08-15-2005, 12:19
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#1
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Auxiliary
Join Date: May 2005
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 79
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What is the best head lamp for medics?
After our last two call-outs at night over the past month, it has become clear that our paramedics need a head lamp to see patients that we are taking care of.
My boss has given me the funding to purchase these items so Im looking for the best quality for the least cost (obviously). Does any other medics here use head lamps? Id like to konw what the best ones are. Research so far looks like Petzl is the better quality. Thanks for any help.
HTM
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haztacmedic is offline
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08-15-2005, 12:30
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#2
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,780
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I like the Photon Fusion, but it is a bit larger than most of the Petzls.
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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08-15-2005, 12:55
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#3
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Occupied Pineland
Posts: 4,701
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The Petzls are all pretty sexy. I use the Princton Tecs because of price. I prefer LEDs for most work because the batteries last longer and they are far more durable. You may need to consider an incandescent bulp vs LED for medical work though. LEDs are wonderful but there are some serious color shifts. Some colors "disappear" or blend into their surroundings when illuminated with LEDs. I'm not a medic but I would think accurately distinguishing color would be important. Incandescent bulbs give a broad spectrum "warmer" light with a better color rendering. Unfortunately (relative to LEDs) they are less durable and they eat batteries. But they are usually cheaper as a system (almost cheap enough to be considered disposable). One of the Docs/Medics will be along shortly to add to the discussion. My .02 - Peregrino
ETA: Course you could do what a compadre showed me a while ago - Get one of the one-cell SureFire lights, keep it on you always, and when you need a headlamp - clip it to the brim of your baseball cap. Kills more than one bird with the same stone and you get a cool toy out of it. That and it'll put out more light than almost any headlamp. Course we're back to the battery life thing. If you use it for an extended period during a treatment, you'll need to change batteries religiously. FWIW - P.
Last edited by Peregrino; 08-15-2005 at 13:02.
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Peregrino is offline
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08-15-2005, 12:56
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#4
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Guerrilla
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: San Diego
Posts: 231
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I've been using a Petzl Myo Xp and have been very pleased with its performance.
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mumbleypeg is offline
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08-15-2005, 19:51
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#5
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Auxiliary
Join Date: May 2005
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 79
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Thanks for your input guys. Im making notes on what you said.
Last edited by haztacmedic; 08-16-2005 at 04:23.
Reason: Typo
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haztacmedic is offline
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08-15-2005, 20:15
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#6
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JAWBREAKER
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Gulf coast
Posts: 1,905
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I have found that being able to focus the beam really helped when working in the dark places that I find myself when doing unconventional work out of "civilization".  Having the ability to sharply concentrate the available light source for intricate/delicate work while still having the ability to then widen the beam for overall scene viewing is a nice benefit. Nothing worse than having simulated tunnel vision due to a narrow beam or vice versa having dim/broad lighting when trying to see with detail and work with precision.
I will let the gear gurus point you to what works best as far as model, etc. Good luck
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Sacamuelas is offline
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08-17-2005, 08:53
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#7
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Guerrilla Chief
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 880
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considerations:
- color of light
>white is great if loosing your night vision isn't an issue
>green or blue still allows differentiation of blood but not cyanosis and preserves 'night' vision
- LED vs incandescent: personnal choice with altered purity of color
- size/weight: always important: too big or too heavy and you'll tend to not use it. Also means of wearing it is important,.i.e., is it a clip on or does it have a head strap, can you change its angle, etc.
All this means is you have to tailor the equipment to the needs and the people using it. May want to check out the Equipped to Survive website, they did a nice review of these lights as I recall.
ss
__________________
'Revel in action, translate perceptions into instant judgements, and these into actions that are irrevocable, monumentous and dreadful - all this with lightning speed, in conditions of great stress and in an environment of high tension:what is expected of "us" is the impossible, yet we deliver just that.
(adapted from: Sherwin B. Nuland, MD, surgeon and author: The Wisdom of the Body, 1997 )
Education is the anti-ignorance we all need to better treat our patients. ss, 2008.
The blade is so sharp that the incision is perfect. They don't realize they've been cut until they're out of the fight: A Surgeon Warrior. I use a knife to defend life and to save it. ss (aka traumadoc)
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swatsurgeon is offline
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01-08-2006, 08:08
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#8
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Asset
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: NY
Posts: 8
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along the same lines
I wear NODs, a conventional headlamp won't mount with them. (unless there is a mdoel where the head can swivel 90 degrees to the left/right.)
For a helmet mounted light I use a surefire E1E, 2.2 oz and 90 minutes of burn time, clicking tailcap, attached by velcro to the non-firing side of my helmet. Can swap it out for a M1 infrared illuminator as needed.
Idea stolen blatantly from BL and adapted for white light/medical use. 
Dan
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justanotherdude is offline
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01-08-2006, 12:58
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#9
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Area Commander
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1,205
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I have a Petzl Tikka Plus.......don't know nothing about nothing......but I love my Petzl!
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CoLawman is offline
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01-10-2006, 10:28
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#10
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,780
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Just got my hands on a SureFire helmet light.
Very sweet!
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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01-11-2006, 14:26
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#11
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Auxiliary
Join Date: May 2005
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 79
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TR: Standing by for your report.
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haztacmedic is offline
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01-13-2006, 10:48
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#12
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,780
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The SureFire helmet light is now in production and should be available for sale shortly.
All of the previous descrptions are accurate, the execution is better than I anticipated. The secondary lights are currently blue on the initial production models, rumors are that anyone buying a sufficient quantity could obtain Red, Green, or IR. There is no permanent modification to the helmet, the mount attaches securely and is easily installed or removed. The light portion snaps off in less time than it takes to read this to leave the conformal mount attached, the light is fully usable by hand when detached.
This light is designed for working at arms length, not lighting people up two ridgelines over. There are three white LEDs with three intensity levels, and two blue LEDs, also with three intensity settings. The unit runs for 60-100 hours on a single SF 123 battery. The flashing IR strobe on the side is very handy for SA and Blue Force tracking with NODs.
The details have already been posted, pics follow.
Enjoy.
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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06-23-2014, 23:48
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#13
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Asset
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: somewhere in the rockies
Posts: 49
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Helmet Lights for Medics
Hello good men,
I see the original post was about the best lights for medics. If I may, I would like to make a few suggestions...after my own use of helmet light systems that are mil-spec, and the light systems I have used and still use for civilian use for night climbing in the Rocky Mountains, 24 hour Mountain Bike races, and just about every use under the sun these days, I highly suggest Serfas and Nite Rider. I have a new Serfas LED light system that at full charge lights to 1500 Lumens. The battery is an extremely lightweight Lithium Ion battery that can be easily stored in your kit. There is a wire that disconnects at different intervals to give you a more desired length, as needed. This light has performed flawlessly for me in different environments, including rain and hail, not to mention many night rides on dirt trails to back country dusty dirt roads...Sorry if this sounds like a commercial plug; it isn't!
My previous Nite Rider system with HID lasted me about 6 years and traveled with me to 24 hour events in Colorado and Moab. I loved it, but the new system is much better...800 vs 1500...you do the math!!
Anyway, I just thought I would put that out there as an option...Hope all of you in distant places are well and staying safe!!
Cheers!
Last edited by helicom6; 06-23-2014 at 23:50.
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helicom6 is offline
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