Headlamps?
Contributors to this thread:General Topic
From: LBshooter
12-Oct-20
Guys, looking for reviews/recommendations of the "best " and brightest headlamp. All opinions welcomed, thanks.
From: Fields
12-Oct-20
fenix-
From: LBshooter
12-Oct-20
Guys, looking for reviews/recommendations of the "best " and brightest headlamp. All opinions welcomed, thanks.
From: Rock
12-Oct-20
2X - Fenix it is like having a auto headlight on your head.
From: Bake
12-Oct-20
Haven't tried the Fenix. I like my Zebralight. It's not as bright as my Surefire, but it also cost a fraction of that. And it takes a regular, single AA, so it's really light.
I went to Zebralight for the AA offerings, because I got tired of having AAAs for one thing, and AAs for everything else.
From: Destroyer350
12-Oct-20
I really like my Black Diamond Storm headlamp
From: BC
12-Oct-20
I like Petzl. Three brightness levels and also red, green and blue light. Check it out.
From: carcus
12-Oct-20
petzl and fenix are good choices
From: Nick Muche
12-Oct-20
Nick Muche's Link
Best I've found for the price, you'll be happy with it.
Fenix HP15UE (HP15 UE) Ultimate Edition 900 Lumens
From: greenmountain
13-Oct-20
My wife bought an Aennon brand head lamp on amazon. I wish I had more info . It is bright and rechargeable. It became mine for that reason. My wife had thrown it aside as it didn't work. I checked it out to replace the batteries when I saw the charging port. I have used it two seasons so far.
From: DanaC
13-Oct-20
I've got one of the small single-AAA Fenix's and it's enough for getting to the stand and back. It's not a 'spot the raccoon 90 feet up a tree' light, but is that what you want? You have to balance 'light output' against 'bulky', imo.
From: Knife2sharp
13-Oct-20
I have a Nebo Rebel 600 Lumen headlamp, it's rechargeable with a USB charging cable and the battery is replaceable. It has a high or low setting, it can be detached from the headband and has a pen style clip for securing to a pocket or something else.
From: Rut Nut
13-Oct-20
Rut Nut's Link
I just got this one at Lowes(FREE ship to store) last week. Got tired of spending a fortune on AAA batteries! Sure glad I did...................................this one has a usb charging port so you don;t have to take the battery out to charge. Or you can remove the lithium ion battery pack and charge it that way, OR you can use 3 AAA alkaline batteries as a "backup" It is 530 lumen and the nice thing is you can 'dial" it from flood to spotlight on the lens. No cords to worry about and it is pretty small for the amount of light you get. Has 3 settings (low,med,high) on the white light and has a low red light setting. Price was good too. I figure It will pay for itself in the first year(saving $$ on batteries! ;-)
From: Predeter
13-Oct-20
Been happy with the Black Diamond Storm the last 3 years. Not the brightest out there (300 lumen) but has several brightness settings, great battery life, red light option, and it's been durable. Lock out function is important to me as well. Too many times having other lights get turned on in my pack and draining batteries.
From: olebuck
13-Oct-20
look up vapor trail lights. they are $75 and are the best i have ever seen by far....
10+ hours of super bright on one charge
From: Franklin
13-Oct-20
Question.....which brand has multiple light settings that you don`t have to scroll through to turn the damn thing off. Some of the settings are so dim you have to hold you hand up to make sure it`s off....or remember to count the clicks.
From: wilbur
13-Oct-20
wilbur's Link
Cabela's Alaskan Guide headlamp is the best I have used
From: Ucsdryder
13-Oct-20
Why does everyone want the most lumens possible? For me it’s just enough light to follow a trail or make my way through the forest. I’ll take battery life over lumens any day.
From: Rut Nut
13-Oct-20
John, I want the most lumens possible when tracking a deer at night. I used to use my headlamp to try to track, or go back to the vehicle and get my big heavy hand held spotlight. Now that I have a 530 lumen headlamp there is no need to go back to the vehicle before starting to track. Saves a lot of time and energy.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
13-Oct-20
Cheap here...I use the Coast lamps with the wide lens, purchased at HD. Stand hunter mainly and seldom have to walk more than half mile in. More than enough light to hang a stand with.
From: KY EyeBow
13-Oct-20
I have one like Wilbur's but the green light quit working pretty quick. Otherwise the light still works pretty darn good. I like what Nick Muche posted
From: WapitiBob
13-Oct-20
Black Diamond Icon, 700 lumens and usb rechargeable batteries.
From: IdyllwildArcher
13-Oct-20
Screw batteries. Having an LED charger for your headlamp is the only way to go. Get a solar charger and recharge everything (headlamp/phone/GPS) and never buy/carry extra batteries again. I've done a half dozen back-country hunts like this and never run out of juice. Just point the thing east at night and turn it south before you leave camp for the day. Point it west when you get back.
From: JohnMC
13-Oct-20
My biggest issue with any of many headlamps I have bought is they always get the on button hit in my backpack then the batteries are dead when I need it. Any suggestion that that is not a problem with.
From: Kurt
13-Oct-20
John, the Black Diamonds have a lock-out, but as Franklin alluded too, it is a pain in the butt to get the one I have shut off and the lock out turned on. Maybe my Black Diamond Storm doesn't function correctly, but I bought a cheap Ever-Ready with a simple pair of on-off switches to use and relegated the BD to back-up duty.
From: SlipShot
13-Oct-20
I purchased the Fenix that Nick Muche shared the link to last year. I love it, so did my wife. I now have two of them!!!
From: Spiral Horn
13-Oct-20
Several very good options these days. Personally rely on Black Diamond Storm 400 - bright, very rugged, submersible, good battery life, always works.
