4-Mode 5000lm LED USB Rechargeable Headlamp+2battery+Charger US $15.60+Fs@Newfrog

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NewFrog

• 

  51722 on 13/05/2015 - 16:39

  +1

  No special discount for OzBargain?

  • 

    Store RepNewfrog.Official @ NewFrog on 13/05/2015 - 16:42

    -3

    @liveyourlife,

    Yes, of course. It is already under 15% off

• 

  elusive on 13/05/2015 - 16:50

  +12

  Yea, no. You aren't getting 5000lm out of this. Heck, the specs are such a mess that it's hard to tell what exactly is being used, but with some educated guesses (it might be a Cree XM-L T6 and XP-G R5 they're talking about, but no way to be sure) you're more likely to get 2000lm max while heavily overdriving them, and less than half that if you want to keep it on for any useful period of time, considering the weight and likely heat dissipation capabilities.

  Also, the best available 18650 Li-ion cells are in the region of 3400mAh. Anything claiming higher is almost certainly lying. And quite dangerous, especially when you use multiple cells together. Strapping them to the back of your head is a quick way to hospital and/or the morgue.

  I also wouldn't trust the shoddy built-in charger as far as I could throw it. Overcharging a Li-ion cell is a nice way to prime it for an explosion.

  Serious safety concerns with this thing.

  • 

    odgaf on 13/05/2015 - 17:06

    -8

    you have rubbished this product for no reason at all, i own this set and paid 80 dollars for it, i cannot praise the brightness and distance of this headset
    enough, a single cree t6 led shines a corridor of intense light upto a 3rd of a km, this headlamp is an absolute bargain at 15 dollars, put one in the car for emergencies, and keep one in the house too, you get 5-8 hours use from a single charge, my only complaint about this unit is the lamps get quite hot over extended use, due to the incredible light they generate

    you know nothing about these lights, everything you typed was rubbish, next time please whinge about products you actually own or have used instead of trying to scare customers away from an excellent and cheap product that you know nothing about

    • 

      elusive on 13/05/2015 - 17:17

      +11

      The 5000lm figure is completely false. See here, note the light output while driving the XM-L and XP-Gs at 3A/1.5A respectively. ~1000lm + 2x 500lm = 2000lm, while putting out a lot of heat. Also, if you get 5-8 hours from a single charge then it's not driving them at max - that's simply impossible considering 1x XM-L + 2x XP-G would be about 3000mA + 2x 1500mA = 6000mA, which would last an hour at with two 18650 cells providing 3400mAh each. This is simple mathematics.

      I own a dozen different torches of different brands using Cree LEDs. The ones configured to provide 2800mA max to an XM-L2 U2, which should produce ~1000lm, can easily exceed 60 degrees C within ten minutes, depending on ambient temperatures. Those are around 115g. This thing is supposed to be around 215g - not much more heat capacity, especially with more heat sources.

      Everything I typed was rubbish? Please produce the "4000mAh" li-ion 18650 cell from a reputable source. You'll find the best ones available (that top at 4.2V) are the NCR18650B cells from Panasonic. I pick this to disprove your claim because it's easy to prove, if you wish.

      If you paid $80 for the exact same product, you are a fool. If you paid $80 for a properly designed product from the same category of head-mounted torches? Then you have an excuse. I'm perfectly happy with my $15 torches from reasonable brands (e.g. Convoy) - not particularly expensive, but they do what they should safely. Heck, even the cheaper $4 XP-G or $8 XM-L deals are alright, if a bit inaccurate with their rated brightness. Once you try to jam a cheapo charger and multi-cell in, along with cheap cells, all bets are off.

