When it comes to flashlights, I have few requirements. I just want them to work when I need them to, be bright enough to help me complete whatever task is in front of me, and have enough battery life to make it through that task. In the past, I have had an uneven track record with headlamps. They've either been too big and heavy for how bright they were, or they've been small and incredibly bright. So bright that they went through batteries at a very rapid pace. Not to mention the fact that they were generally unreliable.
Enter the Princeton Tec Remix Pro. My teammate and I used them during the 24 Hour Sniper Adventure Challenge, and we've been using them in the two months since. Basically, it meets all of the needs I thought I had for a light, and adds a few other features that I didn't initially think about. First, it's really light - 2.3 ounces according to my scale. While I've yet to encounter a small headlamp that is heavier than a kevlar helmet, it's really nice to not have to pack around extra weight. On my head. For ten to twelve hours. Next, there's just one button - one big ribbed button that's easy to find and easy to activate when you want to, but pretty resistant to being turned on otherwise. You tap it once for a low red light, again for the red high beam, or you hold it down for white light, tapping again for the brightest white setting.
I have worn this headlamp for several all-night stretches, and plenty of shorter projects. The band hasn't tightened or loosened, and even when my forehead is covered in sweat, the lamp stayed in place. You can adjust the angle of the light vertically in small increments. It takes some force to adjust, and I found it necessary to push the lamp against my forehead while rotating in the desired direction if I wanted to do so with just one hand. It was easier to do with two hands.
The red light on low was great for map reading, and on high, it was bright enough to navigate my way through thick, forested, mountainous countryside. The white lights were ideal when I wanted to look for things that were fifty to eighty yards away (Sure enough, those are almost the exact distances described on the Princeton Tec website). Both white lights are fairly narrow and focused, meaning that they're better for distance than flooding an area with light up close.
Neither of us had to change batteries after a full night of use that included all four settings, even though my teammate made more use of the white light than I did. Battery life varies from 40 hours on low red to 4 hours on high white. Because it uses a single CR123, it is easy for those in military and law enforcement to source replacements. The battery cover is a bit tough to manipulate, but kept water from disabling the light while I submerged it for a full hour. It doesn't have an o-ring, so it's not waterproof, but it's clearly weatherproof.
The Remix Pro is lightweight, bright enough and dim enough for various tasks, and pretty affordable - street prices seem to hover around $40. You can choose from a palette of white, red, green and IR LEDs depending on the model you buy. It's available in tan with tan band (pictured) and black with black band, as well as a tan light with a multicam band. I'm always hesitant to give glowing recommendations of any product, but after some serious field time, we were both pretty impressed with the headlamps.
