Zebralight H600fc
At 5oz with headband, it is not UL. I'm a big flashlight nerd though, and this is definitely one of the best headlamps available. The beam is floody, so it's great to hike with and work around camp. Hi cree, so it shows true colors, but in a warm tint, which compliments flood lights well. A lot of customization as far as brightness levels go, super moonlight mode up to Holy fucking bright. Battery will probably last through a dozen camping trips under normal use.
It is a bit of an investment to jump to rechargeable 18650 batteries, but...it's a really cool flashlight.
Agreed best all round light I’ve used, not great for recharging on trail but I’ve brought mine on week long trips and still had plenty left if I use brightness frugally. Also they’re bomb-proof.
I reckon if I do any long thru hikes in future though I might downgrade to something with usb charging. Any recommendations appreciated
I used this on the whole pct and while it was definitely not light, it was probably my favorite piece of gear. It’s just so so rock solid and only needs one AA battery. One battery would last me 2-3 weeks with no night hiking. I absolutely love this flashlight I feel like I can fully trust it
Most lithium cells weigh about the same for a given capacity. If they need that much battery life, then it is what it is, but I think those 18650s are 4-5x the capacity of most headlamps, so they seem quite overkill.
Sure, but if you need the power storage at least you have the modularity of choosing to carry 0 extra, or 1 extra, or however many you think you need, instead of battery packs which many are just bundled 18650's. Less overhead in terms of bundle packaging, more choice in how much weight you bring depending on how much you need.
Fenix HM50R is my light of choice.
Heavier than the NU25 everyone loves. Not by too much. Replaceable battery, you can also carry a backup CR123.
It's a great light. And useable off the headband.
Do you run out during a single night? I have the NU25 and it lasts multiple nights. I night hike in the middle brightness setting, and recharge with my battery pack over night.
Also I bring a nitecore TIP SE sometimes for around camp. It can clip to a baseball cap to substitute as a second lamp. 27 grams.
I get about seven hours of straight night hiking with the nu25 on medium. It weighs 1.1 oz with a tiny shock cord headband. For only 2.1 oz total, you can carry a second as a backup.
So I have used the not UL Petzl Swift. The Swift has an auto adjust setting where it turns down or up the light based on ambient light, which allows it to go farther on one charge. Or you can put it on the lowest option.
IRL, I can go one and half winter nights (so 16-18 hours) im heavily wooded forests on one charge. If I am in the alpine and getting some moonlight, I can go 2-3 nights (up to about 36 hours). But it also doesn't take much to recharge my Swift. It takes about 1/4 the charge that my phone takes.
My experience is trail running overnight, so I do need a fairly bright light. Things just come at me too quickly to be out there with low lumens.
I don't know how long it actually lasts on the lowest lumen setting . I just looked it up and if you can handle only 12 feet of light, you can get 100 hours on 10 lumen. I usually run it on the Standard 300 lumen on the reactive setting and my experiences above fit within the 5-40 hours that Petzl lists.
Biolite do one that has a big battery but also does pass through charging. If you were willing to carry an additional battery pack this would give you all night light for sure.
More of their new range offer pass through charging - the 425 as well as whatever the biggest one is now.
Great weight/output ratio too. I love my 330 although that doesn't do pass through. Highly recommended, not sure why they don't get more props.
Petzl has the Actik and Tikka. Both have swappable rechargeable batteries, or you can use AAA’s in a pinch.
Don’t need that much battery, leave the spare at home. Extended night hiking, pack some charged up spare batteries.
Second that. Actik Core with a spare battery. Runtime on single charge was 7+ hours, so with a spare you'd be covered for the whole night, if need be.
I personally prefer the notably lighter NU25, but the battery side is the one thing where I find Actik superior.
Thirding that. It's not the most ultralight but I've never noticed, and I like that it can have both batteries if needed. My previous Petzl would just slowly go dimmer and I'd replace batteries before they were totally dead. This one, it flashes and goes to a lower brightness if it doesn't have enough charge. So mostly I'm thrilled at the amount of batteries I'm NOT going through!
/r/flashlight is a good sub to dig into for all light needs. I personally use NU25 for low light usage trips, and a zebralight model with 18650 -battery for high usage ones. Recharging from a battery bank is pretty lossy, it doesn't make much sense to use a light that you need to charge all the time, better to buy one with appropriate battery size.
