Desirable headlamp features

I have used 2 headlamps for the extent of my night climbing and some descents. After doing the bottom half of north dome gully in the dark my first time down it because my headlamp petered out, I have decided I want something with more juice. Certainly the best advice is to be prepared, don’t get benighted, etc. but I do also enjoy early morning and late night climbing.

The 2 headlamps I have used are a nitecore NU25 400lumen and a BD Astro 300lumen. Neither of which I was impressed by, though I preferred the NU25.

What are some features people desire in their headlamps? Use case being nighttime bouldering, multipitching, and scrambling.

I feel like this is one of those places where you have to choose your compromise. I choose to give up some weight to get great battery life and brightness. My fenix hm61r has served me well on a variety of occasions. I appreciate it is both rechargeable and I can carry spare batteries. It is bulky and heavy tho. 

Brightness adjustment, AAA batteries, red light. Either start with a fresh set of batteries or carry spares.

Reliable lockout is nice.

I would like one that does not !@#$% turn on when inside my pack. I have gone to taking out the batteries until needed.

The NU25 and it's variants are a staple in backpacking for a reason.  I love that I can access red mode directly without cycling through a white mode, and USB c charging means one less cable or spare battery to bring, as I've already got a power bank and cable. They're under 50usd, so it's an approachable cost too.

Fuck me man, I sound like I'm on their payroll...

It's not as bright as I'd like. I'd gladly trade some battery life on an extra high setting if they could still give me a 24h dimmer setting too. And it's definitely not a thrower if you need to see far away like while belaying....

This horse has been beaten well past death (understand the search function sucks - try googling “best headlamps mountain project” for better results than the lousy internal engine here)… but what the hey, I’ll add in. 

As another posted said, carry spares. I carry a Coast FL75, the one that comes in two packs from Costco, from time to time (or find them on eBay/amazon for 20 bucks). 3 AAA’s, 450-500 lumens on high, focusing beam, red light… but no lockout switch, so you have to remove one battery from the headlamp. I also carry a tiny ziplock bag with 3 brand new spare AAA’s in the brain of the pack (or chalk bag), if there’s ANY chance I might need it for more than 2hrs. If the weight of 3 batteries keeps me from sending, I need to train more. 

I will echo the tale of NDG with the light from my phone for the last 1/2, after the headlamp ran out… pretty annoying, def wouldn’t want to do it in the dark.

Rechargeable is a must. Petzl actik core has a rechargeable battery pack but also accepts AAA's. I found rechargeable AAA's (like eneloop) to have poor performance in cold weather so I avoid them altogether, but then I found I was spending $30/year on lithium AAA's which is enough to buy a new headlamp after 2 years. So now I have the petzl actik core with its own lion battery, and then 3 lithium AAA's for backup and it's greatly cut down on battery costs, disposal.

I recently bought the nitecore NU33 to replace my old Tikka. Rechargeable is way better than AAA batteries, and the brightness is quite a bit better. Cons are it’s quite a bit heavier, the beam is kind of small (I prefer wider), and the strap doesn’t stay the same so I have to adjust it to my head most of the time. Overall it’s a huge upgrade. 

Check out ledlenser. Lights are what they do. Rechargeable and powerful - the MH5 is 400 lumens and cheap AF. you wouldn’t buy your cams from a clothing company 

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I highly recommend the Fenix HM60R Rechargeable Headlamp. Fenix is a flashlight company. It has up to 1300 lumens and crazy battery life at the the lower settings. I like having the high lumen beam, because it allows you to scope out a trail/climb at further distance and a wider arc to get your bearings before going back to the low beam.  Most importantly, the crucial feature of rechargeable headlamps is the ability to carry replaceable batteries. The Fenix will also work with two CR123A lithium batteries. I always carry the batteries but still have yet to use them. The battery life is truly outstanding. I've had it out for a couple nights in the South Fork (long descents after dark) without recharging, and it's fairly quick to recharge with a battery pack if you're out for a long trip (3hrs). The one downside is it is a bit heavier than a cheap/climbing company headlamp at 157g. I like to try to keep my pack as light as possible but I'm happy to pay the weight penalty for the Fenix.  

Another vote for Fenix. I have the HM50R for when I need a reliable headlamp. I use a nitecore as my everyday just in case headlamp. There’s nothing more I can say that isnt already written in dozens of threads and online about the Fenix lamps.

