A headlamp is among the most necessary 10 necessities for backpacking, mountaineering, fastpacking, path working, climbing, and some other form of outside journey sport. Utilizing your smartphone as a flashlight doesn’t minimize it. However the days of carrying further AA and AAA battery-powered headlamps are historical past. USB rechargeable headlamps have turn into ubiquitous and are very handy as a result of they are often recharged utilizing the battery packs that almost all backpackers carry. Twin-power headlamps, ones that may be powered by a chargeable battery or AA/AAA batteries, are useful if a “wall recharge” is just not accessible.
Listed below are our high 10 picks for the most effective rechargeable headlamps for backpacking and mountaineering. Whereas there are some acquainted firm names listed beneath, the businesses that used to dominate the headlamp market have been eclipsed by smaller extra revolutionary corporations providing equal and higher-functioning merchandise. You merely don’t should pay an arm and a leg to get an excellent headlamp anymore. Be sure you take a look at our recommendation beneath about what to search for when shopping for a chargeable headlamp for backpacking, mountaineering, and path working or climbing.
1. Petzl Actik Core Rechargeable Headlamp
The Petzl Actik Core headlamp is a chargeable, multi-beam headlamp that gives 600 lumens of energy to mild the best way throughout dynamic outside actions like working, mountaineering, and backpacking. It comes with a 1250 mAh CORE rechargeable battery (included) and can be appropriate with 3 AAA alkaline, lithium, or Ni-MH rechargeable batteries with out the necessity for an adapter, which is a good comfort. It has 2 beam patterns (flood or combined) and three white brightness ranges, together with a purple lighting mode and lock and a center-mounted pivot that allows you to orient the lamp within the desired route. A battery cost indicator reveals the battery degree every time you flip the headlamp on or off. The headlamp has a mean run time on excessive (600 lumens) for two hours and on low (7 lumens) for 120 hours.
2. Coast FL1R Micro Headlamp
Ultralight however mighty,
the Coast FL1R Micro Headlamp packs 435-lumen energy right into a super-compact and low-weight micro-USB rechargeable lighting answer. Weighing simply 1.7 oz, it has three mild modes—excessive, low, and purple, with a battery meter and lock-out to stop unintentional energy drainage when packed away. The built-in 630 mAh lithium polymer battery gives a mean run time of 4 hrs. 45 min on the low, 160-lumen setting. We actually just like the clip characteristic built-in into the headlamp that allows you to take away the strap and fasten the sunshine to a stationary object or hat invoice for job lightning. Coast headlamps are exceptionally prime quality and include a lifetime guarantee.
Learn the SectionHiker Coast FL1R Evaluate. Store at REI
3. Black Diamond SPOT-R Headlamp
The Black Diamond SPOT-R is a USB rechargeable 400-lumen LED headlamp good for mountaineering, path working, and tenting. Its settings embrace full energy in proximity and distance modes, dimming, strobe, purple evening imaginative and prescient, and digital lock mode. The SPOT-R gives as much as 400 lumens on its max setting, 200 lumens on medium, and 6 lumens on low with a 1500 mAh battery that gives the sunshine with a mean run time on excessive at 4 hours; medium: 8 hours, and low: 225 hours. It has an built-in battery meter and digital lockout to stop unintentional energy drain. However what units the SPOT-R other than different headlamps is its IPX8 waterproof score, making it totally submersible so you employ it or rain or drop it in a creek.
A dual-power mannequin (the SPOT) can be accessible that features three AAA batteries and is appropriate with a chargeable BD 1500 Li-ion battery and charger (bought individually) for max flexibility.
4. Nitecore NU33 Rechargeable Headlamp
The Nitecore NU 33 is a really shiny 700-lumen rechargeable headlamp with a larger-than-average 3000 mAh lithium-ion battery (equal to 9 AAA batteries) for long-lasting energy. It has a major white LED with 3 outputs, SOS, a beacon with a excessive CRI auxiliary LED, and auxiliary purple LEDs with a tilt adjustment making it splendid for evening mountaineering, path working, and tenting. The NU 33 has a built-in energy indicator and lock to stop unintentional activation, it’s IP66 waterproof and features a USB-C cable for recharging. It could actually run for 9 hours on excessive and 147 hours on ultra-low.
