Brightest LED Headlamp w/ good battery time?

[videoexpert]

I just joined Search & Rescue and I need to buy a headlamp. I don't know much about headlamps and I thought i'd ask you pro's.

What's a good LED head lamp that is bright and gets at least 4+ hours of battery time and does not cost more then $100.00?

Thanks in advance for helping a newbie!!! Your valuable input could help save lives, thanks!

[iron potato]

Not an expert, but I have got headlamp from,

Zebralight H600 US$89

Spark ST6-460NW ard US$99

But for your requirement of 4+ hrs, u may need spare batteries I believe.

For H600 :-Light Output

• High: H1 420Lm with 750Lm turbo in the first 3 min (2.3 hrs) or H2 170Lm (7 hrs) / 270Lm (4 hrs) / 420Lm (2.4 hrs) / 4Hz Strobe
• Medium: M1 65Lm (18 hrs) or M2 21Lm (50 hrs)
• Low: L1 2.8Lm (280 hrs) or L2 0.1Lm (80 days)
• Runtimes are tested using Panasonic NCR18650 (2900mAH) batteries. Light output are out the front (OTF) values. All levels are current regulated.
  
  H600 have spot & H600F froasted lens model to choose from.
  
  For Spark ST6-500CW :-
  
  Super: 500lm/1.4hours
  Max: 320lm/2.5hours
  Med1: 150lm/8hours
  Med2: 50lm/28hours
  Low: 8lm/8days
  
  ST6 came with changeable clear & diffused lens.
  
  ST6 able to accept reverse battery polarity, meaning it doesn't matter u slide in the battery top or end first, it will just work, especially changing battery in a rush & dark area.
  Hope this help, or wait for some expert to chime in

[YoSeKi]

The ZebraLight and Spark are nice headlamps, but they use 18650 Li-ion batteries. These require special chargers and special handling.

If you just want to use regular AA batteries, I would look at the Princeton Tec Apex.

[MichaelW]

Does it have to be a headlight?
The Fenix headband + your choice of light is still a good system.

[vaska]

Well known in Europe Scandinavian brand Silva: http://silva.se/all-gear

[florinache]

Fenix hp11

[Lighthouse one]

I recently got the spark st6-500cw. I ran a test at work

With the light on high (220 lumen) I got 4 hrs and 5 minutes on a 2600ma ultrafire battery. This was on a battery fresh out of the charger. 18650 batteries.

It is easy to carry extra batteries along. 1 extra battery will get you all night...or a couple of batteries will let you run turbo for a long time too. The light runs on turbo with out overheating continuously...a great feature.

Be aware the light seems more like 400 lumens....but this is partly because the light has a strong spill and a decent bright center area. You will still want a powerful flashlight along with a headlamp. We are talking bright light to 100 feet...and longer distance if it's real dark.

This is a very good quality light. Just be aware the some of the longer high capacity batteries can be too tight a fit. The end cap has a strong spring in each end- and the longer batteries can put a bit of a strain on the battery end.

Light 1

[Bicycleflyer]

Personally, I would look at something from either Black Diamond, Princeton Tec, or Silva. These are the lights used by experienced mountaineering people. The Apex is a good choice, I have the extreme model with the external battery pack. It is my preferred outdoors light, but it's a bit too much for everyday around the house use. For that I just ordered a BD Spot.

I should ask...Do you want... No battery pack, battery pack on back of head, external battery pack?
Do you need a flashing mode?
Do you think you would want Red LEDs?
Do you want to use AA, AAA, Lithiums, NiMh (rechargeable)

Answering these questions should help us narrow the field.