Super Reliable Headlamp for backpacking?

[markr6]

I really like my Zebralight H600w. It's been reliable for years, but you never know. Also, last winter I started a backpacking trip at 10pm when it was about 7° and the lamp would not stay on the high mode, even for 2 seconds. It immediately dropped to the medium level. I never hike with any of the high modes so I didn't care, but just something to remember when heading out in the cold with Li-Ion.

 

[billcoe]

Regarding the "Black Diamond Storm". I don't believe I've seen the words reliable and Black Diamond paired previously. Petzl I have. Plenty of times. I recently got a deal on the Storm, so it's good to see.

 

[insanefred]

I understand this is an old thread.

I am a search and rescue volunteer, black diamond headlamps is one of the most popular brand headlamps in the unit I am in. They are also by far one of the least reliable of all the brand names, by a long shot, sadly. The generic/ no name headlamps people use are pretty bad and BD is just a step up from those. Now, if you have a BD and has been reliable for you, then great!

Brands I have seen that work great are but not limited to:

Petzl: As cheap as BD lights and crummy specs, but at least they work and more transparent about their specs.

Zebralight (of course :kiss: Most, "wow, who's light is that"? of all lights. And work!

Coast: Not great, not crap either, they work and some people love being able to focus their lights.

Fenix: Only seen a few of these action unfortunately, but most users are very happy with them.


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Brands I do not recommend (seen them fail too often):

Black diamond: They either have problems with the switch (becomes finicky or very difficult to use) or just stop working with out warning

Harbor freight/ costco multi-pack headlamps: Not waterproof.

Princeton tec: I am not sure what's going on here, but they last only one outing for most users.

Jetbeam: Battery contact issues, quality control.

Energizer/Duracell branded lights: virtually no lock out mode on most of them and tons of parasitic drain with ones that use an electric switch. Gee.. I wonder why... :devil:

 

[marinemaster]

Petzl, I have few of their models very reliable.

 

[Gryffin]

My go-to hiking headlamps for a long time were a couple of Petzl Tikkas; they've been faultlessly reliable for me, but certainly not cutting-edge performance (output OR runtime), and 3xAAA sucks big time: crappy runtimes, lousy output regulation, more tiny cells to misplace, and of course, trying to remember which way the replacement cells have to be oriented *in the dark* is about as fun as a root canal.

I'm also not a fan of CR123A or 18650 for hiking lights; the former get expensive over the long haul, and the latter are big and heavy, and both are difficult-to-impossible to find at your typical roadside or trailhead shop.

So I think AA is the perfect compromise between size/weight, performance, and availability of spares.

A second light is IMHO *mandatory*. Even if it's a Photon keychain light to find spare cells in your pack, you need one.

Personally, I like to let my eyes adapt, and use just enough light to get by; you really don't need much light at all to watch your footing or do camp chores. I've had good luck with a floody AA headlamp (Zebralight H501W), usually on Low, just enough to see my feet and ~10–20' of trail ahead; and a second throwier AA light* on a wrist lanyard, used intermittently to look farther down the trail, or into the woods when something goes bump. Both use the same Eneloop cells, and I usually pack an extra pair, as well as a pair of Energizer Lithiums just in case.

(* Usually a beat-up old Quark AA Tactical; stupid simple UI, light, rugged, and my old XP-G one hit the "reflector focus jackpot" and actually out-throws most of my XM-L lights. But any good-quality EDC-type AA light would do.)