The best headlamps

Unlike hand and pendant lights that are permanently mounted on a bike or scooter, headlamps shine where you look when you turn your head. This is an ideal solution for tourists, fishermen, climbers and lifeguards.

Advantages of headlamps.

• Freedom of hands during work is a major plus. A hand lamp is held in the hand, and when using a headlamp, both hands are free. Reading a map, setting up a tent, unraveling fishing line or twine at night - such a lantern is indispensable in all these cases.
• directional light. It is needed in a dark, narrow and / or hard-to-reach space. For example, when you need to find a key or coins lost in a backpack, get documents that have fallen behind a wardrobe or sofa.
• high beam up to hundreds of meters is very relevant when cycling at night on a country road. By turning on the headlamp at a reduced brightness, you insure yourself against a sudden accident: for oncoming drivers and pedestrians, the high beam is a warning that they should turn a little to the side.

The disadvantages of headlamps include the following facts.

• Unidirectional light. Compared to camping lanterns that provide an all-round light, a headlamp only shines forward.
• Slippage with unreliable fastening. rubberized fabric and fasteners wear out over time.
• Headlamps will not replace the laser - they do not have an ultra-small angle of light beam divergence of thousandths of a degree or less.

The best headlamp meets several requirements at once.

• The brightness of the output light. Measured in lumens.
• The direction of the beam beam for the high beam. It is provided by a movable lens mounted in front of the LED head. Headlamps, designed specifically for high beams on the road, provide it for a hundred or two meters ahead. You use what is more suitable in a particular case - a wide angle or a range of hundreds of meters.
• Multimode. The best flashlight produces 5 modes: dim low beam and high beam, bright low beam and high beam, SOS beacon. A bonus in some models is the “overall” rear lighting in red, placed on a separate bar (on an external battery).
• Waterproof. Most flashlights will work with a slight immersion in water up to 1 meter for an hour. This allows them to remain unharmed if accidentally dropped into the water. Professional searchlights are produced mainly for divers working at night, and are expensive - 10,000 rubles or more.
• impact resistance. The best model will withstand repeated drops from a height of several meters.
• Multiple straps and buckles. The side and top straps with adjustable buckles are the best choice. The belts themselves are made of rubberized fabric. All these elements securely hold the flashlight on the head even when shaking on the road with poor coverage.
• The flashlight must be ergonomic. A streamlined design is desirable here. It should not be bulky and shapeless, have a large number of faces, weigh hundreds or more grams.The location of the buttons should be such that they can be easily and quickly pressed while driving or working.
• Long work on one charge of the accumulator. Such flashlights are easy to identify thanks to a separate remote battery compartment connected with a detachable cable - a capacious battery is difficult to introduce into the main unit, which houses the head with LEDs.
• Case quality. The best are models with a case made of aluminum or an alloy based on it. No matter how strong, hard and resilient plastic is, it is very easy to damage it, for example, when a flashlight falls while riding a road bike.

The brightness of the light flux, expressed in lumens, is useful in various areas of outdoor activities.

• Weakest glow (from 1 to 20 lumens) enough for reading a map or book, untangling fishing line, and also as a weak background light. Most of these lamps in this mode glow continuously for hundreds of hours.
• Brightness in 20-100 lumens suitable for garage, attic, basement or room.
• 100-200 lumens enough for outdoor lighting of the camp, for example, when setting up / removing tents, in the evening and night fishing.
• 200-500 - for use as tactical lighting by rescuers, police, ambulance and other special services.
• Lanterns, issuing 500 or more lumens are used as a mobile searchlight, for example, for climbers, divers and rescuers, as well as for hunting.

High power is needed mainly in extreme situations and when doing extreme sports. The brightest lamps - 1000 or more lumens, are already approaching the level of spotlights and headlights.

A good flashlight does not cost 100-300 rubles. It is recommended to choose a durable and comfortable to use model. Some of the listed devices are not cheap. Their feature is uninterrupted operation for more than one year (subject to the rules of operation), good quality materials and a respectable appearance given by them to the user. Recent developments in the world of LED lights allow you to take advantage of all the modern benefits of outdoor artificial light.

• Nite Ize Inova STS Designed for fishermen and powered by 3 AAA cells delivering up to 142 lumens. The product is equipped with a touch unlocker. This "chip" is a truly innovative solution that came to replace the familiar microswitch. The flashlight works in white and red glow mode - just swipe your finger across the sensor in one of the two directions. The white powerful superbright LED in the center shines in the maximum, average and weak modes. Two red on the sides - in strobe or SOS mode. Operating time - up to 255 hours.

• Coast FL60 - like the previous version, it requires 3 "little finger" batteries, shines up to 22 hours and already produces 300 lumens. The Portland company provides a lifetime warranty on this model.

• Coast HL7 gives out 285 lm, has a maximum (for 1.5 hours) and economical (for 70 hours) modes, the focus allows you to project the beam 109 m forward.

• Petzl Actik created for hikers and travelers, powered by three "little" elements, works up to 80 hours and gives out 300 lumens. Equipped with a large multi-function button that switches modes.

• Black Diamond Icon - like the previous version, it was created for long-distance wanderings, but it is powered by 4 “finger-type” batteries. 500 lumens of brightness and water resistance will allow you to get this flashlight from any body of water up to a meter deep within 30 minutes.

• Fenix ​​HP25R created for hunters, shines at 1 klm up to 150 hours, powered by 18650 lithium-ion batteries (2-3 amp capacity). Equipped with a setting button that allows you to set the lens in an optimal way to provide high beams up to 100 meters.

• Model Petzl Nao for hikers, it emits up to 575 lm, works up to 52 hours, powered, like the previous flashlight, from 18650 elements. With the help of an additional light sensor, the emitted light intensity is adjusted according to the level of ambient light.

• Climbing Technology Lumex Pro switches to low beam or high beam mode with a dedicated button. Shines at 185 lm, powered by 3 "finger" AA cells. The backlight is available in red and white modes, a flashing bar is installed in the back. Operating time - up to 16 hours on a single charge.

• Amphipod Versa It shines only at 60 lumens, but weighs only 28 g, it is equipped with a built-in lithium-ion battery, it is charged from a “telephone” charger via a microUSB port. Shines 1.5-2 hours, red and white light are available.

• Snow Peak Snowminer not designed for serious long-range lighting. Its purpose is a camping light inside a tent. Powered by 3 "finger-type" batteries, it works 55 hours at maximum power and 140 hours - in reduced mode.

• Nitecore Cree HC50 – It has an aluminum body, which gives the product a special strength. The head with LED assembly can be rotated to any angle up to 90 degrees. The power of the light beam is 565 lm, there are 8 lighting modes. The power source is an 18650 battery.

• UCO X120 X-Act Fit - has a light output of 120 lm with brightness control. The belt is made partially of natural thin leather.

• Ledlenser Outdoor Series MH2 - Requires 3 AAA batteries for power, shines for 40 hours in low brightness mode. Model with washable strap.

• Black Diamond Revolt - shines at 300 lm, the charge is made via a microUSB cable, it works from 3 "little finger" batteries. The angle of inclination of the main beam is adjustable using a swivel mount.

If you are not satisfied with the price of such products, you can try the “self-collection”, preferred by cyclists. Some craftsmen order high-power LEDs (without a driver) for 10-50 W in Chinese online stores, giving from several hundred to a couple of thousand lumens, sets of several 18650 batteries and assemble their “camping spotlight”. Moisture protection, accuracy and build quality will suffer significantly, but you will be noticed several kilometers away.

In the next video you will find tips for choosing a headlamp.