It's a cool product and the versatility is nice. But it's almost twice the price. And you could always just run rechargeable AAAs in the Storm. Slightly less convenient than plugging into USB, but not by much. And I was pretty clear about why the Storm is a fantastic value at $22, especially for certain applications, which didn't include daily use in a home/work environment which doesn't include a reliable power source. Daily use is a much different thing than backup/emergency use. For a work tool, a $100 headlamp is easy to justify - or using the hell out of a 35 dollar one and simply replacing it every time it dies.
You can always contradict a recommendation based on certain criteria but the question remains: what is the best value and use for a given set of criteria? As a backup or emergency light - or anything - if you're relying on a rechargeable battery, you ARE sacrificing reliability and/or performance, and in an emergency, those are the two criteria that matter.
Look, there's lots of reasons why a rechargeable headlamp makes sense. My job with this gift guide is to recommend products that are notable for their features, value, durability, or uniqueness - or a combination of all of those.
Nov. 28, 2019, 9:10 p.m. - Pete Roggeman
It's a cool product and the versatility is nice. But it's almost twice the price. And you could always just run rechargeable AAAs in the Storm. Slightly less convenient than plugging into USB, but not by much. And I was pretty clear about why the Storm is a fantastic value at $22, especially for certain applications, which didn't include daily use in a home/work environment which doesn't include a reliable power source. Daily use is a much different thing than backup/emergency use. For a work tool, a $100 headlamp is easy to justify - or using the hell out of a 35 dollar one and simply replacing it every time it dies. You can always contradict a recommendation based on certain criteria but the question remains: what is the best value and use for a given set of criteria? As a backup or emergency light - or anything - if you're relying on a rechargeable battery, you ARE sacrificing reliability and/or performance, and in an emergency, those are the two criteria that matter. Look, there's lots of reasons why a rechargeable headlamp makes sense. My job with this gift guide is to recommend products that are notable for their features, value, durability, or uniqueness - or a combination of all of those.