Head worn light

I am increasingly working on track in my own shadow. I have looked at head worn lights that seem to favor illuminating camping or running. I realize a lot of modelers will have different opinions.......but, I'm gonna give this a try anyhow.
A recommendation for a REASONABLE head worn light for model construction....like our railroads.
Nothing fancy, drycell preferred.
Al

 

I am very interested in the same item type.
@hawkdriver Thanks for asking. I never occured to me.

 

I bought a tool some magnifier glasses JTV (Jewelry Television) for making jewelry that I use quite a bit on my N scale projects. It has and LED light, several different magnification lenses and wear like a pair of glasses instead of a headband (more comfortable). You can also remove the lenes and use it for just the light along with your own glasses if you have them. I think the price was around $35. If you search their site they have two different kinds, the other being the headband type.

 

Check out good 'ole Harbor freight. They have several different price ranges. https://www.harborfreight.com/

 

I use a magnifier that has a light at the workbench but have so much light there I don't use the light on it. Often working on the layout I use this headlamp ( HERE ) and it works very well and have recharged it a lot of times over 5 years or so and it still works great. There are tons of them out there.

Sumner

 

I have seen the headlight on Harbor freight, Amazon, Walmart, Ebay and others, but none say for close hobby work like model trains or boats or aircraft.
I wish to know who has purchased a cheap light that focuses well for hobby work!

 

The trick is finding one that has enough light to be helpful without blasting the whole room.......too much light can be as bad as not enough when it comes to model work. I have a light from Duracell.......I believe it was a 3 pack from Costco, but it's been several years, so I doubt the model is availablie anymore, but it has a nice output. I also have a small light (uses 1 CR123 battery) that I got that I like because #1 it's dimmable so I can set the light output, and #2 it comes with a head strap, plus I bought a base for it (extra of course) that's magnetic and has a gooseneck, so I can use it that way as well. CR123 batteries are a bit pricey , but I bought a set of 4 LI-Ions with a charger for under $20 off Amazon, so that takes the sting out of it. I have a few others, but as noted they are for biking/running and put out way too much light. I also have one of the magnifier/lights, which works well, but I find it annoying to use if I don't need the magnifier. I have a baseball cap that has 3 LEDs built into the bill (sold by Craftsman)......IF I want to wear a baseball cap, and also a 3 LED light that clips to the bottom of a cap bill. Both work OK, but you have to wear a hat, and they both use watch-type batteries, so they aren't cheap to operate.

 

I've owned multiple camping-focused headlamps from Black Diamond. All of them were adjustable from blindingly bright down to quite dim, had floodlight and spotlight options, and a very even, natural-tinted light. They cost more than the Harbor Freight/Duracell/etc. ones, but IMO it's money VERY well spent. One of my most-used everyday tools.

 

I like the glove for close in work.
This was discussed before. The model chosen didn't work for me because I need my glasses and they interfered with that. I looked around a found a model from "CARSON" that only has a wrap around the head band and doesn't interfere with the glasses, 4 lenses with different magnifications and a small light. I believe I may have found it in the Micro-Mark catalog - but not sure.

 

Might look at these.....https://www.amazon.com/glasses-lights/s?k=glasses+with+lights

 

Thank you all, I do appreciate all your responses.
I'm gonna try these:

 

Those gloves look interesting. I'll look into adding that to my gadgets that include a headband magnifier/light. At work I've merited the nickname of Inspector Gadget.

This keeps up, with all the stuff I'll hang on myself, I won't look like Inspector Gadget but more like a Borg drone...

 

them gloves do look pretty interesting indeed. these could be very helpful in some locations an also could be very restricting in other places. i might have to get me a pair of these Thank you for sharing those....

 

Well.....I've had about two weeks to test drive these. They work terrific. I bought these particularly for N'scale track laying in much darker areas of my new layout.
They really do work great.
As a bonus,(important too), they were pretty reasonable at 11 bucks.
Hawkdriver

 

That's a good report. Might just have to try that myself.

 

After seeing the post about the headlamp above I happened to be down at the local car repair shop getting an 02 sensor installed. The guys there were wearing those headlamps. They said they liked them and I mentioned that maybe I'd pick one up. The gal at the counter said we have one left, do you want to buy it? I asked how much? $10. So I bought it.

Using it I have mixed feelings about it. So far I like it about 80% of the time but....



... when I was adding wiring to the above buss under the layout I could get my head pretty much looking straight ahead but not totally straight and the light on the band part wasn't doing a good job. Turning the side light on was better but still not as good as...



.... using my older headlamps that look like above where you can tilt them more up, straight or down. I'll still use the new one but will also continue to use the old one under the layout as I find it more flexible in getting the light where I need it there.

Sumner

 

i have thought about those new fangled lights as well , but i think im going to stick with my tried and true older head lamp like in your second pic..... its adjustable and bright....also has red light for night maneuvers

 

Very nice! Looks like,
Reacquisition Form
To: CFO, (Wife),
Item: Specialized lighting equipment
Purpose: Illumination of small areas for detailed work.
Cost: $20 to $40

Signature_____________ Date:________________________
Notes: I promise this is the last item I need. //fingers crossed behind my back). ☻