As many of you know I always have used an Oldham lamp, I started exploration using one, more years ago than I care to remember, and do not intend to change it!
However, an E-mail flyer came to me highlighting this Wisdom lamp, being run over by an SWB Landrover, and showing no damage.
Knowing that certain contributors have an interest in lamps, I was just wondering what other contributors thought, of it?

I have been contacted several times by the manufacturer as the Chinese have no respect for the interests of their distributors. If anyone thinks they can be 'sole' UK agent think again.

Having said this its probably the best Chinese mining lamp on offer, I know of several people who have used them and speak highly of them. The same can be said of the Raptor Pro which was distributed by Mile Mouldings Caving Gear.

The driving of a vehicle over a lamp and it surviving isn't original, I believe that its a publicity stunt also used by the infamous Special Forces/Police/ Walter Mitty's torch discussed elsewhere.

If you fancy one, I cant see you going wrong on it.

EDIT
The Wisdom that is, not the damned silly overpriced torch
:lol:

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Roy as I stated in my pre-amble,
I am and always will be an Oldham man, it's just an interesting advertisement, which I had not come across before, and I am not sure how many other lamps would stand up to the same treatment, but there again videos can be altered.

Oldham, hmm, made where?

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Roy as I stated in my pre-amble,
I am and always will be an Oldham man, it's just an interesting advertisement, which I had not come across before, and I am not sure how many other lamps would stand up to the same treatment, but there again videos can be altered.

You'll like this then John!
🔗99291[linkphoto]99291[/linkphoto][/link]

Frankly, it depends at what angle the lamp head or battery box meets hard ground (and which part of it makes contact first) when the vehicle goes over it, they're tough but at the end of the day only plastic! Should be able to take any knocks you can throw at it while wearing though.
If a scoop went over it, that'd be the end regardless the model though :lol:

http://www.caplamps.co.uk/wisdom-kl5ms-led-miners-cap-lamp 

I think its absolutely great. Its built well, its actually surprisingly bright, and while it does have a hotspot it has a fairly respectable flood. Lasts 13 hours on a single charge. I've put mine through hell lately and it doesn't care, cable appears to be strong, battery box is well built and to top it all off it hasn't burnt the house down, thats a win win in my books.

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Have to confess to being very, very impressed with the Wisdom lamps. I'm not sure I'd drive a truck over a Cordless 3A mind...

I've always been very loyal to Oldham, and they've always been very supportive of their resellers. And I resisted selling Wisdom for a long time since there already was a UK supplier. But Wisdom repeatedly asked, and in the end I decided to give it a try, and they have sold very well.

IMO the Wisdom lamps score over Oldham in several ways:

- Smaller and lighter
- Significantly brighter
- Nicely innovative - with the USB charging for example
- IP68 watertight

There is an ATEX approved range; and this isn't "you no worry it no blow up yet" ATEX. I've got the paperwork from Bureau Veritas. However it isn't the mining specific M1 or M2 approval - yet. They are working on an M1 range which should be out next year.

So for now if I was using a lamp anywhere where M1 or M2 approval was required I'd go for Oldham, or KSE.

If I was using a lamp somewhere that a device group 2 category 2 lamp was required; or where it was not relevant then the Wisdom is a very good choice.

Oldham are now owned - as many of you will know - by a Scottish company called Denchi Power. Denchi specialise in military battery technology, so when Enersys decided to sell off Oldham early this year Denchi saw it as a good parallel product range that used similar battery technologies and opened up new markets.

Manufacturing is shifting back from Hungary to the UK, which is great news. However as with any transfer of business and manufacturing there has been some lead time in getting things established; and some hurdles like having to re-do the ATEX certifications (that belongs to the company, not the product). But once this is all done, UK manufactured Oldham lamps will be readily available again.

And Denchi are also keen to innovate and develop the product whereas Enersys were not.

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I'm a big Oldham fan and still use a halogen G lamp for work frequently. Looking forward to seeing them back to being made in the UK and actually developed as a product.

I didn't want to like the Wisdom lamps, I wanted to be all nationalistic and make bigoted statements that british lamps are best blah blah.

But I can't really because in owning several modern Wisdom lamps, I have to be honest and say they are very, very good indeed. They easily match the Oldhams on build quality (and I never thought I'd be saying that about a Chinese lamp) and the light output/duration are just fantastic.

Excellent workmans lamps they are, like the Oldham. Probably not the best for mine tourists as the light pattern isn't that unfocused, orb-like glow that they seem to favour for sight-seeing.

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See John, all good comments.

Only thing is that, well, I am no fan of 'mining lamps' or the Oldham DL 16 for that matter.
Your cable weighs more than my battery, my lamp weighs just over half of yours, my standard output is over 200 lumens for 12 hours, then diminishing over 24 hours, and downlighters illuminate my feet as well as the beam.
Technology moves on.

Having made my point I still see people using Oldham Lead Acid, when asked the simple question "Why", I get "because I like them"
No answer to that.

