Two premium headtorches, both with a powerful red light and white beam. But which one comes out as winner in the battle of the best of the best?<\/p>\n
max lumens
\nwhite
\n265 lumens
\n1200 lumens<\/p>\n
min lumens white
\n15 lumens
\n50 lumens<\/p>\n
max lumens red
\n75 lumens
\n150 lumens<\/p>\n
min lumens red
\n5 lumens
\n5 lumens<\/p>\n
battery life on max beam
\n1 hour
\n2 hours<\/p>\n
battery life on min red
\n25 hours
\n120 hours<\/p>\n
weight
\n76grams
\n147grams<\/p>\n
charging
\nUSB C
\nUSB C<\/p>\n
body type
\nmetal aluminium
\nmetal aluminium<\/p>\n
max distance visible high beam
\ntbc
\n168m<\/p>\n
wateproof rating
\nIPX8
\nIP68<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Exposure Lights Raw Pro Head Torch versus Fenix Shadowmaster
\nIf there\u2019s something we know a thing or two about as sailors,\u00a0 it\u2019s headtorches.\u00a0 Navigating our way around a boat gymnasium at sea,\u00a0 in the dark,\u00a0 trying to do complex maneuvers, getting dressed at 40 degrees angle without waking your bunk neighbour and accurate adjustments to sails, lines, and food prep. You really get to know what works and what doesn\u2019t.
\nOur headtorches are individually chosen to suit our needs,\u00a0 just as we all have our own preferences for sailing footware.
\nSo what suits me,\u00a0 might not suit you.
\nBut, there\u2019s a bit of a short list that we all choose from.
\nThe one thing they nearly all have is a red light option.
\nNow most common garden headtorches with red light, they only have one brightness option on red. These are primarily aimed at the camping market,\u00a0 but work well for sailors too on a budget.\u00a0 But what if your budget can stretch a bit higher or your requirements are a bit more demanding?
\nTwo of the higher spec\u2019d models have different levels of red,\u00a0 as well as white. That\u2019s what we\u2019re here to battle,\u00a0 head to head. Two premium priced aluminium body,\u00a0 waterproof headtorches with adjustable red light.
\nOut of the packaging,\u00a0 both headtorches feel substantial in the hand.
\nThe Shadowmaster is noticeably bigger and heavier than the Raw Pro. Because of this,\u00a0 the Fenix has the extra strap for the top of the head. The Shadowmaster is almost double the weight of the Raw Pro at 147grams vs 80grams.
\nThe strap on the Raw Pro feels very comfortable, and has velcro fastening,\u00a0 which adds some bulk to the strap and when adjusted to a smaller head there\u2019s some overhanging strap that doesn\u2019thave velcro to attach too. There\u2019s the very nice touch of reflective lettering woven into the Raw Pro Head band and a stripe of grippy silicon on the inside.
\nBy constrast, the headstrap for the Shadowmaster is much lighter, and narrower with a breathable open weave. It\u2019s adjusted using sliders and a contained loop system meaning no loose ends to flap about. It also has a couple of thin stripes of silicon gripper on the inside.
\nPersonally, I prefer the wider strap and more structural thickness of the Raw Pro strap,\u00a0 but I like the breathability of the Shadowmaster.
\nThere\u2019s one power on button for the Raw Pro. It\u2019s on the side\/end and very easy to locate.\u00a0 It starts with the lowest red setting first. But hold down the button and you get a low white.
\nIt always\u00a0 starts with the low red.
\nThe Shadowmaster has two buttons, located on the top. Press the left button and you get Red light.\u00a0 It resumes the same light setting you had before.\u00a0 So if you had the red on max brightness, turn it off,\u00a0 then turn it on again,\u00a0 it will be red at max brightness.
\nThe same applies to the white light,\u00a0 which is a seperate button directly to the right (as you\u2019re wearing it) of the other one.
\nThe lowest red setting of both headlamps is the same,\u00a0 at 5 lumens. The Raw Pro has a battery life of around 25 hours on the lowest setting,\u00a0 the Shadowmaster gives a whopping 120 hours.
