Reviews > Lighting > Headlamps - LED > Princeton Tec Corona > Dennis Shubitowski > Initial Report

Initial Report - Princeton Tec Corona Headlamp

Report Outline    Biography    Product Information    Packaging    Initial Report    Testing Plan Biography <back to top> Name Dennis Shubitowski Age 34 Height 6 ft (183 cm) Weight 165 lb (75 kg) E-mail shubitowski at gmail dot com Location Mid-Michigan Date August 11, 2004

I began backpacking in the early 1990s. I hike in every season including winter, and I also enjoy other outdoor activities like hunting, canoeing and riding horses. My beginning pack weights were monstrously heavy, but now my average three-season load for a multi-day trip, including food and water, is usually less than 25 lb (11.3 kg). Gear that I carry tends to be the lightest I can go without sacrificing comfort or convenience.

Product Information <back to top>

Packaging <back to top>

Princeton Tec has a simple website with pictures and descriptions of all of their products. The headlamp looked like the headlamp at the site, but I found myself surprised at the size - it being both smaller than I expected (headlamp) and larger than I expected (battery pack). There is nothing for scale on the pictures at the site. The description is also quite general and lacks information on the weight, specific battery requirement and life light expectancy, modes and operation, and cost of the item. I longed for more information, but that was satisfied when I received the product in hand. I could not view the product in the store as my local Princeton Tec supplier did not carry the Corona as of yet to get a comparison. The website description should be more like the display box I received.

The Corona arrived on my doorstep safe and well packaged. Inside the package was the headlamp boxed as it would be for in-store display. I like how the headlamp is packaged. The Corona comes in a plastic blister holder that is inside the cardstock display box. The box has a cutout on the front that shows the headlamp business end and a cutout on the back that shows the battery housing so you get an immediate idea of size and use. The cardstock box has all the pertinent information about what is inside the box and it is pleasantly displayed. The box emphasizes the headlamp is "Current regulated for maximum brightness and run time," has "8 super bright white L.E.D.'s" (herein denoted as LED), and the ability to "Select between 4 brightness levels." There is a picture of the headlamp on the front, notations that it has a lifetime warranty, is made in the USA (with foreign and domestic parts), and is water resistant. The back of the box gives further detailed information on the headlamp including expected run times in hours for each light level used (all 8 LEDs, 5, 3, or 1) in both full and dim settings (see table below). It also lists what kind of batteries it takes (3 AA regular or lithium), and the full weight which is listed at 8 oz (227 g). That is pretty much everything I suppose I would need to know when buying a headlamp. Inside the box is a set of instructions, the headlamp fully assembled (minus the batteries installed), and 3 AA Duracell batteries. In addition, the other silly thing I liked it is that the blister pack that encases the headlamp is not sealed. You can open it and close it without having to destroy the package or take a knife to it - much appreciated.

The instruction manual is five panels, folded, printed on each side, and in English only. There is also a loose blue paper warning sheet stuck in the folds of the manual; the sheet warns that the electronic controls in this headlamp may interfere with avalanche beacon receivers (with instructions on how to avoid this) but will not interfere with beacons in transmit mode. The instruction manual is clearly written, thorough, and left me with zero questions on its operation and function after I read it. The manual covers battery installation, operation (the bulk of the manual), troubleshooting, return policy, light source, brightness control, lifetime warranty description, features, and power configuration.

Initial Report <back to top>

I do not have a lot of experience with headlamps. I used Photon LED microlights in many colors for several years as my main light source while hiking. Around the home, I used the Photons and various MagLite flashlights when needed. I received a Petzl Zipka as a gift about 2 years ago and have carried that in addition to a Photon light or two for hiking and use around the home. The Zipka is the only equivalent experience I have with LED headlamps. This will be the first headlamp I have used that goes beyond a simple off/on switch.

Battery Compartment

The first thing I did after taking the Corona out of the package was to put the batteries in. The battery compartment (when wearing) will sit at the back of my head. It is a bright lime green on the side toward my head and dark grey on the opposite side. The main compartment is about 2.75 in (7 cm) square and about 1 in (2.5 cm) thick. All the corners are rounded, smooth, and it is ergonomically shaped to fit against the back of my head. There are two connections that stick out on each side off the lime green plastic where the main headband attaches. The connection points are separated in the center so the headband can be removed. There is also an attachment point for the strap the runs over the top of my head but it is more "part" of the lime green section and does not stick out like the sides do. This top section is also separated so the top headband can be removed. There is a beefy hinge formed by each half of the plastic sections at the top of the compartment and held together with a non-removable pin. At the bottom of the compartment is a thumb catch so the snap that holds the two sides together can be opened. The bottom right side of the compartment (when wearing) is where the wire to run power to the lights comes out. Like a moron, I tried to open the snap that holds the battery compartment together by pushing on the wrong side. The arrow diagram on the catch duped me and my brain instantly tried the side that is hinged as that is where the arrow pointed. Upon closer inspection (as described just a few sentences ago), there is a lovely, smooth thumb groove and the snap is opened by my thumb with quite a bit of effort - it helps if you squeeze the two sides together. The manual states a coin could also be used to open the latch if having difficulty. The compartment can be opened with all the straps attached - nothing needs to be removed to access the batteries. Opening the compartment reveals the lime green side holds the batteries and the grey side is the cover. The grey side has an O-ring-like seal around its perimeter to presumably aid in water resistance. The compartment is obviously notated and the batteries easily install with the contact spring at the negative (anode) end. There are two wires that come out of the main wire connection - one blue (positive) and one black (ground) soldered at each end of the serial connection. At first glance I thought the solder joints looked a bit frail, but they are protected in the plastic housing so I probably fear for nothing. The battery compartment closes easily with a positive snap of the latch.

