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Reviews > Lighting > Headlamps - LED > Princeton Tec Quad > Coy Starnes > Long Term ReportPrinceton
Tec Quad Headlamp
Long Term Report April 13, 2007  Tester: Coy Starnes Gender: Male Age: 45 Weight: 238 lb (108 kg) Height: 6 ft (1.8 m) E-Mail: starnescr@yahoo.com Location: Grant, Alabama, USA Tester Bio I live in North East Alabama. I enjoy hunting, fishing, canoeing, and most other outdoor activities but backpacking is my favorite pastime. I enjoy hiking with friends and family or solo. I hike throughout the year and actually hike the least in the hot humid months of summer. My style is slow and steady and my gear is light. However I will sacrifice weight for comfort and durability. A typical 3-season load for me is around 20 lb (9 kg) not counting food or water. I usually sleep in a hammock and cook with an alcohol stove. My backpacking trips are usually 2, 3 or 4 days in length. Product Information
Product Description The Princeton Tec Quad is a very compact and low weight headlamp suitable for backpacking and anytime a bright but adjustable light is needed (think power outage or crawling under the house). As with most LED lights, long battery life and almost indestructible bulb(s) are a part of the deal. It has four beam settings (low, medium, high and flash) but all put out a wide beam. It uses 4 Ultrabright LED's, and regulated power to help maintain a steady beam throughout the batteries life. Long Term Test Locations and Conditions I have used the quad on a couple more overnight hikes and as a light for many chores around the house (inside and out). I have used it while backpacking down to as cold as 12 F (-11 C). I used it on a trip to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park where the highest elevation encountered was 6,643 ft (2025 m). During this hike it rained, snowed and sleeted, and was very windy for most of the time. Long Term Test Results I have used the Quad for approximately 50 hours on the various settings, using the low setting the bulk of the time. As I reported in my Field Report, after approximately 20 hours of usage I was unable to tell if the light was any dimmer than when first used. However, I am now noticing some fall off in light output. I checked the light when the batteries were new by standing on my deck and looking around in my back yard at various trees. I was able to see them very well on the high setting. Now they don't show up as well, especially looking at the tops. Of course the leaves were off when I first checked the light but I also checked a cedar tree which has not changed and it doesn't show up as well either. I also noticed a difference in how I felt using the light riding my bike at night which I will discuss in a little more detail later in this report. Suffice it to say, the light is somewhat dimmer now than when the test began but still very usable. In January I purchased some rechargaebles to carry on my hike in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park in case the batteries died on the trip but didn't need to swap over to them then. The light worked well for several hours around camp the only night we stayed. We bailed out the second day due to extreme winter conditions moving in. I used the Quad for an overnight hike on which I had to hike in and set up camp after dark and break camp while it was still dark at 4 AM. I used the medium beam while hiking in and while pitching my tent and then the low beam getting ready to turn in. It only dropped down to 24 F (-4 C) but I kept the headlamp inside my sleeping bag. I used the high beam to do a quick spot check and make sure I had all my gear packed up. It was a damp night and I really noticed my breath as I hiked out before daylight. Where I really noticed the lower output was on my bike. I am not saying the light output is a lot less than what it was but when the batteries were new, I felt the light output more than adequate up to around 15 mph (24 kph). Now I feel my forward vision is very limited at any speed much over 10 mph (16 kph). I'm a slow bike rider but not this slow... I just recently tried the rechargeables I bought in January and the difference in light output was very noticeable. I then decide to try some fresh non rechargeable batteries in case the rechargeables were just hotter. I got the same results. I then put the original batteries back in because while somewhat dimmer, the blinking low battery indicator light has not started blinking and the light output is still good enough for hiking. Summary While I am very pleased with performance of the Quad, I am a bit mystified with the apparent lower light output over time. The claim "Equipped with regulated LEDs that maintain constant brightness and a battery power meter, this light just may be smarter than you are." seems a bit off. My expectation was for the light to keep the same brightness throughout the life of the batteries with maybe a little fall off right at the end. Having said that, I still feel this light is an excellent choice for general backpacking. In fact, the high beam is still a very bright light and more than I need for walking after dark or setting up camp. One of the most telling experience was a few weeks ago when my son and several of his friends were over and wanted to hike over to an abandoned graveyard that has grown up into woods. Cody asked for my good light. I asked, which one is that? He replied, the one with the camo looking headband you've been testing. He has used all my lights including this one but was impressed with the output of the Quad for such a small and comfortable light. I couldn't agree more. Read more reviews of Princeton Tec gear Read more gear reviews by Coy Ray Starnes Reviews > Lighting > Headlamps - LED > Princeton Tec Quad > Coy Starnes > Long Term Report | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||