Since the days have been getting shorter, I find myself hiking in the dark more often. There's a lot of good information regarding hiking at night, but usually relates to setting up camp in the dark or using a headlamp as a backup in case you don't make it out by sunset. But I'd like to specifically focus on night hiking, meaning those starting out when it's already dark, with the specific purpose of hiking in the dark. I'm curious to know what others people are using.
My current night hiking setup is a Nuwai 2x123 headlamp paired with a RiverRock 2x123 headlamp. Of course I also have quite a few flashlights in the backpack as a backup. So far I like the combination of a high power light with throw (RR) and a multi level light with long run times. Last month I just completed a midnight hike of Halfdome using just the Nuwai on low power (the batteries were already dead and couldn't turn it on high), but it was a full moon so I really didn't really need the headlamp much. I estimate I was able to complete 80% of it without a headlamp at all, most of it's use was finding the well marked trail when it got into the trees.
Over the last couple months I've been doing some hikes in the local mountains and spend a lot of it in the dark. But with no moonlight and in a canyon, both headlamps get a lot more use. As most hikers know a headlamp doesn't work too well strapped on your head, I found it a lot more useful to strap the Nuwai to the buckle of my waistbelt, and use the RR on my head just for trailfinding. I actually made a short strap out of 1" webbing that clips in between the hip belt buckes of my backpack so I can mount the headlamp on it. The low beam angle really helps show the shadows, but in reality the sheer brightness of the RR headlamp was a lot more useful, especially when moving fast over rocky ground.
Right now I'm looking for another headlamp to replace the Nuwai and one I can use as a primary headlamp. The 1 watt side emitter is showing its age, but I really like the form factor and setup. The fact that I still have another 5-7 hours of light on low after the high power setting runs out is really nice. So what I'm looking for is another light that takes 123's, has multi-levels with a low power runtime of 12+ hours, a high output at least equal to the river rocks 136 lumens, and most importantly I don't like a separate battery pack, so that rules out many of the high end headlamps. I would prefer something with a bit of throw, a flood pattern just doesn't cut it when you're moving quickly. But I also don't like a well defined hotspot because it tends to cause tunnel vision on the trail, it does need some sidespill. Anyone have suggestions?
My current night hiking setup is a Nuwai 2x123 headlamp paired with a RiverRock 2x123 headlamp. Of course I also have quite a few flashlights in the backpack as a backup. So far I like the combination of a high power light with throw (RR) and a multi level light with long run times. Last month I just completed a midnight hike of Halfdome using just the Nuwai on low power (the batteries were already dead and couldn't turn it on high), but it was a full moon so I really didn't really need the headlamp much. I estimate I was able to complete 80% of it without a headlamp at all, most of it's use was finding the well marked trail when it got into the trees.
Over the last couple months I've been doing some hikes in the local mountains and spend a lot of it in the dark. But with no moonlight and in a canyon, both headlamps get a lot more use. As most hikers know a headlamp doesn't work too well strapped on your head, I found it a lot more useful to strap the Nuwai to the buckle of my waistbelt, and use the RR on my head just for trailfinding. I actually made a short strap out of 1" webbing that clips in between the hip belt buckes of my backpack so I can mount the headlamp on it. The low beam angle really helps show the shadows, but in reality the sheer brightness of the RR headlamp was a lot more useful, especially when moving fast over rocky ground.
Right now I'm looking for another headlamp to replace the Nuwai and one I can use as a primary headlamp. The 1 watt side emitter is showing its age, but I really like the form factor and setup. The fact that I still have another 5-7 hours of light on low after the high power setting runs out is really nice. So what I'm looking for is another light that takes 123's, has multi-levels with a low power runtime of 12+ hours, a high output at least equal to the river rocks 136 lumens, and most importantly I don't like a separate battery pack, so that rules out many of the high end headlamps. I would prefer something with a bit of throw, a flood pattern just doesn't cut it when you're moving quickly. But I also don't like a well defined hotspot because it tends to cause tunnel vision on the trail, it does need some sidespill. Anyone have suggestions?
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