Straps

The Corona has two straps - one circular strap goes around the head like a hat while the other strap runs directly over the top of the head. All the straps are completely removable and fully adjustable to fit a huge range of head sizes. The strap material feels of comfort and high quality, which is a good thing, as the Corona spends its working time mostly sitting on heads. The straps are 1 in (2.5 cm) wide and are stitched with the Princeton Tec name and logo on the outside. The straps are stretchy elastic with a fuzzy, soft, comfortable feel. There are two removable plastic wire holders on the right side strap. The wire that runs from the battery compartment to the headlamp is fixed in length and held in place from dangling by these clips. The main headstrap is circular and feeds through the "wings" on both the battery compartment and the plate that holds the headlamp. The straps run to the inside of each of these parts - during adjustment the compartment and headlamp need to slide along the strap to keep the correct fit location. The top strap in a single (not circular) strap, and it feeds through directly to the battery compartment and headlamp plate. It is fully adjustable and removable.

Headlamp/LEDs

LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. A discussion of LEDs is beyond this report, but essentially LEDs do not have a filament like incandescent lights. Instead they are built on a semiconductor platform and are lit through electron movement in a reaction that gives off light. A LED will last as long as a transistor lasts, which should be an awful long time, and will likely never need to be replaced due to burnout. This particular headlamp has eight LEDs that are all white. I have used LEDs in a variety of colors (white, red, turquoise, green, blue, and yellow). White is a fine choice for a general use headlamp: white is a "full color" light meaning things will be illuminated as normally seen by sunlight as opposed to colored LEDs which display only in a portion of the light spectrum. For some examples, advantages of some of the other non-white LEDs include preservation of night vision (red, turquoise), less battery consumption (green), or being very bright (blue).

The headlamp is attached to a heavy (as in solid) plastic plate stamped with the Princeton Tec logo. The straps run through/connect to this plastic plate as described above, and the headlamp is attached to this plate at the bottom via a hinge that is secured by a nut and bolt. This is pretty cool and unexpected - the headlamp can be tilted a large degree range at the hinge to fine-tune the direction of the light. The headlamp proper is not made to be disassembled or worked on by the user even though it is made of two parts (light grey at the back and lime green at the front) that are held together by four screws. At the back of the lamp is another thing that was unexpected - this headlamp has a full-fledged heat sink to draw heat off the LEDs. The Corona is full of surprises apparently. The headlamp is shaped like an upside down rounded triangle - 2 in (5 cm) wide and 1.75 in (45 mm) tall; it sticks out about 1.25 in (32 mm). The wire from the battery pack connects into the right side. There are three lights spread evenly along the top, four in the middle, and one at the bottom. The three lights at the top are set together in their own recessed "reflector," and the remaining lights are all in their individual recessed reflectors. The color of the material where the LEDs are set (the "reflectors") is a bright grey/silver plastic-looking material. The lights are covered by a clear plastic lens cover that is non-adjustable and not removable without disassembling the headlamp.

There are two round, rubber coated push buttons on the top of the headlamp for operation - a larger button on the right and a smaller button with a raised nub in the middle of it on the left. Of course, like every other headlamp tester it seems, I was looking right at the light source when I pressed the large button which turns the lamp full on and I momentarily blinded myself. When the right, large button is pressed, the Corona turns on with all eight bulbs lit up. The button clicks with positive pressure and soft sound - not too easy and not too hard to press. If the large button is pressed again (within five seconds of the last press for all light levels), the headlamp goes to five bulbs lit (it turns off the top three), the next press lights the top three bulbs only, another press lights only the single bottom bulb, and finally another press turns the light off. At any light level, if it has been more than five seconds since the last button press, the headlamp will turn off. The smaller button on the left changes the display intensity or mode of the headlamp. The default is "full" intensity at any light level; if the left button is pressed once, the intensity drops to "dim," pressed one more time the headlamp will "flash" at full intensity, and finally pressing one more time will cycle it back to full. The dim level outputs 45-50% of the light level of the full intensity mode according to the manual. If the intensity is set to dim or flashing and I click to change the light level, the intensity automatically goes back to full.

Here is a chart from the back of the Corona box that shows the approximate expected run time in hours for each light level:

The final thing I can think to mention is that the Corona has current control circuitry for the light output. I witnessed this when I turned the Corona and the other headlamp I own on side-by-side. The light from the other headlamp was not steady and fluctuated and bobbed about. The Corona was rock solid - another pleasant surprise. The current control circuitry will work as long as there is sufficient battery life which makes sense to me.

Testing Plan <back to top>

I plan on testing the Corona to replace my current lights and headlamps. I will use it around the house for common tasks where I would need a flashlight, and I will surely take it hiking with me. It is approaching autumn here in Michigan and the test period will cover really hot temperatures to really cold temperatures and about all the weather you can think of. I plan on paying attention to fit, adjustment and comfort as far as wearing it goes. Use will focus on ease of changing between the modes with bare fingers and gloves or mittens. I plan on noting the usefulness of the light levels and attempting to document battery life (this will be a little tough with all the lighting options). I will be using the Corona in the dead middle of winter for overnight winter hiking and camping so I will note how it works in that capacity. I also plan on paying attention to weather resistance and how easy it is to clean up.

Things I Like (so far)

• Light output options, options, options
• The current control circuitry is pretty cool
• Excellent construction, design, and manual

Reservations (so far)

• Not a big fan of the over-the-head strap
• An included carrying sack would be nice for protection when not in use
• It is heavier than other lights I am used to using

Thanks to Princeton Tec and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test this headlamp.

Reviews > Lighting > Headlamps - LED > Princeton Tec Corona > Dennis Shubitowski > Initial Report