What's good in modern flashlights/headlamps?
So I've been out of the loop on camping and, more generally, outdoorsy stuff beyond day hikes for a good couple of years now. In my absence, it seems like a large chunk of the manufacturers I used to rely on for flashlights and headlamps (Black Diamond, Petzl, Fenix, etc.) have switched over to lithium batteries, many to USB chargeable internal batteries.
That feels weird to me, coming from the era of "carry a couple of spare double and triple A's with you", since you only needed a few of one or the other to keep all your lights going, even on a longer trip. Given that everyone's doing it now, though, I'm assuming it works out fine.
Anyone have recs on what brands are good these days, what models, and how to buy to maximize the "keep all your lights going with the least backup energy sources" factor?
I'm not really an outdoorsman, but lithium batteries store much much more energy than old-school NiMH rechargable and alkaline batteries, and additionally they can be power cycled far more times with less wear. I would imagine that modern flashlights don't need you to bring spare batteries because they essentially have "spares" included already - by orders of magnitude if you are comparing bulb flashlights! Lithium seems pretty much to be the way to go for now, at least until newer generations of battery chemistry come to market at a reasonable price.
If you must have redundancy, you can always bring a power bank with you. I will warn you that you should buy one from a reputable brand because I have heard that there are many sellers who are giving completely made-up specs for their products.
Yes, I think the weird feeling I'm having looking at these is coming from the colliding of my technology and outdoorsy worlds. Seeing USB charging on stuff I might take backpacking miles out in the woods feels odd, but it makes total sense given the benefits of lithium batteries over regular old AA and AAAs.
Looking at the comments and around online some more, I think I'm going to prioritize brands that still let you e.g. pop in an 18650 battery. Don't want to end up throwing away a perfectly good tool when a non-replaceable battery wears out.
I have some cheap Duracell headlamps I got at Costco precisely because they support either a rechargeable USB battery or 3xAAAs. I have a spare lithium battery for the headlamp and a battery bank I take camping, but I also like having a sack of AAAs in case something goes wrong. The AAAs also presumably make better emergency firestarters than lithium.
The discharge curve on the lithium is pretty bad though - you get maybe 2 hours of peak brightness followed by 2 hours of quickly fading light and no charge indicator.
Anyway my point is that dual power source headlamps do exist if you want best of both worlds. Just maybe look for better quality than Duracell if you're doing remote back country camping or anything where you'll rely on them.
What's the deal with this? I don't think I'd have thought to turn to either one for this in an emergency, but I'm curious as to why one would work better than the other.
Edit: I really should have just led with "I meant safer, not necessarily better"
Not having used either in an actual emergency and only having practiced with AA before - it's a lot easier to get a thin piece of foil or a wire to go between two terminals that are on opposite ends of the battery. Most non-cylindrical lithium batteries have terminals side by side which makes this harder.
Also lithium batteries do not take kindly to shorting and their energy density is much higher typically. You run a risk of burns, uncontrolled fire, and potentially explosions if trying to use a lithium battery to start a fire. Not to mention that shorts ruin the battery's internal chemistry.
In a survival situation, you absolutely could use a lithium battery and in fact I believe there are cases of people using phone batteries (back when they were removable) in survival situations. It's just really not recommended if there are other relatively safer alternatives.
Honestly I think it would be way easier to start a fire with a lion battery versus a AAA. For one, they have a higher nominal voltage, 3.8 versus 1.5, which means it's easier to make sparks with them. They also have way higher energy density.
Safety isn't really a concern unless you're shorting them with a thick wire for a long period of time. To make a fire you're generally looking at a tiny little spark for a fraction of a second.
I kind of went down the same path as you, and at some point had a 18650 based setup (with 18650s used as both power banks and headlamp/flashlight batteries) - even tried to go with 18350s to reduce weight - but eventually switched to a ultralight headlamp with built-in LiIon battery (Nitecore NU25 360, the 2017 version)
This is a very popular headlamp in the ultralight backpacking community, and for good reason honestly - it's so light you forget you are wearing it - with full strap it only weighs 50g (vs 140g for my 18650 headlamp) - and can be used with a string strap which shaves another 12g off. It easily lasts for 2-3 day backpacking trips on a single charge (but I do usually carry a powerbank if needed, both for headlamp and phone)
Yes, the lifespan of the LiIon battery is limited, but I think you can easily get 10 years out of it if not more - unless you are hiking the entire PCT every year or something.
