Best Headlamp

I have had good luck with BD. My current light is the Storm. It works fine. I always wait and buy the previous year model on clearance.

Russ Walling wrote:Do any of the rechargeable lamps have the option of popping in some real batteries in a time of need?

i know on my old icon i had a separate rechargable battery - i can always pop in fresh regular batteries if i need and always carry them on longer trips. Just nice to not have to go through so many batteries when used for camping/cragging/short duration trips

DavidLG wrote:It would be a lot easier to offer help if we knew the application that this headlamp was to be used under. Some lamps are better than others depending on what you are using them for i.e. a light to be carried while climbing for emergency use, general camp lighting, will it be used for caving (spelunking; to those who prefer this terminology}, long term use for hiking or search and rescue. As an example I like my Petzl Zipka for climbing as it is compact and easy to carry and a Petzl Duobelt where long term use or cold or wet conditions exist.

+1 David is on the right track. Flood vs Spot, run times, brightness, size and weight all play roles in the "best" headlamp for you. I know I have several and choose according to needs...

Gary N wrote:I think it's important to have a good headlamp. If you're looking for a great middle-upper class headlamp: blackdiamondequipment.com/e… If you're looking for an amazing upper class headlamp: blackdiamondequipment.com/e…

And if you want a headlamp that makes upper-class headlamps look like lower-class headlamps, then you want the Brunton L3:

opticsplanet.com/brunton-he…

;)

you ask which headlamp is the best isn't a good question. It's like me asking which is better chevy or ford. So I think a better question is what will you be using it for?

I have 2 headlamps a petzl tikina 2 for jogging at night, and keeping in my motorcycle. It works great. and a mammut lucidio TX-1. Which has held up with abuse over the last few years. This is my climbing light, as you need a real spot to navigate at night. It's light enough has great batter life. I also like that it folds in on itself to protect the lens and buttons from getting turned on. they were also smart about the wiring on it as well. I've yet to see a headlamp stand up to it in real world conditions for brightness and beam length vs battery life.

I have a BD Storm and it works extremely well.

+1 Bosavi

Russ Walling wrote:The one thing about those built in battery jobs that keep me away from them: Can't re-juice mid climb. What is the use of having to carry a spare headlamp for your main headlamp just in case the batteries go dead? Replaceable batteries are a must for me. Do any of the rechargeable lamps have the option of popping in some real batteries in a time of need?

The Petzl Core system plugs into the standard battery terminals. You can take out the rechargable unit and put in AAA's. The Core has a software package that allows you to set brightness profiles and run times. I bought the light and then bought the Li-Ion battery separate. The software is on Petzl's site.

Can't say which is best cause I've only used a couple. But I've got the BD Revolt and have loved it so far. You can "lock" it so it doesn't turn on in your pack. Has a decent spot (I think 110lumen) and decent flood. But the kicker for me is that it's rechargeable via usb - and I've got a car charger for my phone that has a usb port on it. So on road trips where it's tough to recharge stuff it's WAY easy. Plus the batteries are able to be switched out for regular batteries in case of need of backups out in the field.
Downside- you can't recharge just ANY rechargeable batteries directly with the unit. They have to be the special BD batteries. I've tried with Energizer NiMH batteries and no go. There's a computer chip in the BD batteries that talks with the device for usb charging.

Just wanted to say thanks for putting us onto Bosavi, peaked my curiosity.

I use a lot of BD lights, they serve me well, most of the time, but aren't anything special. My fav is my Petzl - the one with the zip cord. Girls tell me that it doesn't work that well if you have fine hair, YMMV.

^interesting. Was gonna upgrade my spot, but will just go buy some rechargeables.

Btw, love my spot. Got it for 20$. Has been on many a dawn patrol, late night city biking escapades(has blinking white or red!), and dark descents in the mountains. It's flown off my helmet and onto the road at 20mph. It is a little finicky with cheapo aaa batteries, they don't fit well and the battery terminals feel weak when you bend them. But two years strong on mine.

Kai Larson wrote:I've been really happy with my Mammut TX1. Great battery life with the 2 small LED bulbs. 100+ meter with the big bulb. The head rotates all the way over so it can be stored with the glass protected from scratches etc. when not in use. I think the TX1 has been replaced with this one: rei.com/product/849030/mamm… Looks pretty much the same.