From: WapitiBob
13-Oct-20
Idyll, I can’t get the usb battery pack for my light, I need to buy the new version and I’m not gonna do that. The rechargeables are 2800mah each x 4 vs the battery pack at 5000 mah total.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
13-Oct-20
I tried a rechargeable and it did not last nearly as long as my cheap light with three AAA batteries. Should I try another brand or is that what most of you find.
From: Tilzbow
14-Oct-20
I have the same issue as JohnMC and have had several get turned on in my pack and discharge the batteries. The worst part is I think the one that created an issue on the last hunt and a long walk back to camp in the dark is a Black Diamond with a lock out feature I didn’t know it had. I guess I should read or remember instructions....
From: WapitiBob
14-Oct-20
Habitat, it's all about the mah capacity of the batteries/battery pack. AA are around 2600 and AAA are about 970.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
14-Oct-20
Thanks Bob.
From: DanaC
14-Oct-20
"I want the most lumens possible when tracking a deer at night. I used to use my headlamp to try to track..."
I prefer a compact * headlamp, with a more powerful flashlight in my daypack or pocket. (Yeah, it still baffles me that people hunt without a pack of some sort!)
*By 'compact' I mean one AA or AAA battery, no more. Like this one - https://www.fenix-store.com/fenix-hm23-compact-hiking-and-running-headlamp/
From: 76aggie
14-Oct-20
I was always a big fan of Princeton Tec lights, especially the Remix model. Not terribly expensive but around 50 bucks. At Lowe's, I found a Lux-Pro light for about 25 bucks and thought I'd try it out. I actually like it better than any other light I have tried. Each of these run on three AAA batteries and last a long time before you have to replace the batteries.
From: dhart18
14-Oct-20
I love my zebra head lamps
From: WV Mountaineer
14-Oct-20
I have settled on coast and camofire brands. I had a Princeton etc that I lived but, I lost it a couple years ago. That thing had been with me for a lot of hunting.
The coast is a 435 lumen focusing beam, with a red and green function. It is a very versatile light. Very bright if need be and can be toned down when need be because it has a low, medium, and high setting. It uses AA batteries.
The camofire isn’t a bad light. My only complaint is it runs on AAA batteries. Which forces me to buy two sizes since my gos and radio runs on AA.
If I had to choose, it’d be the coast.
From: Rut Nut
14-Oct-20
DanaC- The Coast headlamp is compact and because you can dial it from flood to spotlight, it eliminates the need for a second flashlight or spotlight. All in one now!
From: Kurt
14-Oct-20
COSTCO in BC has 3-packs of Duracell headlamps with 3 AAA batteries for $27C plus tax today. I bit and bought a pack. Seem like a decent head light that have about 500 watt spot setting plus a really wide angle flood and red settings too. Simple double on-off switch.
From: DanaC
15-Oct-20
RutNut, I'm a 'carry a back-up!' guy, especially when it comes to flashlights. jmo-ymmv
From: Zim
15-Oct-20
This jogged my memory of a funny story my old man told my friends and I....years ago he was elk hunting with friends and one night in camp a drunk old cowboy came riding in. He said he had lost something important in the area (I can’t recall specifically what it was) and wanted to know if they had seen it. They all stated they hadn’t but noticed he wasn’t using a flashlight so offered to lend him one. He emphatically stated “no” and went on to explain that when you are looking for something lost at night you gotta use stick matches. They all sat their puzzled and watched as he rode off, leaning to one side and the next looking at the ground as he struck stick matches over and over...To the original question, I carry two blackdiamond Storms on me, one in my bino harness and one in my pack.
From: Wild Bill
15-Oct-20
"eliminates the need for a second flashlight or spotlight"
No single flashlight eliminates that need. They are all subject to failure.
Some years ago I witnessed two bowhunters crashing their way out of the woods in the dark. Neither had a light and were drawn to the road by passing vehicles. Instead of going to the parked truck next to mine, they determined where they were then began hiking uphill to where they though their vehicle was. I paused to wonder about the person still not back to the truck next to mine, but at that point I had business at home.
From: Rut Nut
15-Oct-20
I guess I should have worded that differently- "It eliminates the need for a second flashlight or spotlight FOR TRACKING."
I always carry my old princeton tec headlamp as a backup. Just don;t need anything BIGGER(than a headlamp) for tracking a deer in the dark now.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
15-Oct-20
A friend uses Rage broadheads and said you don't really need a bright light to track a deer after using a Rage.
:-)
From: JSW
15-Oct-20
I have a lensor rechargeable that I absolutely love. I've had it for 5 years. ON the high setting you can spotlight deer with it. On the low setting you get over 16 hours of use before the batteries get low. You can pop out the battery pack and use 3 AAA's. In 5 years and up to 8 days on the mountains, I've never had to use AAA's. On full power you only get about 2 hours but you get used to that. It takes the same charger as my Samsung phones so I have lot's of ways to charge it back up.
From: Kirkus
16-Oct-20
Franklin / John MC -
I have a half dozen of the Princeton Tec Fuel headlamps - I like the compact size that fits in my shirt pocket and they are decent on battery use (3 AAAs)
One of the best things about it is the "smart switch". It cycles High - Medium - Low - SOS with each click. HOWEVER, if you click to the setting you want, then wait 2 seconds, the next click turns it off. The first click is always High. I have gotten them on sale for less than $20. The switch is also a push button type, and I have never had one accidentally turn on in a pocket or pack. I have had to send some back for warranty service since the battery door is a weak spot. They have always replaced the door and or the light and have even sent me extra battery doors.
From: LBshooter
16-Oct-20
Well thanks for all the reviews, I guess I have to buy one of each lol
