Headlight recommendations please

[slowworm]

I'm sure you'll be swayed by hype and statistics and buy something expensive and heavy with a 5 billion lumen beam you could cook on but why ? Unless you plan on running pell-mell in the pitch dark you really only need to see 10 feet.

It depends on what you want it for. A low light is ideal if you wake at night, don't need to be seen etc. However, I picked up the HS20 after I helped someone who came off their motorbike just up our road. I found I needed a bright light that not only enabled me to pick up pieces of expensive bike and mop up oil but would also light up the road a fair bit in case someone ran into us. I often use a bright light whilst working when it's dark as well.

Having said that, if you don't need something very bright I also like the Wurkkos HD12, for about £13 now, and it uses a rechargable 14500 which is included or an AA. It also has two red LEDs so can run white or red.

 

[grainweevil]

The best head torch I ever owned was a cheap little Ever Ready model from B+Q (about £7 IIRC) It ran on 3 AAA batteries...

I feel much the same about the similar Energiser one I have. It's sort of depressing, because how can I really justify all the bells and whistles I fancy to have? I mean I've got head torches with them anyway, but how can I justify them?!

As it is, I've realised I err towards lighter, more compact models. Not because they're better, but because I'm 100% more likely to have it with me if it's not bulky.

 

[Nice65]

I'm sure you'll be swayed by hype and statistics and buy something expensive and heavy with a 5 billion lumen beam you could cook on but why ? Unless you plan on running pell-mell in the pitch dark you really only need to see 10 feet. If it's truly dark then it's amazing how little artificial light you need to function perfectly well. I'd strongly recommend buying a head torch with a red light option. Not only does this greatly negate impairment of your night vision after you turn it off, but it's far more subtle for those around you.
The best head torch I ever owned was a cheap little Ever Ready model from B+Q (about £7 IIRC) It ran on 3 AAA batteries and had a switch that went one way for white light and one way for red .. end of. None of this all too often encountered problem of "I used it on 'Low', but then had to click through Medium, High, Flood, Spot, Strobe, Can-Can, Foxtrot and Cha Cha Cha* to turn it off again !"
I used it mainly for gralloching deer that I'd shot at last light, then lighting my way back to the vehicle. 3 AAA batteries lasted Lord knows how long in it. Certainly more than you'd need in a fortnight under canvas unless you are completely nocturnal. If adding a spare set of 3 AAA's to your kit puts you over-weight I pity you ! It survived knocks and bangs as well as complete soakings (and subsequent drying out on the radiator). The only thing that killed it was being driven over by a Discovery on a concrete farmyard when I accidentally dropped it in front of my mates motor
All in all, do you need 5 billion lumens, 27 different modes and a rechargeable battery ? Probably not, but I bet that's what you buy

Oh, just one other thing .. Shine it where you like but NOT in peoples faces when in conversation. I've seen a couple of head torches 'accidentally' end up on the fire as a result of this happening.

* TBH I'm yet to come across a torch with all these functions, but if it doesn't already exist it probably soon will as some manufacturer decides that they'll be the new best selling gimmick

You’d like the Sofirn HS21 I think. Spot/flood/spot+flood/red. All lo/mid/high and can be preset at the level you like and then it’s just a twist of the head. Reckon it would be a suberb stalkers light for finding your quarry after the shot and the gralloch. Even wet and sticky hands can operate it.

Link is in post #2

Short and just about bearable vid here.