Posted by Doug Andrews on March 20, 2007 at 2:52 PM
I think I'm going to purchase a headlamp. I get tired of stumbling down a dark trail on those pre-sunrise/post-sunset hikes. Does anyone have any they'd recommend. Thanks.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on March 21, 2007 at 12:25 AM
I have a black diamond model with 5 LEDs. The center LED is extra bright. It runs either all 5 or two of the less bright ones and runs a really long time on one set of batteries compared to my old xenon/incandescent ones. I think it runs 20 hours on 2 or 3 AAA batteries. Petzl has been making nice headlamps for a long time though and they know what they are doing.
Posted by Scott Fricke on March 21, 2007 at 12:37 AM
The LED's are the way to go, I've found the most important thing to check is the on/off switch and how easy it is to move, too easy and it could get switched on when you have it packed away.
My wife and I both have a Petzl Tikka 3-LED model. Small, comfortable, long-battery life, inexpensive and more than adequate illumination (especially when moving as slow as I do! ).
Posted by Scott Borger on March 21, 2007 at 10:28 AM
In my opinion, LED's are good for battery life and walking around camp, but they have a pretty weak range. If you plan on hiking at night, you really need one with a Xenon bulb as well. That said, I suggest the Black Diamond Helion (3 LED's, 1 Xenon) or the Black Diamond Vectra IQ (4 LED's, 1 Xenon, very water resistant). These models are a slight bit bigger than Tikka, etc, but well worth it if you ask me. The 4 superbright LED's give you 19m of white light. The Xenon bulb gives you 62m of a more natural light. 10 hours on batteries with the Xenon, and 142 hours with the LEDs. But, since it has both, you can switch between the two and have the best of both worlds. If you want something cheaper, see if you can find the older Black Diamond Gemini (2 LED, 1 Xenon). I have the Gemini and Vectra IQ. They are both great, but the Vectra IQ is made from a durable water resistant/proof polycarbonate and has a battery indicator light that goes from green to yellow to red. Try changing batteries in the dark with no moonlight and you'll appreciate this function. Hope this helps.
Posted by Nat Coalson on March 21, 2007 at 11:39 AM
I use an Energizer LED headlamp that I bought at Home Depot for around $15. So far I like it a lot, the only problem has been the switch turning on inside my bag from being shuffled around.
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