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Detailed
Information:
Nite Hawk is a well established bicycle lighting company which is now branching out into the
headlamp market. For this new venture they have decided upon the Luxeon I LED platform for their
light source, powered by 4 AA alkaline batteries. Since they already have experience in the
illumination industry with building heavy-duty lights designed to take a beating on bicycle handlebars,
we would expect that this tangent to their typical offerings should provide output and durability
commensurate with what is promised, but the platform may need some tweaking. Indeed, this is
precisely the situation.
The body itself is a nylon polymer which is extremely tough. The light
pod in the front of the headlamp can take a serious beating and is permanently sealed to prevent
the entry of the elements. On top of the pod is a red, rubber capped switch for activating the
two modes of light provided by the system. The entire pod is adjustable on both the vertical and
horizontal axis. Vertical adjustment uses a resisted hinge between the pod and the padded forehead
plate which ratchets into place to prevent unanticipated misalignments. The resistance is very
significant and requires two hands to adjust. The horizontal adjustment comes initially locked in
place. Loosening a screw on the bottom allows the light pod to swivel from side to side.
At the rear of the headlamp you will find the battery pack. This pack holds 4 AA alkaline cells
and is attached to the light pod in the front via the 3 point elastic headband framework and a single
cable. The cable has a large coiled portion to allow for adjustment and the cable itself is quite
thick which should enhance its durability. Reinforcements exist at both ends of the cable where it
attaches to the pod and the battery pack. Two clips attach the cable to the headband strap on the
right side of the user.
The battery pack itself requires some additional attention since changing the batteries can be
a bit problematic. There are 3 molded clips around the battery box which hold the two pieces of the
clamshell design together. The "lid", which does not contain the battery contacts, rests against
the user's head. The three clips are attached to the "body" of the pack and protrude beyond the
surface of the "lid" allowing for the potential that, with some users, the clips could contact
the scalp. This is especially true during a fall which would impact the rear of the user's head.
This provides for a potential laceration hazard, however unlikely.
Another characteristic which attracted my attention was that the headband straps were attached
to the "lid", while the strap wrapped around the back of the "body" of the battery box. This
means that the straps need to be either loosened or removed every time the batteries need to be
changed out. I found this to be very inconvenient and results in a tangle of straps and
components. Not an enjoyable prospect when trying to change out the batteries on a dark, wet trail.
This same awkward design pattern is found in several
other companies' headlamps reviewed here. A quick and
dirty solution to this is to remove and re-route the
headband strap around the other side of the battery
box, against the user's head. This makes the battery
pack much easier to access, but slightly less comfortable.
When returning the battery pack to its original configuration,
the user needs to make sure they snap the clasps back
in place as indicated in the instructions, re-tighten
the strap around the battery pack, and possibly readjust
the straps.
For safety purposes, polarity protection is built into the design of the pack. If any of the batteries are
inserted incorrectly the entire system will not work.
There is no seal between the halves of the battery pack and water resistance is afforded
by the tightness of the assembly and the tongue-in-groove molded design around the inner edge of
the pack.
The light pod contains, as mentioned above, a Luxeon I LED for illumination.
No regulator circuit is present, but there is a system which allows the user to switch between
full power output and 10% output by simply clicking the switch in series. The headlamp turns off
between the two modes, so the system appears to be purely mechanical in nature and is likely to use
a simple resistor to create the drop in output.
Output is very good. The light beam is collimated by total internal reflection
lens which is permanently focused. The result is a very smooth and bright spot with a good surround.
There is very little spillbeam beyond the area covered by the main spot. As is expected with
Luxeon LEDs, the light produced is a good color temperature, close to sunlight in composition.
From a wearability standpoint, the straps are fully adjustable so the
headlamp should fit most heads out there. The straps can be relatively easily removed from their
attachment points as a result of slots molded in the strap apertures. The cable clips did rub slightly
on my head in use and the entire system is noticeably heavy. This is, I'm sure, the result of the heavy
duty design of the entire unit.
What I Liked: Water resistant (not dunkable),
Tough/impact resistant, Good battery life,
Bright, Two levels of output.
What I Didn't Like: Awkward
battery change process, A bit heavy for long periods of wear, Battery box clasps protrude toward
the user's scalp, Vertical adjustment is very firm and requires 2 hands.
Other Things I Noticed: Switch
is fairly firm, but this is not a bad thing at all.
Conclusions: A tough headlamp.
Some of the solid design characteristics definitely
elude to the bicycle-oriented history of the Nite Hawk
design. Overall a good step forward into a new product
line for the company. I really think the whole battery
box design needs to be revisited to improve convenience
for the user. Very good output and solid design of the
rest of the headlamp helps overcome the inconvenience
encountered during battery changes, but those narrow
clips that protrude toward the user's scalp do concern
me even though it is probably unlikely that they would
ever contact an average person's head except as the
result of a dramatic impact.
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