So it's the 4th of July weekend and you thought the fireworks display was a
little lame this year.
What you need is that three-year-old stash
of bottle rockets hidden in your workshop. Because, you know,
they haven't caused it to burn down yet. And just like fine wine
cheap fireworks seem to get better with age. Ummm... wait-
uhh (mumbling) cheap.. maybe I'm... You know what, maybe I'm thinking of
But you're not an idiot- so when you hold onto those
old unpredictable fireworks in your hand- when you light the wick...
How about a little help like the SG6
headlamp from Spark. While it's true you could just get someone
to hold a flashlight while you try to steady your hand to light the wick.
Everyone seems to have gone inside after you brought out the fireworks.
That's weird... I guess you'll also have to
go get your own beer too. The spark sg6 is an all-aluminum
headlamp powered of a 18650 lithium-ion cell
or two CR123a cells. I found I needed to use
unprotected cells because protected are a bit too long
to screw the tail cap on. It's covered in a grippy
tactile type 3 anodization a lot like the Armytek line of flashlights-
and not quite like other Spark flashlights.
It has a bare XML2 neutral right... (realizes mistake).. ha ha...
neutral white (corrects self)- neutral white emitter behind a Schott
ultra-clear glass lens so you can have the widest
floodiest beam pattern available. Or use the separately purchased reflector
in case you like a bit more of a focused beam pattern. Alright,
here's a quick split screen comparison of how the lamp looks with the
two different optics in case you're in to aesthetics.
And a quick beam shot comparison between the two optics.
The comparisons was shot several weeks apart, but I think you get the idea.
The ST6 is waterproof, dustproof,
but probably not moon traveler proof
to IPX-8 standards. So if it rains-
okay who am I kidding? It always rains on holidays
especially the 4th of July- it won't have a problem. The ST6 has a dual-strap
design so that it will hold its 152 gram weight
in place securely. I used a Panasonic 18650 3100 miliamp hour
battery for testing and weight purposes. The light weighs 107 grams
without a battery
and with a strap in case you wanted to save weight by
not using a battery with the headlamp. Which probably sounds cool to those
sorts of people
who wear fake eye glasses as fashion accessories.
The sg6 has 5 modes none of which blink. And an easily
adjustable angle of light. My camera and eyes detected no visible PWM.
The modes are rated by spark to output the following: Minimum is .6 lumens for
90 days.
Medium one is 15 lumens for 120 hours.
Medium two is 90 lumens for 12 hours.
Maximum is 400 lumens for 2.5 hours.
And super is 840 lumens for one hour.
So let's test these run times with my camera and see how well
they hold up to the claims.
Super runs for about 1 hour 36 minutes.
Starts off bright and tapers a bit before shutting off. Which
beats Spark's estimate. But it doesn't run at the full brightness
for that amount runtime. Maximum runs for 2.5 hours at a
near constant brightness.
Proving that it is not actually the "maximum" output of the light.
And medium 2 ran for only about six hours and 40 minutes.
I tested medium 2 twice
with nearly the same results. Spark says 12 hours. So how about that user
interface?
don't worry it's about as complicated as a Drake lyric.
and if someone thought "Hey I didn't know ducks could sing!"
You're probably better off thinking that. Anyway
just a quick press on the switch turns it on. Click and hold to scroll through
any other four main modes
starting from low and going to maximum then starting over again.
Release when you find your desired brightness. The light has
mode memory. So do a quick press to turn it off
and when you turn it back on, it will be on the last mode you used.
To get to Super mode just double click at any time when the light is on
or off. And also if you decide you want a different mode at any time,
press and hold the light while on.
It starts back on minimum and goes back through the four main modes.
Let go when you find the one you want. Cool. Now you're a headlamp expert.
Headlines come in three basic types of light scattering or focusing
configurations.
The bare emitter type, the light scattering optic type,
or the reflector type. First is the ST6 with the clear
and then the frosted lens. You'll remember that from an earlier review.
Next is the Armytek Wizard Pro with the TIR optic.
Then the Skilhunt H02 with
modified driver, Nichia emitter, and the TIR optic as well.
And finally the SG6 which is basically a bare emitter behind a piece
of glass. Which gives it the
widest spread of the three optic types. Remember
the wider the light is scattered like the bare emitter, the less distance
in front of you- it throws. And the more it's focused with a reflector,
the less light is in your peripherals. The light scattering TIR
optic is the compromise between those two
ends of the spectrum. So what do I like about the headlamp?
Well it's built like a tank. Which means ultralight hikers may not like it as
much as some of those other,
let's call them "composite" headlamps. The modes are all well spaced.
So it balances: runtimes, high brightness, and low low modes well.
The moonlight mode is nice and a requirement for me
personally in a headlamp.
Most people will find it to their liking and only the Armytek Tiara A1 Pro
out of the headlamps I've used has a significantly lower white
light moonlight mode. Moonlight modes are useful when you only need a little light
and your eyes are adjusted to the dark already.
Some people might want a red LED or even a lower
white light mode so make sure you
take that into consideration if you want the lowest of the low.
And because the light has an electronic switch Spark
recommends you remove the battery when not in use for long periods of time.
Unless, of course, you hate doing things a manufacturer recommends.
And I recommend unscrewing the tail cap slightly
while it in your backpack- although I didn't find the headlamp was
accidentally activated during any of my testing.
Okay I just said that because I wanted to recommend
something too.
Anyway thanks for watching and it would be really
super amazing and awesome if you subscribed to my channel
where you'll find
a ton of other reviews just like this.
And reviews of other Spark headlamps And you don't want to miss my upcoming
budget knife or other flashlight or camera gear reviews.
Oh and please never light a bottle rocket in your hand.
Spark SG6-NW Review. Shot on the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera.
Edited in Final Cut Pro and Graded in Apple Color. Opinions, Camera, Editing,
Coloring, and Everything Else by M. Hanlen. Visit www.spark-light.com
for more information on the SG6.