Lenser H7, is it all good?

Hello Folks

 I'm considering upgrading from my trusty Gamma to a Led Lenser H7.

Looking at various reviews they seem the biz. But I wondered if anyone has had any problems or bad experiences?

p.s. have you seen the petzl NAO film on youtube, now thats a nice bit of kit!

 Jim 

Got one a couple of weeks ago. I have only had a play so far, but am doing a nav. assessment this weekend which includes some night nav. on Dartmoor, so I'll have more to say then.
First impressions are good - it is seriously bright. My son has got a LED Maglite, which at 77 lumens is pretty similar to the Gamma. It is way brighter than that. The dimmer function works well (though I think it will still be too bright for use reading in a tent), and zooming from spot to flood is easy & works well. The main head unit seems very well made. I am slightly concerned about the battery compartment which feels cheap and shoddy, (though easy to take the rubbery back off - too easy?), but like I say as I haven't used it in anger can't yet say if it will turn out to be a problem.

I will say though that if Alpkit had had them in stock I would probably have gone for a Gamma - the money I'd saved would have gone a long way towards paying for a new sleeping mat as well. What are you using it for? In what way is the Gamma not meeting your needs?

Petzl NAO does look nice, but I can't go anywhere near justifying the price for my needs.

Thanks for that EC

Most of my night running is on my local tracks and trails which includes some reasonably technical stuff, which the gamma is usually fine for especially as I have run these routes many times in the daylight as well.

However in the sleepwalker last year in the clarty weather I went wrong a couple of times by missing a marker which was just out of beam reach. Also being a speccy 4eyes I struggle sometimes at night with wet/fogged up specs and could do with a bit more light.

Well, used it in anger over the weekend for 3 hours of night nav exercises on Dartmoor. Got to say it did everything I wanted. Was easily the brightest of the headtorches in our group, and the focus beam was excellent for picking out objects further in the distance - such as a gate or stile. In fact I was a bit embarrassed by how bright it would go, and felt it was cheating a bit on my assessment, so pretty much just used it on its lowest power setting which was more than enough for general walking, even over fairly uneven terrain. I only "powered up" when looking for something specific, and then hardly ever put it on full beam.
I'm still slightly wary of the battery compartment cover, which does seem to be in contrast to the generally very high build quality. Having said that it hasn't caused me any problems yet. Have considered seeing if I can find a neoprene phone/mp3 cover which might fit over it to give a bit more confidence.

I haven't used it for running.

Thanks again EC, thats really helpful.

Update -   Now have said headtorch and have started using in anger.

Good points are the incredible brightness and quality of the lens components.

Not so good is the pivot design which I have found quite floppy and the lack of top strap.

I have beefed up the top  pivot by securing it with an elastic band and putting a bit of cork behind the lens to achieve the required angle. I've also swapped the top strap off my Gamma onto the Lenser. Its a very good headorch now.

There are three versions of the H7/H7R available. 150 - 160 & 170 Lumins..

I have the 160 and its great but there are times when I could do with even more light so have been looking at alternatives for this coming autumn/winter...

The head torches from Zebralight & Spark look very interesting...