Purchased this headlamp 4 years ago. It was my first backpacking headlamp ever purchased. Very well built, quality unit with a nice angle adjustment. Bright light, but it's battery life wasnt good at all. A bit heavy with 4 AA batteries. I have since switched to a Petzl Zipka. It's less weight, less bulky, uses only 2 AAA batteris and sufficient for my daytime backpacking activites.

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Here''s a longish review of the Vortec. I started looking for a light after confirming a trip to go canyoning in Southwestern Utah with 3 other buddies. Seeing as we could be doing some scrambling and a little bouldering in the canyons I decided on a headlamp to leave my hands free, and after doing a little research about the slot canyons we were going into, I realised that there was a pretty good possibility that we might have to swim across some sections, so a waterproof light became a priority as well. When I started shopping for headlamps, I ended up looking at the three most common brands. Black Diamond, Petzl and Princeton Tec. I dismissed the Black Diamond lamps pretty quickly, because their reflectors, although highly polished, weren''t very well designed. Also of the headlamps I tested, theirs was the dimmest, and it wasn''t waterproof. I then looked at the Petzl Zoom and Duo and the Princeton Tec Vortec. It ultimately fell to a choice between the Duo and Vortec. The features that I liked on the Duo were the ease of swithching between the halogen(bright) and incandescent(longer burn time) modes and the fact that the Duo had the spare bulb in the casing. The balance was also quite good with the lamp in front and the batteries behind. But I ultimately ende up choosing the Vortec because for one thing, the halogen bulb was brighter, with the same projected burn time as the Duo (approx. 3 hours). The pre-focused reflectors on Princeton Tec''s lights really are great. Much better than Petzl''s or Black Diamond''s. And the Vortec really is waterproof (the Duo is not). The Vortec isn''t perfect however. Even as I bought the Vortec, there were a few features that I wasn''t ecstatic about. The first being that the included wide-focus reflector has to be carried separately. (understandable I guess in order to have the best pre-focused beam) and my main concern, the 2nd bulb is a also a separate carry item. I did however like the fact that the halogen bulb is very bright and that the lamp uses 4 AA cells, which are compatible with other equipment and last longer than AAA cells. I also brought a Princeton Tec Surge as a back-up. With 8 AA cells, the Surge is incredibly bright. Since they both used AA cells, it would make it easy to carry spare batteries. Due to miscalculating our hiking time and location.

Customer Service

No experience

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An old Petzl which seemed good at the time but not in comparison to the Vortec. Carbide headlamp(great light, but carbide chips seem a little hard to find) Looking into an interesting light calle

i love my VOR TEC light. it works and it's waterproof. its not very heavy and 4 AA batteries last surprisingly long

Customer Service

i lost one of the battery compartment caps while camping. I emailed Princeton tec and they mailed me 2 replacement pieces for free within 3 days of the email. their service and product are both awesome.

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The Princeton Tec Vortec is probably the best head lamp for general backpacking use one could get. Using 4 AA batteries, you can get several hours worth of VERY bright light. For the weight and size, it is extremely bright and fairly long lasting. I know of no other lamp that even comes close.

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Recently i trekked at night in Mount Ledang, a mountain in the South Peninsula.
Having a few options of headlamp and flashlight such as the Zoom, Duo, Tikka, Vortec.. and the mini maglites and Blast. I decided to use the Vortec over the Zoom and Duo because the halogen bulb for the Vortec burns brighter and longer than the other two. I brought the Tikka for camp use though.

I was very impressed and happy with my brand new Vortec as it illuminated the whole trail and forest. My pals were impressed too. I have not been on this Asahan trail for 6 years and it certainly help me in trail finding at nites as i had to lead the way. As we climbed up the 60 degrees rock face and trail.. i help illuminate the steep ascends for my pals as thier headlamp is not that bright.

Initially before using it on the trail i thought that this headlamp of 240 g might feel heavy on my forehead.. but surprisingly... i felt quite comfortable with it. The only downside of this headlamp is that it doesn't carry a spare bulb inside the headlamp unlike Petzl's. Overall... i'm happy and impressed with this headlamp which i got on sale ay REI.

A great headlamp.... go buy it while it's still on sale!!

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Maglite's 2A's & 3A's
Petzl Tikka
Petzl Zoom
Petzl Duo
COleman Headlamp

Great Headlamp. On my second one and have only good things to say. Only drawback is carrying 4 aa batteries.

Customer Service

First headlamp somehow got cracks init like it had been crushed. Lamp was sent back to the manufacturer with an "I don't know what happened explaination" and I got a new headlamp very soon.

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I'd only used hand-helds before this one, but faced with a four day hike in the rain, I took one of the staff's advice and tried this one out. For the price, I couldn't be happier. It's first night out it paid for itself. In a torrential downpour in GA, the tilting light came in very handy, and using it extensively over the weekend (probably about 12-15 hours total use) it still gave me two more weekend hikes before I changed the batteries (just to be safe.)

As other's pointed out, it is a bit heavy, but I'll trade that for having to replace the batteries about half as often. Also, the straps work well for me. I don't even notice the weight of the batteries in the front.

If weight is not a huge concern, and you use alot of light, this would probably be the best headlamp for the money.

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Without a doubt, Princeton Tec has definitely provided some necessary competition for Petzl (whom I have absolutely no problem with, by the way). I had been using the Micro for several years when I bought the Vor Tec. I was immediately impressed by the battery life and the light intensity differences. Actually, I have also become an advocate of the prefocused beam technology that Princeton Tec prefers at this point. I use this headlamp for climbing, mt.biking, and hiking,... oh, and late night kayaking too, I might add. Even considering the weight, it caters to the demands of versatility. Bulb, shmulb...if you want halogen illumination, cope with the shortened battery life. If you want to reap the benefits of all-night-long illumination... krypton forever, baby!

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Petzl Zoom - for those of you who like the adjustable beam (with the blind spot in the middle)
Petzl Micro - the original lightweight; great for campsites
Princeton Tec Solo - cute, lightweight, comparable to the Micro.

Great burn time and illumination. Yet, I do not like the balance. The Zoom I like because the weight on your head is equal: light in front, baqtteries in back. For short-term use this light is far superior than the Zoom.

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Great light. Batteries last forever! I've heard and read that it doesn't work well below freezing so I got the Petzl for climbing. Otherwise the Princeton is a great light!

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Petzl Zoom
REI