I've searched the forum, and nobody else seems to have made a post about one of these. So I will. This is my Atomic Beam headlamp. I got it for Christmas last year, and at the time was nonplussed... Until I used it. Jesus Christ on a cracker, it lit up my whole back yard! Massive amounts of light, just from three dinky little triple-A batteries. Inside the package there was literature that stated I could buy an Atomic-Beam branded battery and charger for $20, which would more than double the light output. I talked to them and found the battery was just 2200mah, so instead I snagged some 3000mah batteries off of Amazon, as well as a dual-bank smart charger with individual status for each battery. (And also the capacity to recharge my stick-of-gum NiMh batteries for my Japanese minidisc recorder). It cost a little more, but I got a multi-use charger and two higher capacity batteries.
The new batteries made a huge difference in both brightness and in battery life. It's not going to pop balloons or singe the hair on anyone who walks through the beam or anything, like some of the ridiculous maglight modifications I've seen, but it's a great headlamp and amazingly bright. Brighter than I thought a dedicated 4-D-cell flashlight could ever be, much less a little head lamp. Don't let the "As Seen on TV" packaging drive you away, it's actually really, really good. The headlamp is made out of aluminum and I think the lens is glass. It doesn't feel like plastic, and the LED does generate a lot of heat, so I don't think any kind of plastic would survive. It zooms in and out and has high, low, and flashing beams. I love that the battery pack is in the back, as it balances it very nicely, so that the headlamp does't want to fall off my head at all.
Really can't say enough good things about this head lamp.
It's not on my person every day, but it's in the center console of my Jeep. I consider it a part of my EDC, because it's always just outside of wherever I'm located.
Charles.
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