What headlamp do you like AND WHY? (Read 993 times)

I went with the Black Diamond Spot--I think I paid $20 for it.  Get's the job done, but digs into my forehead a bit.  I like it because it works and was cheap.  This forehead irritation is not a problem in the winter.  I used a friend's Petzl Tikka (sp) it worked a little better in that it had padding on it, but it was more expensive.

I use a Princeton Tec Quad($30).  I also use a flashing bike light(red) and a reflective vest.

I really like the Black Diamond Sprinter--the beam pattern is perfect for trailrunning. Unfortunately if you're running for more than a few hours it will run out of juice. So I got the Spot, which is also great, although too focused, and great battery life. My ideal headlamp would have the beam pattern of the Sprinter and the battery life of the Spot. I've put a couple layers of that Scotch translucent tape over the lens of the Spot and it spreads the beam out a bit.  At any rate, I have decided that carrying it in my hand at waist level is much better than wearing it on my head, because it throws shadows that give me much better depth perception on trail hazards. So, a good flashlight would do just as well.

A note about battery life--the claimed battery life is way, way optimistic. The Princeton Tec specs claimed a 20-something battery life for their headlamp on full bright. Not even close. After 8 hours mine was just about useless. So take the battery life that the manufacturer claims and divide by 4. That's how many hours you can count on. And have spare batteries.

Can you picture the scenario where you are in the middle of a night run and your headlamp fails, on a dark, moonless night, and you can't see even a few feet? That's my nightmare. With that in mind, here is my advice for night running:

Always have a reliable primary headlamp with fresh batteries, and a reliable backup headlamp with fresh batteries ON YOUR PERSON. Not in your drop bag, but ON YOUR PERSON.

Just spare batteries? Not good enough, what if the bulb burns out? Very unlikely but if you have that second headlamp in your pack it's no big deal.

How many lumens do I need?

This will depend on what you're doing. For straight road running, the Sprinter's 68 (older model) or 75 (newer model) seems way brighter than needed, but nice. My older one is likely similar.  I used it on low power frequently and could see very well (and could how lowered it more). But I don't know it's lumen rating. My somewhat educated guess is that even 40 lumens will be adequate FOR ME...

The Black Diamond Sprinter is able to dim the light, so I may try that. But I won't know how good it will be until I try it for a while.

For trail running, brightness would be more important... and a wider angle it seems. Further, I'd immediately consider some of the suggestions that others (like ProfessorR) stated concerning mounting on the chest/stomach/belt... for the better perception it would offer. I personally would HATE carrying a flashlight, so I would like that option.

NOTE: I also like a head mounted lamp because I can see animal eyes easily that way... waist mounted will not allow the same detection in that area.

How many lumens do I need?

80 lumen of Silva Trail Runner seems to be the absolute minimum on darker paths of the city park. Especially on rainy days. The wet asphalt is the worst surface to  run in the night.

I've used a 40 lumen lamp running through single track, in the dark and the rain.  I suspect there's significant variability in needed light.

Good point re variability. Not only will this vary from person to person, but the degree of spot/flood can make a difference. My current light is far better than my prior and I like that it has more flood aspects (the other was strictly spot), yet the required lumens goes a little up because of the additional flood aspects. It doesn't shine as far forward (which is fine... I don't need it) so it really fits my needs, but if it were more flood, I might need brighter. The use will also make it vary (trail/road) and the way it mounts likely affects it too (although I've stuck with headlamps so far).

Has anyone tried the Cree LED XM-L T6 lights? Those things are like car headlamps and open up a whole new world for offroad running. I have a Petzl Tikka 2 and although that is a good little light it is nowhere near the power of these.

They are often advertised as bike lights but you can get bundles that include a head fitment too. I have one that has a battery pack (2x 18650 Li- ion) at the rear of the strap and it seems nicely balanced enough and not heavy. The most I have used it for so far is 2 hours on full beam (also has low and strobe). I guess it might last for 3 hours on full and ?? on low. This may be a limiting factor for some although I have seen some with a separate 4-battery pack which would give longer life or carry spare batteries. I bought one of these direct from China for £18 GBP (inc postage) which is about $28. There is a risk in doing that of course (postage to UK was about 8 days) and I'm sure there will be some US suppliers albeit at higher cost but with more consumer safety.

The claimed lumens (1200-1600 lumens) for these lights are probably "optimistic"  but I have seen tests online that suggest real values of between 600-900 lumens depending on the quality of the batteries. This is still (I believe) x10 the value of a Petzl.

We have just formed a local head torch group for night time offroad running and for the one I organised we had over 50 runners. Great fun and a good social event with refreshment in the pub after!!

I have posted a picture of a headtorch similar to mine. If you check eBay, Amazon ot other sites i'm sure you will find many examples of this type of light. We also had one runner with two cree led torches attached at waist height which seemed to work well but I'm not sure how they were fitted.

HI - I just bought a Black Diamond Sprinter recently. The 75 lux are great - can see well at my pace (9-10 minute miles) but I can see how you might need a brighter light if bike riding. A couple times the light seemed to bounce off the fog a bit, but not too badly. This is at the highest setting, I have not found the need to lower the setting.

I like this light for its light weight and rechargeable battery. The best feature is the rear red-blinking light.

The worst feature is the docking station. Its easy to use, but Id rather the option to exchange AAA batteries or at least be able to plug the USB directly into the battery.