Princeton Tec Lights Up the Dark Continent
Andrew Husek 03.27.25
Last month, I had the pleasure of traveling to South Africa for the second time in my life to embark on a big game safari. During my last trip (many years prior) there were many memorable moments; one of which I will not forget was the mandated government load sharing of electricity. This resulted in our camp being without power for multiple hours per day. Living a majority of my adult life in the United States, this concept was foreign to me but something I knew that I would need to adapt to and be prepared for in the event I ever returned to South Africa
Fast forward to February 2025 – I landed in the Limpopo region of South Africa for 11 days of safari. This time I came prepared for the power shortages with a host of lighting technology that I was sure would not leave me in the dark.
The lighting sources selected for this trip came in the form of 2 headlamps (Snap 450 RW and Vizz 550 RGB) along with a portable lantern (Helix Li) from Princeton Tec. All of which are made in the USA.
Snap 450 RW
The Snap 450 RW is a versatile headlamp that can be used in the traditional headlamp fashion but also detachable with an integrated strong magnet. You can use this light when detached as a small handheld flashlight or attach it to any metal with iron properties. I would typically detach the Snap and attach it to the metal pole inside my tent above the sink for down facing light during power outages.
The magnetic property of the Snap was also super helpful when getting set up in the morning at the truck prior to going on Safari. I would attach the Snap to the door of the truck and point it towards the ground to keep the red light in a small area using the dimmable control feature. The 450 lumens of light was more than enough to see clearly in the dark whether inside a tent or outside in the field at dawn. The headlamp has two different led colors, Red and White and is comfortable to wear on your head directly or carry in your pocket for daily use.
Vizz 550 RGB
The Vizz 550 RGB was the main headlamp I used daily while on safari for dusk time activities, campfires and full darkness exploration of the bush country. The Vizz 550 was the correct choice for the fully waterproof enclosure and adjustable beam pattern. I experienced a tremendous amount of rainfall during my trip and not once did the headlamp fail to impress me.
The battery life which was very impressive, not one battery change over 11 days; comes from 3AA batteries. I like this because both the Snap and Vizz use the AAA format so I only needed to bring one style of battery with me on my trip. The Vizz 550 RGB has 5 different LED light options—red, green and blue—in addition to the large white spot light that has High and Low settings.
The Vizz is really light weight for what it packs in power, it weighs less than a pack of playing cards or bar of soap so you don’t really notice it while it’s on your head for extended periods of time as were most of my evenings on safari. Included with the Vizz 550 RGB headlamp was the MPLS Mounting System, which allows this headlamp to be mounted on your head, helmet, or MOLLE system. I only used the headlamp in its traditional fashion but it’s nice to know that if you need other mounting options, it comes all together in one package so you don’t need to buy independent sourced mounts.
Helix Li
The final piece to the lighting solution for this trip would come from the Helix Li collapsible rechargeable lantern. This piece of hardware was very intriguing to me because it had so many unique features that I wanted to utilize on my trip. It was dimmable, rechargeable via USB-C, collapsible down to 2.5” in height and has 4 mount hooks / feet along with a d-ring for hanging.
The use cases for this lantern were endless on my safari. One of the ways I used the Helix Li was by attaching it to my hunting pack via the D ring and a carabiner clip (not included) for walks into the woods and quick access to light while doing groundwork. When returning to camp from the woods, I would set up the Helix on my camp table and dim the lamp on white light mode for a nice glow that would illuminate the ground area at camp.
Another unique feature about this lantern was the buttons, because there are none – Instead Princeton Tec went with a capacitive touch swipe sensor (think smart phone!). The swipe controls were super intuitive to use and after reading the different swipe commands screen printed on the bottom of the lantern, I was able to switch from Red to White lights, dim the lantern and put it into strobe mode with a few swipes. I even had the luxury to use this during the rain and can verify with wet fingers, it worked flawlessly and remained functional and waterproof.
Overall I couldn’t be happier with how all aspects of the headlamps and lantern performed from Princeton Tec. They exceeded my expectations on all levels and have continued to push forward with innovation in both the portable headlamp and lantern space.
For more information on the Princeton Tec Vizz 550, Snap 450 or Helix Li head on over to Princetontec.com.
