head lamps and work gloves

[Stephen Saar]

Not directly power tool related, but wasn't really sure what forum this belonged in. I'm looking to get a nice VERY bright head lamp. I've used some other head lamps, and they were decent but just not bright enough. I think the one I used was made more for night running where you don't need a huge amount of light since it's so dark. Any advice on a decent LED based headlamp that will put out a lot of light. I don't like having to keep on trying to move my head close to the stuff I'm working on just to see.

Also any advice on some decent work gloves? I'm not looking for anything in particular, but when I'm grinding metal, working in the yard, or just dealing with a particularly nasty piece of wood I like to have some decent gloves.

Thanks.

-Stephen

[Rich Aldrich]

I have a head lamp called a StreamLight Septor LED that uses three AAA batteries. It is LED, two stage. It is extremely bright. I use it for walking out to my deer stand in the morning. I like it so much, I bought one for work at the paper mill.

http://www.streamlight.com/product/class.aspx?cid=15

[Eric DeSilva]

As a former caver, LED headlamps are nice, but they aren't great at putting a lot of light in a concentrated area. For that, the halogen bulbs still rule--they burn a lot more juice, however. I used to use a nice LED rack for normal caving, but then fire up a halogen when I was trying to light something particular a long way away.

That said, there are some uber-bright LEDs out these days like the Stenlight, but they are mondo-expensive. If you want to see a good range of headlamp options for more serious environments, try these guys:

http://innermountainoutfitters.net/

Note they put headlamps and LEDs in different categories. The brightest lights I've found were actually dive lights. Don't know if they do headlamps, but I had a quad-AA UKlite that could probably have lit stuff on fire (actually, there are dive lights that can't be operated unless submerged for cooling reasons).

[Cliff Towle]

On gloves - for small detail work like sharpening chainsaw chains I grab a pair of the nitrile medical gloves out of the first aid box.

For rougher stuff - the same nitrile is used on actual work gloves I get at Fastenal.

[Andrew Schlosser]

I've got larger hands, so I don't have alot of choices of gloves. But, I have found a pair of Wells Lamont at Costco, sold 3 pair to a pack for $20, to be the best (proper) fitting, comfortable work gloves. All leather, they absorb sweat and protect my hands from all kinds of rough edges, which is good for splitting wood. I also wear them for welding and grinding, the welding gloves get very warm.
I'm glad they are sold 3 to a pack, as I wear through them (after several months of heavy splitting) and/or loose them often.

[John Crum]

I wear gloves a lot in the shop because they seem to give me more strength in my hands, but I don't like bulky ones. I found a pair of "mechanics gloves" at Lowes which work great, are light weight, and give me more feeling for the work at hand. John

[Wayne Cannon]

I especially like the inexpensive Atlas spandex knit gloves with nitrile palms. They are thin enough for good tactile feel, but very tough. I learned about them through landscapers that used them when working with pressure-treated wood, timbers, prunings, and concrete. Atlas also makes a more common cotton-knit glove with a plastic palm that is significantly thicker. They are available in all of the hardware stores around here.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2148170&cp=2568444.2598672.2601408.1305678

[Greg Wittler]

Two Years back I was looking at these and tried on a bunch before I settled on a Petzl MYO XP which can be kind of pricey, but got mine for about 40.00 on EBAY. The reason I liked it is that most of the cheaper headlamps had 2 AA batteries in the front which made it to heavy in the front and nothing in the back, and others had 4 AA batteries in the back and was too heavy in the back. This one takes 3 AA batteries in the back and that makes it very well balanced. It also has a light diffuser in the front that when flipped down it changes the light from a long(er) distance beam to lighting up the area around you more like a lantern.

[Dave Lewis]

I have several Princeton Tec headlamp models - bought from EMS and Amazon.

They work well. My favorite says "FUEL" on the headband.

[Kevin Stricker]

Second vote for the Myo XP...Most all of the Petzl headlamps are excellent performers. Take a trip to a local outdoor gear shop like REI to check them out.

As for gloves, the Handyman CLC gloves from HD are pretty durable and allow you to use your tools with them on. I wouldn't bother with the upgraded versions as they wear out just as fast and cost more.

[Matt Lau]

I'm not sure about gloves, but I have had experience with headlamps.

Granted, I'm using my headlamps for dentistry.
I prefer the Coast LED lenser H7.
15 hour runtime (on bright)
3 AA
very nice (adjustable) concentrated spot.
and it's more than adequately bright.

I've since recommended it to my mentors, and they use it for extractions.