- eGear’s K2 Focus Control Headlamp, photo from eGear
by Stephanie
Recently arrived (July 20, 2009), though not yet used – the eGear K2 Focus Control Plus Headlamp features a bright white adjustable focus LED bulb plus three small night vision bulbs (red, blue and green), which incidentally fascinate my cats to no end.
This headlamp is powered by 3 AA batteries (included with headlamp). The battery pack also features a red light that can be turned on (constant or blinking modes) or off for safety purposes, or to allow those behind you to easily locate and/or follow you.
Right out of the box, the focus was a bit stiff, though after playing around with it, it seems to have loosened up. Switching between light modes and bulbs is intuitive and easily enough completed by pressing the top-mounted easy to press button. Each of the lights seems to throw a clear even beam, with the exception of the red LED, which seems to have some dark rings present in the beam.
Updated August 12, 2009
The K2 Focus and I are back from a multi-day trip into the Grand Canyon. I’m pleased to report it performed quite well. I found the white LED at its broadest beam and dim setting was more than adequate for night hiking. I tried tightening down the beam, but found it much to narrow when the focus was turned on, and during the course of the trip, I never found myself in a situation where I would want to use the beam in a zoomed in format. There were a few times, however, that I did wish that the beam could be further unfocused and spread over a wider area.
For nighttime tasks, such as cooking, reading or even sitting around chatting, I used either the green or red LEDs. The blue LED, while nice, did not provide enough contrast for many tasks. For nighttime reading, I favored the green LED, but only because it had a more even beam than the red LED. The red LED had great contrast to allow for reading, but I found the beam was uneven, and had several dark spots. I did note that while preparing and eating dinner, bugs seemed to be rather attracted to the white LEDs – they seemed less enticed by the red LED – something to definitely take note of if, like me, you dislike bugs bouncing off your head in an attempt to get closer to the light.
Using and wearing the headlamp was as expected, and switching between modes and lights was simple and easy to accomplish. The tension in the tilt hinge of the headlamp was good – I never found the beam starting to droop or shift due to movement of the housing relative to the headband. Surprisingly, I didn’t find the rear mounting battery pack too uncomfortable while laying down at night to read – though some of this may be due to the rather cushy pillow I’ve taken to carrying around with me when backpacking.
Overall, I’ve found this headlamp to be more versatile than others I’ve carried – I really like having the ability to preserve my night vision and be less disturbing to others by using the colored LEDs. As far as improvements, the only things I have found myself wishing for so far are a slightly broader beam for the white LED, and perhaps a smaller battery pack – but the headlamp as designed is great for a range of activities!
Updated October 1, 2009 – Final installment
If you’re looking for a versatile headlamp and don’t mind the additional weight, then this may well be a great headlamp for you. I’ve had a chance to take this headlamp out several more times since the last update in August, and it continues to perform well. When not in use, I usually stow in in the lid of my backpack, enabling easy access. I’ve used it for general task lighting around camp, reading and even knitting! For general tasks and reading, I actually preferred using the colored LEDs, as they provided sufficient light for me to accomplish tasks such as shelter setup and food preparation. For night hiking and knitting, I usually opted for using the main white bulb at its lowest setting.
In addition to using the headlamp outdoors, I’ve kept it handy while at home. I’ve found it useful for hands free lighting when I’ve had to do things outdoors or in dim light at home – like poking around under the kitchen sink for repair work – or out in t he garage, while messing around with my car, or….outside in the back yard while doing a sweep for black widow spiders (they only come out at night, and destroying the web doing the day doesn’t do any good).
I’ve been quite happy with the eGear K2 Focus Control Plus Headlamp – it works well in various situations for multiple tasks. If you’re looking for one headlamp that suits a wide variety of purposes, you may want to give this one some thought! Thanks, eGear, for letting me give this one a try!
