what do you look for in a hiking headlamp?

[cognitivefun]

There have been posts about hiking headlamps but I would like to know what you look for in one.

Is throw important?

Is wide angle flood important?

What about battery life? And do you mind lithiums or insist on AA or AAAs?

What about the arrangement -- everything up front or batteries in back?

--------------------

I have several headlamps but I haven't used any for hiking and I am wondering what you look for.

PT Corona - very nice flood, I would think ideal for hiking. Batteries in the back so it's well balanced but heavy.

PT Aurora -- ideal for reading in bed, but not much of a thrower and the flood pattern is weak. OTOH, maybe a good hiking light in truly dark conditions?

Nuwai 1wt -- good throw, 3 settings, lithiums, regulated. But perhaps too much throw and not enough flood for hiking?

etc.

 

[greenLED]

1. Throw is important, but not critical.
2. Wide angle will be used most of the time, as most activities are dealt with at relatively short-ranges.
3. I do not insist on AA's but it's what I prefer because they are readily (and relatively cheaply) available wherever I go. They also have more juice in them than AAA's (but weigh a little more).
4. I like batts in the back.

Unfortunately I can't comment on the headlamps you have. I've moved from Petzl to Black Diamon hybrids.

 

[BlindedByTheLite]

>There have been posts about hiking headlamps but I would like to know what you look for in one.

>Is throw important?

throw is unimportant to me. i really don't understand why anyone feels the need to have throw in their main light. what good is it doing them?


>Is wide angle flood important?

very important. i like to have my peripheral lit up so i can see things out of the corner of my eye.


>What about battery life? And do you mind lithiums or insist on AA or AAAs?

i strongly prefer AA batteries. they're the most readily available worldwide, i believe. also readily available in lithium/alkaline/rechargeable around here.


>What about the arrangement -- everything up front or batteries in back?

it's not that important to me as long as it's comfortable, for brief, and long periods of time.

my headlamp of choice is the Princeton Tec Corona.

 

[ACMarina]

I'm with most everybody here on everything they've said. Although if you can use Lithium AAs, that's always a plus due to the temperature use and runtime and stuff.

I like the PT Matrix 3xLED myself. .

 

[Stanley]

Same here as everyone.
Throw - Nice to have but not necessary as likely I will have a backup handheld for throw

Flood/Wide angle - Definitely important for looking in the immediate area infront of you to see where you're stepping

Battery life - As long as possible, as some headlamps might be a bit of hassle to changeout, esp if you're halfway thru on a trail. AAs would be desirable, but currently am using more AAAs as I like the compactness of the headlamp.

Battery pack - If its not too bulky then definitely up front. No extra wires to run along the strap, etc. But if too bulky (e.g. 3AAs) then definitely on the back, still on single strap though.

I personally feel that runtime is more important here than brightness, esp since you're gonna be doing almost everything with the headlamp to keep both hands free anyway, so a decent set of runtime I would consider for a headlamp is probably about 8-10 hrs or so. Then again that's just MHO... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Cognitivefun,

I will add another item to look for...

Beam color.

I feel more comfortable hiking at night with a warm color light. The blueish beam from the small LED's tends to hamper object recognition for me and I end up having to "look harder" to see.

A nice neutral color or even a bit of a green tint is much better for me.

Of course... your mileage may vary.

Tom

 

[Hoghead]

Throw isn't very important.

Flood is important.

I prefer lithium AAs because they weigh less and perform great.

My favorite headlamps are the Corona, Yukon HL, Tikka Plus, Zipka.

I like the Zipka for a back up headlamp because of size. Your Aurora or a Tikka would work well for back up or if you're trying to save weight.

 

[mrme]

It of course depends on the kind of hiking you will be doing. If you are hiking in canyons where it takes skill to get lost and you could always just tuck yourself in to a ball and let gravity roll you to your car, any small light LED light will do. If you are in areas where you will have to find your way, make sure SOMEONE in your group has a light with some decent throw. Not everyone needs to have a powerhouse, but someone ought to have a good, far reaching incadescent.

That said, I like hybrids. Mine are all Black Diamond, but I am sure the Myo and Yukon carrying crowds like thiers' just as much.
As was mentioned, the blue hue of an LED can do some strange things to your night vision. I like having the incan for when I need it, even if I rarely use it.

As for battery format, I am partial to AA alkalines. Sure NiMh have some real pluses, but when they go, they GO and with very little if any warning. Alkalines give you plenty of warning as they slowly taper off. LED lights will last weeks on alkalines.
If you are a flashlight nut who likes to carry lots of spare batteries, I guess NiMh are fine. Okay, so we are all flashlight nuts, but I don't like carrying unceissary gear.
Lithiums would be nice, but hiking does not justify the expense. Maybe caving or snowshoeing would.

