firefly 0.3 lum mode. Regular press to turn off.
Also from Off, regular press goes to infinity mode, and the memory puts it at the last used brightness (so you don’t have to re-adjust it every time).
Long press in infinity mode ramps up till you stop. Next long press ramps down, and alternates every press. Regular press to turn it off.
Fast double click from any mode gets Turbo. Double click from turbo gets you SOS flash. Regular press to turn off.
I really like the infinite adjuster! I can get just the light I want, and it’s easy to go up or down. Sometimes preset modes are either too bright or too dim, depending on where you are, what reflects the light etc. This I can adjust easily, up or down as needed.
I gained some durability with aluminum over plastic (although the plastic has never been any trouble even in rough use, and extreme temperatures).
It turns out just slightly heavier than the other light, being AA and metal, but the other is 3 AAAs which are the same or more bulk, and it was bigger overall.. It evens out very well between them.
The Browning has a pad on the back for against the head, while the TH20 is rubber mounted, no pad, but just as comfortable.
The Browning has 3 click set angle adjustments. The TH20 is an infinite angle, set simply by rotating it in the rubber holder.
The Browning has a very “cool” light output, an blue tint. A tint that bothered me at first, but I got used to it, hadn’t really noticed it for years. The TH20 comes in either a warm, or cool tint emiter, your choice. I chose the warmer, more yellow, natural light tint, since I prefer not to have the blue tint whenever possible.
One big gain is the change to one battery. AAAs are easy to find in general, but if your scrounging them in an emergency finding three of them can be a pain. Most devices that take them only run two.
Finding a single AA on the other hand is relatively easy! They are more common, and like AAAs, most devices run on two of them.
Lots of subtle differences, but all gains.
I have the infinity mode set at about the same light level, or a little brighter than high on the Browning, which was my most used mode. I’d guess around 50 or 60 lumens… It’s a distinctive jump to Turbo, but dimmer than 100 lum.
Update; December 23 2017;
At first, when I first wrote this, I was running it on an Energizer Ni-MH rechargeable AA cell, the same voltage as a alkaline AA. Then the turbo was only 250 lumens. Honesty, enough light for 99.9% of anything, but to me it seemed rediculous to have capabilities I couldn’t use. And I just wanted more light. 😉
So I ordered a single Olight brand 14500 cell, and a simple USB charger also from Olight. Output on turbo is now extreme! And great if you need, or just want it. 🙂
Review of the battery and charger coming soon.
Overall, I’m extremely pleased. An excellent light, especially for its cost. I’d have paid a lot more for the quality, build, and features. This is only a $30 light!
http://www.thrunite.com/thrunite-th20-high-output-and-light-weight-aa-battery-led-headlamp/
Alaskan, Adventurer, Engineer. 