If you love the outdoors and love to go hiking then a headlamp will be a critical part of your outdoor gear. It is absolutely impossible to navigate and walk the trails in the dark without a portable light source with you. I always have a headlamp in my backpack whether or not I am planning on using it. There are times when I am planning on finishing before dusk but I end up finishing at 10 PM. Without a headlamp, I will never be able to reach the parking lot or my destination at night.
Reasons To Choose Headlamps Over Flashlights And Lanterns
Hand’s Free
One of the best reasons to get a headlamp is that you do not need to hold it. You will still have two hands that are available and useful to you. You can use your hands to hold your hiking sticks, prepare foods while backpacking, setup your tent, and if you are a guy and need to relieve yourself then you have two hands to unzip your pants and do your deed while in the dark. A headlamp is very useful and frees up your hands as well.
Beam Direction
The beam direction is generally set or in one direction. If I set the direction to the ground at the front of my feet, the beam will usually stay there. I can see where I walk and I can see the ground in front of me most of the time. Unlike the flashlight, the direction of the beam keeps moving as my hands pivot and move. Let’s say I put the direction of the light towards a map in front of me. The light will always light up the map whenever I look at it. With a flashlight, if my hands get shaky or tired, then the direction of the light will change.
Beam Distance
The beam distance of most headlamps are meant to light up the ground even at the lowest setting. This is what I have seen with most of the headlamps I have tested. The beam distance is just good enough to light up the path. Unlike flashlights, and lanterns, they have different purposes and settings. So their beam distance isn’t always going to be meant for hiking the trails.
Durability / Longer lasting
Headlamps tend to last longer than flashlights and lanterns. It is not just the construction but it is because headlamps are less likely to fall on the ground in my experience. It is because you are not holding it with your hand. It is securely in place on top of your head. If you fall down, the flashlight and lantern will most likely hit the ground. Most people will use their hands to cushion their fall. Since with the headlamp, you are not using your hands, the headlamp will most likely not hit the ground when you fall or slip down.
Multi-Purpose
Headlamps are very multipurpose tool. They can serve as a flashlight, tent light, cooking light, pee light and more. They can illuminate the path as well as illuminate a wide area in front of you if you choose a flood light setting. Headlamps allow you to read a map, read a book while in a tent, wash your cookware in the dark, and more. A headlamp is a multi purpose light tool that can be used at home as well.
Beam Type Of Your Headlamp
Strobe Or Flashing
This is a nice feature to have for emergencies. It can tell people that you are in need of help and can be seen rather far away. The light emitted from the device will be intermittent or flashing at an interval pace. This is a good way for other people to find your location and great signal that means that you need help. Good for emergencies or when you find yourself in trouble.
Flood
If your headlamp has a flood setting, this will be the most common setting you will often use at night. The flood setting will not be very intense but it will be very wide. The bigger the area, the better especially if the beam is not that intense. You will be able to see the path or trail a lot better. You can see the big rocks, small rocks, roots, trees, shrubs and more while you are hiking in the dark if you use flood setting.
Focus
Focused or spot often pertains to a narrow and intense beam. The area of the beam is often small or narrow but the beam is meant to illuminate objects at a very far distance. With a high intensity, high lumen flashlight, you can light up objects from a very far away. The beam can be seen by observing the dust in the air. This beam type is not really that useful when you are backpacking or hiking. Most people get annoyed when a high intensity beam is pointed at them or at their direction. A high intensity beam can cause temporary blindness and can disorient people. Most hikers would choose the lowest possible setting if they are using a focus beam type.
Red Light
Not all headlamps will have a red light option. Red light is actually pretty good because red light does not attract bugs as much as white light. This is great especially if you are hiking in a place with a lot of bugs. Red light also does not use a lot of batteries. Can be used for emergency situations and can be used for photography as well. Flashing red light can be seen from a distance a lot easier than flashing white light.
Main Characteristics And Features To Consider
Here are the main characteristics that I often want whenever I want a headlamp for hiking purposes.
Lumens
This is basically how much power or how bright your headlamp is. It is the measurement of total light energy being emitted from a device in any direction. In reality, this is really not a good way of measuring how bright your device is. You also have to consider the beam distance, intensity over time, bulb type, and more. A lot of things also play a big role in how good your headlamp is going to be. Lumens is a nice stat if you are getting high end headlamps around $100. But if you are getting around $10 or $20 headlamps, this stat is most likely useless to you.
Waterproof / Water Resistance
Since I often just put my headlamp on my backpack and never take it out unless I need it, I often look for a waterproof feature or some sort of water resistance. My backpack will go through many different kinds of weather like hot, sunny, spring, breezy, cold, rainy, foggy, windy, and so on. I make sure that most of my gadgets have some sort of waterproof or water resistance so that they do not break when the weather is slightly bad. This can save me a lot of money and save me a lot of time as well.
