Headlamps for alpine climbing 2019

I've used countless princeton tech, black diamond, and Petzl healdlamps over the years, and now the Olight - the Olight H2r is the best lamp I've used so far. Prior to that, I couild always find my way down cliffy terrain in the dark with the Princeton Tech Apex, but it was always a bit bulky. The Olight might weigh more than some lamps, but very compact for it's power, and the extra weight is more than worth it's weight in gold if you're gonna be rapping into the void, or navigating up a broken up glacier at 3am. Get the yellow lens for better depth perception, especially for snow, fog and trail. Also, it's rechargable via USB, and the battery has an outrageous battery life.

Briggs Lazalde wrote: This has probably been the most actually useful thread in a while given the amount of people that have changed their lighting preferences

Agreed. Thanks for the input everyone. I was content using my duct taped together 8 year old headlamp, but now I'm glad I got a replacement. Such a difference that was never really on my radar. Hoping not to have to think about it for another 8+ years.

Regarding the fenix sale, I don't remember if it is 20 or 30. Either way it made the light ~$50 and a no brainer.

Been using this beast for a year, and it's killer. Don't go back to my little BD light except for running and emergencies. Yes it is from china and a little heavy, but it's still the brightest and has a killer battery (swappable).

https://www.amazon.com/Cobiz-Brightest-Rechargeable-Waterproof-Flashlight/dp/B07KGP13P1/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=headlamp&qid=1551900762&s=gateway&sr=8-5

I ordered a Fenix HP25R yesterday thanks to this thread! Will report back once I try it out.

Had 2 BD storms just stop working out of nowhere (the second one was gifted to me). Seems pretty obvious in hindsight not to buy a headlamp from a climbing company...kinda feel like I should have thought of that myself.

Damn you all. I was perfectly happy with my BD spot. (In fact, my wife and kids have them, too.) Now, thanks to this thread, I've ordered the Zebralight.

Stever wrote:

Why is it overkill? 

I've never found the need for 950 lumens and pretty heavy compared to the HM60R. And since I've been able to get away with the BD spot at 300 lumens till now, I doubt I'd end up with the need for 950 lumens. Plus the lighter the headlamp is, the more likely I'll be using it. 

I use it mainly for rappelling down not too commiting routes and for walking out of trails.

Briggs Lazalde wrote:

Mel do you by chance have an idea on the generation of the 2 storms? Was it within the last 2 model releases?  Suppose it doesnt matter since I'm switching from BD headlamps anyway but I'm wondering if that problem occured in just recent or older models.

They were both purchased near the end of 2015 if that helps. I'm also curious to know if they actually fixed the problem as they claimed to.

Good job, Jaren. How old is your unprepared friend? A good headlamp and a satellite messenger are life-savers.

Saw your FB post and was wondering which headlamp you were referring to. Nice! 

I've been using this Petzl for a while and have been quite happy with it. https://m.petzl.com/US/en/Tactical/Versatile-headlamps/TACTIKKA-CORE

Small, rechargeable, accepts AAAs as backups, fairly bright, and most importantly - it's reliable. It may just be me,  but I've found just being comfortable in the dark is more important than the light used. I haven't used this one for finding raps in the dark yet but a less powerful older version that I broke the rechargeable battery's clip on did the job just fine. The core version of this lamp has a higher lumen output than the non-core version for some reason. 

This has been a good read. And I stumbled across the page whilst researching the Zebralight 600w mk IV

It seems like a good headlamp with great reviews.

Can anyone comment as to why they’re so much more expensive and more popular than some of the cheaper Chinese companies? I mean some cheaper alternatives  feel pretty solid and are they’re also very bright. I borrowed one of my friend’s who swears by sub-$20 lamps, I used one to navigate an overgrown rainforest on the weekend. I’m not sure the brand but it used a XM-L2 led which is dimmer than the Zebralight but it had a telescopic end to broaden and narrow the beam depending on whether we needed to get a general feel or look further ahead. 
I’m planning a 7 day hike in China in a few months so am reaserching what to buy as my main lamp.

