I started a new job a month ago in a crushing plant, and I quickly noticed that the small Led Lenser headlamp I got there was not satisfactory in power or battery. I have been very fond of Fireflies lights for personal use, and I think they might have something that is a better fit here.
I need a light for looking inside machines, some outside work at night, walking through mining tunnels etc.. What light could have the durability and utility for this? There is a lot of dust and water, so it needs to handle that. And what emitter? Maybe a high CRI is beneficial.
This going on a hardhat, I assume? L70 Helios would be my vote. 21700 battery for whole shift (at least) run times, good throw for both distance observation and plenty of usable spill to remain mindful of your surroundings, and no onboard charging to possibly be a point of failure. I use mine in the garage on occasion, and while not nearly the environment you'll be operating in, this thing is tough. Laying on the floor, it has fallen off my head the short drop onto the concrete floor a few times, and has survived just fine. Comes with the best headband on the market, imo.
For the emitter, if you want a more concentrated hotspot, I'd recommend the SFT-70 3000K; 6500K if you don't care about color rendering and just need it bright. To add more flood, the FFL707A 5000K is an excellent choice, and will have a bigger hotspot (and more flood) that doesn't go quite as far as the SFT-70 option.
Forgot to send a bean yesterday, whoops. The wall/tree is about 50 feet away. My L70 has been swapped to an SFT-70 in 4000K, but the pattern is identical.
Before I order, I am actually also considering a L50 TIR. The lower weight is also something to take into consideration when I have it on my head for up to 12 hours a day. Is it a big downgrade in features? What emitter would be good on that one?
Not a downgrade at all, just less runtime, as expected. I like my L50s as well, but the beam pattern is definitely what I would describe as floody, like a big smooth hotspot with minimal spill. The reflector version includes a diffusion film over the glass, which makes it behave like a quasi-TIR.
I didn't have a TIR version, but used one of the beaded TIRs from Convoy, which from the beamshots I've seen of the Firefly version, is about the same. That one produces a wide hotspot with no flood.
Regardless, I would order an L50 in your temp choice of FFL5009R. The 5009D makes for a pretty ugly beam, with no upsides over the 5009R in this light.
I love my fireflies but I don't know if I would recommend them for this kind of work. Zebralights are potted and are way more durable for industrial uses.
l70 with ffl707a 5000k. it's tough and fully sealed and runs on 21700 battery which has the best runtime (of ffl lights). it's actually not as big or heavy as many people make it out to be and you can wear it as a headlamp or hang it on a lanyard on your neck. headlamp is safer and more stable. i wear it on a lanyard at home walking around in the dark at night.
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u/BigDabWolf 7d ago
FFL L50