I want to talk about the great headlamp that was given away in 2017. I won one, and instantly put it in a drawer because I HATE headlamps. I'll have it when I need it.
We moved off-grid in 2018. I had no choice; either wear it or sit in the dark. I LOVED it! I enjoy tracing, and it was always bright enough on low beam.
Fast forward to this year. When we had to evacuate because of fire, I took my trusty headlamp. We lost our solar power and were given another. The control box messed up and we had a surge that ruined my headlamp! I put it on my Amazon wish list so I wouldn't lose the link. When we can, I'll get another one.
My husband wants one now,too. When he noticed how long they stayed charged and how bright it was, he was convinced.
He thought that since it was so light, it probably wasn't any good. I never liked headlamps because they were so heavy.
I live in the country in a northern lattitude. Long hours of darkness in our long winters.
I have been a headlamp user for many years. LEDs changed everything, making the weight, run time and cost of operation reasonable. Low-self-discharge NiMH batteries completed the system. I will even wear one in a lit outbuilding -- it puts a little extra light right where I'm looking.
You don't have to spend much. Unless you're climbing Everest, a $5 special is mostly enough around the yard.
A headlamp is unrecommended in moth season, unless you enjoy being dive-bombed by large insects looking for love in all the wrong places.
The one thing people don't seem to get is that you can just hang the 3-AAA variety around your neck for hands-free lighting. Ridiculously convenient. I occasionally forget it's there and flop into bed, then roll over and what the heck?
They are the best thing for doing chores in the barn (which has no lights) at night. I am always juggling hay and scoops of grain and these days also a dog on leash because one of the new goats is terrified of dogs. No spare hand for a flashlight unless I want to make multiple trips from the feed storage in another unlighted building.
I don't use overhead lights. I never liked headlamps so it stayed buried deep in my camping gear. I used a flashlight to see at night for many years. Then I bought a modern headlamp. Wow. Big improvement. Now every night before dark I plug it into a USB port & it stays ready to rock all night long.
I have a couple of cheapo ones, but almost never used them. Last week, I picked one up to move it out of the way, when collecting my dog grooming stuff - then, it hit me - I'd be able to see Charlie's toenails better, and be less likely to cut them too short - perfect. Then, I needed to do some hand stitching, and remembered how nice it was to be able to see, without depending on the overhead light. Then, I remembered the struggle last spring, when trying to save a dam-rejected buckling, in the middle of the night, with no power in the goat barn. I've decided I need them in all the first aid kits, sewing kits, the dog grooming kit, the cars, on our motorcycles... and, not just the cheapo ones.
I seriously love the Loma Creek/Veriglow headlamps! I won one years back here on permies and that thing is still going strong and is AMAZING. They switched to a slightly different manufacturer, and the new ones aren't quite as fantastic as the original (they seem to run out of charge a bit faster, and they don't have the handy one-click turn off--you have to cycle through the options to get it to turn off). But, I still LOVE them. I bought one for my dad as a Christmas gift one year, and bought one for each of my kids and my husband (okay, really, we share them all, and half the time half of them are lost somewhere in the house).
I use mine almost every day when I go out at night to pick some dandelion to make my nightly tea, and the kids love going out on "scary walks" with my husband, or just to go run around on our patio in the dark. And they also come in super handy during power outages. I love that they are rechargable and they really hold they're charge. We don't have to keep buying more and more batteries like we did for our other headlamps. They really are great!
I have a light cap on my head right now. I just went out to fill the rocket in the dark. It cost $.75 per refill. It last 2 weeks for me. I have been trying to design one that charges in the sun light. I haven't found small rechargeable batteries yet that a normal person can afford. My sister in law made me a wool stocking cap that fits over it and over my ears to keep me going in the winter. They have helped me fix more vehicle problems because I can see. They extend my day between 2 and 3 hours this time of year.
Post by:autobot
I carry this gun in case a vending machine doesn't give me my fritos. This gun and this tiny ad:
![[Logo]](/templates/default/mobile/images/mobile-permies-2015.png)