I bought the Zebralight because I wanted to get away from crappy plastic headtorches that break on me when I just change the battery. If that's not a priority to you, buy the cheap knockoff Chinese crap. Some people buy headlamps like they buy sunglasses - they know they're going to break them/lose them, so they just buy cheap ones. Other people want to get off that treadmill and invest in something good and take care of it.

For a backpack trip, I think the thing to consider is how much hiking at night you're going to do? If it's a lot, get a bright light. If it's minimal/none, then you just need a camp light - the Zebralight would be a poor fit. You want something light, low strength, and has a red LED. If you're only using it an hour or two/night, even max battery life isn't real important. Nothing is more annoying than the dude who has his light on "high" and being oblivious he is to the rest of the group around a circle. This is sort of why crap plastic headtorches are what you find at places like REI - it's what people do with them.

If instead you need to navigate all night on a ridgeline - get a good light.

The reason for my post wasn’t to discredit the Zebralights. I’m very much am into buying decent gear and they look awesome (and I may even buy one). It’s just that my friend and I had tried what seem to be very good (hand)torches at a much lower cost.

Ive not seen the internal electronics but torches aren’t the most complex of devices and we wondered whether marketing may play a big part in the higher cost as Zebralights are also made in China?

So I guess I’m wondering if there are any other hidden gems out there.

To answer your questions. Its use will tend to be if I don’t make it to where I need to be by night time. So on the weekend we used for two hours. But I wouldn’t mind doing some more night walks and the terrains are variable.

And the idea would be that I’d use a dimmer setting for all but when I need to look further.

I have crappy headlamp for camp.

With the Zebralights you can have a pretty wide pick of beam pattern and tint, depending on your needs and preferences. Not so much with the knock offs. They do tend to have a nicer beam if you’re picky about that sort of thing. 

David Spittle wrote: Ive not seen the internal electronics but torches aren’t the most complex of devices and we wondered whether marketing may play a big part in the higher cost as Zebralights are also made in China?

I'm not sure what marketing Zebralights has - their website looks like it was made by me, in the 90's, their product line is a complicated mess of heavily overlapping offerings, and they've decided to go with the, "what would Rambo use for a headlamp" couture. It does one thing, well, that's about it.

Long Ranger wrote: their product line is a complicated mess of heavily overlapping offerings

This is why I ended up with a Fenix instead of Zebra. They make it really difficult to understand what you're looking at and the difference between the lights. 

I work in a gear shop and am testing the new BD Spot 325 and so far im very impressed. Small, lightweight, can be locked in off mode when not in use and super bright. It's waterproof too adhering to IPX8 standards. Only downside is it`s not rechargable (takes 3 AAA) but....... rechargable headlights don't last as long burn wise, some models less than half for the same lumen output (in the BD. However, this isn't the most eco friendly option but very practical. 

Austin Wainwright wrote: I work in a gear shop and am testing the new BD Spot 325 and so far im very impressed. Small, lightweight, can be locked in off mode when not in use and super bright. It's waterproof too adhering to IPX8 standards. Only downside is it`s not rechargable (takes 3 AAA) but....... rechargable headlights don't last as long burn wise, some models less than half for the same lumen output (in the BD. However, this isn't the most eco friendly option but very practical. 

I agree on the Spot 325 being a great lamp. 

Actually, as a comparison because of what people recommended on this thread, I purchased 3 headlamps to compare to the Spot 325: Petzl Reactik+, Fenix HM50R, Zebralight H600c Mk IV 18650 XHP50.2 .

I returned all the other lamps and stayed with the Spot 325.

I ran side by side tests for brightness at the highest and medium (standard use) settings.
For both intensity levels, the Spot shone further consistently, and stayed brighter for longer, than the others. This is despite higher lumen count of other lamps (since they have a wider diluted beam).
The others are also heavier.
The closest was Petzl. It will be interesting when the new Petzl Swift comes out in the fall.

This is just one comparison, of course.

Out of interest did you test those for a long duration?

I’m still researching and found this:

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/expert-advice/why-headlamp-claims-are-deceptive

David Spittle wrote: Out of interest did you test those for a long duration?

I’m still researching and found this:

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/expert-advice/why-headlamp-claims-are-deceptive

Yes, about 10 hours.