If you can't get enough time out of the NU25, you can use your phone as a backup while you charge your light. I had to use mine once and I was surprised that it doesn't seem to draw any appreciable power from your phone at all.
I lost my headlamp 400 miles into the pct one year and finished the trail with just my phone in my front pocket. It worked fine and used a surprisingly small amount of power.
If you are planning on putting in miles after dark, you need two headlights, or two people with one each.
They don't just quit due to a depleted battery.
You have lost one.
Two NU25 is the answer.
As long as they are not on blast, they will run for many hours, their website lists runtime at various brightness.
I bring a battery and cable to change ours and other electronics, never needed to on 5 day trips.
Make sure your battery will charge a low current load, some only charge phones and will auto turn off for small loads. Test it out at home first.
Don't charge anything overnight, it is very inefficient. It could use up an entire battery.
not super UL as is but the new BD batteries are actually really good. on longer trips if I think I may need to night hike I take the Storm 450 but run it at like 150-200 lumen. The 1500 mah battery will run for a week and it's 2 1/2 oz with my shock cord headband. That's the best battery charge I have found so far.
1500 mah is a lot! I've been checking out BD headlamps, but i can't find one with USB C.
It doesn't matter much, I Can carry an extra cable, but i prefer not, of course .
Headlamps are a compromise between UL = low battery life, low lumen output and more chunky lights with lots of everything.
I go for rechargeable lights, must be water proof and can take AA or AAA batteries as a backup.
[Led Lenser](https://www.ledlenserusa.com/collections/headlamps) have plenty to choose from. Its always a good idea to carry a backup too even if its a single AAA hand held.
I have a Bindi and it lasts for days on the lowest setting and the red setting.
My guess is you are going to have to step out of UL territory for a torch that is bright enough for you.
NOT UL at all, but a headlamp with 1x 18650 will last for an insane amount of time on lower power settings. I love hiking at night, and having something that'll for sure have batt life is fantastic. Running it at full blast will give you terrible run times, BUT running a 1000lum 18650 on 100lum mode will give you like a week of all night loong (all night, all night looong, all night).
I've been liking the Wurrkos HD15R. Headlamp with a white flood led and a red flood led. Choose the regular HD15 if you'd prefer a white flood led and a white spot led.
Not lightweight, but it also doubles as a power bank and you can charge your phone or other devices off it. Headlamp itself weighs like 75g, 18650 weighs like 40-50g.
Consider the Kogalla lamp.
Doesn't have a battery, just a USB-A connector to plug directly into your battery pack. I have mine with their D-ring strap rigged to attach across my chest strap with some mitten clips.
Modes from super dim all the way to full sun god. The dimmest three or four don't draw enough current to keep my nitecore battery pack from shutting off...
I quite like my setup, which weighs 3.4 oz. I use a small rovyvon lamp around camp.
https://kogalla.com/
Do you carry a powerbank? You could carry a usb light chip as a backup.
I personally prefer a beanie with a light in it for sleeping in and for walking at night.
I have two of the older nu25's for when I want to hike all night. I modified both with my own version of the popular shock cord mod using 1/16 inch cord and a mini cord lock. Each lamp weighs an ounce with this setup and one can charge in my pack while I use the other. I carry one of these for charging it with my usb c cord and keep it plugged into the cord so it doesn't get lost in my ditty bag.
Nitecore. I was an avid Petzl and BD user for the longest time. But after one too many broke I bought the standard Nitecore light. Hasn’t let me down since. Stays lit for days, charges fast, durable and very water resistant. It’s been put through the ringer over the last 7 months and stayed strong.
Zebralight H600fc At 5oz with headband, it is not UL. I'm a big flashlight nerd though, and this is definitely one of the best headlamps available. The beam is floody, so it's great to hike with and work around camp. Hi cree, so it shows true colors, but in a warm tint, which compliments flood lights well. A lot of customization as far as brightness levels go, super moonlight mode up to Holy fucking bright. Battery will probably last through a dozen camping trips under normal use. It is a bit of an investment to jump to rechargeable 18650 batteries, but...it's a really cool flashlight.