5. Black Diamond Astro 300-R
Black Diamond is just not identified for making headlamps with trivial (easy-to-remember) controls, however the brand new rechargeable Astro 300-R breaks the mould. This single-lens single-switch headlamp has a white lite and three brightness ranges: excessive, medium, and low with full energy, dimming, and strobe modes. It’s powered by a 1500 mAh Lithium-ion rechargeable battery that recharges with a micro-US cost port and has an IPX4 score stormproof to resist rain and sleet from any angle. This headlamp additionally has a digital lockout to stop unintentional activation. The headlamp has a mean run time on excessive (300 lumens) for six hours and on low (6 lumens) for 140 hours. A dual-power mannequin (the Astro) can be accessible that features three AAA batteries and is appropriate with a chargeable BD 1500 Li-ion battery and charger (bought individually) for max flexibility.
6. Fenix HM 50R V2 LED Rechargeable Headlamp
The Fenix HM50R V2.0 is a high-powered LED headlamp that places out 700 lumens of sunshine. It comes with a detachable 16340 lithium-ion battery with 700 mAh of energy and an onboard USB-C appropriate charger. If you would like you possibly can carry further 16340 pre-charged batteries (or CR123A) and also you even have the flexibility to recharge them within the area from a battery pack or photo voltaic panel. The lean-capable headlamp could be faraway from the headscarf and carried like a flashlight or used as a job mild. The HM50R has 4 brightness modes: turbo, excessive, medium, and low, a battery indicator, and two beam sorts: spot and flood. The V2 model additionally has a brand new lock perform and a purple mode. The HM50R has a sturdy aluminum physique (not plastic) and is waterproof.
7. Biolite Headlamp 800 Professional
The Biolite Headlamp 800 Professional is a robust rechargeable headlamp able to throwing out a most of 800 lumens with a most 150-hour burn time, making it splendid for long-range actions like mountaineering, winter backpacking, or evening mountaineering while you want hours of steady efficiency. It has an enormous 3000 mAh USB rechargeable battery, an digital lock, and purple mild mode for long-lasting energy and most flexibility. Its slim-fit development sits flush in your brow or connected to a helmet with out bouncing or slipping. It may also be run straight from a USB battery (not included), even in excessive chilly (-20°C). That’s a uncommon however very beneficial characteristic for chilly climate use.
8. Nitecore NU25 UL
The Nitecore NU 25 UL is a 400-lumen ultra-lightweight headlamp with three beam sorts (highlight,
floodlight, auxiliary purple) optimized for outside use. It has a built-in 650mAh rechargeable battery that may obtain a most runtime of 45 hours (6 lumens) with an built-in USB-C port that quick costs to full in just one and a half hours. An influence indicator tells you when it’s time to cost whereas lockout mode prevents unintentional activation. The ultralight band is extremely reflective for enhanced visibility, together with glow-in-the-dark bands for visibility with out ambient mild.
9. LEDLenser MH10 Rechargeable Headlamp
The LEDLenser MH10 is a 600-lumen headlamp with an intuitive focus system that permits the sunshine to rapidly go from a broad floodlight to a sharply targeted long-distance beam with a twist of the sunshine aspect. There are not any sophisticated button sequences to recollect. It additionally has a variable pivot mechanism that allows you to alter the lamp up or right down to direct the sunshine the place you want it most. A purple backlight is included to be able to even be seen from behind. The MH10 comes with a sort 18650 rechargeable lithium-ion battery and is micro-USB appropriate. The sunshine features a lock to stop unintentional discharge and a battery meter.
