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Print versionFenix HP10 Headlight - First Impressions
Just arrived for review is the amazing Fenix HP10 headlight. This is one of the new breed of lightweight, high power headlights that looks set to make carrying a bulky battery pack redundant.
The leaflet with the headlight quotes it as being designed for caving, climbing, jungle crossing and outdoor living, and I know some search and rescue guys now have this light as both a main light source and as a back up unit, which says a lot!
PERFORMANCE FEATURES
The HP10 light source is a Cree XR-E LED (Q5) with a quoted lifespan of a whopping 50,000 hours. It offers no less than four lighting levels, a 7 Lumen output which is ideal for baiting up and general working with a battery life of 210 hours, a higher output of 50 Lumens with 22 hours battery life, 120 Lumens output which is very bright with a 7.5 hour battery life that is more than powerful enough for all your general fishing, then an incredible 225 Lumens output with a duration of 2.5 hours that puts a bright semi wide beam well over 100- metres. This latter turbo option is incredibly bright and more than powerful enough for working rock marks with. You can see fish in the water easily well over 70-metres away.
In addition there are three flashing modes, a strobe, also an SOS flash, plus a warning flash. The SOS lasts a continuous 50 hours, nice to know if you’re in a dangerous situation.
There is an easy to use main on/off light switch, but then a separate side switch which upgrades the four light options. The HP10 remembers the previous setting when you switch the light on and off. The light has digitally adjusted output to maintain a constant brightness, sports an output automatic memory function, and also carries an overheat protection system. It runs on four AA sized batteries.
The light head is made from aircraft-grade aluminium and the rest of the hard parts from high quality durable plastic. The lens is from toughened ultra-clear glass with an anti-reflective coating. It’s designed to be tough!
The headlight is also compact in design with a headlight body 54mm long, 43mm wide and 33.5mm deep. The battery pack measures 84mm long by 64mm wide and is just 21mm deep. The whole unit only weighs in the region of 230-grammes with the batteries in place!
The HP10 also meets IPX8 standard meaning it can withstand submersion in water down to a depth of 1.5-metres for 30-minutes. You can go swimming in this headlight, should you be so inclined, so it will withstand anything the beach and rocks can throw at you re rain, storm and tempest, and will come in mighty useful should you be unfortunate enough to ever fall in the water at night!
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Our first impressions are very, very good!
The headlight performance is highly impressive, especially the 225 lumen output which puts a semi wide beam one heck of long way with a clear bright white light, though this turbo mode only lasts for 3-minutes before automatically dropping back to next lower 120 Lumen power. That said the 120 lumen output is excellent and more than enough for most fishing situations.
The headlight is comfortable to wear and very light, though initially we prefer it without the overhead strap, we just used the round the head strap fitting which was totally secure and very comfortable during a normal 4/5 hour fishing session.
The headlight body can also be tilted down or up to focus light exactly where you look.
I’ve been using powerful headlights with battery packs for all my rock fishing for the past 20-years or more, but technology moves on and these new Fenix HP10’s seem to have the power and the lightweight coupled to the durability I need in a headlight for rock fishing, not just normal beach fishing situations. The HP10 will save me quite a bit of weight in my rucksack and around my waist when walking over rough terrain for long distances in to remote rock ledges, plus it has far greater durability and reliability and there’s no need to carry spare bulbs.
Mike Jnr and I will be long term testing the headlight between us during the winter months and submitting a full long term durability report in due course, but we initially like what we see!
PRICE
The Fenix HP10 Headlight retails for around £50 and by performance offers excellent value for money.
We got our Fenix HP10 Headlight from The Torch Site (http://www.thetorchsite.co.uk)
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