Which headlamp would you recommend?

[Wise Old Owl]

Thats fine and I agree with you and muddywaters on this, but as I have found out recently as one goes past 50+ years you do need them more.
As I do inspections in the city I have spent serious dollars on flashlights, some of my coworkers have $150 micro flashlights.

[Odd Man Out]

I seem to recall seeing a penlight style (one AA or AAA) that had a clip so you could clip it to the brim of your hat, giving you both a headlamp and a handheld option for less weight. Anyone know what that might have been or had experience with it?

[Connie]

Nite Ize?

I have had, still have, Nite Ize and accessories.

Wise Old Owl, I have seen penlights start at $110.

[DaFireMedic]

I just switched to an eGear EQ2 headlamp that I picked up at REI for $12. Its advertised as weighing less than an ounce, but mine weighs 1.2 oz, on my scale so it didn't meet their weight claim as packaged, but still very light for a headlamp of this power. Its advertised at 22 lumens on the package and has a very focused beam, which I like, lighting a bright circle on the trail in front of you. The beam seems to be brighter than my 25 lumen Black Diamond Gizmo at less than half the weight. I was using a Photon X-Light Micro mounted on a headband with swivel mount scavanged from a Harbor Freight headlamp, total weight of 1.1 oz. It was very useful around camp and did OK for mild night hiking, but the EQ2 is much better and I carry the Photon without the band now as a backup. The eGear takes two 2032 type batteries, and seems to get roughly the same battery life as the Photon. I do as was mentioned by others in that I either buy the batteries online for a few dollars for 10, or buy them at Harbor Freight. It gets too expensive otherwise, but 2032's are still available in nearly every grocery store and gas station in needed. I even found some packages of 4 in the dollar store the other day.

I just ordered another EQ2 online for my son.

[DaFireMedic]

Sorry, couldn't edit my post.

There is apparently more than one EQ2 model from eGear. I have the "Ultralight".

[Drybones]

Do the people you hike with a favor and get one with a red light...it also wont draw bugs to you.

[leaftye]

Do the people you hike with a favor and get one with a red light...it also wont draw bugs to you.

Or get a light with a low low enough that it causes minimal night vision loss. Few of the cheap plastic lights like you'll find at REI have a low low enough. Even the coin lights are way too bright. It takes high quality components or at least high QA standards with a high discard rate to get lights that will give you extreme lows.

[BrokenAeroVT]

Sounds like you're looking for a low cost, low weight headlamp.

Go here: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/s~princeton-tec/ and look at two lamps: closeout models of the low weight Tactical Remix Lithium (CR123) and the Fuel (3 AAA Alkies). If you sub the email flyer and wait a while, you can get a 35% discount coupon in addition to the already discounted price. In that case, you could get an amazing price of $25 and $12, respectively. The First is lighter because of the lithium battery (2.3oz / 2.7oz). These lights feature wide dispersion in low setting and that intensity is bright enough for the kind of pre-dawn hiking you desire. Just be aware that these are only water resistant, meaning you'd better grab them out of the creek right away and check them. They aren't regulated, so the intensity dims over the life of the battery. You might need 4-8 CR123 lithiums over a thru-hike with an hour a day use on low setting.

I used the Princeton Tec 2010 Quad for my thru-hike, and its regulated low setting was wide and perfect in range for a lot of night hiking I did--plus it could go lighter in weight because you could interchangeably use triple AAA lithiums. The Princeton Tec switch lasted the whole hike of 120 days. They've fixed my complaints with it since then--using a harder plastic and adding more ratchets to keep the aim steady. My ratchet started becoming sensitive to hard steps half way through the hike, and progressively worse. Nothing a piece of chip board in the ratchet couldn't fix, though. PT is going to repair that problem for me however.

I'm going ultralight now and despite the 3.5 oz weight, I plan on eventually upgrading to the Tactical Quad and always use the low setting. I lend my batteries to other hikers in need when regulation kicks out. I needed a new set of batteries every 12 days or so with my old Quad hiking this way. I was using the light maybe 3-4 hours a night on average. Plus, the design of the Tactical does not have the narrow plastic between the switch and the lens which broke on mine after a modest fall.

I'm hoping PT will come out with a Remix styled pivot on a lamp that has the waterproof to 1m, regulated voltage and lithium/alkaline interchangeability features of my present lamp. If its foggy in the pre-dawn dark, you may want some red light. The tactical has that deployable filter. I've had to hold up for fog without it--couldn't find the blazes. The pivot design of the Remix is superior to the Quad's because the center of gravity of the pivoting battery compartment is centered on the pivot axis--it doesn't torque against the ratchet and wear it out like the Quad did, although the improvements of the new Quad will probably keep that in check.

[Lyle]

My favorite if I'm not night hiking, and just need light in camp is the Petzl eLite. 1 oz. Use this all the time.

+ 1 Excellent lite. Batteries are not AA, but are very common button batteries, available all over. The thing is, they last so long, I have only replaced mine once in about 6 years. I do carry an extra one now, but it is less than an oz.

[Cadenza]

How about stop drinking fluids about 7pm... Drain before bed - you will make it.

You may be a wise old owl but you don't know much about an old man's prostate.

[Wise Old Owl]

You may be a wise old owl but you don't know much about an old man's prostate.

wow - OK WITH ALL DO RESPECT you must be older than me or listen to AM radio and Mark Levine!

