Headlamps

[Different Socks]

I want to use mine for writing, reading and hiking. What is the best and brightest I could get. Features it must have are different settings of illumination, ability to angle the light down fro reading and writing.

[Different Socks]

I want to use mine for writing, reading and hiking. What is the best and brightest I could get. Features it must have are different settings of illumination, ability to angle the light down fro reading and writing.

Also, it must not be a small block wrapped around my head.

[nsherry61]

Any headlamp that you can get to run dim enough will work fine. Reading and writing, you probably want around 4-8 lumins, 20 would be overwhelming. For hiking you probably want 10-50 lumins, more than that is unnecessarily blinding except for when you are trying to find poorly marked trails or distant trail markers of some kind. You also want good lensing, because reading and writing with blotchy light sucks. In summary, you are not demanding much as most any light on the market will meet your needs as long as you can dim it enough to read and write with. The "best and brightest" you could get would probably be about $300 and 2500 lumins - probably not really what you want.

[Zippy Morocco]

Zebralights has become my go to. They have many choices and the light rotates up and down very nicely. Works on 1 AA and produces and amazingly bright light as well as a nice dim light. There is no red light if that is something you need. http://www.zebralight.com/

[Maui Rhino]

I've been very happy with my Princeton Tec Vizz. Good brightness for night hiking, including 3 levels of brightness. My favorite feature is that the red light is the default setting when you first turn it on. No more flash of bright white light to wake tentmates and destroy your night vision when you gotta go in the middle of the night.

[jefals]

I've been very happy with my Princeton Tec Vizz. Good brightness for night hiking, including 3 levels of brightness. My favorite feature is that the red light is the default setting when you first turn it on. No more flash of bright white light to wake tentmates and destroy your night vision when you gotta go in the middle of the night.
Do you know about how much night hiking you can do with it before having to change the battery?

[bigcranky]

+1 on the Zebralight with the AA battery. Got mine from Amazon, there are choices on lens type and color of light (warm, cool). I have used a succession of 3-AAA headlamps from Petzl and Black Diamond over the last twenty five years, and didn't really love any of them. I am cautiously in love with the Zebralight. :)

[Maui Rhino]

Do you know about how much night hiking you can do with it before having to change the battery?

The majority of my night hiking has been using the red light, which is not battery-intensive. I've used it for 4 nights, with 4-6hrs of use each night, before changing batteries. If using just the highest lumen setting, it will last about 15-20 hours.... I'm using rechargeable Goal Zero batteries that are a couple years old, which may also impact my battery life.

[saltysack]

+1 Zebra light!! Just like BC!! By far best I've owned! 1 aa


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[Kaptainkriz]

Interesting

Zebralights has become my go to. They have many choices and the light rotates up and down very nicely. Works on 1 AA and produces and amazingly bright light as well as a nice dim light. There is no red light if that is something you need. http://www.zebralight.com/

[colorado_rob]

Here is a review of that zebralight:

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Headlamp-Reviews/Zebralight-H52

It points out abysmal battery life compared to other headlamps. But the article doesn't talk about battery life on the lower settings, which is likely where you'll be operating mostly. I sure do like the single-AA thing. Kinda expensive though.

I have a single AA headlamp, the Mammut S-lite, fantastic little headlamp, 1.4 ounces and 30 lumens (max), three settings. Just bright enough for casual night hiking. The bad news is they stopped making it for some reason.

[Leo L.]

I've used a Petzl Myo XP for 9 years, until it broke a few months ago.
Cable insulation britteled and broken, well known problem.
After some nice mails to the local Petzl importer I got a brand new one for free.
Now thats a replacement policy!
To speak about quality: My oldest Petzl is more than 30yrs old and still functional, but retired to home use after having been carried in the backpack for 20+ years.

The new Myo I have now has three programmable settings, so you can make your favorite low-light "camp use"-setting.
The lumen range is from 20-170, I found a medium setting around 40-60lm perfect for nighthiking.

[Bronk]

I like the petzl zipka because it is the only headlamp on the market with a retractable headband. The headband is a thin cord that retracts into the headlamp so that when you aren't wearing it it is very compact. Matter of fact, if you saw it sitting on a table you'd probably think it didn't have a headband on it.

https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/CLASSIC-headlamps/ZIPKA#.VqY4l2dIhEY

[Bronk]

I've used a Petzl Myo XP for 9 years, until it broke a few months ago.
Cable insulation britteled and broken, well known problem.
After some nice mails to the local Petzl importer I got a brand new one for free.
Now thats a replacement policy!
To speak about quality: My oldest Petzl is more than 30yrs old and still functional, but retired to home use after having been carried in the backpack for 20+ years.

