Are there any particular head lamps ya'll prefer over just generic off-the-shelf headlamps?

Personally, I love my Black Diamond Revolt.

Black Diamond Storm. It puts out a lot of light, it’s waterproof and has a switch lock on it to prevent accidental turn on in the pack.

I have two Black Diamond Storm head lamps that are several years apart. Pretty happy with both of them.

i bought 2 of the storms for me and wife. The thing i do not like is,,you have to learn all the button sequences. I end up pushing buttons, holding buttons, swearing at the button before I get the light i want. It may get easier as i use it, but it is not user friendly from the getgo for me. I may have to carry the directions with me!

I have a Black Diamond Spot as well as a Zebralight that runs off a single AA. If you want to get really crazy they have some 18650 lights too.

Zebralight is all around better I think, but one thing I like is that you can just unscrew the end cap a bit so you can't turn the light on at all until you screw it back. With the lockout on the Spot, it can still turn on in your pack if the button gets pressed against something for long enough. And its a pain to store the Spot without the battery in.

Princeton Tec Fred.

Simple one button, waterproof, lightweight, and a good dispersal beam. I am not navigating dark shores on a moonless night with this one though.

My favorite part is that the first light that comes on is a red light. My tentmates really like that function too.

Princeton Tec Fred

Take a look at the Thrunite TH20. Runs on 1 AA battery. Ramps up and down for brightness, and has a firefly mode. Super easy to run. 520 lumens is more than I've needed up there. I have a larger one too, but the TH20 is pretty light weight.

I have a Black Diamond, and really struggle with learning all the modes, I end up using the ThruNite the most.

Started with a few Petzl and liked those. Now a Black Diamond is my latest and like it too

Fenix HL60R.
Strong aluminium case. Super bright 900 something lumens on top setting. Lithium battery that holds its charge while sitting on the shelf and in severe cold. Can substitute cr123's. Rechargeable via mini USB. I used on two week long trips this winter so far, and it sort of made me glad I could not find my BD Revolt when packing. Love my Fenix. I'll no longer need to bring my Surefire G2 as backup.

We've been big fans of the Petzl Zipka series due to its very small size. Some people fear that the wire head strap won't be comfortable but it is great. My wife once fell asleep with hers on and didn't notice it until morning. One of our friends went with the incredibly small Petzl e+lite and liked it a lot. It's only 50 lumens but we mostly run our Zipka's on low or red settings anyway. If that bear is going to be a problem, you don't need to see it across the lake. It'll be closer soon. Seriously, though, I find a Zipka to be all the light I need.

As a backup, I have carried an LED bike headlamp as a spare and to have something with more lumens. Yet to use it.

A Petzl something or other with a rechargeable battery.

i am a storm user.
backup is a small fenix flashlight.

I use and like Zebralights. I have both the AA version (mine is probably 5 years old and predates the current H53W) and the H600W that uses the 18650 battery. My H600W is a couple of years old. During the late fall through early spring I use a headlamp at least 1-1/2 hours a day working with my dogs. I like the H600W for that, but used the AA version before I got this light. For paddling and hiking I usually use the AA version of the Zebralight. Weights a little less, plenty bright for camp chores and runs more than long enough on one AA battery for a trip.

I also have a couple of Petzl E-Lites, both the current version and it's predecessor. The oldest of the two had the spring loaded self storing head band (string). Really a complex setup that I was always afraid would fail, but it hasn't failed yet. Also just a about as bright as a birthday cake candle. I think it was spec'd out at 25 lumens or something. Also have the latest version. It got rid of the stuff I thought was most prone to failure and is roughly twice as bright. I only use these lights when I want to go as light as possible. Might recommend them to you if you were using them for hiking, but think there are much better lights for paddling. Really the only outstanding feature these have is that they are very, very light. Everything else I think other headlamps do better.

My wife is currently using a Nitecore HC60 that uses a 18650 battery. She likes it a lot. Particularly likes that it recharges from a micro usb port. She also has a couple of Black Diamond Icon's that she has a love/hate relationship with. She likes the Icons because they have really long run times (nice for night runs with the dogs), but the battery cover on one failed after less than a year of use and the second has an on/off selector switch that does not always work. I know others have had better luck with the Icon's so maybe we just got a couple of lemons.

Lots of good headlamps anymore, most of which I have not used. Interesting to see what other people are using.

Zebralight H53fc.

Translated: Zebra AA headlamp with flood pattern and high-CRI (color rendering index). It's overkill if you just want something to help you see around camp, but it is amazing for night hikes with its high color rendition, and I also use it in my auto detailing business.

I highly recommend Panasonic Eneloop batteries

Minnesotian: "
Princeton Tec Fred.


Simple one button, waterproof, lightweight, and a good dispersal beam. I am not navigating dark shores on a moonless night with this one though.


My favorite part is that the first light that comes on is a red light. My tentmates really like that function too.


Princeton Tec Fred "

I have tried some princeton tec lights in recent years.

I had the fred and did find it to be useful and reliable. I had another from princeton at the same time that was a little brighter but they change the designs every year it seems and I don't recall what it was called. I really liked it and it kept me coming back for more when I would loose a headlamp.

Right now I own a princeton tec byte which is garbage. When im not changing the batteries it puts out a little light. Sometimes it turns off for no reason and I have to use a tiny screw driver to take the batteries out (even new ones), flip them around and reassemble.

My other princeton tec headlamp is the vizz ii. It puts out a good amount of light on high-beam and has other useful features such as red LED and a lockout feature. The downside is the batteries don't make good contact and im sometimes forced to open the cover (easier on this one than the byte) and flip batteries around and then close it up very very tight.

I may try another princeton tec headlamp but if they fail me again it will probably be my last.

I use a Petzl with headband & the 3 changeable lenses. Purchased a few years ago. Don't know if they still make that model. Love it.

Go to page 2 of the gear forum.
Find post with heading Black Diamond.
49 responses there to your question.

BOB

Posted about this recently. I used to use petzls but have also moved on to a Fenix hl60r and I'm very happy with it. Quality is on another level than the black diamonds and even the petzls, but it's heavy.

I've used it for just about everything you can do outdoors (mountaineering, canyoneering, rafting, backpacking, canoe camping, hunting, etc). Even used it this year camping out down to -26.

Zebralights are excellent as well but to my knowledge don't yet offer one with a charger built in which was important for me.

I am using this cheapy Rayovac

Rayovac

I purchased one at an outfitter once on his closeout counter and discovered some major issues with it

Do not buy a headlamp with a button to push on and off. Found it on most every time when I got my pack emptied out at nite. After a couple times I had to find a piece of PVC to cut into a tube to shield the stupid switch.

Make sure it is easy to change the stupid batteries. This same flashlite was a pain to open up to get to the batteries.

needless to say...this headlamp joined the misc stuff that I don't use anymore. I also bring one of those cheap pocket led lights that Harbor Freight and others practically give away.

The Ravovac has a knob one has to turn to operate. Batteries (3_AAA) are way easy to change and last forever.

dr bob