Headlamps

What headlamps are

Called a head torch in British English, a headlamp is a light source fixed to the head. It points where you look and leaves both hands free.

• Who uses them: Hikers, campers, runners, climbers and cavers, plus miners, rescuers and surgeons who need hands-free light.
• The parts: An LED housing on a front plate, a battery and an elastic strap; heavier lamps add a strap over the top of the head.
• More than white light: Many mid-range and high-end models add a red LED; some also add green or blue.
• Versus a flashlight: A flashlight can aim a tighter beam, but Treeline Review calls free hands essential for most outdoor use.
• Who makes them: Petzl, Black Diamond, BioLite, Nitecore and Fenix all appear in 2026 test picks.

How they work

An LED turns battery power into light, and a reflector or faceted lens shapes it into a beam. LEDs replaced incandescent bulbs because they draw much less power and last much longer.

• A driver circuit: DC-DC converters, often run by a microprocessor, hold brightness steady and allow several brightness levels.
• Regulated or fading: A regulated lamp stays near full output, then drops off when the battery is spent; others dim as the battery drains.
• Spot and flood: A spot beam reaches far down a trail; a flood beam lights a wide area up close; some lamps mix the two.
• Heat control: LEDs drawing more than 1 W need a heat sink; Fenix’s HM50R V2.0 dims itself when it reaches 60 °C.
• Sensor lighting: Petzl’s REACTIVE LIGHTING reads a light sensor and an accelerometer to set brightness and beam shape on its own.
• Reserve light: When the battery runs low, many lamps drop to a dim reserve level; Petzl says it is enough for walking, not running.
• USB-C charging: Built-in batteries charge over USB-C; BioLite says its Range lamps go from 0 to 80% in 30 minutes.

Types

• AAA headlamps: Run on three AAA cells sold almost everywhere; the Black Diamond Spot 400 ships with them.
• Built-in rechargeable: A sealed lithium-ion battery charged by USB-C, as on the BioLite Range 500 and Nitecore NU25 MCT UL.
• Hybrid or Dual-Fuel: Petzl’s HYBRID CONCEPT lamps take a CORE rechargeable battery or three AAAs; Black Diamond’s Dual-Fuel lamps take AAAs or its BD 1500 battery.
• Removable lithium cell: The Fenix HM50R V2.0 runs on a 16340 rechargeable cell; a CR123A works in an emergency, at low output only.
• Rear battery pack: Powerful lamps such as the Petzl NAO RL put the battery at the back of the head for balance, with a top strap.
• Ultralight cord lamps: Thin elastic cords replace the strap to save weight; Nitecore’s NU25 MCT UL weighs 47 g in all.

What to look for

• Lumens: Total light output, measured 30 to 120 seconds after switch-on with new batteries under the ANSI/PLATO FL 1 standard.
• How many you need: Switchback Travel finds 100–300 lumens right for camp and hiking, and 300-plus for finding your way in full darkness.
• Beam distance: How far the light reaches before it falls to 0.25 lux; beam shape matters more than lumens.
• Burn time: Hours until output falls to 10% of its starting level, so the light is far dimmer by the end of the rating.
• Red light: Keeps your night vision and spares the eyes of people nearby; on some lamps it comes on without cycling through white.
• Lock function: Stops the lamp from switching on in a bag or pocket and draining the battery.
• Water rating: IPX4 resists rain; IPX7 survives 30 minutes at 1 m; IPX8 survives longer immersion, as the maker defines it.

On the plane and on the trip

• Carry-on or checked: TSA allows flashlights in both carry-on and checked bags.
• Lamps in checked bags: The FAA allows a rechargeable lithium device in checked bags only when it is fully off and protected from accidental activation; lock it.
• Spare rechargeables: Spare lithium-ion cells, such as a CORE, BD 1500 or 16340 battery, go in carry-on bags only, up to 100 Wh each, terminals protected.
• Spare AAA cells: Spare lithium AAAs count as lithium metal batteries: carry-on only, 2 g of lithium each at most; alkaline and NiMH AAAs may go in either bag.
• Charging abroad: USB-C lamps charge from a phone charger or power bank; Fenix says an iPhone charger may lack the 1.5 A its lamp needs for a full charge.
• In a shared room: Red mode lights a dark room or tent without blinding people nearby, and Treeline Review notes it drains the battery more slowly.
• A lantern in a pinch: The ACTIK CORE and NAO RL storage pouches turn the lamp into a lantern, useful in a power cut.

Limits and care

• Claims vary: Switchback Travel found makers’ runtime figures unreliable; temperature and battery age both cut them.
• Cold drains batteries: Petzl says burn time can fall by up to 50% between 0 and −20 °C; keep the lamp warm in a pocket.
• Alkaline in the cold: Treeline Review advises lithium or rechargeable cells below freezing, where alkaline cells may barely work.
• Fading AAAs: On alkaline AAAs, brightness falls steadily as the cells drain; Petzl’s CORE battery holds it steady.
• Heat on high: Long use on the top setting heats the lamp; Fenix says the HM50R V2.0 steps down its output at 60 °C.
• Not a road light: Petzl warns its lamps do not replace the standardized lights required where traffic rules apply.
• Storage: Remove disposable batteries before storage to avoid corrosion; Petzl advises recharging a CORE about every 6 months and storing it below 25 °C.

A short history

Carbide lamps, which burn acetylene gas, were developed around 1900. Worn on the hat, they were widely used in mines in the early twentieth century and stayed in use after the first battery lamps, whose batteries lasted poorly.

• 1914: Thomas Edison develops electric cap lamps for miners, powered by a belt-worn wet-cell battery.
• 1915: The U.S. Bureau of Mines approves certain cap lamps for coal mines where flammable gas may be present.
• 1973: Fernand Petzl develops his first mountaineering headlamp.
• 1981: Petzl’s first brand-name headlamp, the ZOOM, goes into production.
• 2000: Petzl produces its first LED headlamps under the TIKKA name.