      • 

        odgaf on 13/05/2015 - 17:27

        -6

        i paid 80 for this set several months ago, when it was first released, there is no confusion over the brand, one look at the link provided will show you pictures that it is indeed a cree headset, cree is probably in the top 2 torch brands, yet your review of the item you dont possess and have likely never seen promoted this item as a death trap

        you make a valid point about the operation time, i do get 5-8 hours from every charge, but i only use the main light, with all 3 lights on yes you would get perhaps 2 hours max, but one light is more than enough
        this is an awesome product, try it before you trash it, and at 15 dollars, the 2 batteries are worth that alone

      • 

        elusive on 13/05/2015 - 17:29

        +5

        @odgaf:

        Cree doesn't make torches. Cree makes the LEDs. The drivers, the torch bodies - those are not by Cree. You'll see a lot of cheap torches like this with big "Cree" branding on them - if anything, that's trademark infringement.

        Also, these batteries - again, they're mislabelled. You can get them $1 each off eBay if you wanted - though I wouldn't recommend it. Good li-ion batteries… the cheapest you'll find is probably the Samsung 18650-26F 2600mAh cells, a pair for $7.50. The Panasonic NCR18650B 3400mAh, probably the best around, are $15 for a pair of unprotected ones.

      • 

        zappa on 13/05/2015 - 18:18

        @elusive: I always use 'protected' panasonic cells (same as elusive mentioned) for lights worn on the head. Cheapies have their place but strapping em to your noggin probably aint one :)

      • 

        bargaino on 13/05/2015 - 18:33

        @zappa:
        As long as you are not charging them while on your noggin, there is very little risk, except for them running flat or failing prematurely.

    • 

      simulacrum on 13/05/2015 - 17:25

      +3

      "you have rubbished this product for no reason at all"

      He didn't just say "this is rubbish". He made specific criticisms and provided plenty of reasons. You might disagree with some of those reasons, but it is false to claim he provided none

      • 

        odgaf on 13/05/2015 - 17:32

        -8

        he clearly doesnt own the product nor has he used one, so how can it be valid

      • 

        simulacrum on 14/05/2015 - 15:41

        @odgaf:

        I've never owned a Volkswagen, nor have I used one but if a VW dealer told me the new Golf could drive me around Australia on one tank of petrol, I could confidently state that the claim is false on the basis of my understanding of science and my experience with cars in general.

        I'd be wrong to generally call the product rubbish without having used it. But I could make valid comments about specific claims being made about the product by the seller.

    • 

      ozscharfschutze on 13/05/2015 - 17:27

      +2

      Manufacturer specs don't lie. Regardless of how far you can shine light coming out of a T6, as @elusive says, it's impossible to achieve 5000lm with the LEDs mentioned.
      Also, no manufacturer makes 4000mAh Li-ion 18650 batteries. Some people charge their cheap Li-ion batteries in steel boxes because of the risk of explosion. That's pretty extreme and I'm not saying these batteries will explode, but you are wearing this thing right next to your head.

      • 

        odgaf on 13/05/2015 - 17:30

        but you dont wear the unit while charging it …..

      • 

        elusive on 13/05/2015 - 17:30

        Well, I suppose it's possible if you don't expect the LEDs to last very long… I wonder how bright they can get before they pop?

        Regardless, it's not a particularly good idea and the power draw required to produce that much light probably isn't gonna do much good to the batteries either.

      • 

        elusive on 13/05/2015 - 17:40

        +3

        @odgaf:

        Overcharged cells don't always explode immediately - they just become far more risky to use. The explosions get quite nasty: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?280909-Ul…, http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?262234-TK…. These cells store a lot of energy.

        Now, this particular product doesn't put them inside a sealed metal tube (= bomb), so it wouldn't be quite as violent. But you're also putting them on your head, so…

        There's the risk. You can minimise it with a proper charger and good cells. You can decide to take it or not - this kind of event is still somewhat rare overall. But the hazard is there, and that's why I warn.

      • 

        odgaf on 13/05/2015 - 18:05

        @elusive:
        fair enough, but it seems like scaremongering, i have never heard of any of these headlamps killing people
        but i understand your point, ive seen nasty burns just from iphones in pockets, but the risk is almost zero

  • 

    lgacb08 on 13/05/2015 - 17:30

    overated lumens: yes, but then every ozbargainer know that and who cares how many millions lumen do these chinese cheapos claim, as long as they are brighter than a halogen or old type led sold at your local supermarket for the same price, then it's a deal.

