Love my Princeton Tec Fuel.. May have to look into the e+Lite or Tikka 2 Plus.. Thanks, Stick
Love my e+Lite...great for camp chores. I don't think it would throw enough light for night hiking.
+ however many for the Petzl e+lite. Been using one for quite a few years now, just changed the battery about a year ago. Should be good to go for many more years now. It is plenty bright for camp chores, offers red for in-shelter consideration, simple to adjust light to shine exactly where you want it, adequate for bear-bagging after dark, ok for hiking if you get caught out unexpectedly. GREAT weight and durability.
If I planned to do regular night hiking, I would probably choose something a bit brighter, but this is serviceable if necessary.
used my elite coming out of the grand canyon last year for about 2 hrs and again on roan mtn this past feb for an hr+, not as bright as some. not a bad little light.Originally Posted by daddytwosticks
Love my e+Lite...great for camp chores. I don't think it would throw enough light for night hiking.
I have a Petzl Zipka. It has a bright light and is light in weight.
I should have added that I'm as blind as a bat...anything short of a 1000 watt searchlight would lead to problems for me on a night hike...glad to hear the e+lite is usable for hiking at night.
I would have to say the Black Diamond Spot gets my vote, not the lightest or the brightest but to me it is right down the middle.
The petzl Zipka 2 Plus is great. Used with lithium batts. mine weighs 2 oz. On high powerful enough for night hiking, on low its great for around camp and red for after hours night vision.
Zebralight (HQ in Texas) just released a new headlight, the H600, that puts out 750 lumens and weighs about 50 grams. That light output is close to the output of a halogen automobile headlight, which off the top of my head if 900 lumens for a H4 bulb. This headlamp has a spot+flood pattern that I find ideal for backpacking. The spot allows for a longer throw to see things far away, for example, to see that it's a bear making that racket you heard in the camp kitchen. The flood helps light up the interior of a tent. The only downside is that it uses a 18650 lithium ion rechargeable battery and cannot use a pair of CR123 batteries like the Spark headlamps can, so this means you'd have to carry a dummy CR123 cell to use it with a single CR123...unfortunately the only dummy cell I know of is incredibly heavy because it's solid copper. In any case, if you can recharge occasionally, then it's not a problem. There's a guy on another forum that goes by Cottonpickers that makes a very compact, quick and lightweight usb charger... I may possibly go with this headlamp for my next thru hike attempt since I really love having access to a lot of light, but also love the very low super long battery life setting that this headlamp has.
Petzl e+Lite Emergency Headlamp with Integrated Whistle
I got one of these before my last section hike to NH, worked GREAT!
Super light, takes up no space, left the plastic container it can fit into, which is also really small and light........at home.
Not sure how this would work for longer distance night hiking, I love it, easy weight saving decision, same functionality. I know that I can lose 10-20 lbs but saing space and weight with my gear continues to be a fun part of this hobby.
Simpler, lighter and smaller is making this all more enjoyable..........more about the hiking, less about the gear and bulk.
Del Q, how it works for night hiking depends a lot on you. Lately I've been finding that I prefer a flashlight for night hiking because the lower position of the light casts shadows, whereas a headlamp doesn't cast shadows and makes the ground look flat. I've also found that I trip and stumble less with brighter lights, and that translates into a reduced chance of injury. A little extra weight and bulk is well worth it when it can very well prevent a hike ending injury. That's even more important since the days are getting shorter and more night hiking must be done to get the miles done.
I used to own a black diamond gizmo, it is lightweight and cheap, but I found the light is dim. Thanks to god, I then lost gizmo, I got a chance to switch to black diamond spot. Much much more bright light, still lightweight, great quality. Very functional, I can lock the light when I don't need it for a long time. There are white and red lights options.
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