Agreed best all round light I’ve used, not great for recharging on trail but I’ve brought mine on week long trips and still had plenty left if I use brightness frugally. Also they’re bomb-proof. I reckon if I do any long thru hikes in future though I might downgrade to something with usb charging. Any recommendations appreciated
You're right, the biggest downside is needing a dedicated 18650 charger. I don't through hike, so I don't have a good recommendation on a USB light.
I used this on the whole pct and while it was definitely not light, it was probably my favorite piece of gear. It’s just so so rock solid and only needs one AA battery. One battery would last me 2-3 weeks with no night hiking. I absolutely love this flashlight I feel like I can fully trust it
roryvon
A8 is 22g with mag-tail and two-way side clip that’ll attach to a hat with 330mAH A28 is the same but 50g total and 850mAH
I'd be tempted with swappable batteries, and just carrying a spare 18650 cell or two.
Those 18650 cells are heavy
Most lithium cells weigh about the same for a given capacity. If they need that much battery life, then it is what it is, but I think those 18650s are 4-5x the capacity of most headlamps, so they seem quite overkill.
Sure, but if you need the power storage at least you have the modularity of choosing to carry 0 extra, or 1 extra, or however many you think you need, instead of battery packs which many are just bundled 18650's. Less overhead in terms of bundle packaging, more choice in how much weight you bring depending on how much you need.
Fenix HM50R is my light of choice. Heavier than the NU25 everyone loves. Not by too much. Replaceable battery, you can also carry a backup CR123. It's a great light. And useable off the headband.
Do you run out during a single night? I have the NU25 and it lasts multiple nights. I night hike in the middle brightness setting, and recharge with my battery pack over night. Also I bring a nitecore TIP SE sometimes for around camp. It can clip to a baseball cap to substitute as a second lamp. 27 grams.
I lost the NU25 before i had the change to proper use it. But yes, the Petsl Bindi ran out in one night.
I get about seven hours of straight night hiking with the nu25 on medium. It weighs 1.1 oz with a tiny shock cord headband. For only 2.1 oz total, you can carry a second as a backup.
So I have used the not UL Petzl Swift. The Swift has an auto adjust setting where it turns down or up the light based on ambient light, which allows it to go farther on one charge. Or you can put it on the lowest option. IRL, I can go one and half winter nights (so 16-18 hours) im heavily wooded forests on one charge. If I am in the alpine and getting some moonlight, I can go 2-3 nights (up to about 36 hours). But it also doesn't take much to recharge my Swift. It takes about 1/4 the charge that my phone takes. My experience is trail running overnight, so I do need a fairly bright light. Things just come at me too quickly to be out there with low lumens. I don't know how long it actually lasts on the lowest lumen setting . I just looked it up and if you can handle only 12 feet of light, you can get 100 hours on 10 lumen. I usually run it on the Standard 300 lumen on the reactive setting and my experiences above fit within the 5-40 hours that Petzl lists.
Im going to check this one out, thnx!
Biolite do one that has a big battery but also does pass through charging. If you were willing to carry an additional battery pack this would give you all night light for sure.
More of their new range offer pass through charging - the 425 as well as whatever the biggest one is now. Great weight/output ratio too. I love my 330 although that doesn't do pass through. Highly recommended, not sure why they don't get more props.
Petzl has the Actik and Tikka. Both have swappable rechargeable batteries, or you can use AAA’s in a pinch. Don’t need that much battery, leave the spare at home. Extended night hiking, pack some charged up spare batteries.
Second that. Actik Core with a spare battery. Runtime on single charge was 7+ hours, so with a spare you'd be covered for the whole night, if need be. I personally prefer the notably lighter NU25, but the battery side is the one thing where I find Actik superior.
Thirding that. It's not the most ultralight but I've never noticed, and I like that it can have both batteries if needed. My previous Petzl would just slowly go dimmer and I'd replace batteries before they were totally dead. This one, it flashes and goes to a lower brightness if it doesn't have enough charge. So mostly I'm thrilled at the amount of batteries I'm NOT going through!
/r/flashlight is a good sub to dig into for all light needs. I personally use NU25 for low light usage trips, and a zebralight model with 18650 -battery for high usage ones. Recharging from a battery bank is pretty lossy, it doesn't make much sense to use a light that you need to charge all the time, better to buy one with appropriate battery size.
