Best Headlamp on the Market

Another option:

Skilhunt H04RC

https://www.skilhunt.com/portfolio/h04-rc-led-headlamp/

Cost is approx. $50+/- (if interested there's a discount code/vendor who supports a 'flashlight enthusiast' forum and offers exquisite service and knowledge). Great design, feature rich, good build quality and warranty, available with several emitter options based on illumination requirements and comes with a metal clip for mounting the flashlight on pack or clothing, a headband, and a magnetic base (for ex. use it under your car hood). The RC version has magnetic charging.

As mentioned it can be had with various emitter options and also spot, flood, and spot with flip up diffusor.

Equally important is it has a great headband design for an 18650 format flashlight. Headband design is going to make or break any flashlight's functioning as a headlamp and few manufacture's give any thought to its design merely copying each other's generic headband. Skilhunt makes two headband designs the HB3 and HB4 - they use the same elastic band but have different flashlight mounts and both allow the flashlight to be quickly inserted and removed. The HB3 headband accepts the flashlight with its metal clip still attached (i.e. you do not need to remove the flashlight's metal pocket clip to mount it in the headband: a design shortcoming in all other headbands which will result in you having to fumble around to locate the clip, mount it, and reverse all of that - and eventually losing it - when transitioning from use scenarios). The mount grasps the flashlight firmly but if you intend to bash you head on things which might dislodge it, it includes an auxiliary rubber o-ring to lock it in place. The flashlight rotates axially in the mount. The HB4 mount allows the flashlight to also spin radially 360º (the latter might be useful when using the mount w/o the headband, for ex. on a Molle mounting system). The headband features a removable top-band. The headband itself has a silicon bead running the length of its interior so that it doesn't slide or shift position when on head or helmet. It's comfortable and well thought out. If your flashlight will live on your head give as much thought to its headband/mount as to the flashlight itself.

It's a good idea to figure out exactly what your needs are in a light and then compare various strengths/weaknesses/specs/reviews/price points of various lights to figure out which is best suited to your particular use scenario. (If you get even deeper into it enthusiasts often will modify a light's electronics to make it do exactly what they want).

YMMV.

We all rock Fenix headlamps for caving.  Some amazing value options, and top tier as well.  REI carries them.

K Go wrote:

Careful with Nitecore, some of their headlamps are sealed shut and the batteries are not easily replaceable

...............................................

Sure, they have a built-in, non-replaceable, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which you recharge via a USB-C cable connected to a power supply.

Why the worry? 

I use the NU25 & NU33 models and been using them for the past 3 years with zero issues.

They aren't meant to last forever like anything in life. Battery dies? Buy a new lamp; it isn't like buying a new car. Inexpensive stuff. 

giraud b wrote:

K Go wrote:

Careful with Nitecore, some of their headlamps are sealed shut and the batteries are not easily replaceable

...............................................

Sure, they have a built-in, non-replaceable, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which you recharge via a USB-C cable connected to a power supply.

Why the worry? 

I use the NU25 & NU33 models and been using them for the past 3 years with zero issues.

They aren't meant to last forever like anything in life. Battery dies? Buy a new lamp; it isn't like buying a new car. Inexpensive stuff. 

Any product that becomes obsolete / e-waste because the battery life degrades and can't be easily replaced by the user is a shit design IMO. I still have headlamps from 5-10 years ago that I use with rechargeable eneloop batteries. It's the same issue with cell phones, people often buy a new device because their old battery is dying, when the device is fine otherwise. If you use something daily or multiple times a week, a replaceable battery becomes a bigger deal. 

I use the NU25 almost daily on morning and evening runs. Zero issues with the unit. Bought it in 2021, like new. It's a workhorse that has never let me down. I have the 33 as a backup. 

https://www.henry-gilbey.com/blog/nitecore-nu25-headlamp-review-new-2022-version-around-40-how-do-you-improve-upon-perfection-rtfm

I have the 2017 version, btw.

Highly recommended lamp and all the people I know that own this light (climbers, hikers and trail runners) here in Oz, will vouch for it without thinking it twice.

Grant Tobin wrote:

Am kind of biased, but I’d rather carry something akin to the Fenix HM60R or two Sofirn H25LR and a spare 18650 or two shoved in a pocket than any of the stuff Petzl/BD/etc carries. Lighter weight on the head which adds up over a long period. A Petzl Nao RL is 145g and $190 vs the H25LR at 100g and $15 (+ a better battery via Samsung or Liionwholesale or similar). Grab three, carry two and a spare battery, and don’t think about it again. Marginal return stepping up in price from this is poor until you get to a Scurion which I would not run with or use outside of a massive caving expedition.

that guy named seb wrote:

Big fan of sofirn for the price, I have actually had one crap out on me but for the price, I'd just carry two. The weight of the thing without a battery is basically nothing and you'd want to bring a spare battery anyway. I use the headband that I got from a dog shit BD head torch which is a significant improvement over the stock band. 

Based on these recommendations I picked up the Sofirn H25LR (US warehouse item, post tariffs) and have been super happy with it. I had been using a BD Spot 400, but was constantly annoyed its easy-to-bump "Turbo" button that blinds me or cuts light when I want it. The Spot's red light was also too dim to hike by comfortably. 

The Sofirn H25LR solves both of these problems. It has a wonderfully smooth and even flood beam pattern for the white light, The red light gets super bright, plenty for hiking on the medium setting and could probably run by it on high. The beam pattern of the red isn't quite as even as the white (a bit brighter in the center), but it is still a decent flood pattern. Another big bonus is that you can go direct to either the white or red from off. (click goes white, 2s hold goes red) and the last intensity of each is stored, so I don't find myself blowing out my night vision trying to navigate to the red light. The status LEDs under the power button are soft green->yellow->red, none of the blinding blue status LEDs that BD puts on its lights for some reason. The 4 brightness levels in each of white and red seem useful: "moonlight" is just barely enough to see things at arms length; "low" is useful for seeing tangles in the rope at ones feet while belaying; I used "medium" for climbing, packing up and sweeping the area for gear we might have missed, didn't feel the need for more; and "high" would illuminate the whole wall -- should be enough for wayfinding while rappelling.

As seb notes, the band isn't awesome, the elastic is a little "saggy" feeling, but works ok. I'll swap mine out with a nicer one from another headlamp at some point if it anoys me too much.