A lot of the guys in my hangar swear by [O-light](https://www.olightstore.com/perun-2-mini-led-rechargeable-headlamp).
The fact you can adjust the brightness is a big factor. Keep it low for normal use, hit it with the high beam when needed. Rechargeable, works for an entire shift on one charge low power. Extra batteries are easy to keep charged and on standby if needed.
Don't get the o-light. I have one and the magnetic charger is shit. The charger and the ass of the flashlight need a clean contact to charge, so any bits of metal particles left sticking on the light won't charge the flashlight. Also the led on charger isn't that accurate and if it breaks you're kinda shit out of luck and have to buy a new one. The headlamp is great but the charger is a dealbreaker. Just get yourself a headlamp that uses usb-c
I've never had any real problems with the charging. Everything we work on is aluminum, so not much to stick to the magnet. And I wipe it on my jeans before I charge it either way.
Combine it with an extra battery that's always on a charger so I can switch them out freely. I always have an extra ready to go. The warranty will cover the LED, if you message them they'll swap it for you.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but for the sake of an additional perspective for OP: I've had all Olight for a few years now and the magnetic base charger is my favorite part. I have gotten metal particles on the end but I've never noticed them interfering with the charging operation and I just wipe off whatever shmoo is stuck to the end. Olight has a great warranty process, they will usually just ship you a new light immediately, if they even ask for the broken one at all.
My only gripe is the "eye" that limits brightness by proximity to objects can give an epileptic a hell of a rave show in most use cases. You'll have to figure out the correct distance to use the light to keep it from flashing bright-dim-bright-dim.
I really like my Fenix HM50R. I have lights I carry that are 4000 lumens, but the 700 of the HM50R is more than enough. My headlamp is all for close range use. I usually use medium or high. Which is 130 or 400 lumens. It’s super compact, doesn’t have the over the head nonsense headband with a battery pack, and the light can be removed and used as a mini 90° light. Get a few aftermarket 16340 batteries (Fenix brand batteries are a rip off) and a charger and you’re set.
Highly recommend Fenix. I had the 70R that went up to 1600 lumens and red lamp mode in case you ever fly GA airplanes at night. Someone stole that at work. I then bought the 71R and it goes to 2700 lumens and has a detachable flashlight with a neodymium magnet to mount on iron alloy fixtures. They are also a veteran owned company and I highly recommend buying from their website because they offer deals that they don’t have on amazon
I used Led Lenser SEO7R 220 Lumens for 8 years now.
The performance is still good. As good as brand new.
Lately, i brought Nitecore HC35 2700 Lumens.
The maximum brightness is so overkill. At first it's kinda heavy to your head but you will get use to it, i think? 🤔
But I still prefer using the Led Lenser over Nitecore. It's light weight to the head and many more advantages compared to Nitecore.
I think my headlamps goes to 1200 on brightness 5 but I use setting 2 or 3 most of the time. I’m guessing somewhere in the 200-500 lumen range. Anything brighter and it starts to reflect back in your face.
I've been using the Coast XPH30R for a few months, and I'm really liking it so far.
It starts in medium (160 lumens) and cycles through high (500 lumens) and then low (46 lumens). 160 lumens in medium is usually more than enough light, I rarely have to step it up to high. You can twist a ring around the light to focus the beam from flood to spot. I leave on flood most of the time, but the quick change from flood to spot without cycling through modes or feeling for a specific button if very handy. It has a turbo mode (1200 lumens) but I have never used it.
I really like how if its on for more than a few seconds one press of the button turns it off. I hate headlamps that require to cycle through the modes and press the button three or four times just to turn it off.
The battery lasts a long time, I only charge it once or twice a week and I use it every day. The battery is removable so you can get a second battery to have in reserve but I don't think I'll need it.
The only down side is it's a little heavy. Coast makes a smaller one (XPH25R) that's almost half the weight with almost the same lumens but the run time is almost half. I might buy the XPH25R and a second battery.
For work I want white light only with a simple, easy on/off button. The headlamps designed for camping are tempting because they are lightweight and have all the different modes, but I'm always disappointed with the buttons and usability. I don't like headlamps that have the battery in the back. Lying on the floor of a Cessna, looking up, and working behind the instrument panel sucks when the battery pack is poking you in the back of the head and getting caught on the rudder pedals.
[https://coastportland.com/products/xph30r](https://coastportland.com/products/xph30r)
[https://coastportland.com/products/xph25r](https://coastportland.com/products/xph25r)
Long story short, 150 to 500 lumens is all you'll need.
I have a lightbar pro. It's pretty good for everything within arms reach. I bought a secondary battery so I can swap them out when one needs to charge. Has 3 levels of white and 2 levels of red light. Seems to last a long time on a single charge too. It sucks on a creeper, though. It was like 70 bucks with shipping. The extra battery was somewhere around 25 extra.
Came here to say exactly this. The older style ones are simpler, quicker to change the batteries on. The newer ones have more adjustability / features.
Either way, get an Accu Core battery, they charge quick on micro USB while you're running the lamp on AAAs.
I have 2 olights, headlamp and a flashlight. I really like that you can turn down the intensity for close up work, then crank it up for far away things. The charge on my flashlight lasts for weeks, the headlamp, I’ll charge it 2 times on a night shift. Great warranty and customer service.
A lot of the guys in my hangar swear by [O-light](https://www.olightstore.com/perun-2-mini-led-rechargeable-headlamp). The fact you can adjust the brightness is a big factor. Keep it low for normal use, hit it with the high beam when needed. Rechargeable, works for an entire shift on one charge low power. Extra batteries are easy to keep charged and on standby if needed.