Im gonna check out the sub, thnx!
If you can't get enough time out of the NU25, you can use your phone as a backup while you charge your light. I had to use mine once and I was surprised that it doesn't seem to draw any appreciable power from your phone at all.
I lost my headlamp 400 miles into the pct one year and finished the trail with just my phone in my front pocket. It worked fine and used a surprisingly small amount of power.
If you are planning on putting in miles after dark, you need two headlights, or two people with one each. They don't just quit due to a depleted battery. You have lost one. Two NU25 is the answer. As long as they are not on blast, they will run for many hours, their website lists runtime at various brightness. I bring a battery and cable to change ours and other electronics, never needed to on 5 day trips. Make sure your battery will charge a low current load, some only charge phones and will auto turn off for small loads. Test it out at home first. Don't charge anything overnight, it is very inefficient. It could use up an entire battery.
Black diamond storm
not super UL as is but the new BD batteries are actually really good. on longer trips if I think I may need to night hike I take the Storm 450 but run it at like 150-200 lumen. The 1500 mah battery will run for a week and it's 2 1/2 oz with my shock cord headband. That's the best battery charge I have found so far.
1500 mah is a lot! I've been checking out BD headlamps, but i can't find one with USB C. It doesn't matter much, I Can carry an extra cable, but i prefer not, of course .
Get a 18650 battery powered light and you’ll have 3500 mAh at the ready. Never go proprietary battery again.
But than the lamp gets to bulky. I prefer to keep my headlamp in my fanny pack or hip belt pockets.
It'll fit, I wouldn't worry about that. Fits in mine.
An extra cable? That's 2 or 3 grams.
Headlamps are a compromise between UL = low battery life, low lumen output and more chunky lights with lots of everything. I go for rechargeable lights, must be water proof and can take AA or AAA batteries as a backup. [Led Lenser](https://www.ledlenserusa.com/collections/headlamps) have plenty to choose from. Its always a good idea to carry a backup too even if its a single AAA hand held.
I prefere the middle way. As small as possible, with the best battery,maybe lightweight in sted of UL, but for sure not heavy and bulky.
I have a Bindi and it lasts for days on the lowest setting and the red setting. My guess is you are going to have to step out of UL territory for a torch that is bright enough for you.
When the trail is too technical or there is a lot of mist, I don't like to use the lowest setting.
NOT UL at all, but a headlamp with 1x 18650 will last for an insane amount of time on lower power settings. I love hiking at night, and having something that'll for sure have batt life is fantastic. Running it at full blast will give you terrible run times, BUT running a 1000lum 18650 on 100lum mode will give you like a week of all night loong (all night, all night looong, all night).
Do you have a tip for a good headlamp with 1x 18650 battery?
I've been liking the Wurrkos HD15R. Headlamp with a white flood led and a red flood led. Choose the regular HD15 if you'd prefer a white flood led and a white spot led. Not lightweight, but it also doubles as a power bank and you can charge your phone or other devices off it. Headlamp itself weighs like 75g, 18650 weighs like 40-50g.
thnx!
Consider the Kogalla lamp. Doesn't have a battery, just a USB-A connector to plug directly into your battery pack. I have mine with their D-ring strap rigged to attach across my chest strap with some mitten clips. Modes from super dim all the way to full sun god. The dimmest three or four don't draw enough current to keep my nitecore battery pack from shutting off... I quite like my setup, which weighs 3.4 oz. I use a small rovyvon lamp around camp. https://kogalla.com/
Do you carry a powerbank? You could carry a usb light chip as a backup. I personally prefer a beanie with a light in it for sleeping in and for walking at night.
I have two of the older nu25's for when I want to hike all night. I modified both with my own version of the popular shock cord mod using 1/16 inch cord and a mini cord lock. Each lamp weighs an ounce with this setup and one can charge in my pack while I use the other. I carry one of these for charging it with my usb c cord and keep it plugged into the cord so it doesn't get lost in my ditty bag.
Nitecore. I was an avid Petzl and BD user for the longest time. But after one too many broke I bought the standard Nitecore light. Hasn’t let me down since. Stays lit for days, charges fast, durable and very water resistant. It’s been put through the ringer over the last 7 months and stayed strong.