The new Myo I have now has three programmable settings, so you can make your favorite low-light "camp use"-setting.
The lumen range is from 20-170, I found a medium setting around 40-60lm perfect for nighthiking.I live off grid so my petzl headlamp is used as a reading light for a couple of hours every day. My first one lasted me 7 or 8 years of daily use...it would have lasted a lot longer but at the time I slept in a loft bed 7 feet in the air and I dropped it multiple times from that height...eventually the case cracked and the batteries wouldn't stay in it. I bought a replacement and have had it a few years.

[LIhikers]

One thing I look for in a head lamp is the ability to open the battery compartment without having to pry, or snap, the case open or closed.
That makes it much easier for me to change the batteries in the dark.

[Leo L.]

One thing I look for in a head lamp is the ability to open the battery compartment without having to pry, or snap, the case open or closed.
That makes it much easier for me to change the batteries in the dark.

The medium of the three Petzls I have has a battery lid that needs really skilled fingers with strong fingernails to open - no fun in the dark and cold.
The new Myo has a soft rubber-type lid that peels off quite easy, and is held in place by its own tension and by the headband.
I like this peel-off lid, as I routinely place a small plasic stripe between one battery and the contact to make very sure the lamp won't go on in the pack unintentionally.
Too many times I'd seen dead batteries because of this.
One time a friend burnt his huge strong 20W halogen headlamp through his jacket by this. Still see his puzzeled face when he opened the pack and Aladdins Ghost seemed to curl out in a huge stinking smoke.

[QiWiz]

You might look at a Zebra light. I use the H52w AA Headlamp. Bright setting is bright enough to night hike on trail; has med and low setting too. Angles down just fine. Takes one AA battery. It's my go-to headlamp when I plan to night hike or I might need to night hike. Otherwise the Petzl eLite is my favorite.

[bigcranky]

Re: having the light turn on in the pack. Grrr. Hate when that happens. The Spot had a lockout feature; hold the button down for several seconds and it locks. Worked okay. The Zebralight is even easier -- just twist the end cap a quarter turn.

Re: battery life. I get excellent life from both Eneloop and Lithium AA batteries in the Zebralight, but then I have never used the highest power setting. The light has six settings: two high, two medium, and two low, with three switch settings for easy on-off. I have it set to the lower of each setting, which is plenty. The lowest low setting is perfect for very dark situations, while the lower medium setting is fine for around camp. (It's easy to switch between all the settings.)

[saltysack]

Here is a review of that zebralight:

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Headlamp-Reviews/Zebralight-H52

It points out abysmal battery life compared to other headlamps. But the article doesn't talk about battery life on the lower settings, which is likely where you'll be operating mostly. I sure do like the single-AA thing. Kinda expensive though.

I have a single AA headlamp, the Mammut S-lite, fantastic little headlamp, 1.4 ounces and 30 lumens (max), three settings. Just bright enough for casual night hiking. The bad news is they stopped making it for some reason.

My H52 zebra uses 1 AA. It will kill a lithium on high in an hour but at medium it last over 8 hours even with an eneloop rechargeable battery. I use mine frequently for night hiking. Medium is as bright as my Petzel on high that uses 3AAA batteries. I seldom use high unless I get disoriented and need serious light. Great light! I'd rather carry an extra battery in my kit than having more weight on my head....Very durable and water proof...aluminum housing vs plastic.
$64.00 on Amazon...it's the Yeti of headlamps IMO.


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[TexasBob]

You might look at a Zebra light............... Otherwise the Petzl eLite is my favorite.

I also have an eLite and it is great. My is about 8 years old and has an elastic head strap and a small case. It has a red light as well as two white light settings (and strobe settings). Battery compartment is easy to open and uses two cr2032 batteries. It and a spare set of batteries weigh about an ounce and a half. I never have night hiked and never plan to. I think this headlamp is about all you need for the AT.

[VITCHELO]

There is also a new headlamp that integrates 2 RED lights, both FLASHING & STEADY red lights that make reading more practical. You may check it out too http://www.amazon.com/Brightest-Headlamp-Flashlight-Running-Camping/dp/B01AYDU2IW/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1456621177&sr=8-15&keywords=headlamp+flashlight