This is a look at the function and internals of a cheap LED head torch. It's styled like an early head torch that was either designed or just branded by Petzl. Except that compared to the original Petzl Tikka this dollar store torch is significantly better designed!
This is a basic lightweight head torch that only has a single function on/off button. It has three LEDs and produces a good amount of light to work with. It's also completely hackable for swapping in new LEDs. Although you can get super high power LED head torches, the brighter LEDs and drive circuitry tend to run the batteries flat quite quickly, so for something small and lightweight that uses 3 AAA cells it's better to go for a more sensible level of light output to get longer battery life.
In short, this budget LED head torch is actually very good.
This is a basic lightweight head torch that only has a single function on/off button. It has three LEDs and produces a good amount of light to work with. It's also completely hackable for swapping in new LEDs. Although you can get super high power LED head torches, the brighter LEDs and drive circuitry tend to run the batteries flat quite quickly, so for something small and lightweight that uses 3 AAA cells it's better to go for a more sensible level of light output to get longer battery life.
In short, this budget LED head torch is actually very good.
It seems like it might be worth converting to a single 18650 Li Ion if you are drawing 1 Amp. Save carrying a pocket full of spare AA's
Petzel are an excellent head torch, the earlier Petzel head torch took an Ever Ready 1289 battery, modern code 3R12, it was a normal incandescent bulb, very bulky an not that bright, LED is the way to go as there brighter an if wired properly use less battery currant. When LEDs first came out they were not that good but they are now.
Brother's Petz (whatever it is. is like 1 LED comes with several 3-4 color filters (blue? ) and a green LED that blinks all the time saying the battery is good. (never seen it go red) totally annoying . But indeed he got it for $50 some and it still works. compared to the several so called CREE headlamps. Although the first one I got had a soldered in 18650 battery and that one still works. albeit the foam padding has long come off. X_X They do tend to get rather cruddy. I rather like the streams that go all the way around the head instead of clipping or wrapping around the hooks on the sides (or on top of my head for a 3rd band O_O Feel like a miner with those. There was this waterproof one with a horribly small rubber band and had a fair chance of cutting off the circulation to the top of my head . smh Only reason I liked those however was because the battery pack was not on the back and you could read a book in bed lying on your back against a headboard. Can't really do that with a bulky annoying box on the back of your head, the above one looks like one I got for like $2-3 and was a total rip off. Didn't last a month 🙁 Although the plastics on this one is better than the no screw snap together one I got. (All I kept was the strip of LED's. Those still worked if I had a coin cell around.
Why do you not like magnets near your head?
the attachable band is very nice design
I've probably got 6 LED head lamps/torches floating around. Nothing like having two free hands. I paid about $25 a piece for two of them (Coleman branded). Bought the second before I discovered the terrible switch design. It has a rotary switch that gets locked in place by a little plastic nub. This wears out and the switch spins freely with no resistance, killing batteries if you're not careful. The contacts for the battery holder started getting dodgy too. I was truly enamored by its shininess, it touted the highest lumens and it was indeed a bright expensive turd.
you seem traumatised by that petzl tikka…