Jamie D.
2012-03-21 05:33:27 UTC
Thanks for the extra time. Full html version here
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/test/TESTS/LTR%20-%20P-Tec%20Bot%20-%20Jamie%20D/
LTR Text here....
------------------------------------- Long Term Report -----------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------- March 20th, 2012 ----------------------------------------------
Collective Use and Field Conditions
In the last two months of testing my sons used the Princeton Tec Bot on three more night hikes and on one overnight camping trip. That puts their collective use at seven nights plus several short bursts of night time reading at home or while in the vehicle. The last three night hikes took place in local desert mountain parks in Phoenix, Arizona. Elevations for these outings fell within the 1,500 ft (450 m) up to 1,900 ft (580 m) range. Weather was either clear or cloudy, no precipitation with temperatures between 55 F and 65 F (13 C and 18 C).
The camping trip was a two day outing to Lake Pleasant Regional Park located north of Phoenix in Peoria, Arizona. This lake is a large man-made lake plopped down in the desert at an elevation of around 1,800 ft (550 m). Our single night out was clear, breezy and cool, low 60's F (17 C), beautiful weather for camping and star gazing.
Long Term Conclusions
Since our time testing the Bot was drawing to a close I wanted to make sure we evaluated as many of the manufacturer claims as we could. On our final nights of use my sons and I picked a different aspect to evaluate. The first was the distance claims. We had been mostly using the Bot on low because it put out sufficient light with which to hike while still conserving the batteries and sparing the eyes of the adults hiking with us. At this setting Princeton Tec claims the light extends up to 49 ft (15 m). I'm not sure how they evaluate at what point the light output is too dim to be useful but we found that even at an eighth of a mile (190 m) I could see my son waiting with his friend on the trail. There was enough light illuminating the space around him that I could easily make out identifying features like his backpack and clothes.
The total burn time given for the low setting is 9 hours, our Bot definitely exceeded that. (I'm assuming their number is based on continuous running of the light.) Interestingly, the kids also used the Bot at various times on the high setting as well so our experience was quite different than the manufacturer's claim. In fact, I only recently had the boys change the batteries because up until our 6th hike, it was completely fine. My older son AJ did indicate that for that last hike he had to use it on the high setting because the low setting was just too dim. I would estimate the kids ran the light at least 12 hrs (not continuously) before needing to change the batteries.
On the informational material provided with the Bot, P-Tec gave limited details regarding its water resistance abilities. Light sprinkle, several hours of rain, submersion to a certain depth? I have no idea what it can handle. So, the kids and I decided to find out if it was as least rain tolerant. Luckily on our last week of testing we had a two day stretch of rain with intermittent hail. My kids love to play in the rain anyway so I had AJ turn on the Bot and toss it out in the grass to take on the rain for about 20 minutes. By the time he picked it up it was sitting in a little puddle and the band was soaked but the light was still going strong. I didn't see any leakage into the battery compartment. All was well.
We've only needed to change the batteries once. My older son AJ volunteered. It was dark when we did this so I decided to initially have AJ try doing it without a second flashlight in case that was a reality sometime in the future. Epic fail! The port housing the tiny screw was just too small to find in the dark. Thankfully we had another light with us so I held that and he did the work. It only took him a couple of minutes using the driver on my Leatherman Squirt and our little light was ready for action once more.
Final Thoughts
Over the course of this test my sons have used the Bot for many different tasks while hiking and camping in desert terrain. Here are a few things I can remember: assisting in a battery change on my GPS, cactus removal from doggie paws, minor trailside first-aid, locating gear in our backpacks, negotiating rocky out-crops at scenic overlooks, climbing trees (pictured above), tinder/firewood gathering with subsequent fire starting using a magnesium stick, bathroom runs, and a few child-oriented campsite set-up duties. This headlamp has worked well in all situations. It remains in very good condition despite being dropped a few times and wacked with small bits of hail. Both my boys found it simple to turn on and off and fine-tune the angle. My younger son had a little bit of hard time adjusting the headband but that is a very minor inconvenience that I'm sure he'll overcome with a bit more age and practice. Overall, the Princeton Tec Bot was a hit with the DeBenedetto family; I foresee it getting many more hours of use inside our home as well as on our future outdoor adventures.
