I have been rocking a cheapo energizer headlamp for a while and figured it was time for an upgrade. The cheap one was pretty garbage at light output.
Any suggestions? It needs to have a red light so when doing astro i dont lose night vision. Also needs to be fairly durable as I plan on taking a trip to Patagonia this year. I've looked at Petzl and Black Diamond but they kinda feel like these are the mass market ones that everyone gets but not necessarily the best for the price.
This one is lightweight and cheap enough, with 3 kinds of lights and USB-C charging. NU30 2024 Version I've used in Colombia, Tanzania, Falklands, etc. I'm sure there are more sturday lights, but the weight of some pull on the head or require an overstrap and make it difficult for hats.
Zebralights are machined out of billet aluminum and last essentially forever. The company offers replacement headbands, as these do wear out. I use these lights literally every day, in good weather and bad, so far on three continents. As life sometimes depends on a headlamp, I carry two Zebralights in serious situations, but have never yet required the second. A camping buddy, though, has had one Zebralight suddenly go bad after many years of use. Even a solid piece of gear can fail.
I have three Zebralights. My AA-battery white "floody" is 16 years old and still feels new (though I've replaced the headband a couple times). My 18650-battery white (floody) is just 8 years old, and also feels new (have replaced the headband once). My AA-battery deep red flood is 2 years old, and is effectively new.
For astrophotography, I prefer a dedicated red headlamp instead of a headlamp that switches between red and white. This is because I dislike having the chance of turning on white when I wanted red, ruining my night vision and annoying other photographers.
For a white Zebralight, I'd recommend an 18650 model over a AA model, if you only choose one. The larger battery lasts much longer and can cast a far brighter light (light levels are programmable with Zebralights). The 18650 lights are a little bit heavier than the AA lights, but I find this difference trivial, even on long hikes.
For me light pattern is more important than seeing far away in the distance. Therefore I prefer headlamps they have some type of diffuser technologies. Have been using various Petzls for over 10 years. You are likely to get as many brand suggestions as you are going to get answers
Petal and black diamond will be a very reliable source of choice of features. Plenty of models with red light, and then pick the power source. Some are more rugged than others
I use Fenix and Nitcore too. Fenix are a tad heavier, and Nitecore might have issues with customer service.
Stick with the names you have already in mind, and you will be fine.
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I made the crazy decision to buy 4 headlamps one from each brand and see how i like them and just keep the one i like. I ordered the Petzl Actik Core, Black Diamond Storm 500, Fenix HM55, and Nitecore HC60 UHE. If anything itll help me determine which one has a better build. I am definitely past the point of overthinking haha. It all started with a dividend from REI lol.
talke about red light but if it gets into picture it is hard to remove. Therefore others prefer dim white which is easy to deal with. Penzel for moving around is what I use and a very small nicore key fob type light for working controls. Some people use light from phone screen.
So far got two headlamps in. The Fenix HM55 and the Petzl Actik Core. Right away the petzl struck me as plasticky crap. Just trying to turn it to remove and place the battery is a pain and feels like itll break. I am definitely not impressed, especially since it costs almost $90. However the Fenix HM55 is built like a tank and just feels so nice. I will test the actual light tonight but so far the fenix is winning this match. Tomorrow i get the other two headlamps and will chime in
draacor wrote:
So far got two headlamps in. The Fenix HM55 and the Petzl Actik Core. Right away the petzl struck me as plasticky crap. Just trying to turn it to remove and place the battery is a pain and feels like itll break. I am definitely not impressed, especially since it costs almost $90. However the Fenix HM55 is built like a tank and just feels so nice. I will test the actual light tonight but so far the fenix is winning this match. Tomorrow i get the other two headlamps and will chime in
The Petzl are made with hiking/running in mind, so they prefer light materials, while Fenix is made mostly for utility, tactical and rough work conditions.
The red light or even blue do cause less high strain and don't destroy your night vision as much as a dim white, with that said, I had funny experiences where red colored items sort of disappeared a bit...
draacor wrote:
I made the crazy decision to buy 4 headlamps one from each brand. . . .
It appears that your "one from each brand" excluded Zebralight. Any reason why?
I suggest you order a Zebralight as well to test against the other brands. I think its bulletproof simplicity may win you over. (Though Fenix may come close, at higher weight/complexity.) Zebralight doesn't win any marketing derbies, but has for years produced amazingly competent lights.
Black Diamond. I've had four Black Diamond headlamps fail on me, and seen buddies' Black Diamond headlamps fail at least as many times. To Black Diamond's credit, they've replaced my lights, and those of friends, a few times. But they eventually said, "Enough--we won't replace these headlamps any more."
While I like Black Diamond products in general, I say nay to their headlamps. A failing headlamp is dangerous. Black Diamond seriously let me and my friends down in this regard. And when their headlamps kept failing, why limit replacements, instead of replacing them with something that worked?
