best Lightweight, hiking headlamp, any suggestions?

I know there is not a single "best" headlamp, but I want some ideas about decent quality, small and lightweight headlamps to keep in my hiking pack in the event that I don't get back before sunset. Doesn't need to be super bright, I'm thinking 60 lumens max is plenty, but maybe I'm wrong. I would also prefer it have a few settings to conserve battery power. So perhaps a 15/35/60 lumen output? Anyone make anything like that?

Sorry if this is asked a lot. But I appreciate your thoughts!

Princeton Tec makes some nice quality headlamps, check out the Apex.
Or you can't go wrong with Zebralights, put a Lithium AA in a H51 and it will always be ready to serve you
EDIT; Sorry, i mean the EOS. Thanks Carrot.

Sounds like you're describing the PT EOS exactly.

+1 Zebralight H51. I love this thing.

If it was me I'd take the Zebralight H51, it's a great all-rounder.

Good Light for UL Backpacking is a recent thread on a very similar topic -- take a look at it if you have not already done so.

I started the thread, and ended up deciding to wait and see how the Zebralight H51 was received.

I've pretty much decided to go that route. Now I am just waiting to see whether the warm version would be any better (assuming it is released any time soon).

--MV

I just ordered a princeton tec byte. I've got a couple EOS's, and theyre great, very bright. Almost too bright though to read by though. I wanted one that was dimmer and had a red led as an option. Got a kindle recently too and wanted a good headlamp to read by.

Found the Byte on ebay for like $13 shipped so I figured it was worth a try.

H51 looks good too but that's quite a bit more money.

--Matt

carrot said:

Sounds like you're describing the PT EOS exactly.

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Sounds that way to me as well. I use a H501w with a Quark Mini AA XP-E neutral (plus Nitecore headband) these days but still have a soft spot for the PT EOS.

+1 Zebralight H51

Zebralight h31. My spot gps uses aaa and my high intensity flashlight uses cr123. I didn't want to add aa to the mix as well.

With my Fenix HP10 I mostly hike in medium mode at 50 lumens. If the miles have tired out my ankle and the trail is rocky I'll bump it up to 120 lumens. I wouldn't go with anything less.

I got my HP10 for long hikes, including one long stretch where I had intended to walk all night. It's a fantastic light, but it's heavier than I'd like for really short trips. I think the Zebralight H51 would be a better fit for anything up to weekend (Fri-Sun) trips.

Mundele said:

I just ordered a princeton tec byte. I've got a couple EOS's, and theyre great, very bright. Almost too bright though to read by though. I wanted one that was dimmer and had a red led as an option. Got a kindle recently too and wanted a good headlamp to read by.

Found the Byte on ebay for like $13 shipped so I figured it was worth a try.

H51 looks good too but that's quite a bit more money.

--Matt

Click to expand...

I have a Byte and like it. Just about perfect for a hiking light. I also have a PT EOS, which is a bit more light than I need for hiking. Pro's & Con's of the Byte: "+" cheap, easy to feed, supports lithium, lightweight, excellent spill and good spot. "-" switch is a little mushy, only water resistant, red led only good for up close reading.

Sorry guys, i wrote wrong.
I meant the EOS, not the Apex :naughty:

Modded to XP-G tikka XP ? .

leaftye said:

I got my HP10 for long hikes, including one long stretch where I had intended to walk all night. It's a fantastic light, but it's heavier than I'd like for really short trips. I think the Zebralight H51 would be a better fit for anything up to weekend (Fri-Sun) trips.

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Why the time limit? If the H51 is good for weekend trips, why wouldn't it also be good for week-long trips?

--MV

MountainVoyageur said:

Why the time limit? If the H51 is good for weekend trips, why wouldn't it also be good for week-long trips?

--MV

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A few reasons...

An even number of batteries is easy to rotate and charge. A single battery means bringing a fancier charger and/or keeping better track of my batteries. Still, without a fancy charger I'd charge the batteries unevenly. Over the course of months the imbalance could get pretty bad, especially since I'd want to charge them at every opportunity. What charging strategy do I use to keep cells as balanced as possible and how many would I carry? I certainly don't ever want to be without a light. With the HP10 I would be able to go weeks or months between charges, so charging would be rare and any imbalances during the trip would be minor. I guess this isn't a big deal if disposable lithiums were used.

