Assuming that you haven’t been sleeping under a rock for the past few months, you probably know about our monthly subscription based Crate Club. Typically advertised just to the right of this article. —> This is not the subscription club for the faint of heart either. It’s full of tactical and survival gear curated and certified by former Special Ops guys and delivered to you every month. In the January edition of the Pro Crate (PRO17.01) you’ll find a pair of items that would be perfect mates in a bug-out bag. A lightweight Princeton Tec Sync headlamp and the skeletonized Gerber Paraframe folding knife. Both items in PRO17.01 share a common theme, lightweight minimalist design. This review will cover the Princeton Tec headlamp that also happened to win the 2015 Backpacker Magazine Editors Choice Award.
The Princeton Tec Sync, weighing in at a mere 83 grams, can run for 150 hours on 3 AAA batteries. Placing it at the top of my list for several activities including backpacking, climbing, hunting, camping, work, etc. 3 separate LED’s are packed into this compact headlamp. A single red LED for up-close (night vision preserving) work. Additionally, a diffused white flood beam with two intensity settings serves multiple purposes. For up-close work inside the tent, the low setting is more than adequate. While the higher setting lights up the entire campsite. A singular white spot beam is a perfect profile for probing deeper into the woods in a more focused fashion. The last setting combines the white spot beam and the flood beam for maximum visibility. Switching between lamp modes is handled with a simple side mounted twist knob interface. No crazy button pushing combos to memorize.
Princeton Tec Sync specs courtesy of princetontec.com
| POWER | 150 Lumens |
| LAMP | Dual-beam, Spot, High Flood, Low Flood, Red |
| BURN TIME | 150 Hours |
| BATTERIES | 3 AAA |
| WEIGHT | 83 Grams |
There are several headlamps from Princeton Tec floating around my household. My better half uses the Sync for those early morning runs as well as for backpacking and camping. My youngest son, who received the Standard Crate subscription for Christmas, now owns a Fred headlamp. And I use the Remix headlamp for work and hiking. The bottom line is that Princeton Tec makes several great headlamps to choose from. Take a look at the Princeton Tec website, or better yet, sign up for one of the three Crate Clubs and let us pick out some gear for you.
 The Crate Club Specs:
- Crate Club “Standard” $29.99/ month
- Crate Club “Pro” $59.99/ month
- Crate Club “Premium” $399.99/ quarter
