Ultra-Bright CREE 3W Head Lamp 160 Lumen - Zoom Beam Function Review

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List Price: $34.95
Sale Price: $4.82
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Very bright, good design, but horrible construction quality.

When I got it, I noticed the plastic lens was dirty, and several screws were loose and in stripped holes. Within 15 hours of use, the light toggle button started to fail, then the part that locks the light into different angles failed, leaving the light drooping and in need of a certain blue pill.

The part that locks the light into different angles is a pin that is pushed into grooves by a spring to hold the light in position. The spring is sealed in by a square of plastic that wasn't attached very well and broke off from the force of adjustment, sending the small spring flying out.

It is also very hard to remove batteries without damaging them because of a very tight fit.

Now onto what's good about it:

Headband adjustment, weight, and light adjustment are all satisfactory providing the headlamp is still in one piece.

You may or may not be aware that this is a Chinese knock-off of the LED Lenser 88000. This headlamp can do everything that the LED Lenser can do, and is brighter.

The light is much brighter than regular more expensive headlamps like Petzl which are around 50 lumens. So if you're just buying a light for its brightness, get one with a Cree LED. These are the type of people who buy an $80 60 lumens headlamp and give it a 5 star review saying "I love it it's so bright". This one costs much less and is 300 lumens. (Be aware though that lumen ratings do not directly correspond to brightness and may be measured in completely different ways. This headlamp seems about 4x brighter than my 50 lumens Petzl Tikka Plus 2, and about the same as another Chinese headlamp rated at 600 lumens).

However, using this as a life-critical system is a death sentence. You don't want this to be your only source of light. It will fall apart and/or explode.

Instead get something less bright with higher quality like something from LED Lenser, Petzl, Princeton Tec, or Black Diamond.

I replaced this with a Petzl E97 PM Tikka Plus 2 Headlamp, Mystic Gray. It seems about 25% the brightness and doesn't throw the light nearly as far, but the build quality is much better and batteries will last a lot longer in it.

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Wanted to see how much better a high lumen headlamp would be compared to my old Coleman one. There is no comparison. This is so bright that it makes my Coleman headlamp and my other led flashlights look like useless toys by comparison. I am now going to buy a high lumen flashlight from the same company. Regarding this headlamp, the quality is not quite as good as the Coleman. The head straps will probably not last as long and the pivoting headlamp is a little difficult to move and only has a few positions, so it cannot be adjusted as much, but there is nothing out there with this light intensity in this price range. Even the high-end headlamps have their own quirks and drawbacks. Bottom line for me is that if Coleman made something like this for $10 or $15 more, I would have bought it, but they don't. I definitely got my money's worth. If you go to the company's website, you can watch their YouTube demonstration videos for every product they sell. I would definitely recommend doing that as well.

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Batteries are very hard to install and to take out. couple of screws came off the battery assembly.

While the flashlight is on, one of the batteries would get so hot and eventually it turns off.

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I actually love this headlamp despite its defects because it is very bright, and I love the ability to change the focus quickly.

However, when I first put the batteries in, this puppy did not work. The metal contacts in the battery holder are loose and fall out of place every time the batteries are changed, and I have to pull them back into place and try placing batteries in a couple times till it works.

Also, the first day I had it a wire came off of the circuit board (poor solder connection came apart). I was able to dissassemble the head completely (very small parts), and BARELY managed to solder the suuuuuper short wire back onto the board.

The ratcheting peice that enables it to aim downward and click into place popped out off of my forehead a month later, possibly due to my reassembly. It was very difficult to place the spring and ratcheter thingy back into place, and took me about 20 minutes of constant attempts, but I did manage to get it properly in place (apparently not though I guess).

So buyer beware, this is a cheaply made unit where the manufacturer cut way too many corners. But for the price, what's too loose? Buy one and hope you get one that works.

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Because of the low purchase price, I was not really expecting high quality light. It came wrapped in plastic with piece of paper simple instruction on on-off, light adjustment and do not look into light warning.

Mine came with parts already broken. Half of plastic clip that hold battery holder in place was broken so the battery pack dangle out loose from band. The light is supposed to be adjustable but mine was locked in place and will not budge no matter what. I looked inside the lens (light is off) and noticed it was full of dust.

After installing the battery I tried out the headlight and for the price the light it gives out is very good. However, the on-off button feels cheaply built. I expect repeated use will eventually cause the switch to fail. There is no weatherproofing so if your light get wet from rain I doubt it will last long.

In closing, this headlight is for people who just want powerful headlight at the cheapest possible price. It almost remind me of a car where only the engine is built properly but everything else is built almost as an afterthought.