10. Petzl Bindi Ultralight Headlamp
When grams matter,
the Petzl Bindi Ultralight Headlamp is the champ. Weighing simply 1.2 oz (35 g), this rechargeable 200 lumen mild additionally has some distinctive choices value contemplating. The wire headband helps you to put on it in your head or round your neck so you possibly can work at the hours of darkness. It may also be tilted upward, which is beneficial when climbing or working in your basement ceiling. Whereas small, it’s nonetheless tremendous purposeful with three lighting modes, a purple mild (steady or strobe), and two lockout modes to stop unintentional discharge. It additionally sports activities a 680 mAh micro-USB-rechargeable battery that makes it simple to maintain it powered on your every day coaching runs, with a max burn time of fifty hours.
Learn the SectionHiker Petzl Bindi Evaluate. Methods to Select a Rechargeable Headlamp
Listed below are a very powerful options and issues to guage when evaluating completely different rechargeable headlamps.
Battery Capability
Test the capability of the headlamps you’re curious about to see how a lot energy, measured in mAh, they will maintain. For those who plan on utilizing a headlamp on a multi-day journey, it’s helpful to carry one with a big battery capability so that you don’t should recharge it from a conveyable energy pack. Smaller-capacity batteries are positive for brief runs, however additionally, you will should recharge them extra regularly, which is usually a problem if you happen to use them lots.
Twin Energy Headlamps
Most rechargeable headlamps bundle in a cold-resistant lithium-ion battery, though there are additionally dual-power headlamps that may also be powered by old-school alkaline or lithium-ion batteries. For those who already carry a USB-enabled energy pack to cost your different digital units, then the latter might be pointless, though it is likely to be helpful in case your energy pack runs out of juice and you’ll’t recharge it. This isn’t a precedence for me, however some individuals desire being able to modify to common batteries as a contingency.
Headlamp Headbands
The entire headlamps listed above have battery packs which are built-in with their mild sources, so a single headband strap is all that’s wanted to put on them. Multi-strap headlamp headbands are solely obligatory for very heavy headlamps or ones with distant battery packs which are carried individually from the sunshine supply and linked by an exterior wire.
Headlamp Tilt
For those who plan to path run or hike at evening, it’s necessary to get a headlamp that tilts in its strap bracket so you possibly can direct the spot or floodlight onto the bottom and out entrance, forward of you.
Lumens/Mild Output
The most recent technology of LED lights accessible in headlamps are very highly effective and the lumen outputs typically exceed what’s required for nighttime use in camp and even for nighttime working. Something headlamp with 150 lumens or extra needs to be adequate for general-purpose backpacking and mountaineering. When buying a headlamp, the utmost mild output is far much less necessary than the size of time the headlamp can burn on low energy, since that’s the setting you’ll use most frequently in camp or in your tent.
Crimson Mild Mode
Headlamps with a purple mild mode are good for preserving your evening imaginative and prescient if you wish to learn in your tent or star gaze. In addition they provide help to keep away from blinding your companions in camp or across the campfire. The purple mild mode additionally makes use of far much less power than white mild modes and is an efficient solution to preserve your battery energy between costs.
Headlamp Weight
Whereas gear weight is necessary, it’s typically much less necessary than a headlamp’s options, effectivity, or battery life. For instance, if you want to carry a heavier energy pack to recharge a lighter weight headlamp extra regularly, you in all probability haven’t saved as a lot weight total as you may like. Focus in your wants, if you understand them, and let that information your choice as to which headlamp you choose.
On-Off Lock
Headlamps with handbook or digital on-off locks are helpful to stop the unintentional activation of a headlamp when it’s packed. I gained’t purchase a headlamp with out one, however that’s simply my private desire.
Battery Indicator
Some type of battery indicator is beneficial on a chargeable headlamp so you understand when to recharge the battery and when it’s completed recharging. With out it, you’re extra prone to attempt to use a headlamp that’s out of energy while you want it.
Test Out All of SectionHiker’s Gear Guides!
SectionHiker is reader-supported. We solely become profitable if you buy a product via our affiliate hyperlinks. Assist us proceed to check and write unsponsored and impartial gear opinions, newbie FAQs, and free mountaineering guides.
