I bought this light for night fishing. Within a few days the long cord that comes with it was shorted out somewhere, so I could no longer keep the battery in my pocket. Then, after a couple of weeks, the short cord also had a short, and if I put my hood up to battle the cold, the light would turn off every time I moved my head, which was not convenient at all. I didn't fret because I knew that Princeton Tec would replace it. As of now I have to still send it back, but they have agreed to fix the light. I just wonder if it will be the same story all over again. The light itself works very well. It's one of the brightest lights out there, and if you need battery time, this one has it. A lot of bright headlamps and flashlights are designed to be used for an hour before shutting down or needing new batteries. With this light and its regulated circuit I could work most of the night without it going out. The problem you will face though, is that if it DOES go out, you are without a light. There is no spare battery. So what I was wishing for was a second battery pack. That would have been perfection. A couple of issues though, other than the all or nothing battery situation: 1. Next to my brother's Apex non-rechargeable, this light was not as bright. He purchased rechargeable batteries for his and was never out of light. While my battery lasted longer, he didn't have to worry about running out of juice. 2. The charge system is a bit peculiar. You are using a USB plug to charge it, so unless you have a computer or some kind of inverter, you can't charge this. I'm not sure why there isn't a plug for the wall. That would make like a little easier when using this light in a variety of places. If you didn't have a computer but were staying in a hotel you would have to come up with a way to charge it. 3. You have no way to know when the light is fully charged without unplugging it from the USB power source, disconnecting the little USB attachment, hooking the light up, turning it on, and then waiting to see if the light is flashing green to say fully charged. Even then it is a subjective value judgment as to whether or not it is "fully" charged. Some sort of charge indicator would be helpful to avoid having to keep taking it apart and checking it. But overall this is a superior product. It can take any kind of weather, is comfortable to wear, and is very adjustable. The beam is a good size and there are no dark spots. It works great on both high and low. I found myself using it on low most of the time. Of course an adjustable beam would be nice, but not having it allows you to concentrate on what you're doing rather than trying to get the lighting perfect. Highly recommended product! Update 03/27/2013 I returned the light and Princeton Tec sent me a new one. Fishing season has started again so I set up my new light. On the third night I noticed a flickering in the light and once again the cord has shorted, this time at the point of contact with the battery. If anything touches or rubs on the cord where it leaves the battery, even slightly, it will cause this light to malfunction. What was more irritating that night was that due to the short in the cord the light had not adequately charged. So not only was it flickering but after only 20-30 minutes it began flashing to warn me the battery was about to die. Some improvements should be made to this light, like a charge indicator, and indicator to let you know the light IS charging, and a new way for the cord to exit the battery where it is not standing stiffly outward. If the cord came out along the long edge and followed the battery...I don't know. Luckily I also purchased the non-rechargeable version of the light as a backup for when the first one dies out, and it is still going strong. These headlamps put out great light and the Rechargeable lasts much longer...but with enough rechargeable AA's you can get much more time out of the other light. When it does eventually die on you (like if you're using it on High it might go out after 2 hours instead of 5) you can just throw in new batteries, whereas the rechargeable becomes a useless hunk of plastic when it gives out. WIll update and tweak the review after using this more.
