Trail running headlamp

Hello,

nights are longer and longer, but I love trail running in woods around my home. So I'm looking for some headlamp for trail running. It has to be light with stable mount on head, but with enough light for cross country running.

Zebralight H600 or Chinese copy UltraFire UF-H6 seems to be very interesting to me and I like 18650 batteries, but I'm not sure, if the weight will be ok and if will be stable on my head in terrain.

Is there anyone with running experience with H600 or will suggest me some other headlamp?

Thank you very much for help.

ZL H600 is stable enough if you use a rigid headband like the Nite Ize. With the standard headband it bounces too much.

The UF-H6 has very low frequency PWM on all modes and is not recommended for fast motion activities.

I use a combo setup of the Zebralight SC600 Cree and a Princeton Tec Apex rechargable. Headlamps are not ideal (on their own at least) for trail running as one cannot see terrain shadows when the light source is near your eyes. You need to have an offset to be able to see the shadows.

Next time on the trail. Stop, take off your headlamp, put it in your hand and you will see the definition in the terrain much, much better. You can get away with a much less bright light.

In the Zebalight mod thread there are recommendations for running that one make a headband out of long Velcro strap.

Thats very interresting. Thanks. I will try Velcro.

I've been using a Zebra H501 with the included headband for the last two winters and it seems to work ok for me. It's lighter than some of the other lights (pezl, etc.) runners use. I don't have any issues with bouncing, but I guess it depends on how you run.

I love the H600 for trail running. It works ok for me by just re-routing the strap so it goes through the two silicone loops that hold the light. I.e., strap sits sandwiched between the silicone loops at the light cylinder. That took away all the bounce. But I did just order a spare ZL headband to use as a top strap. This means I don't have to be so careful about adjusting the main strap tension as I change it to fit the different hats I might wear now that we're into the cold months.

Jack

I have been trail running before sun up for a few years now. I have gone through many headlamps, and have a lot of experience with em. I don't like any of the headlights that have a battery pack on the rear of my head. Some like em though, but not me...too bulky. I run 4 - 12 miles on mostly trails in the middle of the woods where it is pitch black much of the time.

My favorite set up by far is the Zebralight H600 with the NiteIze headband (sold seperately - The zebralight headband is way too bouncy.) The headlight, battery, & niteize headband are comfortable & lightweight with excellent runtimes & output. I love the awesome output, and the runtimes are perfect for my longer runs. I also like how floody the light is though it is not too floody like my H501w (pure flood.) Many of my headlights were not floody enough which gave me tunnel vision because of the tight hotspot. The hotspot of the H600 is nice and broad.

My favorite headlight for short runs (and now my favorite all around camping light) is the Zebralight H51F or the H51Fw. This is a single AA light with plenty of output for most situations. I find this light to be perfect for camping trips as well. It's bright, mostly floody, & has just enough throw to be very versitile (it's not pure flood & does have some throw.) I like it for some of my shorter runs during the colder months. However, during the warmer months I need the extra output of the H600 for spotting spider webs....I have face planted into too many, and prefer extra output to spot em early.

I also carry a handheld light for backup. Wnen I want to travel light I carry a Quark AA (now called a Quark QPA - single AA light.) Most of the time I carry either an Olight M21X for some good throw or even my larger EagleTac M3C4 single XML for even more throw......yes it's too large for running with, but for me it's worth it. I spot coyotee, dogs, deer, & other critters regularly, and like seeing them in advance. It's all a whole lot of fun to me though, and sometimes my lights are overkill. The Zebralight H600, however, is a necessity to me, and is likely to be my go to running light for some time to come.

Here's another thread on the subject if you haven't seen it - Click Here

I'm using an h51w for 3-5mile trail runs, but I have no comparison lights. My uses are in strobe mode when on the road to get to/fro the trailhead and avoid getting hit by cars, and on the trail, the med-high setting works well. Sometimes using it as a hand-carry is less bouncy than using it with a headband. I also find it conveniently small to pack on business travel, so I can keep up my training while roadwarrioring. Happy running!

Hi guys

First time on here. Looking to get out on the trails myself this winter. Anyone tried the Silva Runner 550 which seems to be new to the market? 550 lumens as the name suggests which ought to be more than enough but don't know about reliability. Are Silva products well thought of?

Thanks in advance

I have used in the past a Petzl duo, mostly bush and or rock scrambling hopping, but have just moved to the Petzl Nao and am nover going back, rechargable, better fit, comfortable, brighter, customizable and of couse reactive, allows me to see further/better and go faster!

CrazyTrailRunner said:

Hi guys

First time on here. Looking to get out on the trails myself this winter. Anyone tried the Silva Runner 550 which seems to be new to the market? 550 lumens as the name suggests which ought to be more than enough but don't know about reliability. Are Silva products well thought of?

Thanks in advance

Click to expand...

Well Christmas came and went and I didn't get my butt sorted out till January. Went for the Silva trail runner in the end as I decided I didn't need 550 lumens. Spent the difference on a new windproof top instead. I haven't been disappointed with the trail runner though. It's enough for what I need. I guess if you were on extra dark trails then you may need something brighter like the runner. So I guess what I'm saying is that light pollution saved me some money.

Check out the Spark ST6 headlamp.

Very well made.

Hi... first post from an off-road runner in the UK...


Just wanted to thank outdoorsman5 for his contributions here. Based mainly on your posts I went for the combo of Zebralight H51 (standard beam) plus the Nite Ize headband.


Anyway, first run completed last night with this set up. I was very happy with the stability of the light using the Nite Ize headband (didn't bother trying the standard ZL one!) The beam from the standard H51 seems good for me, it lights up a nice uniform bright circle of terrain immediately in front of my feet, but still has some throw, which can be useful for route finding.


I was mainly using the H2 100 Lumen setting which seemed fine. I was surprised that the 200 Lumen setting doesn't seem significantly brighter, so probably won't use this much due to the decreased runtime. Although I've also got some Eneloop XX batteries on the way, to see if I can squeeze some extra runtime...


The various bigger and brighter options out there (including the Zebralight H600) were tempting, but they always involve more weight or bulk, or specialist batteries which I don't really want. There's a lot to be said for the size and simplicity of the H51 and its amazing performance on a single standard AA.


I initially thought the multi-click user interface sounded complicated until I tried it in real life, when it actually becomes quite simple.


So overall I'm very happy with this setup and would recommend to other off-road runners, providing you're realistic about how much light you actually need rather than getting involved in a Lumens arms-race!

I do a lot of night running with my tikka plus 2. Never had any problems with major parralax.

Interesting to find the ZL H600 was picked as "editors choice" in the April 2013 US issue of TrailRunner magazine! The review mentioned its flimsy strap and that there's to be a redesign/upgrade to it (the strap) this summer. Great to see ZL get some mainstream recognition, and that they're working on a more stable strap as I know many here have resorted to using the Nitize.