[DaFireMedic]

How about stop drinking fluids about 7pm... Drain before bed - you will make it.

I have trouble making it all the way through the night. I use the ziplock back technique (much easier if sleeping in a quilt). Kneel up, do your business into a ziplock bag (Don't miss. Thankfully, one thing we get with age is a good aim), and set it outside the tent. Obviously, my wife can't use this technique.

Regarding the loss of night vision, I do prioritize courtesy and take care not to light up shelters or the campground. A red Photon or something is fine for those purposes, but it'd be separate from my night hiking headlamp. For night hiking, I find it more important to have good visibility in front of me on the trail. It doesn't have to be 200+ lumens, just enough to see a ways in front of me and avoid obstacles. The little eGear is my favorite so far.

[Wise Old Owl]

Every once in a while you will get a zip lock that leaks... Wide mouth Gatorade - labeled Uggh!

[atmilkman]

Every once in a while you will get a zip lock that leaks... Wide mouth Gatorade - labeled Uggh!

I don't even label it. I get up, dump it out, rinse it, top it off, on my way. I do have duct tape around it so in the night I can tell the difference between it and the good water, but I drink out of it just the same as the others.

[BrokenAeroVT]

I buy them from Ikea in 10 packs for ridiculously little money and then, since the 10 pack fits in a standard letter envelope and weighs as little as a forever stamp, just have them mailed to me as I need them.

You can only send Primary lithium batteries (non-rechargeable type) surface mail, and USPS first class mail is sometimes sent via air.

Labeling requirements must be met to ensure lithium metal is not transported on aircraft. The batteries must be sent in their original sealed package in a strong outer package that protects the inner contents from crushing during handling and transit. See USPS DMM 601.10.20 http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/601.htm#1175263

The reason for the rules is Lithium metal burns when it comes in contact with water. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imLaWNjWCUM This can start a fire that will most likely spread to every package on a plane.

[pawee]

....(maw here).............i would say it depends on how much night hiking you'll be doing......paw and i do very little hiking in the dark, so we saved money and weight by using that dinky little 5 dollar walmart thing.....perfect for our needs!

[leaftye]

....(maw here).............i would say it depends on how much night hiking you'll be doing......paw and i do very little hiking in the dark, so we saved money and weight by using that dinky little 5 dollar walmart thing.....perfect for our needs!

Smart. It's really all you need if all you use it for is finding your way to a bush at night and if you don't care to see what made that noise. I don't need much more than 50 lumens at night, but sometimes noises at night scare me and I like to see what it is. That's helped me a couple times. Most recently while doing trail work in the Sierras. A couple bears raided our kitched, and I could light them up from my tent. I chased them off, but one stopped and stood a short distance away. I think it stopped because usually people have such dim headlights that they wouldn't be able to see the bear at that distance. I could. I chased it off again while throwing logs at it. Earlier that year on another project, some guys was acting up at night, and I could light up his campsite from our campsite. So it really helps to know what you'll want to use your light for. Fortunately if money is not an issue, very bright lights are available at a very low weight.

Sort of off topic, but I have this on the way.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfi...x-14500-122591
With this head band.
http://www.kaidomain.com/Product/Details.S009709

I don't think it will be ideal for hiking because the low will probably be way too bright, and the beam might be too narrow. It can awfully bright with a chargeable lithium battery, but can also use a regular alkaline/nimh/lithium AA battery. If anyone is interested, I'll do a review and compare it against a Fenix HP10 headlamp and Xeno X03 flashlight. Neither of those lights are ideal for hiking imho, one is too heavy and the other is too floody and only a flashlight, but I haven't invested in a new really good light since I don't plan to do another thru hike until at least next year.

Fwiw, I night hike frequently.

[Connie]

No matter what you select, having a selectable illumination setting is much appreciated.

Low beam for not disturbing fellow hikers. High beam for illumining the entire trail for nighttime hiking (I don't recommend nighttime hiking - but it can be essential).

I can get all that in the REI LED Trail Cap.

The LED's are in the hat brim.

[Berserker]

Zebralight makes some good lights. I like them because they get dim enough not to blind you while reading in your bag, but bright enough and with a light pattern that you can light up animals in the distance. That light pattern also makes it better for night hiking than pure flood lights. Their headlights have a 90° head on the end that allows you to remove it and hold it in your hand, which creates better shadows for safer night hiking.

+1 I have used a Petzl Tikka and a Princeton Tec EOS fairly extensively. I decided to try out the Zebralight H51 for no other reason than I have kind of a flashlight/headlamp fetish. I have to say that the H51 is in a different category than the aforementioned lights or any other lights I have used. It has 6 different intensities, uses a single AA battery, and the pattern of the throw is awesome. It throws out a brighter spot in the middle, but the light then diffuses evenly on out to the edges where the brighter area is mixed in nicely with the dimmer area. It also has a wide angle of diffusion compared to other lights I've used so when doing things like camp chores or night hiking it allows for viewing of a wider area.

[handlebar]

I just got a Princeton Tech - PTech. It's much lighter and brighter than my former light, has a red LED, a low white light setting, and a high white light (think battery hog) setting. Plus it has the circuitry to properly use lithium batteries. Best of all, it takes only two AAA batteries.