Buying Advice

Whether you’re making an alpine start up a volcano or just digging through the junk in your closet, having your hands free to work while still being able to see what you’re doing is key. But not all headlamps are created equal. Different features make certain lights better in certain situations, so deciding what you expect to use the headlamp for is a critical first step in choosing the right one. Lighting up the trail while you’re running at night will require a very different headlamp than one you’ll want for starting a fire or setting up your tent in the dark, and both of those could be different from the light you jam into the kitchen drawer for power outages.

Features

Differences in brightness, lighting modes and power source are three of the biggest differentiators in headlamps and do the most to determine how well a lamp will work for your needs. 

Brightness

Brightness is the first thing everyone sees when they’re searching for a new headlamp. A number of lumens, which corresponds to how bright a light is, is often part of a headlamp’s name and emblazoned prominently on its packaging. The higher the number, the brighter the light. 

Keep in mind that most manufacturers name headlamps using the maximum lumen count. You can often scale back the brightness based on what you’re doing. Still, brighter lights tend to need larger or more batteries (or the hardware for recharging), regardless of how many lumens you’re using, which can make them heavier and bulkier. 

Lighting Modes

Many headlamps give you the option to scroll through a handful of different lighting modes to customize the output. A beam or spot light is a long, narrow beam of concentrated light, perfect for peering into the dark trees around camp or to the other side of a lake. A flood or proximity light spreads the beam over a wide (but not very deep) area, perfect for cooking dinner, changing your socks or even hiking. 

Power Source

Batteries—of one kind or another—make a headlamp tick. Most headlamps run on AAA batteries or a rechargeable battery, and both have their benefits. The type of battery, typically either alkaline or lithium-ion, also has an impact.