I received my first headlamp for my 12th birthday, direct from an army-surplus catalog. It was camouflage green, with a wild assortment of straps and a red lens, so as not to disrupt the user’s night vision — an important consideration when sneaking around the neighborhood late at night.
Eight years later, I proudly busted out the surplus special during an epic ascent of Hallett Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. Upon seeing the sketchy relic, my partner asked, “What is that?” adding, “That thing better work: The next pitch is yours.” I left the belay in light rain and quickly became accustomed to the devilish red glow playing on the rock. Unfortunately, once the unit got wet the light assembly refused to point upward, instead rotating slowly until the beam was aimed at my feet. I had to readjust the lamp every five seconds; obviously, I needed an upgrade. Since then, I’ve been a headlamp connoisseur, seeking the right combination of fit, functionality, and illumination.
Over the course of this past spring and summer, we tested four halogen-bulb-equipped headlamps. Why halogen? Halogen bulbs produce a much brighter light than standard incandescent bulbs. The difference in light output is so noticeable that once you use a halogen headlamp, it’s hard to go back to anything else. The first time I tried one, it felt like I had a spotlight strapped to my head. However, there is one drawback to halogen bulbs: They drain batteries about three times faster than standard incandescent rigs — fine on one-day outings where you can put in fresh batteries beforehand, but not as practical on multi-day climbs or expeditions.
Luckily, a number of manufacturers have solved this problem by incorporating a Light Emitting Diode (LED) into their lamps, adjacent to the halogen bulb. LEDs are smaller than a pencil eraser and give off a pleasant diffuse light, all the while using a minimal amount of battery power. In fact, one LED will easily run for over 100 hours off of three fresh AA alkaline batteries. And while LEDs cast only a fraction of the light of halogen bulbs, they are great for close-in work like rack organization, cooking, and reading. Plus, an LED won’t need to be replaced for years. A halogen/LED light system means you can lead pitches and route-find with the bright halogen bulb, then switch on the LED for less illumination-dependent work to conserve batteries.
In order to thoroughly test the review entries, we took them alpine climbing, cragging, and car camping. During testing, we checked to see how comfortable the straps and headlamp assembly felt on our bare heads, and examined each lamp’s compatibility with a helmet. An accessible spare bulb was also a primary consideration (ideally, the bulb should be tucked behind the light reflector or in the battery compartment for quick, mid-route change-outs). The on/off button and ease of battery replacement were also factors. Durability and weather resistance turned into a four-way tie, as all the models survived the trials with honors. As every manufacturer has a different system for assessing burn time (how long a fresh set of batteries will produce usable light), we loaded up each unit with new alkaline batteries (all lamps took between two and four AAs), turned them on, and started the stopwatch. When we began to have trouble with rudimentary route-finding (making out features on the rock at 10 feet away), we considered the batteries spent.
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