I seem to have had that problem, too. But, for $4, I bought a few and just swap them out when they go bad. I don’t use them often enough for it to be a problem and they are more than bright enough for my purposes.
I’ve also gone through a couple of these. I think it’s usually the push-button switch that wears out in the end. Sometimes I’ve tried to preserve them by untwisting the battery cover (for I use models that take convenient AA’s), but it doesn’t seem to help much.
They really are fantastically bright, though – they probably have potential tactical utility in a pinch. I am reluctant to try using them on my bike, as I think I might inadvertently blind someone (temporarily).
Many years ago, so long that there weren’t white LEDs yet, I used a wide-angle amber one as a flashlight, mounted on my hat. The amount of light was not great, but was enough to see few meters in front. The advantage was that I kept my eyes adapted to the darkness, the yellow did not ruin my scotopic vision too, and I saw much more than my colleagues who had high-powered flashlights; they saw only whatever was in the narrow cone of light they projected out.
Sometimes less is more.
What’s your favourite headlamp?
I do that now, swapping amber LEDs in for the blue-white ones you normally get.
Takes 2 wires being removed from the old emitter and soldered onto the new, respecting + and - which are always marked.
'oogle this: “XP-E2 amber 16mm mod”
Instructions for red also work for amber.
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I know I’m not scottbelyea, but I love the Black Diamond Storm. Waterproof, dimming spot, red option and, my favorite, the wide cast white. I can dim the spot to a fairly low 15 lux or so for getting around and then use the wider white light when setting up camp and then the red for finding my tripod in the dark. But having been caught out too often in the rain I’m a big fan of waterproof lights.
The only downside to headlamps is that they flatten everything out instead of giving me some shadows to see that tree root or whatever when I’m out hiking.
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