Thank you so much for the very thorough and honest review. So far, still happy with my Black Diamond spot headlamp. Even though the red light is a little weak.
I broke the mount too. They were quick with sending me a new one. However I wish they would make that bracket metal. The mount is clearly the weak point and if it breaks your headlamp is a hand light now
Awesome video. I had the same issue with the charging. Peax told me to specifically use their usb-c cord because it has that longer male end compared to other usb-c cables. If you look at multiple usb-c cables you will find some are longer than others and they turn out to be the ones that work when charging this headlamp. Keep crushing it!
very nice thank you for doing this. I bought both head lamps. The lock out on the peax is critical for me to have. I took the paper/plastic thingy in sofrin to lock out the sofrin and bring that as my backup headlamp. Then I exclusively use the peax. This way I have an extra battery for the peax if I run the peax out and I have and extra headlamp incase the peax fails. If the sofrin headlamp had the extra few lines of firmware code in it to make it lock out I would just go with the sofrin since the extra cost of the peax is not worth the performance delta.
First off excellent review as usual. So to help explain some things. These headlamps are alot more sophisticated than you think. They have a programmable microprocessor that controls them. That is why using similar batteries they have different characteristics such as temperature cutoffs, low voltage protection, etc. Brian Call does go into this a little in his promotional video of the peax. So did these light come from the same factory, probably. But they definitely have different software in them. In addition to the battery differences noted with the peax. Different batteries will have different chemical compositions that will drastically effect the components performance. When it comes to a light that visual que creates a noticeable difference in perception. But that is a deep dive for another day.
Good follow up! It’s nice to offer budget options. I tried out the Peax and ended up preferring the Fenix HM65R. It has 2 separate LEDs, both a spot and flood lens that I find much more useful. It doesn’t have a red light but I run a PETZL bindi red light in the mornings (2 headlamp system for redundancy) that I can stash in my pocket during the day. I’ve found that I don’t need that many lumens unless I’m scared of Bigfoot in the night
Great review!!! Need more lights reviewed… there’s a ton of premium headlamps and it’s hard to decifer… for instance I have a nitecore nu25- one neat feature is that you can charge from a battery bank while still in use. Downside of course is no replaceable battery. I can see the bonuses of either….
I dont need red light. Unless I am singing the Police Rooooxaaaannnneee. Fortunately there are many many premium headlamps on the market to try. Good review! I will add for what Peax is doing they stay relevant but they are too expensive in their gear and still have desired functions for me. I'll stick with my primary and backup I already have with headlamps. :) Great mention on batteries! Cheers!
I have the 77outdoor brand. I have multiple of them, one in every pack. Paid $23 for each. I also have a 4 battery charger on my desk. Each pack has 3 batteries in it. Been on a 8 day hunt this fall. Took the headlamp and 4 batteries. Used 2 batteries by the end of the hunt. My hunting partner had the Peax brand. I believed he ended up using his more but he also used more batteries.
I should also mention that I had these 77outdoor headlamps for a while. Never had one fail me. I use generic 18650 batteries that I purchased on Amazon.
I’ve had two peax headlamps, the first was about a year or so old when it failed, customer service was pretty good although they did make me jump through hoops to get it replaced. Apparently if you don’t use the supplies charging cable they won’t warranty the failure because a cable other than the one supplied may over charge the battery and fry the unit or at least that’s what they told me. I’ve used the new replacement a bunch of times and it’s good, also I’ve only used the supply cable to charge it.
Good comparison. One question on the battery comparison. Was the peax battery new or had it been cycled in use several times? Could explain some performance difference but not enough to justify cost difference
I did, but didn't check to see if the sofrin was sensitive or not. But I agree with Jay in that it also makes me uncomfortable. So I go with two different cables.. the one that came with the peax lamp and another one that is also compatible. Both can charge all my devices. Also what I found interesting is the cable that came with the sofrin seems to not charge my phone except slowly. So I tossed those cables in order to avoid bringing that on my trips. I don't understand why this has to be so darn complicated,, sigh.
Never had an issue with charging my peax duo. But I did notice that if I run the brightness light setting, I can hear a “humming” sound. Peax told me to make sure the end was screwed in all the way where the battery is at. I want to get the green light one and give my wife the red light one
Same issue with mine also. I am going to send it in for warranty once hunting season is over with. Sounds like a dog whistle on the highest setting. I also had to buy new clips since my original broke.
Thanks for the review. I recently bought a Peax and wish I had seen this review prior to purchase. And no, a 500% markup is not worth a 33% increase in capability.
