Princeton Tec  Byte Headlamp

Used this light only once but I was so impressed I thought I would share a review. I ran out of useable daylight to finish my mountain bike ride so I tipped back my helmet a little and put the "Byte" on high beam. I was really impressed with how bright it was and due to the low weight it did not wiggle around at all going over bumps and roots. I was able to keep up a pretty good pace (9 mph) for the last 3 miles in pretty much complete darkness on a twisty single track. I am going to keep this in my camelbak to get me out of the woods when it gets dark. It's so light weight I think I'll just leave it in there so I don't ever forget it.

Understand that I grew up under the philosophy that flashlights and headlamps were for emergency use and not just because you were hiking at night; kind of amazing what you see once your eyes adjust. This is the only American made headlamp I've found thus far and that alone makes it perfect! My family uses them for reading books, crocheting, knitting and such while on car trips (as map lights are too bright and distracting to the driver). I've also found them the perfect light level for working in darker places where I need my hands free.

The light is bright, comfortable, and adjusts easily and firmly. It is small and lightweight enough to go unnoticed in your backpack. It is not waterproof but I have used it in heavy rain with no problem. It can be difficult to completely depress the button, especially with gloves on. The battery life is not great and seems to drain when not in use which is not a problem I have had with my many other headlamps even though I have never owned the overpriced kind. Be sure to replace the batteries before every expedition, even if you did not use the light last time. Flickering at low battery as some have reported is typical of all LED battery lights instead of dimming as a result of the electrical properties of diodes. It is the trade-off for efficiency, not a malfunction.

I bought this after an incident on the trail left me without a light. At the time I was only willing to spend $20 and thought the red LED was a nice feature. First off, the red LED is useless in my book. It only allowed me to see what I could hold out in front of me, and not the ground I was walking on. In pitch black, I need red to light the ground.The Max LED is pretty bright and I can use it for night-time commutes on my bicycle 2x/week, and the low-mode was good for around camp. However, this things eats batteries the way cookie monster eats cookies. It is terrible. I was replacing batteries every week it seemed. My opinion is in the $20 range you should go for something with better battery life, and forget the red LED. If you want a good performing headlamp with decent battery life and a decent red LED, you have to spend more.

Bought this headlamp in preparation for Philmont Scout Ranch hike (75 miles). Have had it two months and the switch has gone faulty. When you cycle to "off" the light goes dim and flutters, but does not go off. You have to remove the batteries and wait for awhile to get it to reset. I've emailed the company twice to get service, but have not gotten a response. The light is bright. The unit is a bit heavier and bulkier than I'd like. Overall, though a good light, but I am disappointed in the switch and in the lack of response from the manufacturer.

It seemed like a good lamp. It's fairly powerful, smaller than others, and even had the red lamp. First I noticed that it drained batteries for no reason, while it was in my backpack. At first I thought perhaps the button accidentally turned on inside the backpack. But then I realized that the button either got stuck on, or would not go on at all. Sometimes it works, other times not at all. Bottom line is the other posters are right, the button mech is not reliable and you should look elsewhere. This thing is not something you should rely on.

Sent defective product back to manufacurer after getting RMA and got a new product. It seems to work fine but just got it so don't know how long it will last. Good or bad, I'll try to remember to post the update. BTW, I see REI has a "newer version" of the same product. I don't know how to tell the new from the old so don't know what I just recieved. I'm going to change and click. "Yes, I would recommend this to a friend" but that may change.

I perpetually lose headlights, and this seemed like a great option, being both cheap and equipped with a red light, something I don't see very often on lights in this price range. For the first month I owned it I thought I'd found my new favorite l'il guy, and then one evening I tried to turn it on and it ... didn't. No amount of battery changing, wiggling, and pleading will bring it back to life. What a bummer.

The flickering noted by others seems to be an undocumented low battery feature on the light. Once the batteries run low the light will only enter flicker mode and will not turn off. PT really should have documented this as it is very confusing to users.The downside on this light is that has a slow drain on the batteries even when off. So this is not a light you can put batteries in and have ready to use in an emergency kit, in two months the batt will be dead.But if you keep it empty and throw new batteries (Sanyo Eneloop!) in when you are ready to head out on a trip this makes a super handy and well featured inexpensive light.The light weight lets the light ride securely to your head even while jumping or bounding around - no more headlight floppiness.If you are going out in the wet you might want to rub a little silicon into the seams and around the batt door to enhance water resistance.

I bought this because of it's weight and ended up regretting it. When cycling from low to off, the light started flickering for about ten minutes and would not turn off or back on to go to high. If you are going to try to use this, and I wouldn't, you'd better have your spare handy because it will leave you in the dark.