I really like the Nitecore NU25 (the old version, have not tried the new version). I replaced the strap with shockcord and a barrel cinch. One lives in my chalkbag, the other lives in my trail running vest.

For me, for climbing, it is plenty. I would only rarely need to use it.

If its something where I need more light, I'd consider bringing my Zebralight H600Fc or d. 18650 batt, floody, high CRI 4000-5000K kinda range so colors pop more than under cool white light. It will go very bright if needed.

An important aspect is comfort. If its a very bright headlamp and its out on the front of your helmet, it will tend to make it dip down in the front and will not be very comfortable. If its split with a batt compartment in the back the weight can balance better, can have more batt capacity, but it also tends to just be more weight and take up more space overall... but if you are wearing it on the walk off and not wearing a helmet, then that doesn't really matter... Or if you are planning to be wearing it for a really long time and really want that much light, it can make sense.

Off topic, but for trail running specifically, a very wide even cone of pure flood light at the waist is far superior to a headlamp. Casts better shadows to enable more rapid depth perception, no bugs in face, etc... only downside is you don't see animal eyes or retroreflective signs and markers shining back at you.

Features I personally look for in headlamps:
* lock out capable - partially unscrew cap, press 2 buttons at the same time, etc...
* low mode first - use the least light necessary to accomplish the job, save battery life, save you and your friends eyes
* red light mode - just nice to have
* charge indicator - some method to see battery voltage or roughly know batt capacity
* USB-C charging - basically mandatory for small lights, I care less when its on 18650 lights

I'm very surprised no one has mentioned buying headlamps that use AA not AAA batteries. They are out there if you look. I got fed up of having my AAA  battery headlight dim/die,  and the hassle of always needing extra batteries. The headlamp I use is heavy, but AA batteries have 3X the charge capacity of AAA.

Probably partially because:

A 3450mAh 18650 lithium-ion battery has approximately:
4.26 times the energy of a standard AA alkaline cell (with a capacity of 2000mAh).
7.74 times the energy of a standard AAA alkaline cell (with a capacity of 1100mAh).

Total weight of AA batteries equivalent to one 18650 battery: approximately 97.87 grams.
Total weight of AAA batteries equivalent to one 18650 battery: approximately 88.97 grams.

Desert Rock Sports wrote:

Probably partially because:

A 3450mAh 18650 lithium-ion battery has approximately:
4.26 times the energy of a standard AA alkaline cell (with a capacity of 2000mAh).
7.74 times the energy of a standard AAA alkaline cell (with a capacity of 1100mAh).

Total weight of AA batteries equivalent to one 18650 battery: approximately 97.87 grams.
Total weight of AAA batteries equivalent to one 18650 battery: approximately 88.97 grams.

Worth pointing out for those not wanting to read the fine print that the fenix headlamps use 18650s

Fenix HM61R is my go-to climbing headlamp.

Battery will last a long time (plenty for alpine start and through the evening.

High power illuminates things very far away.

Waterproof

Very durable

Uses a 18650 rechargeable battery

A cold weather version of the 18650 battery is available too.

https://www.fenixlighting.com/products/fenix-hm61r-v2-rechargeable-headlamp

https://www.nitecorestore.com/NITECORE-NL1835LTHP-18650-Battery-p/bat-nite-18650-nl1835lthp.htm

Really like my slonik, pretty similar to the Fenix others have listed. I'm personally a fan of just on off, I don't care much to have to deal with a lot of settings. Rechargeable with a replaceable battery is also great. 

Desert Rock Sports wrote:

Probably partially because:

A 3450mAh 18650 lithium-ion battery has approximately:
4.26 times the energy of a standard AA alkaline cell (with a capacity of 2000mAh).
7.74 times the energy of a standard AAA alkaline cell (with a capacity of 1100mAh).

My rechargeable AA's batteries bought on Amazon have a capacity of 2800mAH each .....

3 in my headlamp = 8.4 mAH of available power .... gives power for much longer than most headlamps.

I did look up the Fenix illumination products...OUCH ...super expensive !

Ian Dibbs wrote:

I did look up the Fenix illumination products...OUCH ...super expensive !

80 bucks for a headlamp with rechargeable battery that has lasted me 4 years and certainly ticks off all the OP's use cases doesn't seem super expensive.

Fenix 50 is only $60