An interesting option I have not fully investigated yet (since I am so happy with my Nitecores) are 16340 based headlamps (e.g. Fenix HM50R) - they have the benefit of replaceable batteries, and are still half the weight of a 18650 headlamp - usually <80g.
I only use the headlamp around camp at night, and usually go sleep soon after it gets dark. If you plan to actually hike with a headlamp, then the parameters change, and some kind of replaceable battery with decent capacity makes a lot more sense - although the Nitecore can be run continuously on external power, so you can run a usb cable to it and strap a powerbank somewhere for long term use, and still not have to carry weight on your head with straps, which can get uncomfortable after a while.
The 2017 NU25 uses a Micro-USB port which is annoying in the present USB-C dominated world. The 2022 version removed the red light and the ultra-low 1 lumen mode, so I would skip that one. There is a NU20 Classic now which is basically the old NU25 (with red light and 1 lumen mode) but with USB-C, and also NU25 MCT which has bigger battery and both red light and 6 lumen mode - so these 2 are the ones I would consider today.
When I was looking for flashlights, the subreddit pointed me towards this list of recommendations. I ended up with a Skilhunt H200 in 5000K, and I've been incredibly happy with it.
A few buying tips:
On the backup light sources, I use my headlamp in moonlight mode quite a bit. It's not enough to light up the whole treeline, but it's plenty to see what I'm doing with my hands and avoid tripping. For the higher moonlight setting, 3.5lm, the manual says the battery is good for 100h. For the lower setting, 0.3lm, the manual doesn't even provide a runtime. So for me, this is perfectly adequate as a fallback if I see the battery life dropping.
Thanks for the link to the list and the point about 18650s not being as safe to dump in a drawer.
I'm looking mostly at lights that do let you swap lithium batteries around to avoid having to throw a light away when a non-replaceable battery wears out, but I hadn't thought through storage and fire risk yet. Good to have on my mind :)
On the note of safety, please make sure you're buying protected cells (aka button tops)! The "protection" is a bit of circuitry in the battery which prevents a bunch of common failure scenarios (e.g. short circuits, over discharging), so it's probably worth it for the miniscule decrease in capacity (and the small bump in price). Just make sure that the model you're looking into supports them (reviewers will likely note it, and it should be in the specs).
Your point is very well made, but I'll add the slight nuance that many torches beloved by
nerds onlineenthusiasts won't allow protected batteries, the dimensions and/or circuits will be designed explicitly for unprotected ones. There should be protection built into the torch's circuits, though - you really need something with these incredible Li-ion batteries, they hold scary amounts of energy.Aah, that's a shame. I suppose I lucked out with mine 😅 but I'd note that it's doubly important to keep unprotected batteries in cases while not in use, though; it's trivial to short them out, and they have more than enough oomph in them to cause serious problems.
Notably, I accidentally had one contact two pieces of steel, and the short produced a spark that was enough to weld the battery instantly (pretty weakly, though). That's a situation which could've gotten very out of hand, very quickly, in other circumstances. Just food for thought, I suppose.
As the other users have said, lithiums are much more energy dense than nimhs or alkalines. You can still buy lights that accept nimh, but LEDs these days can draw so much current that you can literally burn yourself holding the light or start fires by pointing the light at paper or something flamable. This is only possible with lithiums and the amount of light you can get is insane. If you only need a moderate amount of illumination, some flashlights can be on for months on one charge in lower modes.
The brands you mentioned are likely the ones you buy from stores, and since they dont sell in my country, I cant be of much help, but on reddit there is a massive flashlight community that can help you for sure.
If you dont mind ordering online, I can recomend some manufacturers like Wurkkos, sofirn and convoy (https://convoylight.com). Wurrkos have the CL01 camping light that seems to be higly rated and sofirn has the LT1. Just be aware of anything that says anduril because the user interface gets really complicated (https://imgur.com/wd15J2Z). There are also traditional inline or right angle flashlights if you prefer. Convoy also has the T series which accepts 14500 lithiums and AA nimh or alkalines.