@Terpedup925 American company, but sounds like the headlamp is made in China, altered slightly (battery, some functionality)and marked up tremendously. Definitely support American made items and American companies - just question the mark up. Take care.
Now that your in the 18650 store, you should really look at zebra lights. While they don’t have a built in charger, they are so damn efficient. The floody light is tremendous .
My Peax appears to be an issue of the port not physically accepting the charging cable. I suspect they got a port that was just tighter than allowable spec and cables that land on the high end of the spec don't fit. Absolutely should have been caught in QA. Instead they include a sticker that says, 'Use only this cable'. Like it is a special cable and not just an unwillingness to eat the losses.
I see people on here in the comments saying it's basically nothing, but to me, and those that spend much time in the woods, a 33-35% efficiency difference, is huge. Ever had to come off of a mountain in the dark? Not one of those fake appalacian mountains (we call em hills), but a real one? Off trail maybe? That extra 1/3 effeciency becomes night and day. Perhaps literally.
I'm in construction and have used the Energizer headlamps for years 3 pack for like $20-$25, they last forever and take AAA's and are plenty bright with 4 different modes. I have dropped them in the lake and on the ground multiple times still going strong, it's been like 7-8 years since I've bought new ones. I see no reason to spend hundreds of dollars on a headlamp that's just ridiculous.
Hey Jay, do you know if the other batteries offered on that site from Molicel and Samsung would be inherently “better” or at least the same in terms of performance? Or even if they would work? Looks like the batteries you tested are out of stock but I would like to have a backup (or two) batteries for my Peax, charged up and ready to go? Thanks in advance, appreciate we can always can count on solid/objective reviews from you!
The fact that I would need to use their own cable to charge this headlamp would automatically by a deal breaker. I am absolutely sick and tired of having different cables to charge different things. I have been replacing items that need different cables to charge. My phone included.
@@406life The array 2 Pro is Olights headlamp. The Perun is a flashlight that comes with a head strap attachment . That being said, the array 2 pro basically blows everything in the market away. No comparison !
Great follow up. I hadn't considered the batteries either. My friend returned his Peax because he didn't trust the plastic clips on the head strap. This is hearsay, but he felt like the high price point warranted a more robust attachment point. Anyway, thanks for sharing!
I don't know which light came first in this scenario but the only thing worse than Chinese companies cloning American tech is American companies rebranding Chinese goods and reselling at huge markups. Not saying this is the case here but don't think you have to pay a premium to get quality anymore. I carry a similar light and a backup and if need be a charged 18650 all for about the price of a peax. Better get your gear before tariffs come online. Maybe a good podcast would be what are some quality items from china geared towards hunters. D2 steel edc knife for $30, vevor tipi tent, diesel heater, stoves etc. come to mind.
One of the most detailed reviews I've ever seen on the tube. Great work!
💪
Great to know that integrity, honesty, humility, and repost is alive in your videos. Blessings.
Yessir 💪
Excellent follow up video. This right here is why I gravitate to Jay and The Mindful Hunter. Amazing reviews. No BS. Cheers
💪
Thank you so much for the very thorough and honest review.
So far, still happy with my Black Diamond spot headlamp. Even though the red light is a little weak.
💪
Wow, appreciate the recap! Thanks
💪
I have the peax light and i really like it . Thanks for your honesty and dedication.
💪
I have two Peax head lamps. I broke the mount on one, the customer service was excellent. I would rather pay more to support an American company.
👍
I broke the mount too. They were quick with sending me a new one. However I wish they would make that bracket metal. The mount is clearly the weak point and if it breaks your headlamp is a hand light now
Awesome video. I had the same issue with the charging. Peax told me to specifically use their usb-c cord because it has that longer male end compared to other usb-c cables. If you look at multiple usb-c cables you will find some are longer than others and they turn out to be the ones that work when charging this headlamp.
Keep crushing it!
Thanks for the info. What a terrible design flaw.
I own neither of these. But your reviews are so damn good I had to watch. Great follow up.
💪
Love this follow up review. Bring in the generic batteries and see those numbers was super interesting.💪🏻
👍
very nice thank you for doing this. I bought both head lamps. The lock out on the peax is critical for me to have. I took the paper/plastic thingy in sofrin to lock out the sofrin and bring that as my backup headlamp. Then I exclusively use the peax. This way I have an extra battery for the peax if I run the peax out and I have and extra headlamp incase the peax fails. If the sofrin headlamp had the extra few lines of firmware code in it to make it lock out I would just go with the sofrin since the extra cost of the peax is not worth the performance delta.
Agreed.
Love the honesty. This is a real review here. Liked & commented.