+1 on the mammut. The fact that you can protect the face it extremely nice. I've used it for climbing and caving.

reboot wrote:Some of the BD headlamps (Spot, Revolt) have a nasty habit of turning itself on in the pack. I'm surprised people have had so much issues with Princeton Tec, the EOS is kind of THE climbing headlamp for quite a while (works w/ lithium w/o overheating, has well recessed button on the side & was more waterproof than its competitors). Of course, Petzl & BD now have regulator circuitry, etc.

The last few years of spot have a feature to help lock it in the off position i have one in each of my packz, as well as my truck and my work kit. I have had really good luck with them.

My wife had a cheap bd and it was absolute garbage though...

Slim, what headlamp are you wearing in your profile picture??

I really like the BD Storm headlamp. Bright spot, then two side LED for camp, a red light feature, and the lock that Slim speaks of. That lock is the best thing ever. No more turning a battery backwards or taking them out when it's not in use. It would suck to be up high and drop a battery when yer switchin'em in or out!

One other feature I like is how you can hold down the button when it's on and it will adjust the light output. No need to keep pressing the button to get a different setting. With the way this is set up it shifts output slowly so you can stop it exactly where you want. No presets.
It works on both the spot light LED, and the two side LED

The Tikka XP 2 is a great basic all around headlamp.

If you want something tiny to keep in your chalkbag in case you find yourself unexpectedly in the dark: maybe a Tikka e+Lite or similiar.

If you're climbing at night (bigwalls or long routes in a push) >200+ lumens and a narrow beam are nice for route finding. A lot of mountain bikers really like Fenix, but I'm not sure if they've found the sweet spot with their headlamps. The Petzl Nao also sounds good for climbing/rapping at night.

There's no perfect light, it depends upon your application.

if yr in canada ... buy it from MEC ... you dont have to deal with the various warranties then

honestly anything from MEC would work ...

i use a petzl xp2 personally ... with core bats

;)

Petzl E+lite. Cheap, super tiny with a retractable cord. Does white and red, flashes, etc. Has a swivel mount that makes it very versatile. I forget it's in my pants pocket.

And it would suck ass if you were a spelunker. It completely depends on what you are using it for. But for a rapping off in the dark, epic encounter I would take the e+lite.

MRock wrote:^interesting. Was gonna upgrade my spot, but will just go buy some rechargeables. Btw, love my spot. Got it for 20$. Has been on many a dawn patrol, late night city biking escapades(has blinking white or red!), and dark descents in the mountains. It's flown off my helmet and onto the road at 20mph. It is a little finicky with cheapo aaa batteries, they don't fit well and the battery terminals feel weak when you bend them. But two years strong on mine.

+1 again on the Spot.

I've had mine for 4 years, it's been canyoneering, climbing, backpacking, etc. It also served as a second light while bike commuting in snow storms. At 4:45 AM. True Story! Only time it let me down was when it was -20 degrees. I'd blame that on my Bargain bin IKEA AA's I had in it, though!

I can't say the same thing about the Storm. A couple canyoneering trips (one summer night trip through an easy canyon), and a weekend in Bryce and the mount bracket broke. Waterproofing looks solid, but it's flimsy.

FWIW, the Spot has held up in heavy rain and snow. As long as you're not planning on getting it underwater, it should hold up fantastically.

Also, for rechargables, check out high-capacity Sanyo Eneloops/Rayovac Hybrids. Very low self-discharge, pretty cheap, and last as long as the typical Energizers. I started using these in a Pentax DSLR, then bought a new set for my Speedlite, and a couple more sets on the way. I end up sharing them around a bit now, but they just work, and don't seem to die in the cold like other rechargeables. Dedicated power sources are better, but you have great options if you don't want to spend $$$$$.

Hard to answer OP's question without context.

I have a Petzl Nao for when I know when I am climbing in the dark. Expensive but worth it, espiecally if you are in the alpine and need to get down.

I have the cheapest name brand headlamp (BD, petzl, etc) for standard use camping or when I don't think I will be in the dark, because I don't want to lose my Nao and the Nao is slightly heavier.

This puppy: ayup-lights.com/

Even the low setting (3 settings) turns night into day. Wife just got one based on the recommendation of a local adventure racer and this light really lights it up. Only bad thing I can say about it so far is that with the rechargeable proprietary battery it might not be the best thing for multi-day trips. Otherwise it's one of the best lights I've come across.