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I've got a couple of Wisdoms and I've always been happy with them, though I am a good friend of the landrover driver which is why I got them in the first place! When we were out the other week one of the tyres on that landie was going flat, I'll have to rag him about the lamp having done it when I next see him!:lol:

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Dont mention tyres, its a long story
:curse:

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Back on topic, Wisdom produce one capable of 360 lumens which makes them the worlds most powerful mining lamp.
To the best of my knowledge.

Before anyone jumps in about my lamps and the 'scones'(1), these are recreational caplamps not mining caplamps designed for use in working mines.

(1) Scurrion clones :lol:

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I'm a big Oldham fan [SNIP]

Thanks Miles

and from somerset miner

I am and always will be an Oldham man,

That is nice.

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Mainly a question for Simon

Is there some reason, certification or whatever, that miners lamps don't use helmet mount battery packs?

Only I think it a bit naff in this day and age for people to be wondering around with cables coming put of their heads like something out of Dr Who.
:lol:

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Mainly a question for Simon

Is there some reason, certification or whatever, that miners lamps don't use helmet mount battery packs?

Only I think it a bit naff in this day and age for people to be wondering around with cables coming put of their heads like something out of Dr Who.
:lol:

I think its a hang over from having the belt mounted self rescuers and other gubbins, also useful in that you can remove the lamp head while keeping safety helmet on and direct the light where you want. The flash cap lamp batteries now have locating tags either built in or fitted later so the company knows who is physically underground at any one time. They used to have terminals you could use to fire shots but I think thats a thing of the past now!

Also thinking about it I dont know if you could get a helmet mounted battery with ATEX certification

Not entirely sure to be honest, I've never had any supplier explain the rationale.

My take on it would be, firstly, that it's quite feasible to have a cordless / all in one that'll do 13 hours at 200+ lumens from two batteries in the headpiece. A lamp in that format will sell to working mines and quarries, to all manner of industrial users, or to an angler or for camping. But as soon as you add an external battery pack and a short cable you increase the manufacturing cost and potentially limit the lamp's appeal by making head strap more complex or making the lamp integral with the head strap (as per most recreational lamps in that format from Petzl, Black Diamond etc.).

And, secondly, if you want maximum run-time you're looking at larger and heavier batteries which a lot of people would find too heavy to wear on the head (especially if doing a 12 hour shift with it). Hence the brighter longer running ones tend to still use a waist mounted battery box.

Most manufacturers of work / mining lamps still offer traditional format lamps with belt mounted batteries as well as cordless versions - Oldham, Wisdom, the now defunct Oldham Halo range, NLT and Adaro certainly all do. I think KSE being notable in only producing cordless lamps.

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Mainly a question for Simon

Is there some reason, certification or whatever, that miners lamps don't use helmet mount battery packs?

Only I think it a bit naff in this day and age for people to be wondering around with cables coming put of their heads like something out of Dr Who.
:lol:

I think its a hang over from having the belt mounted self rescuers and other gubbins, also useful in that you can remove the lamp head while keeping safety helmet on and direct the light where you want. The flash cap lamp batteries now have locating tags either built in or fitted later so the company knows who is physically underground at any one time. They used to have terminals you could use to fire shots but I think thats a thing of the past now!

Also thinking about it I dont know if you could get a helmet mounted battery with ATEX certification

Good point re. the self-rescuer as well.

No issues with a helmet mounted ATEX lamp / battery. The Wisdom Cordless 3A comes in an ATEX version, the Oldham DLi is ATEX M1 and the entire KSE ATEX range is cordless.

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the now defunct Oldham Halo range,

are parts still going to be available for the HALO lamps? reason I ask is CSM bought 50 of them

No issues with a helmet mounted ATEX lamp / battery. The Wisdom Cordless 3A comes in an ATEX version, the Oldham DLi is ATEX M1 and the entire KSE ATEX range is cordless.

that reminds me, I know a few guys involved in mining who use the KSE lamp with the built in battery. I can see why, if you can get away from belt batteries might as well have an all in one unit

the now defunct Oldham Halo range,

are parts still going to be available for the HALO lamps? reason I ask is CSM bought 50 of them

Sadly no.

When the Halo was dropped in Jan/Feb this year (it turned out it hadn't been manufactured for quite some time at that point) I bought all the remaining stock of H2 and Minis. The H2 is now all sold, the Minis I still have approx. 100 which are being sold as clearance.

In terms of parts I have a few H2 battery boxes and cables, and a few operational H2 headpieces minus bezels and glasses, but to the very best of my knowledge that's it for Halo parts anywhere in the world. Certainly Oldham had nothing left at all in terms of parts.

The CSM ones if I recall correctly date back to when they were Optimac Halo, before becoming 3M Halo, before becoming Oldham Halo, before becoming defunct-Halo.

I've supplied a few bezels to the CSM a few years ago, and it's the bezels that gave more trouble than anything else, but unfortunately they are no more available anywhere.

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