💪
First off excellent review as usual. So to help explain some things. These headlamps are alot more sophisticated than you think. They have a programmable microprocessor that controls them. That is why using similar batteries they have different characteristics such as temperature cutoffs, low voltage protection, etc. Brian Call does go into this a little in his promotional video of the peax. So did these light come from the same factory, probably. But they definitely have different software in them. In addition to the battery differences noted with the peax. Different batteries will have different chemical compositions that will drastically effect the components performance. When it comes to a light that visual que creates a noticeable difference in perception. But that is a deep dive for another day.
👍
Good follow up! It’s nice to offer budget options. I tried out the Peax and ended up preferring the Fenix HM65R. It has 2 separate LEDs, both a spot and flood lens that I find much more useful. It doesn’t have a red light but I run a PETZL bindi red light in the mornings (2 headlamp system for redundancy) that I can stash in my pocket during the day. I’ve found that I don’t need that many lumens unless I’m scared of Bigfoot in the night
I have that Fenix but wanted a red light. Using the petzl is a good compromise.
I'm always blown away more people don't use Fenix brand. They're amazing
I have a Fenix. Great light. Only problem is they didn’t have a red light option at that time
Great review!!! Need more lights reviewed… there’s a ton of premium headlamps and it’s hard to decifer… for instance I have a nitecore nu25- one neat feature is that you can charge from a battery bank while still in use. Downside of course is no replaceable battery. I can see the bonuses of either….
👍
Great review, I own a Peax and am very pleased with it the locking ability and the high med and low red light were what I was looking for.
👍
Well done on the update!!!
👍
Phew, glad I made the right choice getting a Peax this year to try out. I guess they should probably look at switching their batteries though.
👍
I dont need red light. Unless I am singing the Police Rooooxaaaannnneee. Fortunately there are many many premium headlamps on the market to try. Good review! I will add for what Peax is doing they stay relevant but they are too expensive in their gear and still have desired functions for me. I'll stick with my primary and backup I already have with headlamps. :) Great mention on batteries! Cheers!
👍
I have the 77outdoor brand. I have multiple of them, one in every pack. Paid $23 for each.
I also have a 4 battery charger on my desk.
Each pack has 3 batteries in it.
Been on a 8 day hunt this fall. Took the headlamp and 4 batteries. Used 2 batteries by the end of the hunt. My hunting partner had the Peax brand. I believed he ended up using his more but he also used more batteries.
I should also mention that I had these 77outdoor headlamps for a while. Never had one fail me. I use generic 18650 batteries that I purchased on Amazon.
👍
Yep for the price the 77outdoor is unbeatable, especially with the high output red light. Choose it over the Peax everytime.
Hey! 30% of viewers being subscribed is pretty good! I’m at 5-10% 😂. Really appreciate the time and energy you put into everything
Slowly but surely bro!
Great review man!
Coming from you that comment hits a little different. 🙏
@ haha let’s connect soon. I’ve been quiet lately, watching things in the industry unfold. Would be fun to chat about it.
Very interesting. I use a peax. Has been a great light in any situation. Good test.
👍
I’ve had two peax headlamps, the first was about a year or so old when it failed, customer service was pretty good although they did make me jump through hoops to get it replaced. Apparently if you don’t use the supplies charging cable they won’t warranty the failure because a cable other than the one supplied may over charge the battery and fry the unit or at least that’s what they told me. I’ve used the new replacement a bunch of times and it’s good, also I’ve only used the supply cable to charge it.
Yeah that’s horseshit. If you can’t use any USB cable to charge the device it’s a shit design.
My first peax quit working within 3 months. Ordered another one and it didn’t work from day one.
That sucks. Thanks for the info.
Good comparison. One question on the battery comparison. Was the peax battery new or had it been cycled in use several times? Could explain some performance difference but not enough to justify cost difference
All batteries were brand new and run through 3 discharge cycles prior to testing.
Never had a problem charging mine with different cables
Me either.
👍
I did, but didn't check to see if the sofrin was sensitive or not. But I agree with Jay in that it also makes me uncomfortable. So I go with two different cables.. the one that came with the peax lamp and another one that is also compatible. Both can charge all my devices. Also what I found interesting is the cable that came with the sofrin seems to not charge my phone except slowly. So I tossed those cables in order to avoid bringing that on my trips. I don't understand why this has to be so darn complicated,, sigh.
great follow up
👍
You can rotate the sofirn battery compartment by a quarter turn to keep it from turning on accidentally
👍
I used a bottle cap and taped an elastic to it, and used that to cover the button.