Petzl. On my desk right now is a friend's failed Petzl headlamp. Pretty sure I can fix it--either by replacing a wire or an LED element. But again, who wants a headlamp that fails in the field?
Red light vs. dim white light: This as a false dilemma. Zebralights are highly programmable, and this programmability includes selectable levels of dimming. My astrophotography choice is a red Zebralight, set very dim. Agreed, a red light sometimes confuses my brain on the hike out of the astrophotography spot, in which case I switch to a white Zebralight. But for working the camera, give me very dim red light.
Diffusion. Among Zebralights, there are (at least) these diffusion choices: Flood, floody, spot. Floody is somewhere between flood and spot, and this is what works best for my perception. YMMV.
Zebralight: Solid aluminum, one button, lightweight, tough, no gimmicks. Not much marketing that I've seen--just really good lights.
Chris S. wrote:
It appears that your "one from each brand" excluded Zebralight. Any reason why?
I suggest you order a Zebralight as well to test against the other brands. I think its bulletproof simplicity may win you over. (Though Fenix may come close, at higher weight/complexity.) Zebralight doesn't win any marketing derbies, but has for years produced amazingly competent lights.
Black Diamond. I've had four Black Diamond headlamps fail on me, and seen buddies' Black Diamond headlamps fail at least as many times. To Black Diamond's credit, they've replaced my lights, and those of friends, a few times. But they eventually said, "Enough--we won't replace these headlamps any more."
While I like Black Diamond products in general, I say nay to their headlamps. A failing headlamp is dangerous. Black Diamond seriously let me and my friends down in this regard. And when their headlamps kept failing, why limit replacements, instead of replacing them with something that worked?
Petzl. On my desk right now is a friend's failed Petzl headlamp. Pretty sure I can fix it--either by replacing a wire or an LED element. But again, who wants a headlamp that fails in the field?
Red light vs. dim white light:
This as a false dilemma. Zebralights are highly programmable, and this programmability includes selectable levels of dimming. My astrophotography choice is a red Zebralight, set very dim. Agreed, a red light sometimes confuses my brain on the hike out of the astrophotography spot, in which case I switch to a white Zebralight. But for working the camera, give me very dim red light.
Diffusion. Among Zebralights, there are (at least) these diffusion choices: Flood, floody, spot. Floody is somewhere between flood and spot, and this is what works best for my perception. YMMV.
Zebralight: Solid aluminum, one button, lightweight, tough, no gimmicks. Not much marketing that I've seen--just really good lights. ...Show more →
couple of reasons i didnt consider the zebralight as of yet. I limited myself for now to amazon because of the easy return policy. Zebralights are on there but the choice is limited, they only have the ones with an overhead strap which i wanted to avoid. I also dont see any with a dedicated flood and spot light and red light. I like the idea of a flashlight that can also be used as a headlamp though.
draacor wrote:
couple of reasons i didnt consider the zebralight as of yet. I limited myself for now to amazon because of the easy return policy. Zebralights are on there but the choice is limited, they only have the ones with an overhead strap which i wanted to avoid. I also dont see any with a dedicated flood and spot light and red light. I like the idea of a flashlight that can also be used as a headlamp though.
draacor wrote:
couple of reasons i didnt consider the zebralight as of yet. I limited myself for now to amazon because of the easy return policy. Zebralights are on there but the choice is limited, they only have the ones with an overhead strap which i wanted to avoid. I also dont see any with a dedicated flood and spot light and red light. I like the idea of a flashlight that can also be used as a headlamp though.
Thanks for the reply!
The overhead strap is standard on the Zebralights with the heavier 18650 battery, and absent on the lighter AA battery models. From my experience, this is a good policy--I don't need the center strap with the lighter battery, but welcome it with the heavier battery. (The lights themselves weigh so little that the battery is the main contributor of weight.)
Zebralights come in either spot, flood, or "floody" (somewhere between spot and flood). I've tried all three; floody works best for my field of vision. With spot, I get frustrated at not being able to see outside the narrow beam, and with flood, I get annoyed at my light signature being bigger than my field of view (I dislike lighting up dark wilderness more than necessary). Floody just fills my field of view, with little or no extra spill.
Zebra's are simple, so no model that I know of has a switchable diffuser, nor switchable colors. This simplicity appeals to me. I don't mind carrying more than one light--in fact, as said earlier, I insist upon it if being without a light would be dangerous. These lights are small enough that I don't mind having two or three in various pockets, my camera bag, or in my pack.
Others will of course have other preferences. Fenix makes a good light, but the models I've handled are less simple and more fiddly than Zebras.
When I did a night rim-to-rim crossing of the Grand Canyon, I carried two AA Zebralights (with batteries) plus two spare batteries. I ended up using neither, as I did the walk by starlight and tapping the ground with my foot to tell where the drop-offs were. But it was good peace of mind knowing that two bombproof lights were within reach.