I can second the wurrkos recommendation. I use ones with 18650s inside and I can carry spares of those which I charge up either inside of the torch/headlamps when travelling or in a vape battery recharger that looks similar to an AA charging array.
I have been using black diamond for years now. I agree that the best thing to use are battery powered ones regardless of what you get, especially if you will be camping for days. Myself I use like I said the headlamp typically in the campground and a combination of handheld and headlamp if am hiking or walking around at dusk/night. Also, depending on what you are doing, I bring a round push flashlight for times I can’t use a headlamp or handheld; for example a quick shower outside scenario or tent hanging type of scenario. One thing to consider is if you will be outside during a possible downpour, your flashlight should be able to work.
So, this is going to be a bit weird coming from me, because I am a BIG proponent of quality gear. (EDIT: and this headlamp is as cheap as they come END EDIT)
I have used this exact model headlamp for years through work as a telecom tech and afterwards. I bought a bunch of extras just in case they stop making that model (and I am seeing them add crap like UV emitters and motion/handwave on/off detection that will add complexity and make it more expensive while adding points of failure... but I specifically hunted down a link to the old version for you).
It is an old design. It isn't amazing cast-aluminum body or anything. It is barebones basic plastic, elastic strap, simple peel-away rubber flap battery cover, and a wire with a coil so it can stretch. It is basic, it is cheap, it is cheaply made... and yet it has been my highest performer headlamp ever.
There's a number of options in that link - the cheapest (currently shows as $4.52 for me) blue-band headlamp with no options and no batteries is the one I recommend.
It has a back-of-head battery pack that holds 2x 18650 batteries. When I was using this as a field tech and put in quality 18650 cells it would just last and last and last for months without needing to be charged. I worked late every night. I used it constantly, outdoors, in rain and cold. I dropped it. Sometimes I dropped it from the top of a 28ft ladder while on a pole or a strand (and it would pop open and the batteries would get knocked out) - but I'd pop the batteries back in and it kept working (the less something weighs the less potential there is for it to get damaged from a drop - max delta kinetic energy and all). I CANNOT RECOMMEND IT MORE HIGHLY for something you can rely on to last and last. I still have the original first one I bought, with its worn-out elastic and repaired wire contact. If you want to store it long term, just slide a bit of plastic from a 2-liter bottle or something to block one side of the two battery contacts and you're good.
I have had a wire contact break away from a solder point once after years of getting moved around - so I just soldered it back in place. I have had the battery spring contacts shift around or bend - so I just bent them back into place and stuck them in the correct position with a tiny bit of double-sided foam tape. It is very easy to service and repair.
DOWNSIDES: The elastic does wear out after a couple years of use. The flashlight modes aren't what I consider perfect since it has a strobe function I hate and never want to use - the power button click-cycles between High->Low->Strobe->Off (I really wish it was just high/low/off). The front aluminum bezel that screws the lens on does come loose and you sometimes have to screw it back in (no tools needed, just grab and turn). When the elastic wears out it can become easier for it to slip out of place from the loops it hooks into and you need to slip it back on to those loops. It will not reliably stay strapped to your head if your head is upside-down and you are moving around (as a tech I sometimes had to be in very awkward positions...). In spite of all of this I still consider it the best headlamp I have ever had.
Just buy quality 18650 cells from a reputable seller such as 18650 battery store - for this model get button top batteries. You will pay more for each of the two cells you need than you will for the headlamp.
If you want a specific recommendation of cell to buy, I would use the Samsung 35E Button Top currently on sale for $7.99 each (normally $8.99) - Samsung and Panasonic have, in my experience and knowledge, been the most reliable brands for 18650 quality and you will commonly see them chosen for power tool battery packs. This specific cell is 3500mAh which is quite good, and you definitely won't need the high-amp discharge rated cells available (this one does 8 amps, way overkill for the headlamp, others are rated for 20 or 30 or sometimes more amps, those are more meant for power tools). There is a battery on that store saying it offers 4000mAh, but I'm not familiar with the brand and wouldn't buy it without further research, generally the accepted non-BS maximum for 18650 cells is 3500mAh, though battery chemistry and battery design is constantly being refined.
