I've always gotten by with minimal lighting when camping so I don't know squat about headlamp selection and would appreciate knowledgeable help.

But an entry at the SectionHiker blog has me thinking about what I'd do if I needed to do more than find my shelter and put gear away for the night if I were out tonight (45-48 degrees north, 15-16 hours of darkness, potentially very cold).

SO, what are good headlamp/battery choices that meet the following wants?
1) good performance down to -20F
2) flood light for camp chores
3) spotlight for night hiking ... 50 yard "range"
4) rechargeable batteries
5) lightest weight is irrelevant if the previous criteria are failed

Please also say something about expected battery life for your suggested lamp/battery suggestion.

Jim, there are no flashlight geeks here.

Just about everything now uses an LED for light. The battery performance is radically different from one type to another. If you were really concerned about cold weather performance, then you simply keep the light in a warm pocket. Of course that doesn't always work that smoothly, and you forget which pocket it is in.

Rechargeable batteries are often NiMH chemistry, and they will work down to cold, but not super cold. Lithium primary batteries will work down to super cold, but they are not rechargeable. One idea there is to carry rechargeable batteries for routine use, and then carry lithiums for the unusual situations.

50 yard "range" has no meaning. You want to borrow the lights of some friends who know what the intensity is of each one, typically measured in lumens. After a while, you should know whether you need 10 lumens or 100 lumens or whatever. Many of the newest breed of lights have different levels of intensity. So, you can turn it up high for night navigation, or you can turn it down low for camp chores. Also, you will note whether you prefer a spot light pattern, or a flood light pattern. There are a few that can be zoomed to get from spot to flood. You will also figure out whether you prefer a flashlight or a headlamp. I always go for a headlamp, because I can use it on my head, or I can take it off and hold it low for trail walking. But if you go for a flashlight, there will be times when you need both hands for something else.

Fenix and Zebralight have lots of new models, and there are several other brands as well. You may have to decide first which battery type you want, and that may come from which other battery devices you already carry.

I decided on a headlamp that uses a single AA battery, has about 100 lumens of maximum intensity in a flood pattern, and has three levels of intensity. It ended up around 2 ounces of weight.

--B.G.--

Lots of options, but check out Zebralight. I have an H51 which has enough throw to see probably more than 50 yards, and yet has enough flood to illuminate darn near your entire field of vision.

It works with a single AA, and Lithium will be good in cold temps. The medium levels are plenty for in-camp chores, and even the low settings are adequate. It's got power when you need it. I love mine.

From the manufacturer:

Light Output
High: H1 200 Lm (0.9 hrs) or H2 100 Lm (2.4 hrs) / 140 Lm (1.7 hrs) / 4Hz Strobe
Medium: M1 30 Lm (10.5 hrs) or M2 8 Lm (26 hrs)
Low: L1 2.5 Lm (3 days) or L2 0.2 Lm (16 days)
Light output are out the front (OTF) values. Runtime tests are done using Sanyo 2000mAh Eneloop AA batteries.
The 200, 140, 30, 8 and 2.5 Lumen output levels are current regulated. The 100 and 0.2 Lumen output levels are PWM generated.

A flashlight's range is usually referred to as its "throw." This is usually measured in a unit called Lux.

Lumens and Lux measure different things.

And as of just now, I've exhausted my knowledge on the subject.

Edited by T.L. on 01/02/2012 21:38:07 MST.

Incidentally, there are lots of really inexpensive LED lights on the market, but I think some of them are marginal performers. For one thing, the advertising will not state a specific number for the intensity in lumens. It will not state other specifics, like battery life.

Most of the good manufacturers state everything relevant, because they know that the geeks will tear them apart if they don't. Still, lots of it boils down to battery power, so you want to study your batteries first.

Even after equipping myself with a good headlamp, I have adorned my backpacking shelter and some equipment with Glow-In-The-Dark tape. I stuck some onto my shelter poles so that I can see them in the middle of the night without any headlamp.

--B.G.--

As someone commented, there are low-temp batteries and there are rechargeables.

At -20F, you have to (1) have lithium batteries or (2) keep it warm.

So, yes, you could have two sets of batteries and swap, but I find at -20F, I'm at risk of dropping stuff in the snow. Or maybe you run your rechargeables except on your sub-zero trips and then go to lithium. Lithium aren't cheap but they are light and energy dense, so they're not as expensive as it seems comparing AAs to AAs.

It was -26F at my house and I've a color-coded LED light in each car with lithium batteries. But most of LED lights around the house and gear boxes just have cheap, Costco "Kirkland" AA batteries.

If you need do camp chores and route finding and also want -20F capacity, you could end up with two lights. A little (really little) light in your pocket so it's always handy and warm. And a serious, route-finding light with lithium AA(s) in it.

If there's something you really worry about losing or leaving behind, put a little reflective tape on it. Tent pegs come to mind. If you position your light near your eyes, the reflective tape will really stand out.

I have a BD Ion I got 8 years ago maybe. It's light, but uses a single $7 or so battery, so get a light that has a cheaper battery than what I bought. I want to get a new headlamp too, enough to read with but still only a few oz.
Duane

BatteryJunction.com

Lithium batteries for cheap. You'll never pay retail again.

