LAKOTA GAMBILL (BLACK DIAMOND ICON); COURTESYA
T THEIR BEST, head-
lamps make you
feel as powerful as
Cyborg—that three-
eyed superhero
with otherworldly
vision. The latest
options, packed with
brilliant LEDs, can crank out
up to 1,000 lumens, light up
a trail sign from hundreds of
feet away, and weigh just a few
ounces. They’ll keep your hands
free to read maps, assemble a
tent, or rebuild a transmission in
the dark.
Pushed by the demands of
backcountry hikers, climbers,
ultra runners, and tradesmen,
headlamp manufacturers have
also developed smart features that
give you greater control over the
size and intensity of the beam toOutdoor
(^11) Stuff
// BY JA MES LY NCH //
Headlamps to
See and Do It All
While its max output of 160 lumens
won’t light up your entire campsite, it’s
enough to cook with, or illuminate the
guts of your car in a dark garage. The
SpotLite’s small size makes it a great
option for minimalist backpackers or
trail runners, too. The buttons are easy to
push, even underwater, and the red light
is a nice bonus on a lamp that costs so lit-
tle. A handy locking feature prevents the
light from turning on accidentally when
stashed in a backpack, and the simple but
secure strap kept it securely mounted
to our heads when we ran. We wish it
were rechargeable, but the price and
weight make it a useful low- cos t opt ion.
P R I C E
$27
BEAM DISTANCE
198 feet
MAX LUMENS
160
LED COLORS
white, red
RUNTIME
2 to 60 hours
WEIGHT
2 ounces
BEST VALUE
BLACK DIAMOND
SPOTLITE
suit your needs. Petzl, for example,
developed a sensor that automati-
cally adjusts the beam’s brightness
based on lighting conditions.
Black Diamond has a new mem-
ory function that puts the lamp in
the most recently used brightness
mode when you power it on. Coast
and Ledlenser let you change the
beam pattern from spot to flood
by simply twisting or pulling the
lens, adding even more versatility
to the lights.
With all these advances, the
biggest remaining challenge
is choosing the right one. But
whether you go with a minimalist
hiking model or a robust option
made for hard work under dark
skies, one of these eight rigor-
ously tested models will give you
the superhero vision you need to
get more done at night.
70 September 2019