This is a bit in another direction, so it might not be applicable to you but...
I absolutely love my headlamp beanie. It's just your average headlamp beanie. I've had it for three years, and it was a gamechanger for me. If I was buying again, I'd buy two so I could just swap lights, but I so rarely run into situations where my light isn't charged that I haven't felt the need yet.
The light charges via USB and takes about four hours to do so. I get about ten hours of light out of it. It's light, dual-function, and always with me. It's got a removeable light, so I just charge it when I wash the hat. I couldn't imagine walking around with a headlamp on all the time, but because it's a beanie, I end up using it about twenty times a day.
I use it for camping and hiking aplenty, but I primarily use it out in the barn. I'm in the upper Midwest, and I've got thin hair, so it's not unusual for me to have a beanie on anyway from September through May. I use it as a spotlight when I'm looking for stuff, when I'm doing goose or chicken stuff after sunset (so I don't have to turn the barn lights on on them), and pretty much any time I'm outside at night. It's very handy that I never need to use my phone's flashlight
Even if its stats don't fit your hiking or camping purposes, which I can understand, I would still suggest anyone could benefit from a beanie with a headlamp built in for just day-to-day use.
Can the headlight on your beanie be angled down ? I've had a few scouts bring these camping and backpacking, probably some cheap ones from Amazon, and they could not be angled, in addition to being pretty bright. Everyone hated them, as any time a person wearing one tried to talk to you, you would get blasted in the face with the bright light - we had to pretty much ban them in our troop.
I imagine they are ok when you're by yourself and the uses you outlined, but if camping around other people, the ability to angle the light so it points straight down is essential. Red-light mode is also nice to have, as well as ability to change brightness.
Nope, can't be angled down, but I suppose I've never even felt that that was missing.
That said, you're right about being in groups. About twice a week, my partner has to say "Your light is on and you're blinding me."
I have a Petzl aktik with the core battery. The headlight can take 3 AAA batteries in a pinch but the core battery also fits and is lithium-ion so you get the long runtime. So far it's been really great. For a normal flashlight I've also been impressed by Fenix, the build quality is great, but they are quite a bit heavier. Also for camping, definitely get one with a red light mode.
I tend to be doing bike camping trips though, so I've been fine with only having the one headlamp. I also used the XTAR PB2 Powerbank for about 2 years until it died - it uses 2 18650 batteries and basically worked as a battery charger or permanent and i could remove the batteries if needed for my Fenix as well. I unfortunately couldn't find a higher quality replacement. I now have a Nitecore Powerbank - expensive and built-in but really great quality and lightweight.
I would agree with the other comments here, the battery lifetime is usually enough that you don't need to recharge often. Just bring a lightweight Powerbank for redundancy for all electronics and make sure everything uses usb-c to reduce the amount of cables and adapters needed.
I saw that Petzl and Black Diamond both have "3 AAA or our lithium pack" options, which I'm definitely a fan of. Glad to hear you like it!
Definitely leaning towards a "replaceable lithiums, bring a power bank, make sure everything's USB-C" strategy.
+1 for Petzl. The Tikka is a other good choice in addition to the Aktik, and the mounting options for stuff like bikes, helmets, or chest-mounts on their professional line are primo.
Not for camping, but I bought a couple of different Black Diamond head lamps 2 years ago to help out in winter when it's dark. I use them both interchangeable and infrequently, but I've only charged one of them since I got them 2 years ago.
One is more simple, think it's just on and off with a high and low powered beam. The other is more complicated and has two bulbs with different coloured LEDs. I like the more complex one because I can go outside and stick it on the red or green light and it's a. Extremely low power use and b. Doesn't blind me or any anything else.
I'd say literally the only thing I don't like is the headband. Black diamond only do a single horizontal strap and it does the job of holding it on my head, but it gets sore after 10 mins. It's fine with a thick hat on though. But if I was buying again, I'd get one with a vertical band to support the weight of the torch, or maybe one of those ones that have the battery at the back like some VR headsets do.