I am only a satisfied customer.

Lots and lots of headlights to choose from on the market now. Happy hunting.

I'll also recommend a Zebralight, except I'll recommend the H600. It's essentially like the H51, except it's 750 lumens instead of 200, and it uses a rechargeable lithium ion 18650 battery instead of a AA battery. It will also last a ridiculously long time on the lower settings. The good thing about these Zebralight's is that they have a spot+flood beam configuration that gives you some flood, but a tight spot as well. As you seem to know, that spot is very useful when hiking at night. For the charger, there are different options, but if you want something small and light, google "cottonpicker charger". It's also inexpensive.

if you are looking for flashlight junkies look at candlepowerforums.com


having said that I personally would go w small light for chores (Petzl elite style) and a bigger Li powered for trail (like the zebralight)

Mike

"it's 750 lumens instead of 200"

Geez, Eugene, what are you trying to do, blind all of the night wildlife?

In June, I got my wolverine photo with about 100 lumens, but it was in my camp.

--B.G.--

Geez, Eugene, what are you trying to do, blind all of the night wildlife?

It weighs the same, so why not? There are lower settings when you don't need all the light, but it's nice to have the high setting there if it's ever needed.

this isnt UL ... but for extremely low temps mountaineers will sometimes use a lamp with a separate battery pack which one can stuff inside ones jacket ... keep the batteries warm ... most of these lights are also high output

of course many petzl headlamps are "rated" down to -22F .... including my elite and xp2 ... as is my rechargeable lithium core for the xp23

as an example of remote pack lamps ...

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=437182694293



Wearing MYO XP BELT headlamps at the fuel pits of Pegasus White Ice Runway, Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. PHOTO ©2010 DJ Jennings

Petzl provided a few headlamps to Matt Cherf, a government subcontractor charged with fueling Antarctica's McMurdo Station. He used them in temperatures down to -70 F. He sent Petzl a nice letter recently, and the photo above. Likely most of us will never use our Petzl headlamps in conditions this extreme...but somehow it's nice to know that we could.

"Here is a picture of us at the fuel pits of Pegasus White Ice Runway, a manicured strip of ice that planes land on, on the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. It was taken August 15th, the night of the first flight down here since March, marking the end of the winter season. The two of us were the Fuels Department, in charge of fueling McMurdo Station through the cold, dark Antarctic winter.

The winter was made brighter by our MYO XP BELT head lamps. We used our lamps in temperatures down to -45 F, with wind chills down to -70 F. We began using the head lamps at the end of April until mid August, for that is when the sun left and then returned to us.

The 'belt' battery pack was great, allowing us to keep them close to our cores to keep the batteries warm. The spot/flood feature was also great depending on the job at hand."

Edited by bearbreeder on 01/03/2012 00:29:55 MST.

Eric, I used one of those 25 years ago. They were OK, except that the battery pack cord can disengage from the headlamp part, which plunges the wearer into total blackout.

I also used something similar about 40 years ago, and I wired in a tiny backup battery in the headstrap area. If the main battery cord got disengaged, the tiny backup would keep the light on until I could get things reengaged.

--B.G.--

bob ... a bit of duct tape can help prevent the disconnect issue ...

I never found duct tape stuck that good at very cold temperatures.

--B.G.--

I'd go with a Fenix or ZebraLight, you can't go wrong with either of these.

I recently picked up the Fenix HL21. I like the looks of the ZebraLights and if price isn't an issue for you, go with ZebraLight as the light output/battery life is highly adjustable. I went with the Fenix because it's also a quality headlight but $30 cheaper than the ZebraLight and considering that I seem to destroy headlamps fairly quickly, I thought cheaper was better for me.

The light output of the Fenix HL21 on medium setting is the same (or slightly better than) my Princeton TEC EOS on it's highest setting.

I specifically looked for a single AA headlamp so that I can carry only one set of spare batteries to use in either my headlamp or GPS. Lithium (disposable) AA batteries only weigh an ounce for 2 batteries.

Edited by skopeo on 01/04/2012 00:54:44 MST.

Mike pointed out how highly adjustable the Zebralights are. I do have a Fenix HP10, and my biggest problem with it is that it doesn't get dim enough. The lowest setting is 8 lumens, and it's still so bright that it hurts my eyes to read in my bivy.

The Fenix HL21 dims down to 4 lumens on low setting but it also comes with a free add-on diffuser lens which is very nice for reading etc.

Surefire...made in USA (unlike many of the Fenix and Zebra's), and the 3.3 oz Minimus headlamp is awesome. Every time I break it out in camp, folks are asking where to buy one.

The 100 lumen output is true output, throws at least 75-100 ft, and blows away the 400 lumen Fenix I compared it to.

If you want to compare quality, just look at a REI garage sale sometime and look at all the failed Fenix's and Zebra's being returned...I've never seen a Surefire return.

Here you go:
http://www.surefire.com/SaintMinimusHS2-A-BK

Just my opinion of course, but thought you'd want to know from experience with a great little light so far.

Also have this flashlight for car camp and around the house, it is very strong and well made.
http://www.surefire.com/G2X-B-BK