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The Cyclops Atom is a tiny and extremely lightweight
headlamp which uses 2 coin cells to illuminate a single
LED. The light is projected through a lens to form a
distinct and very usable round spot. Unfortunately,
its runtime is in direct proportion to its diminutive
stature.
Body: The body of the Atom is plastic, through
and through. The pivoting round light element on the
front of the unit has a rotating bezel which serves
as the switch. The pivot mount is attached to a forehead
plate which also has a built-in clip system. The headband
can be easily removed without disassembly through the
slotted strap attachments and the light clipped to clothing
or a hat. The headband is thin, but more than adequate
to hold the lamp on the head. The elastic strap slack
ends touch the forehead and are quite irritating. You
can reroute the band ends so that they protrude from
the outside of the headband instead of the inside for
comfort.
Bezel/Head: The bezel end of the headlamp serves as the switch.
Tighten for on, loosen for off. The outside of the bezel has slight ridges
that facilitate turning the bezel. At the very front is a convex lens
that collects the light from the LED and collimates the light into
an even round spot. Surrounding the lens is a translucent clear area
which allows excess sidespill light from the LED to leak out of the head
and provide a soft spillbeam. Removing the front completely reveals an
electronics board which contains the LED and the two coin cell batteries
that power the unit.
Output: The white light produced by the LED
is a high color temperature and produces acceptable color
rendition weighted toward the blue end of the spectrum.
An obvious blue tint is detectable. The disk of light from
the LED/lens combo is fairly even with a few minor artifacts.
Note that the LED module can be removed from the light and
the LED alignment carefully adjusted to produce an even beam.
Since the entire front face of the bezel is translucent, it
produces a soft ringy spillbeam.
Beam at one meter at target center, note LED was off center in bezel - later corrected.
Runtime Plot: This is what happens when you drive an LED with
two coin cells. Those two cells just can't keep up and output drops
very rapidly. Note that output continues for a long time at a much
lower level, and if you give the cells time to rest they can give another
few minutes of bright output before diminishing again. However,
the output you see when you first turn it on doesn't last for more than a
few minutes, so don't select this headlamp for a task based on that initial output.
In less than 30 minutes your down to 25% starting output.
Runtime
completed with installed 2016 coin cell batteries. More information
on runtime plots is available HERE.
Switch: The bezel is the switch. Tighten for on, loosen for off.
Seals / Water Resistance: There is a serious o-ring seal between
the bezel/head and the body, so it seems to be reasonably water
resistant. I'd give it a "dunkable" rating.
If it gets wet inside, just disassemble as much a possible
without tools and let it dry before using again.
Ergonomics: Get the ends of the headstraps rerouted
so that they dangle off the outside of the headlamp
instead of curling inside against your head and it is
quite comfortable.
Batteries: Two 2016 coin cells power the light.
These have very low power and don't tend to last very long.
Carry spares if you are planning to use the headlamp for
a significant period of time.
To change out the batteries: unscrew the bezel, drop
out the old cells, place in new cells observing proper
polarity. Reattach the bezel and you're ready to go.
Accessories: none
What I Liked: Water resistant,
super lightweight, adjustable, clipable
What I Didn't Like: Dims quickly, poor
battery life
Picky Little Things: I was just thinking
that if they had named it the Cyclops Third Eye (as it does
resemble an eyeball) and stated that wearing it on your head
gave you the "mystical and mysterious power to see in
the dark as a result of subatomic quantum vibrations in the
polarized fabric of the non-linear space-time matrix" they
could probably sell a pile of these to the same folks that
wear magnets on their wrists to cure their wallet of being
too thick with cash. (Oops, now I've done it... Now everyone
who thinks magnets actually cure something other than paper
slipping off the refrigerator door will send hate mail...)
Conclusions: An OK little headlamp for
for simple tasks under controlled conditions. Generally
2016 coin cell LED lights are keychain lights that are used for
momentary operation so you never have them on long enough to notice
the serious dimming that quickly occurs and the cells have time
to recover between uses. Headlamps are used
for more than just momentary operation and as a result these cells
are really not adequate for long-term use. Still, it's not total junk and could
serve a purpose as an emergency backup or for use in extremely low
light (no light) conditions where a little light is better
than none at all.
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