Best head lamp batteries for sub-zero temps?

Yoooo,

anyone have a recommendation for a head lamp or batteries that are best for winter use? I’ve got a petzl Arctic core that works well enough but when it gets down to sub zero temperatures I can never get it to work. I have a rechargeable headlamp that seems to be unaffected by the cold but prefer a battery powered headlamp so I can bring back up batteries. Anyone know of any specific batteries that work well in sub-zero temps? 

Headlamps with the battery pack in the back are good with a beanie.  The beanie covers the pack and keeps it warm.  18650 headlamps are the bomb.  The d25 thread shows some great headlamps with a front mounted battery for warmer temps.

AliExpress has lots of options.  This one is probably ok if you want to go cheap.  Whatever you do, don't get one of the zooming headlamps unless you are going to modify it and put in a reflector or fixed focus lens.  Zooming headlamps are just miserable.

Don't get the batteries that come with the above light, they are poor quality.  These are good batteries.

There are headlamps with a separate external battery pack that usually use 18650 (like Fenix or Nitecore). They are not very lightweight though. Usually the battery pack doubles as a powerpack.

Edek F wrote:

Fenix headlamps with 18650 rechargable Li-ion batteries

Fenix headlamps come up often as alternatives to the usual suspects, BD, Petzel,etc. 

Does anyone know if they are sold in stores. The Fenix website does not appear to have a store locator tool.

Thanks in advance

mountain troll wrote:

Fenix headlamps come up often as alternatives to the usual suspects, BD, Petzel,etc. 

Does anyone know if they are sold in stores. The Fenix website does not appear to have a store locator tool.

Thanks in advance

REI sells them. They are somewhat more expensive than BD or Petzl, but appear to be sturdier. 

As mentioned in other thread, Super impressed with the $30 Duracell 3 pack from Costco. In cold winter temps just keep your batteries warm.  I’ve been using for a season, no issues and great light.   

Use non-rechargeable lithium AAA cells in your Actik when it gets that cold. Make sure the voltages are matched and they are from the same pack.

Most lithium ion rechargeables struggle when it gets very cold. Same with cell phones.

mountain troll wrote:

Fenix headlamps come up often as alternatives to the usual suspects, BD, Petzel,etc. 

Does anyone know if they are sold in stores. The Fenix website does not appear to have a store locator tool.

Thanks in advance

https://www.fenixlighting.com/

Just buy em from the above, biggest US Authorized dealer and your first purchase is 20% off.

Edek F wrote:

Fenix headlamps with 18650 rechargable Li-ion batteries

Only the cold weather specific 18650 battery is good for very low temperatures. Nitecore makes them.

And no lithium ion cell should be recharged below freezing.

The good news is that most Fenix 18650 lamps take 2 CR123A for extreme cold. However this introduces a greater risk of explosion because they are in series.

CR123A batteries perform better in extreme cold and extreme heat than 18650 lithium ion batteries. However, 18650 batteries will still work in extreme temperatures in a range of -4ºF to 140ºF. CR123A batteries are able to operate in temperatures between -40ºF to 158ºF.

https://help.fenix-store.com/article/509-which-battery-is-better-for-extremely-cold-weather-18650-lithium-ion-batteries-or-cr123a-lithium-batteries

mark felber wrote:

REI sells them. They are somewhat more expensive than BD or Petzl, but appear to be sturdier. 

thanks

This topic is a bit old but I also recently discovered that several Nitecore headlamps (and probably others) have "passthrough" modes. So basically you can buy a smaller headlamp with a lithium battery integrated that will work great for summer use (and be very lightweight) and then for the cold you can plug in the USB charging cord and run that to any external USB power pack. If you keep the small power pack in your jacket pocket (say the chest pocket) then the battery of the power pack will be insulated from the cold and it will directly power the headlamp (passthrough meaning it bypasses the battery and runs directly off the external). Best of both worlds in a way.