As the title says!

My beloved Zebralight H30 is regrettably approaching the end of its long life. The button is beginning to prove unreliable and frankly it just doesn't have the required whack!
http://www.flashaholics.co.uk/zebralight/zebralight-h30-review.html 

Its a lovely little lamp, as bombproof as you could hope for, and as small and lightweight as a back-up / outdoors lamp ought to be. I've looked at the current range of Zebralights but they either take AAs which I don't want or 18650s which whilst they make for a useful lamp are just too big and heavy for my purposes.

Is there currently anything good out there, particularly something small & utterly bombproof & waterproof & not eBay-fall-aparty-Chinese nonsense? I'm particularly looking for information on lamps that people actually own and have used over a sustained period.

Van has recently helpfully provided an in-depth review of the Fenix HL50 but raises concerns over the batteries but I presume there are countless others? My previous back-up was a Petzl Tikka which is still going strong. Do Petzl currently do anything worthwhile?
http://www.aditnow.co.uk/community/viewtopic.aspx?t=9795 

Ta! :flowers:

I picked up a Nitecore HC50 recently for use as a backup lamp (though am tempted to use it more often).
http://www.nitecore.com/productDetail.aspx?id=98#.VBrkRBAy68E 
It does take an 18650, but might fulfill your other requirements. By shopping around you can find them for a little over 30 pounds.
Build quality is impressively high. The claimed maximum of 565 lumens seems realistic but as the throw is rather limited I find its brightest setting a bit over the top. It's a "walking about" light rather than a spotlight so its "mid" setting of 170 lumens seems generally adequate enough.
Being Chinese, of course it has too many settings, but does remember the last one which is a plus.

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Armytek have been pitching themselves into the Zebralight territory. I'm looking at an 18650 one, but the Tiara C1 fits your bill:

http://www.armytek.com/products/flashlights/headlamps/armytek-tiara-pro-c1.html 

I'm sure your friends would find it endlessly amusing to ask if you would be wearing your tiara, though I imagine it would wear pretty thin for you after the first couple of times. IP68 and 10m drop resistant.

Another one with a good reputation is the Olight S10 baton, looks to be even smaller and lighter:

http://olightworld.com/product/s10-l2-baton/ 

Sorry, don't know anyone who is using them. If alcohol and internet shopping get the better of me and an Armytek Wizard Pro comes through my letter box I'll report back.

Fenix HL55 - have one in the car and need to try it out.

1 18650 and an impressive output.

Although... the HL50 is a great little thing.

I'll drop Fenix an email to ask *why* it can't be used with rechargeables, see if they come back with anything.

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Oh aye, some of the new petxls aren't bad. I'll have a poke around at work in the morning to remind myself.

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Thanks chaps. The Nitecore & the HL55 both seem like useful lamps however I am particularly keen upon getting another which takes CR123s. The extra capacity gained from having a larger battery isn't something that I particularly need.

The Armytek lamp looks to be pretty much what I'm looking for even if to my eyes the vertical mounting upon the headband does look slightly odd. And Rick, if that's the worst my so-called friends can find to say about me then I'll consider it a good day!

Will look into it!

even if to my eyes the vertical mounting upon the headband does look slightly odd

If you scroll through the pics it looks like it can be mounted horizontally as well. For the explorer who prefers the less jaunty look.