Just got add to the conversation, as someone who has done way too much hiking at night, I love my cheap energizer rechargeable headlamp. The green and red settings are great, as others mentioned. Green especially gives you more color distinction at night than red, while still using less battery and being less obnoxious than a white light.
If you are still worried about battery backups, I highly recommend bringing one! I hike with two 10000ma backup batteries. They keep my phone, headphones and headlamp fully charged, while not being bigger than a phone.
I'm still using my old battery-powered headlamps, and I'll keep them until they somehow break.
When you talk about camping, are you referring to backpacking everything in and out, or are you talking about relatively accessible campsites? I have a handful of power banks that I keep (relatively) charged, and I also have a small solar panel charger. I probably wouldn't take them backpacking, but I've taken them camping, and I've also found them useful in power failures.
A little bit of both - I love backpacking, but don't have the full set of gear for it at the moment.
After reading people's comments, I'm leaning towards getting a flashlight and a headlamp with replaceable lithium batteries to get the best of both worlds.
Curious about your experience with the solar panel charger. I remember thinking they were kind of gimmicky 5-10y ago on the thesis that "what would I bring that needs to be charged?", but now they're making some more sense to me. Some of the smaller ones seem like they wouldn't be too bad to lug out into the backcountry if you wanted to keep things charged up.
I bought my solar charger a few years ago, so it's a bit larger and likely a bit heavier than current models. I'd guess it folds up to about 4x10 inches; when you unfold it, there are 6 panels and 4 charging ports. I like the multi-charging ability because you can't always guarantee that it'll be sunny enough to charge up, or you'll be able to set up for long enough to charge.
It's a bit bulkier and weighs a bit more than I'd like, but it's very much a luxury purchase so I'm not likely to replace it just for the hell of it. If I was buying today, I'm sure there are slimmer and lighter models available.
The solar charger (and my LifeStraw gravity filters) have come in very useful during power outages as well - it's really nice knowing you can (mostly) access the internet and various services when the power is out, and not ration SoT.
OooOO flashlights!
I dug deep into the surprisingly helpful subreddit and was astounded at the lengths some people would go for enthusiast flashlights. Some of these people are even going so far as to re-solder diodes for a better temperature emitter! (Warmer is generally better)
I stand by the right angle 18650 included Armytech Wizard pro c2 nichia with a warm emitter.
https://armytek.com/flashlights/models/wizard/armytek-wizard-c2-pro-nichia-pcb-warm/
I use it both for camping or home utility. I find the light temperature to be very satisfying. The button placement on the right angle can take some getting used to but once you realize that you always know which direction the light is pointing when your finger is on the button it becomes second nature.
It does use an 18650 battery which has enough power by itself to lasting multiple days however I also hike with a power pack.
Bonus luminosity: For a handheld torch I love the Sofirn sp36 pro (I always go for the warmest AKA lowest temp emitter I can get. This has three 18650s in a fairly compact well machined aluminum form.
It will smash any body else's flashlight and the Anduril interface is both customizable and intuitive. (Double press for turbo!)
https://www.sofirnlight.com/products/sofirn-sp36pro-rechargeable-flashlight
Cheers!
( Don't get me started on novelty level flashlights. " Tame the Sun" level gear.)
I love coming across someone who uses their tools and who has converged on similar choices to myself. I have an Armytek Wizard Pro C2 Nichia, and I even bought a "...Pro Max (Warm)" version, which takes a 21700 battery, which is admittedly a little heavy on the head. I used to always dogwalk with an SP36 Pro at night - the bats would come and swoop through the beam to get the bugs that would quickly apparently appear out of thin air if I beamed it at a good brightness into the sky. I carry a Sofirn SC31 Pro or a Wurkkos TS21 pretty much anytime I'm wearing trousers with pockets and am a big fan of the Anduril interface (and have huge respect for the main maintainer and all those who have made contributions over the years). My guilty pleasure is a Convoy 3x21A. I have no real use case for this, but it's given me a lot of fun over the years to just wander about at night and be able to pick out a genuinely very distant tree in the darkness.
Fellow lumen nerd! I also bought the Pro Max but find the temperature to be way too green. Unfortunately even with the extra lumens I prefer the nichia emitter.