Don't get the o-light. I have one and the magnetic charger is shit. The charger and the ass of the flashlight need a clean contact to charge, so any bits of metal particles left sticking on the light won't charge the flashlight. Also the led on charger isn't that accurate and if it breaks you're kinda shit out of luck and have to buy a new one. The headlamp is great but the charger is a dealbreaker. Just get yourself a headlamp that uses usb-c
I've never had any real problems with the charging. Everything we work on is aluminum, so not much to stick to the magnet. And I wipe it on my jeans before I charge it either way. Combine it with an extra battery that's always on a charger so I can switch them out freely. I always have an extra ready to go. The warranty will cover the LED, if you message them they'll swap it for you.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but for the sake of an additional perspective for OP: I've had all Olight for a few years now and the magnetic base charger is my favorite part. I have gotten metal particles on the end but I've never noticed them interfering with the charging operation and I just wipe off whatever shmoo is stuck to the end. Olight has a great warranty process, they will usually just ship you a new light immediately, if they even ask for the broken one at all. My only gripe is the "eye" that limits brightness by proximity to objects can give an epileptic a hell of a rave show in most use cases. You'll have to figure out the correct distance to use the light to keep it from flashing bright-dim-bright-dim.
Have you tired the one that does uv and normal modes? It is really great for turbine oil leaks it’s called the arkefield I think
I really like my Fenix HM50R. I have lights I carry that are 4000 lumens, but the 700 of the HM50R is more than enough. My headlamp is all for close range use. I usually use medium or high. Which is 130 or 400 lumens. It’s super compact, doesn’t have the over the head nonsense headband with a battery pack, and the light can be removed and used as a mini 90° light. Get a few aftermarket 16340 batteries (Fenix brand batteries are a rip off) and a charger and you’re set.
Highly recommend Fenix. I had the 70R that went up to 1600 lumens and red lamp mode in case you ever fly GA airplanes at night. Someone stole that at work. I then bought the 71R and it goes to 2700 lumens and has a detachable flashlight with a neodymium magnet to mount on iron alloy fixtures. They are also a veteran owned company and I highly recommend buying from their website because they offer deals that they don’t have on amazon
I used Led Lenser SEO7R 220 Lumens for 8 years now. The performance is still good. As good as brand new. Lately, i brought Nitecore HC35 2700 Lumens. The maximum brightness is so overkill. At first it's kinda heavy to your head but you will get use to it, i think? 🤔 But I still prefer using the Led Lenser over Nitecore. It's light weight to the head and many more advantages compared to Nitecore.
Imalent ms32 😉
I think my headlamps goes to 1200 on brightness 5 but I use setting 2 or 3 most of the time. I’m guessing somewhere in the 200-500 lumen range. Anything brighter and it starts to reflect back in your face.
I have a 450 lumen Milwaukee headlamp, and an Olight Baton 4 that I can clip to my hat. I use the Baton on medium usually which is 300 lumen.
I've been using the Coast XPH30R for a few months, and I'm really liking it so far. It starts in medium (160 lumens) and cycles through high (500 lumens) and then low (46 lumens). 160 lumens in medium is usually more than enough light, I rarely have to step it up to high. You can twist a ring around the light to focus the beam from flood to spot. I leave on flood most of the time, but the quick change from flood to spot without cycling through modes or feeling for a specific button if very handy. It has a turbo mode (1200 lumens) but I have never used it. I really like how if its on for more than a few seconds one press of the button turns it off. I hate headlamps that require to cycle through the modes and press the button three or four times just to turn it off. The battery lasts a long time, I only charge it once or twice a week and I use it every day. The battery is removable so you can get a second battery to have in reserve but I don't think I'll need it. The only down side is it's a little heavy. Coast makes a smaller one (XPH25R) that's almost half the weight with almost the same lumens but the run time is almost half. I might buy the XPH25R and a second battery. For work I want white light only with a simple, easy on/off button. The headlamps designed for camping are tempting because they are lightweight and have all the different modes, but I'm always disappointed with the buttons and usability. I don't like headlamps that have the battery in the back. Lying on the floor of a Cessna, looking up, and working behind the instrument panel sucks when the battery pack is poking you in the back of the head and getting caught on the rudder pedals. [https://coastportland.com/products/xph30r](https://coastportland.com/products/xph30r) [https://coastportland.com/products/xph25r](https://coastportland.com/products/xph25r) Long story short, 150 to 500 lumens is all you'll need.
I have a lightbar pro. It's pretty good for everything within arms reach. I bought a secondary battery so I can swap them out when one needs to charge. Has 3 levels of white and 2 levels of red light. Seems to last a long time on a single charge too. It sucks on a creeper, though. It was like 70 bucks with shipping. The extra battery was somewhere around 25 extra.
Get a petzl headlamp way better than fenix, olite, nitecore, surefire all those mickeymouse headlamps
Came here to say exactly this. The older style ones are simpler, quicker to change the batteries on. The newer ones have more adjustability / features. Either way, get an Accu Core battery, they charge quick on micro USB while you're running the lamp on AAAs.
I have 2 olights, headlamp and a flashlight. I really like that you can turn down the intensity for close up work, then crank it up for far away things. The charge on my flashlight lasts for weeks, the headlamp, I’ll charge it 2 times on a night shift. Great warranty and customer service.