Favorite LED headlamps

[Shane]

I've got several different LED and other headlamps (Petzl, Cateyes, Pulsar, etc...) and most are okay. What are your favorites? I'm looking for a new compact, lightweight, bright one.

I also use the heck out of those little keychain single LED lights. They're great for all around use.

[SierraFool]

The one I have is made by BlackDiamond it has 4 LED lights but no single/incadescent buld I bought it a SportChalet years ago for about 25 bucks.
It works great perfect amount of light for hiking at night. http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-faces-toast-beers.gif

[Jagermeister]

I have a basic Petzl with two LEDs. I has not left me stranded after literally hundreds of hours of use. It has no fancy features like dim etc. I think this makes it more reliable. I had another one before (forgot the brand) that would drain batteries even when not in use. It was a fancy one with blinking and dimming functions that you&#39;d select with a small push button. I returned that one to the store. They weren&#39;t happy, because almost a year had passed, but I think I wasn&#39;t the first one returning that type of lamp, so I got a store credit.

Cheers,

George

[EvBouret]

I forget the name of who makes my headlamp. But you get them at Walmart for like 14.95 or something. There&#39;s a white led light, a red led light, and a normal bulb for real bright light. The whole thing is totally weatherproof (tested by myself on a 3 day rain filled camping trip), cheap and dependable. Batteries last forever too.

[FresnoHunter]

I think I bought the same model Ev. Havent had any problems with it, if only I could find where I put it!

[hntnnut]

I use a petzl tikka plus which has 4 leds, 3 diffrent power settings and a worthless flashing mode as my primary. but I also carry a streamlight scorpion W/3 fresh sets of batterys in my survivel pack in case I need more range and power.


Richard

[VHRAM]

Ive got 2 black diamonds one stays in the back pack and the other in the truck of the goldwing http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-faces-toast-beers.gif

[Shane]

I&#39;d have to say that my biggest problem with lights has
been the cold wet weather finding its way past the seals.

Up here in WA there is a lot of moisture in the air and of
course it rains and mists a lot.

Which of the black diamond products would you recommend?
The Moonlight looks like a good one for the money.

[BobM]

I love my Petzal...think its a MYO 5 or something like that. It has a string of LED&#39;s plus the regular high beam that you can focus. When just hiking in/out in the dark, cooking, etc, I use the LED&#39;s, when you want to see the trail ahead...crank on the high beam. It&#39;s perfect

[Oregon Archer]

i just picked up a couple of headlamps at the local archery shop. they are made by a company called Cyclops and they are called the Atom. its a very compact lamp weighing in at only an ounce. it has the regular head strap and it also has a hat clip. it produces a pretty bright light to and the way the lense is it focuses the light into one spot. great thing about the lamp was the price. only 10 bucks. much better light than my more expensive ones in the past.

[Land Cruiser]

Petzl Tikka Plus here. Zipka before that. I always have a surefire as a back up too:)

[in2blacktail]

Petzl Tikka Plus. I use this HL too. I had one fail on me for the 1st time in OR last year. Guess it endured a little too much water and was super unpredictable. I took it off after getting into my stand; I left it on my hook on the tree due to the malfunction. The next morning I came in with my back up and the Tikka I left on the hook was intermittently blinking sporadically. Not good. Later when I returned home I took it back to REI and they gave me a new one. Other than I have been using it for a while trouble free.

[Aden]

Petzl tikka plus. I used to use the Petzl zoom but retired it when I got the tikka. I used to zoom for 12 years and it still showed no signs of dying. The only think I don&#39;t like about the Tikka plus is the stupid flashing mode. Not sure if it&#39;s supposed to make me feel like I&#39;m at a discoteque or perhaps induce seizures.

[2rocky]

A Stream Light LED/Xenon combo. Switch from one LED to three LED&#39;sor Xenon bulb. Uses 4 AAA batteries. Alsoi use it around the ranch working in the dark.

[spectr17]

I haven&#39;t got my grubby hands on one yet but some fellers in the sandbox I know love them.

http://www.9voltlight.com/

[smhuntley]

I have a couple, but the one I primarily use for hunting is an older model Petzl Duo.
Here:
http://www.hunt101.com/img/393892.JPG

It has a locking, 3 position switch that allows you to switch between either a 5 LED light cluster or a regular bulb. When in "bulb" mode, it has another switch/lever that allows you to adjust the beam kinda how a Maglite works. It has a battery pack that holds 4 "C" batteries that you can mount to a pack strap, chest rig, or stuff in a pack, pocket, whatever. It weighs 17 oz. loaded with batteries so it&#39;s quite a bit heavier than others, but I like having the ability to focus a long bright beam at something in the distance if I want to. I also like having the ridiculous redundancy of 4 "C" batteries powering it in LED mode if I need it. http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-wnk-yellow.gif Hunting requires you to spend a lot more time working/hiking/cooking/etc. in the dark than general backpacking does, and I like having the peace of mind knowing that my batteries will last, especially in cold weather.

This came in handy 2 seasons ago when I found myself gutting a bull elk in the dark all by my lonesome. I was about 5 miles into a wilderness area in SW Colorado and at about 10,000&#39; elev. It took hours for me to gut, skin, and quarter that bull and hours more for me to hike back down to camp in the dark. I didn&#39;t worry about my headlamp going out tho.

Here&#39;s a link to the current version that Petzl sells: http://en.petzl.com/petzl/LampesGammes?Gamme=54

I also own a Black Diamond Moonlight headlamp with 3 LED&#39;s that only weighs 4.5 oz., but I only use that for non-hunting backpacking. It does a good job for that.

Cheers,
Scott

[crittergetter]

Princeton Tech, Aurora: Has high, med, low from 3 LED&#39;s and is waterproof. One button control. It is rediculously light weight. >5oz or so. Uses 3 AAA batteries for 160hr +- use. Also has blinking beacon type mode for emergency or visibility use.