-Jamie J. DeBenedetto 2012
------------------------------------
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/test/TESTS/LTR%20-%20P-Tec%20Bot%20-%20Jamie%20D/
LTR Text here....
------------------------------------- Long Term Report -----------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------- March 20th, 2012 ----------------------------------------------
Collective Use and Field Conditions
In the last two months of testing my sons used the Princeton Tec Bot on three more night hikes and on one overnight camping trip. That puts their collective use at seven nights plus several short bursts of night time reading at home or while in the vehicle. The last three night hikes took place in local desert mountain parks in Phoenix, Arizona. Elevations for these outings fell within the 1,500 ft (450 m) up to 1,900 ft (580 m) range. Weather was either clear or cloudy, no precipitation with temperatures between 55 F and 65 F (13 C and 18 C).
The camping trip was a two day outing to Lake Pleasant Regional Park located north of Phoenix in Peoria, Arizona. This lake is a large man-made lake plopped down in the desert at an elevation of around 1,800 ft (550 m). Our single night out was clear, breezy and cool, low 60's F (17 C), beautiful weather for camping and star gazing.
Long Term Conclusions
Since our time testing the Bot was drawing to a close I wanted to make sure we evaluated as many of the manufacturer claims as we could. On our final nights of use my sons and I picked a different aspect to evaluate. The first was the distance claims. We had been mostly using the Bot on low because it put out sufficient light with which to hike while still conserving the batteries and sparing the eyes of the adults hiking with us. At this setting Princeton Tec claims the light extends up to 49 ft (15 m). I'm not sure how they evaluate at what point the light output is too dim to be useful but we found that even at an eighth of a mile (190 m) I could see my son waiting with his friend on the trail. There was enough light illuminating the space around him that I could easily make out identifying features like his backpack and clothes.
The total burn time given for the low setting is 9 hours, our Bot definitely exceeded that. (I'm assuming their number is based on continuous running of the light.) Interestingly, the kids also used the Bot at various times on the high setting as well so our experience was quite different than the manufacturer's claim. In fact, I only recently had the boys change the batteries because up until our 6th hike, it was completely fine. My older son AJ did indicate that for that last hike he had to use it on the high setting because the low setting was just too dim. I would estimate the kids ran the light at least 12 hrs (not continuously) before needing to change the batteries.
On the informational material provided with the Bot, P-Tec gave limited details regarding its water resistance abilities. Light sprinkle, several hours of rain, submersion to a certain depth? I have no idea what it can handle. So, the kids and I decided to find out if it was as least rain tolerant. Luckily on our last week of testing we had a two day stretch of rain with intermittent hail. My kids love to play in the rain anyway so I had AJ turn on the Bot and toss it out in the grass to take on the rain for about 20 minutes. By the time he picked it up it was sitting in a little puddle and the band was soaked but the light was still going strong. I didn't see any leakage into the battery compartment. All was well.
We've only needed to change the batteries once. My older son AJ volunteered. It was dark when we did this so I decided to initially have AJ try doing it without a second flashlight in case that was a reality sometime in the future. Epic fail! The port housing the tiny screw was just too small to find in the dark. Thankfully we had another light with us so I held that and he did the work. It only took him a couple of minutes using the driver on my Leatherman Squirt and our little light was ready for action once more.
Final Thoughts
Over the course of this test my sons have used the Bot for many different tasks while hiking and camping in desert terrain. Here are a few things I can remember: assisting in a battery change on my GPS, cactus removal from doggie paws, minor trailside first-aid, locating gear in our backpacks, negotiating rocky out-crops at scenic overlooks, climbing trees (pictured above), tinder/firewood gathering with subsequent fire starting using a magnesium stick, bathroom runs, and a few child-oriented campsite set-up duties. This headlamp has worked well in all situations. It remains in very good condition despite being dropped a few times and wacked with small bits of hail. Both my boys found it simple to turn on and off and fine-tune the angle. My younger son had a little bit of hard time adjusting the headband but that is a very minor inconvenience that I'm sure he'll overcome with a bit more age and practice. Overall, the Princeton Tec Bot was a hit with the DeBenedetto family; I foresee it getting many more hours of use inside our home as well as on our future outdoor adventures.
-Jamie J. DeBenedetto 2012
------------------------------------