    Serious safety: meh, then again we know that those mAh claims are overated as the lumen so it won't be any more dangerous than charging your mobile phone.

    • 

      elusive on 13/05/2015 - 17:36

      +1

      The concern the incorrect cell rating is more that, well, you don't know where those cells come from. Poorly manufactured li-ion cells, and unbalanced cells in a multi-cell light? Neither is a good idea.

      Now, I'm not saying this will definitely explode. The consequences I mention are on the extreme side, yes, but they have happened before, and they can happen now.

      If anyone wants to go through with this purchase, I heavily recommend:

      • Getting a good charger. Again, look for Nitecore, Soshine, Xtar, etc.
      • Getting trustworthy cells. Fasttech is a reputable seller, as is supersports600 on eBay. You want Sanyo, Samsung, Panasonic or LG, and definitely prefer protected cells for this multi-cell light.

      Those will minimise the chance of anything bad happening. Altogether, would cost… $20? $30? Not too cheap unfortunately - though if you got the Nitecore i4/d4 from a previous deal, that one does 18650 Li-ion as well as NiMH.

• 

  geebee on 13/05/2015 - 16:59

  Generally charging is the danger period with Lipo, short of a short they are pretty safe, I also you would detect any major temp rise on your head :)
  $17.63 is a good price IMO for a t6 + extra ledas with batteries and a charger, the charger would need cut off voltage to be checked before trusting (same with any LiPo charger IMO).

  • 

    elusive on 13/05/2015 - 17:05

    Charging is the most dangerous part, yes, but there is also risk with multiple (unprotected) cells - if they're not balanced, one will quickly charge the other, typically much faster than is safe. And when you use dodgy old cells like these, it's hard to know where they come from - often they're ripped out of old laptop batteries and re-wrapped. Then they charge/discharge at different rates, and… yea. Overcharging and multi-cell torches lead to most of the reported cases of 18650 cell explosions in torches.

    It's certainly possible to be safe - always use a good charger (the Nitecore stuff is generally good, as are the Soshine ones), always buy new Sanyo/Samsung/Panasonic/LG cells from a trusted supplier, always keep cells used in a multi-cell torch together, always use cells with a protection circuit when you're putting multiple into a single device. But this product as advertised in this deal is not safe.

• 

  DJ on 13/05/2015 - 17:43

  +2

  Whilst there is a pretty little bunfight going on above, I grabbed one of these a couple months ago from eBay and am reasonably happy with it.

  For $15 it's a pretty good headlamp. And FWIW I'm running genuine Panasonic 18650's in it, and the charger happily cuts off charging when they are full.

• 

  C-B on 13/05/2015 - 19:47

  +1

  I bought a similar one a little while ago. Everything the same except the retaining ring for the main reflector is branded Singfire and I got 2 Singfire branded 2400mAh protected cells (I haven't verified the actual capacity but it is much more believable than these "4000mah" ones).

  As it is a similar (pretty much identical) product, the following info may be useful for some people.. The 3 LEDs on mine are indeed XML-T6's (checked visually). The 2 batteries are installed in parallel (as opposed to being in series like most torches). The following current measurements was taken using genuine Panasonic 18650 batteries for the 3 main modes:
  Centre LED: 900mA
  2 side LEDs: 900mA
  All 3 LEDs: 1.35A

  The main beam has a nice hotspot and decent spill like you see with most torches. The 2 side LEDs with their conical lenses produce a larger hotspot and bloodier beam. And as to be expected, with all 3 LEDs on you get a good mix of both. The strobe mode is nothing special but it uses all 3 LEDs.

• 

  Lionheart on 14/05/2015 - 17:46

  Anyone reading these comments can believe 100000% of what elusive is saying, he knows his stuff and everything he said is correct.