Also, I use between 50 & 100 lumens to hike at night. That would drain a small headlamp like the H51 quickly and possibly force me to change batteries in the middle of the night...or as I experienced one night, using the maximum output to keep scaring away a curious cougar all night.

And to get back to charging imbalances... I also wanted to have the chance to share batteries with my gps momentarily...just long enough to write down my coordinates. The negative effects of this practice wouldn't be as bad with the HP10...I could use the left bank one time, and the right bank the next...that's easy enough for me to handle, even when I'm dead tired after walking uphill for most of 20 miles.

And by "long hikes" I meant hikes that takes weeks to months to finish, although I'd stop in a town about once a week...although it'd be nice if I only had to stop long enough to pick up food.

As far as convenience goes, I'd probably have to change the batteries in the H51 every 3 days. That's one hour of hiking every morning. A little more for killing time around camp, and very little for reading. I'm not sure if 30 lumens is enough for me to hike comfortably in, so I'd probably be stuck with the H2 setting.

Now back to short trips...

On short trips I don't mind carrying an extra cell or two, and charging isn't a problem since I'll be back home soon where I have a nice charger that can handle charging individual cells. Or if I carried lithiums I could put them into a remote until they go completely dead. It's unlikely that I'd carry a used lithium on a trip.


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One more thing... The perfect light for me would use 2 AA batteries. It would provide a nice compromise of battery life and convenience. Unfortunately a dual AA battery with 200 lumen output doesn't exist yet, or at least I don't know of it.

I find when I am hiking on multi-day trips that I am usually so tuckered out from walking during daylight hours that I am not interested in walking through the night as well. A headlamp simply becomes something to wear around camp so I can do things hands-free, and needs only to be powerful enough to "get me to camp" should I not find a suitable site to set up for the night before sunset.

When I hiked up Mt. Fuji I did it all through the night so I could summit by sunrise, and for that I had my Surefire Saint set to "medium," which is 10 lumens, for the majority of the climb. I chose the Saint for the hike specifically because I wanted the flood beam. I bumped it up to max output (100 lumens) occasionally when I wanted a better idea of my surroundings but for walking 10 lumens is plenty.

I have found several (less epic) occasions to wear my EOS on night hikes and have also used it on the lowest output setting. It is a very good, not very expensive headlamp known to be reliable and durable. The beam pattern is ideal for someone who may choose to not carry a handheld light and since it provides a good mix of flood and throw, and it uses commonly available batteries that you can resupply in any town.

I seem to think the opposite as you: I don't mind carrying a little extra weight for a short trip, but for a long trip I'd rather go as lightweight as possible. Which means cutting out a heavy headlamp.

By the way, there's no sunrise quite like the kind you experience on top of Mt. Fuji.

The main reason I may seem the opposite is because of my ankle. It really hurts to stumble when I've hiked more miles, so I am happy to go with a heavier brighter light if that means aggravating my ankle less. I'd probably hike with a much dimmer setting or light if my ankle wasn't a problem.

I try to hit the trail before the sun rises. With loooong winter nights I go to sleep and wake early restlessly waiting to hike by 5 AM. I could be hiking for hours before the sun comes up, so I do have to account for that. In the summer I don't need a headlight nearly as much.

leaftye said:

A few reasons...

An even number of batteries is easy to rotate and charge. A single battery means bringing a fancier charger and/or keeping better track of my batteries.

Click to expand...

I gather you already do take a charger. Have you considered the Sanyo MDR02 charger?

Here is a quote from NLee's review at Amazon.com (he's regarded as a very reliable resource, and responsive to questions -- just go to his comment and add your own question in a comment):

The MDR02 works very well as a travel charger for my trips, too. It is tiny (measures only 3"x3"x1"), very light (weights about the same as two AA cells), and accepts universal input voltage of 100-240V AC. It is also a "smart" charger in the sense that it charges each cell individually, and stops whenever each cell is full.

Ritz camera specs for this charger say it is 76 gm (2.7 oz)

--MV

I took a solar charger (Powerfilm USB/AA) the last time I was out for months. I don't think I'll do that again. I haven't carried a charger since then because trips have been shorter and a set of AA's lasts for weeks, which is more than long enough for now. On the next months long trip I'll probably put a charger in the box that gets mailed to me from town to town with stuff that's used only occasionally like nail clippers and a razor. That MDR02 charger looks good. Wasn't Apple coming out with an even smaller one?