Princeton Tec Apex LED Headlamp

by Princeton Tec

Product Features

• Apex Pro watt LED Headlamp

Product Description

Apex Pro - Olive DrabManufacture ID: APXR-PRO-ODWhere lightweight is a must ultimate power and function are a demand and durability is an expectation – Princeton Tec introduces you to the Apex Pro. Professional athletes and adventurers around the world have marveled at the power of the Apex. In an effort to meet their unique and ever evolving needs Princeton Tec has developed the Apex Pro to provide a faster and lighter option while still providing the ultimate in brightness and output. The Apex Pro is powered by 2 CR123 lithium batteries protected in a highly durable and waterproof case. Designed for professionals and perfect for all users.- Power: 130 Lumens- Lamp: Maxbright LED 4 Ultrabright LEDs- Burn Time: 100 Hours- Batteries: 2 CR123 Lithium- Weight: 173g- UL Rating: Approved- Class I Division 2 Groups A B C & D- UL Temp Code: T4- Olive Drab

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000CLFWXM
• Item model number: apx-or
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,371 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bright and Versatile, December 24, 2005

By 

W. Bagaria - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Princeton Tec Apex LED Headlamp (Sports)

I find it hard to adjust most lights while wearing knit mittens. This light requires a simple button press.

I keep this in the trunk of my car. I use NiMH for economic reasons; for emergency backup, lithium (shelf life and extremely low leakage); for long outages, I keep a 36 pack of alkaline (inexpensive)

Positives (this headlamp)

Takes NiMH, Lithium and alkaline batteries.

Regulated light output.

When regulation stops, still produces weak light instead of no light.

Very bright spot and flood due to heat sinks.

Textured, dual switches, spot and flood, no need to cycle through spot to reach flood.

Good spot for distance work.

Decent spot for very bright close work (black floor tiles on dark gray cutting surface).

Spot not adjustable (less moving parts, spot to flood using knit mittens).

Good flood for close work.

Blink mode for working in traffic.

Battery meter/ 24 hour "Find Me" LED.

Dust and rain proof.

2500 mAh NiMH AA batteries widely available.

Lithium AA have long shelf life and low leakage.

Buckle doubles as battery pack, unlocking tool.

twelve hour from last press, auto shut off.

Negatives (this headlamp)

Heat sinks hard to scrub, avoid goo that does not just wash off.

Low flood too bright for reading white notepads.

Battery pack gasket prone to falling out first few battery changes.

Battery pack lock can be difficult to reinsert. When the lock is unlocked, it can disengage from the lock guard, allowing 360 degree rotation. This requires the user to notice the problem and correct the lock's position.

Positives (4AA LED headlamp)

Inexpensive alkaline AA batteries available worldwide at many merchants.

Decent run time on all modes.

Negatives (4AA LED headlamp)

Heavier compared to AAA headlamps.

Wire connecting lamp to batteries can snag on branches.

4AA LED headlamps have emission spectrum; close together light sources; light sources close to the eyes; which produce the worse shadows for depth perception.

Normal user Positives

Cannot turn on all five LEDs at once.

Turns on in highest light level currently supported by battery power. Activation in low mode means batteries are low.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good quality. Excellent for bridge fishing., April 2, 2007

By 

T. Shang - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Princeton Tec Apex LED Headlamp (Sports)

You may wonder why this headlamp is priced so high. First, the head lamp is built of high quality. The lamp, the belts, and the battery box all give you a solid feeling. This is in contrast with the headlamps that are more than half cheaper. Second, it has features that are often omitted in the cheaper ones. It has a regulated circuit that provides constant light (will say more about this later). It has a battery meter that displays battery capacity in 3 colors. It uses something called collimator that makes light into parallel rays. It accepts rechargeable batteries besides the more common alkaline ones. It has a heatsink attached to dissipate heat. In my opinion, these features are worth the money.

I use the head lamp for bridge fishing. The wide beam is bright enough to light up areas around me. I can easily spot things within 10 meters of range. This is usually how far I spread out the fishing rods and other things. When use it up close, I have no trouble tying knots, removing hooks from fish, and things that need close examination. The feature I like most is the focused beam. It shoots about 15 feet down the bridge on to a spot that's about 5 feet wide. Even at the low power mode, I can easily check out what fish is hooked or see where the current is flowing. These were impossible with two other headlamps that I owned.

Remember that nothing is perfect. If you are expecting long battery time, you might be disappointed. Unfortunately, one reviewer is correct. The regulated, constant light only lasts 1 hour for high-power narrow beam, 9 hours for low-power narrow beam, 8.5 hours for high-power wide beam (flood light), and 14 hours for low-power wide beam. After that, the light is not constant any more. It goes down as the batteries go down. They claim, for example, low flood light lasts 150 hours. But it ends at the point where there is only 0.25 lux at 2 meters and o.25 lux is equivalent to a full moon on a clear night. How long does the light remain useful after it is out of regulation is unknown. These numbers are on alkaline batteries. If you use NiMH or lithium batteries, you get more hours. On lithium batteries, the burn times are now 4.5, 12, 14, 50 hours respectively. They don't provide data on NiMH batteries, which I use. This seems never a problem for me. I usually use the narrow beam in low mode for minutes and the wide beam also in low for hours. These two modes are bright enough for my purposes and they last long enough to cover one fishing trip (i.e. one night).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Princeton Tec Apex, February 20, 2007

By 

Johannes L. Pauel (Pembroke Pines, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Princeton Tec Apex LED Headlamp (Sports)

I use my apex for extreme caving environments in the caribbean.

I am very happy with it. The ergonomics of the switches is good, can be operated with muddy hands without dirtying up the lens. The fact that it is waterproof is a big plus too The tilt ability of the light makes it great for adjusting angles while my helmet is off, can be used to read at night in camp.

The spot is superior to other more expensive headlamps.

Only drawback for me are the tabs that attach it to the elastic strap. The first one I got dropped when opening it new, and one of the tabs broke. I just tie-wrapped it to my helmet, and it held tight.

My helmet took a fall of over 250ft onto rocks, and though the battery compartment smashed up, I ran the wires to a power source, and the leds still worked!! Extremely tough.

I heartily recommend it.