Battery Life
The battery life of your headlamp is one of the most important things that you have to know. You don’t want to be in the middle of the woods or trail and your headlamp fails. You will not be able to look at the path or trail at all. You will not be able to move without your headlamp. So knowing the battery life can prevent this from happening. There are headlamps that will only give you 2 hours or four hours of battery life. A lot of hikes and backpacking trips will need more than that.
USB Rechargeable
One of the main things I look for is if the item is USB rechargeable. I often just store my headlamp on my backpack. I never take it out. Sometimes I don’t know how much battery life it has or if the cold climate has decreased it. However, I often carry a power bank to charge my phone. Having said that, I often make sure that the headlamp can be charged using a USB so that I can charge the item in the outdoors. Even if the item fails on me, I can charge it for 30 minutes and then be able to use it. If I am backpacking, I can charge the headlamp during the daytime and use it at night time.
Weight
The weight of the headlamp is very important since the more weight we carry, the more fatigue we are going to get. The less weight that we carry, the more miles that we can hike. Our enjoyment and fun times can be attributed to how much weight we are carrying while we are hiking. It is hard to have fun when you are gasping for air and your body is very fatigue. I often recommend carry as little weight as possible especially for me. I often carry 7-10 pounds of photography equipment. It is just not fun to carry too much.
Dimensions
All hikers and backpackers consider the dimensions of their gear. There are lots of cheap and inexpensive headlamps that are very big. You don’t really want anything big in your backpack. You want equipment that are very compact since you only have a limited amount of backpack space. If you are backpacking, you will be carrying a lot of other equipment as well like cookware, tent, sleeping gear, food and so on. It is important to make sure that the equipment that we get are compact or small.
Additional Characteristics And Features To Consider
Durability / Impact Resistance
The durability of the headlamp is also important. I often just glance through this. I just make sure that the headlamp can handle the outdoors. There will be some cheap and inexpensive headlamps that cannot. I often fall down or slip when I am hiking. It is important that my gear can handle a few slips and falls. It is just not wise or logical to bring anything that is very fragile. I will just end up wasting my money. I often make sure that my headlamp can at least handle a few minor accidents.
Bulb Type
With the recent innovations and technologies, the best type of bulb for your headlamp would be a LED type of bulb. LED bulbs can lasts for 50,000 hours. So you don’t have to worry about your bulbs breaking down by itself while you are hiking.
Modes
Most headlamps have different modes of operation. Most can switch from high to low settings with just one button. This is a good feature because when you are in the outdoors, you don’t really have time to figure out your headlamp. There are times when you forget how to use your headlamp as well because you may have bought a lot or you have not used the headlamp in a long time. Making a one button that will cycle through different beam types is a good feature to have.
Power Source Of Your Headlamp
AA or AAA
This used to be the most common battery type for flashlights, headlamps and lanterns. Most toys, tools, and gear would use these types of batteries. However, with new innovations, and technologies plus a higher demand for new high voltage batteries, these types of batteries are no longer the best for a headlamp. These batteries are still very common and if you forgot to bring a battery while camping then you can be rest assured that you can find these batteries in a general store.
18650 batteries
This is the most common battery type that I see in a lot of high end headlamps that are around $100. The 18650 batteries are often rechargeable and can be recharged in the field or while in the outdoors. This type of battery will give the user the most bang for their buck or this is the most inexpensive choice because they can reuse this battery over and over for years to come. The 18650 batteries also use 3+ volts. So most headlamps are now using this type of battery. This produces a really good high intensity beam of light as well.
CR123A batteries
The CR123A batteries are often not rechargeable. However, this type of battery will allow you to have a brighter headlamp than with 18650 batteries. The 18650 batteries are a little bit dimmer when compared to the CR123A batteries. CR123A batteries have a shelf life of 10 years which makes this ideal for a bug out bag, first aid kit, or for equipment for emergency situations. Since this is not rechargeable, it is kind of expensive in the long run and not ideal for hiking or backpacking. You just do not have an idea when it will run out so it is better to go with rechargeable batteries.
Power Bank
Not really a battery but this is a great source of power for your headlamp. There are lots of different types of power banks. There are solar generated, hand crank, ac/dc charged and so on. They come in different shapes, sizes, and weight. You will have to choose one that is ideal for hiking, backpacking or the outdoors. I often have a Anker PowerCore II in my backpack. Power banks are a great way to power up and recharge your headlamp while you are hiking or backpacking. This is a great backup power supply that will allow you to charge your phone, flashlight, headlamp and other devices.
References:
- http://www.cr123batteries.com/cr123-v-16340-guide
- https://www.knivesandtools.com/en/ct/endurance-test-on-18650-and-cr123a-batteries.htm
- https://www.ems.com/f/ea-how-to-choose-headlamps.html
- https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/headlamp.html
- https://www.backcountry.com/explore/how-to-choose-a-headlamp
- https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-headlamp/buying-advice