\nThe highest power of red on the Raw Pro is 75 lumens while the highest red power of the Shadowmaster is 150 lumens on \u201cturbo\u201d
\nYou\u2019ll get about 2 hours out of the Raw Pro, or 4.5 hours out of the Shadowmaster\u00a0using the highest red light. If we reduce the power of the Shadowmaster to match that of the Raw Pro, you\u2019ll get 10 hours.
\nThe white light comparison doesn\u2019t really feel like a fair fight here,\u00a0 the Raw Pro is a decent little head lamp with a tiny size, but at 265 lumens,\u00a0 it\u2019s a featherweight fighter compared with the Shadowmaster\u2019s heavy weight 1200 lumens turbo.
\nMight as well ring the bell now then, fight over\u2026
\nNot necessarily,\u00a0 we can look at this another way.\u00a0 It depends what you want to use the white light for.
\nIf you want a softer, subtler white light for reading a chart, or a book at night,\u00a0 then the Raw Pro wins here,\u00a0 as it offers a 15 lumen white light that doesn\u2019t overpower your eyes at night when needing to see some colour accuracy but not blind yourself silly.
\nThe lowest setting on the Shadowmaster is still very potent 50 lumens. You\u2019ll find yourself baffling that with a neck tube or other thin fabric from a tshirt just to dim it enough to not be too much for a night watch. That\u2019s a bit of a faff if you regularly find yourself using a very dim white light.
\nIf you are looking for a strobe function,\u00a0 the Raw Pro has that, but the Shadowmaster does not.
\nBoth headlamps charge from a USB cable and take 3 hours to fully charge.
\nThe Shadowmaster has a USB C socket under a rubber cover. But you can also swap out the battery fairly easily by unscrewing the watertight battery tube.\u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s a large lithium barrel battery.
\nThe Raw Pro has been upgraded to a magnetic connector for charging (older models were a fiddly micro usb connection hidden under a rubber band and screw cap, so this is a welcome update) This allows a docking station to be used or a magnetic charging cable.
\nThe magnetic charger allows for a higher waterproof rating in the Raw Pro, IPX8 no less! but this does depend on you remembering to take you charging cable with you. Or keep a docking station on your boat.
\nThe USB C charger is now pretty universal for most devices,\u00a0 so you\u2019ll not struggle to charge the Shadowmaster. The compromise here is the rubber covering for the charging port is a little less wateproof than the Raw Pro, with the Shadowmaster being rated at IP68 rating.
\nPricing: the Shadowmaster can be found online for around \u00a3100-\u00a3110
\nThe Raw Pro is available for somewhere in the region of \u00a3140-\u00a3150
\nWho\u2019s the winner then?
\nHaving both on my desk and in my kit bag for several months now, I find myself reaching for one of these more than the other.\u00a0 Though I do use both,\u00a0 if they\u2019re both on the desk,\u00a0 I\u2019ll pick one up before the other.
\nI haven\u2019t needed to summon Batman yet, but I think if I ever wanted to,\u00a0 the Fenix Shadowmaster is a good contender for that job.
\nThe extra power it offers for picking out my mooring buoy in the dark,\u00a0 or finding my black dog in the bushes,\u00a0 or the super long battery life when using the red light for faffing about in my kit bag,\u00a0 in the cockpit looking for snacks or turning up the red to check sail trim,\u00a0 means I\u2019m never left wanting another torch.
\nThe central headband is a bit annoying given I have hair,\u00a0 usually tied up. And the headtorch is a bit too heavy to use on the existing band without the central strap.\u00a0 I think they could make a wider head band,\u00a0 more like the Raw Pro which would be more comfortable for wearing hours on end, to match the battery life.
\nIt\u2019s ironic really,\u00a0 the Raw Pro is very comfortable to wear all day,\u00a0 it\u2019s just a shame the battery life is so short.
\nBoth headtorches are superb bits of kit.
\nIf you want light weight, all day comfort and a softer low light to gently, but firmly navigate through the darkness, then the Raw Pro is your trusty companion.
\nIf you want something powerful and with a little less subtlety, then the Shadowmaster will punch away the darkness like Chuck Norris.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The post Fenix Shadowmaster vs Exposure Raw Pro : Battle of the premium head torches for sailing appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two premium headtorches, both with a powerful red light and white beam. But which one comes out as winner in the battle of the best of the best? max lumens white 265 lumens 1200 lumens min lumens white 15 lumens … <\/p>\n