When I don't think I will need a headlamp, I like my PT Scout or BD Ion. Respecively, they weigh 1.8 and 1 oz.

 

[Brody]

I agree with most of the things said so far. Flood is much more useful than throw for hiking.
I like AA batteries because it is easy for me to keep NIMH rechargeables handy, and if I need to, I can always go to lithiums. Also, AA lights usually have a longer runtime on a set of batteries.
I prefer the batteries in back and the light in front for a hiking light. I always keep a light on my keychain, should I ever need to swap batteries on the headlight, etc

 

[Noah Monk]

[ QUOTE ]
As for battery format, I am partial to AA alkalines. Sure NiMh have some real pluses, but when they go, they GO and with very little if any warning. Alkalines give you plenty of warning as they slowly taper off. LED lights will last weeks on alkalines.

[/ QUOTE ]

I sure do like my 900 mah Nimh AAA's. With a typical LED light, you get plenty of warning before they "go" due to low power consumption. I don't carry lots of backups. I would carry backups w/alkaline moreso than nimh b/c the nimh are always fully charged when I head out somewheres! WHo knows (w/o some kinda meter) where the alkies are at before you hit the trail? Just a preference...

 

[StuU]

I recently did a fairly rugged night-time mountain hike just to play with the lights. My headlamp was a modified Pelican 2630 which has a good quality high-dome luxeon and 17mm reflector. This setup gives a good large spot with lots of strong spill and works pretty well. This light runs off 3 AAs which I really prefer to the AAAs.

It was very nice to have 3 levels of light. The low-beam works pretty well for almost everything- especially on the uphill trek. On the downhill trek where falls are more common, I used the medium beam. When encountering unknown wildlife, the high-beam really lit up the night. The large spot/wide spill works really well but the spot could even wider and blend smoothly into the spill.

I tried several other lights just for comparison that night. The Inova X5(which is all flood) worked just about as well as the Pelican headlamp for overall use. I also brought along an AlephI(917ma LE) which was not so useful for hiking because of the intense spot which was distracting even when on low setting. However, the Aleph was the best when it was necessary to check out loud scrunching bear-like sounds coming from the brush. Also, surprisingly, the Infinity Ultra put out a pretty useable flood.

So, the best light for me was either a good flood(PT Corona?) or a loose spot with lots of spill. AAs for batteries. And variable light levels with current regulation. I'll be buying a PT Corona next week in prep for some more nighttime mountain adventures....
Stu

 

[cognitivefun]

Great review.

I think the Corona might be best. I wore it and poked my head into my ultra dark and scary garage and it lit the whole room up. It's the wide field of LEDs that are probably more helpful than a more point-like luxeon source.

 

[MY]

For years I hiked with a model 1 eternalight in a modified head band - it worked great with long burn time, flood view, and quite bright even on the lower settings. It was also light enough to carry for long periods. Now I use a Nuwai 712L. It has three light levels and uses two CR123s. It has some throw but also good spill, runs for many hours on high and is quite bright. Because of the battery configuration, it is acceptably light on the head. I also have a Princeton Tech Eos and I like it amost as much. It is more compact, using 3 AAAs but the beam does not have enough flood for my taste.

I will be experimenting with a two stage TW4 on a headband. I think that this may work out well given its size, flood, runtime and weight. If you need light up the entire forest, it is just one push on the button away.

Regards.

 

[StuU]

Oh, forget to mention....on that night-hike I also had a UKeled 4AA along. This was actually the most useful beam pattern of all with wide spill and useable but not domineering spot.

I have been working on putting one of these UKeled 4AA modules into a Petzel Zoom-zora headlamp.......just trying to get the switching figured out. But should be nice. I will report back with pics if it works out.
Stu

 

[4x4Dragon]

i don't LOOK........i've FOUND, found what i need in the Black Diamond Zenix IQ /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[zerge]

I really don't like to use lamps during hikes, because outside the caves there's always some light. Most of the time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif So I prefer to hike with adapted eyes. But when real darkness comes, or some detailed work needs more first I reach towards my red Photon II hanging on my zipper, or belt. It helps through most of the cases and doesn't burn my eyes.

For a longer period I use a Zipka Plus for walking in complete darkness. (Backed up by a SL Scorpion for real throw.) It fills my needs, though I have to admit, that I have a Duo for other purposes. And of course the selection of lights is not the same here.