Solar “Toys”: Hybridlight Headlamps

Of all the solar “toys” we have told you about recently (latest one: Solar “Toys”: Goal Zero Portable Panel) the newest, most useful, and most exciting is the Hybridlight™ Headlamp.

Hybridlight (TM) headlamps

Hybridlight™ headlamps in both available colors (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).

The Hybridlight rechargeable headlamp can charge either with its small solar panel, or a micro USB cord. It’s described as shock proof and water resistant (they’re new enough that we haven’t fully tested this in our conditions). It also has color coded indicator lights, which show the low or high setting, and the state of charge.

Hybridlight (TM) headlamp charging

The Hybridlight™ charges with a tiny, portable solar panel, as shown (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).

I found these while viewing a sale on a trusted supplier’s Web site. The lights weren’t on sale, and, even though I since discovered them much cheaper elsewhere (paid link), the price fell well within our budget for headlamps.

I got one for each of us. Aly was pleased to have a solar headlamp just as she left for California to attend a Wilderness First Responder and Whitewater Rescue training for her new job. It’s a camp, so a headlamp that requires no batteries especially appealed to her.

We depend heavily on headlamps here on the homestead (see Headlamps On the Homestead). We’ve entered the light half of the year, however, when we use headlamps less often. This created problems in the past. One’s headlamp could sit unused for days, then suddenly be needed. Often, we would discover at that point that the rechargeable batteries in a light had gone flat.

Now, we can either trust the company’s claim that the light will hold a charge for years, or set it in a well lit place with the solar panel attached, charging against unexpected need.

These headlamps are noticeably lighter than our others. Since I rely mostly on my Princeton Tec Byte, which only needs two AAA batteries (see Headlamps on the Homestead: Princeton Tec), I don’t notice it as much as Michelle and Aly, who mostly use three AAA battery headlamps.

Fully charged, the Hybrid headlamp puts out a lot of light. I’ve avoided recharging mine yet, trying to run it down completely so I can see how, exactly, it goes out. We feel a headlamp should fade out when depleted, not blink out unexpectedly. We have lights that do both—I’m curious to see what happens with this one. Currently, I’ve used mine for nine days. The low charge light came on two days ago, but it still lights my tasks well. (Correction: I misread the directions—the low charge light hadn’t come on at all, two weeks after initial charge!)

The lamp comes in two colors, my preferred gray/black, and a high-visibility yellow, which Michelle and Aly both appreciate. A headlamp’s hard to find when you don’t have another headlamp to help!

If these prove useful, they’ll change our game here. If they disappoint, we’ll be sure to tell you.

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2 Responses to Solar “Toys”: Hybridlight Headlamps

  1. Ekij says:

    “Hold a charge for years” and “lighter than other headlamp” suggests that these headlamps have a LiPo battery.
    They probably have a boost circuit to take the Voltage up to the level of the LEDs and so you’ll probably not notice the any dimming of the main light until the battery-under-Voltage protection decides to cut off the light altogether.
    I suspect your only warning of this will be the “low charge” light.

  2. Mark Zeiger says:

    Actually, I just finished running my light down from a full charge. It took 15 days. It lasted two days after the warning light began to flash (bearing in mind that with our increased daylight I’m not using it for long periods on any day; I didn’t hike the trail in the dark using the light in this period). The light dimmed during about 15 minutes of use to the point where I couldn’t tell it was, at which point I decided to recharge it.

    I compare this to my favorite battery-powered light that, under the same conditions, runs down a pair of rechargeable AAAs in 3-4 days at best.

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