User Review: Princeton Tec Apex

Princeton Tec Apex
Above: The current Apex, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed May 2, 2006 by Herb Laeger

Rating:

Eight people used the Apex on an expedition to Papua New Guinea to explore remote caves. Upon receipt of the headlamps several of them were damaged but not due to shipping, they had small cracks in the plastic where the screws hold the lens housing together. This was a general manufacturing problem and not a single batch problem because the headlamps were bought at different times by several expedition members in different countries.

Additionally the lamps were not watertight as advertised to 1m. Mine failed in a heavy rain and several others failed when people needed them most. A larger gasket or better seal design could solve the leak problem.

If Princeton Tec would solve these problems they would have perhaps the best commercially available lamp in its catagory because the single spotlight and 4 flood leds are the perfect lighting combination for both hiking and caving.

As a plus, Princeton Tec replaced my failed light with a new one, as advertised. They seem to stand behind their products, while many companies do not.