Never had an issue with charging my peax duo. But I did notice that if I run the brightness light setting, I can hear a “humming” sound. Peax told me to make sure the end was screwed in all the way where the battery is at. I want to get the green light one and give my wife the red light one
👍
Same issue with mine also. I am going to send it in for warranty once hunting season is over with. Sounds like a dog whistle on the highest setting. I also had to buy new clips since my original broke.
Thanks for the review. I recently bought a Peax and wish I had seen this review prior to purchase. And no, a 500% markup is not worth a 33% increase in capability.
American made
@Terpedup925 American company, but sounds like the headlamp is made in China, altered slightly (battery, some functionality)and marked up tremendously. Definitely support American made items and American companies - just question the mark up. Take care.
There is nothing America made about any peax products. They are all made overseas.
@ oh shit. Really? Mmm thought they were made here
Absolutely, yes it is.
My peax has the same issue with charging cable had to find different one to make it worl
👍
Now that your in the 18650 store, you should really look at zebra lights. While they don’t have a built in charger, they are so damn efficient. The floody light is tremendous .
As you can see the batteries are cheap. could bring two spare and have plenty of lamp life
I can’t see one that also has a red light. Is there one?
@ Well, they do not have dual modes yet. So maybe not the best option.
@ yeah unfortunately that’s a deal breaker for hunting. Need a red or green light.
My Peax appears to be an issue of the port not physically accepting the charging cable. I suspect they got a port that was just tighter than allowable spec and cables that land on the high end of the spec don't fit. Absolutely should have been caught in QA. Instead they include a sticker that says, 'Use only this cable'. Like it is a special cable and not just an unwillingness to eat the losses.
💯
I see people on here in the comments saying it's basically nothing, but to me, and those that spend much time in the woods, a 33-35% efficiency difference, is huge.
Ever had to come off of a mountain in the dark? Not one of those fake appalacian mountains (we call em hills), but a real one? Off trail maybe?
That extra 1/3 effeciency becomes night and day. Perhaps literally.
Agreed. An extra 3 hours is no joke.
I'm in construction and have used the Energizer headlamps for years 3 pack for like $20-$25, they last forever and take AAA's and are plenty bright with 4 different modes. I have dropped them in the lake and on the ground multiple times still going strong, it's been like 7-8 years since I've bought new ones. I see no reason to spend hundreds of dollars on a headlamp that's just ridiculous.
🫡
Hey Jay, do you know if the other batteries offered on that site from Molicel and Samsung would be inherently “better” or at least the same in terms of performance? Or even if they would work? Looks like the batteries you tested are out of stock but I would like to have a backup (or two) batteries for my Peax, charged up and ready to go?
Thanks in advance, appreciate we can always can count on solid/objective reviews from you!
I’d say those other ones are at least as good if not better.
The fact that I would need to use their own cable to charge this headlamp would automatically by a deal breaker. I am absolutely sick and tired of having different cables to charge different things. I have been replacing items that need different cables to charge. My phone included.
💯
How is the strap for the sofrin? Is it better then the crap Peaks one ?
Identical. Both shit.
Sofrin ftw. Warmer light. Programming to power back on to last used setting. Being cheaper is just a plus.
👍
It would be nice to get a new headband for the Peax
Agreed.
Olight makes the best headlamps on the market.
👍
I would not recommend the olight perun 2,it's heavy, only uses olight charge cable,no lockout and only has white light.
@@406life The array 2 Pro is Olights headlamp.
The Perun is a flashlight that comes with a head strap attachment .
That being said, the array 2 pro basically blows everything in the market away. No comparison !
Great follow up. I hadn't considered the batteries either. My friend returned his Peax because he didn't trust the plastic clips on the head strap. This is hearsay, but he felt like the high price point warranted a more robust attachment point. Anyway, thanks for sharing!
Agreed.
Not to mention if the clip gets compromised it would be easy to lose the light itself.
👍
💪
At least I got something extra for my money, that being sd id probably get a Fenix on the next one
👍
I don't know which light came first in this scenario but the only thing worse than Chinese companies cloning American tech is American companies rebranding Chinese goods and reselling at huge markups. Not saying this is the case here but don't think you have to pay a premium to get quality anymore. I carry a similar light and a backup and if need be a charged 18650 all for about the price of a peax.
Better get your gear before tariffs come online.
Maybe a good podcast would be what are some quality items from china geared towards hunters. D2 steel edc knife for $30, vevor tipi tent, diesel heater, stoves etc. come to mind.
💯
Or buy a couple of spare batteries and still be way ahead besides weight, of course...