Why only run at 1 Watt?
A. The original design intent was for a very long-lasting caving light, to use in conjunction with helmet-mounted batteries. Running at 1 watt gives more than enough light for most people, especially with new-generation LEDs. In many situations, 1/2 Watt would actually be adequate for many cavers. Running at high power levels, the relatively small subjective benefit of extra light has to be balanced against significantly shorter battery life. Twice the output wouldn’t usually *look* twice as bright. Higher power also means more heat to get rid of, and headsets have a limited capacity for losing heat. At 1 Watt, the latest Seoul/Cree LEDs produce roughly as much light as a typical Luxeon III running at 2-3 Watts. Also, bear in mind that many ‘3 Watt’ Luxeon-based lights actually don’t run at 3 Watts for much of the time.
