There are eight light settings in total including red, flood and spotlights up front, while at the back are two buttons, one for the rear red beam and strobe while the other controls the 30-second 750 lumen burst from the front of the headlamp. For some activities, thats no problem, but for running, extra weight and bulk can lead to annoying bounce. Lamps with higher lumens300 and upare better for trails and starless nights. Our lone gripe is that the small tab used to adjust the lights angle is tricky to get a hold of when the lamps on your headand dont even think about trying to grab it with gloved fingers. You can choose to turn those red lights on or off, or to make them blink. Silva has done an excellent job of balancing that load on the back of the headband, though youll definitely need the top strap to stabilize it. The only real downside is that the HR7 is not sleek-looking and is a bit of a heavy beast, at over twice the weight of most of the others here (259g), hence the nice, wide, comfy headband and overhead strap. Like the Icon, however, the weight is well-balanced, with the rechargeable battery pack located on the back of the thick, grippy headband. Battery weight is the limiting factor in beam life the lighter you go, the less time and less bright you can expect your lamp to burn. Its nice and bright at 500 lumens (when the three x AAA batteries are new), the headband is very easy to adjust, and it sits very comfortably on your head. Every headlamp on this list has been evaluated and used by our team of test editors. Lumens: 200 | Weight: 98 grams | Battery: 3 AAA (40 hours on high, 130 hours on low). During our testing, we found the bulkier profile protrudes slightly, but didnt bounce around. This combination of brightness, battery life and ruggedness and will see you for many mountain miles on tough multi-day ultra running. The two unique selling points of this otherwise much heavier head torch is that: first, its completely waterproof; and second, it boasts an innovative swiveling bezel around the lamp, so you can switch from floodlight to spotlight and everything in between great for personalizing your illumination. Lumens: 1,200 | Weight: 268 grams | Battery: Rechargeable (2 hours on high, 20 hours on low). An anti-slip silicone gripper inside is brilliant for preventing the headlamp travelling southwards towards your precious nose area! But, if you need to stash the battery pack inside a jacket for especially cold outings, a longer cloth-wrapped cable is included. Do some digging, read some reviews (oh good, youre already doing that sweet). Light up the night. The high beam shines at 160 lumens, which was okay on neighborhood streets illuminated with lights, but not enough for trails that demanded technical footing. But the downside to rechargeables is that you could find the battery dead when youre headed out the door, when you dont have an hour or two to spare waiting for it to power up. Roughly speaking, the more technical your terrain the more lumens youll want, The comfy headband of the Proviz LED 360 Antares, The rear red light of the BioLite Headlamp 750, The rechargeable batteries of the LED Lenser HR7 Core, why you should try running with a headlamp, New Garmin watch update reveals how your body is handling life's daily demands, Best Garmin watch 2022: find your perfect training tool, Garmin Forerunner 945 vs Garmin Forerunner 955: find your perfect watch, Victorinox I.N.O.X. The Trail Runner Free H also benefits from Silvas Intelligent Lighting system: a floodlight combined with a longer, more diffused spotlight in one beam, which means you can see the terrain under your feet while at the same time also getting an impression of your surrounding features for navigation. A neat-and-tidy rechargeable head torch with great battery life, interesting Regulated or Constant Runtime modes, and a bright booster beam when you need it, RRP: $100 (US) / 100 (UK) | Weight (incl. But if you dial it back to one of the lower-output settings, itll get you through a full night. One downside: If you need to tie your shoe in the dark, you need to get creative with how you hold the light so you can actually see what youre doing. The really fantastic thing about night-running is that it refreshes your old, tired routes like a sip of cool cider on a rose-tinted evening. That middle light level lasts an impressive five hours and the rechargeable lithium battery makes sure it doesnt gradually fade out, but should you need to recharge it you can swap in three AAAs, which is nice and versatile. Look at the leading brands outputs as the most-trustworthy reporting on lumens output vs battery life and if cheaper versions seem to offer way more, grow suspicious. If that sounds like you, opt for a light that runs off AA or AAA batteries, and stock up. In addition to evaluating these headlamps for their adjustability and beam types, we tested the lights brightness over time to determine how long each shines at full power. The maximum output is 900 lumens for 2-30 hours (but that is on Petzls Reactive Lighting mode, hence RL in the name). But just know you wont get a full 225 lumens for more than a few minutes at a time. ankeny ozark viewpoints embed Slim and sleek-looking, its very comfy and the large lamp button is easy to use with gloves on. Use that power sparingly, however, because we found that the lamp sputters out after almost exactly two hours when burning at full power. battery): 102g / 3.6oz | Max light output: 900 lumens (Boost) | Average run time: (Low) 50 hours / (High) 2 hours | Max beam distance: 150m / 492ft | Water resistance: IPX4 (water resistant). Please refresh the page and try again. ultraspire fastpack vest backpack race running We dont need to tell you that avoiding hypothermia and a possibly even a mountain rescue call-out on a cold, wet night is worth more than money can buy. That battery pack has a blinking red light, too, so youre covered from both directions if youre a road runner. Ideally the head torch should cycle through all the brightness modes click-by-click and then repeat them rather than TURN OFF as the last option, so youre not left in the dark mid-stride. Its super handy to know how much battery your head torch has left so look for lights that display its charge status. But for easier, slower, less technical trail running, 200 lumens is fine. In general, look for a headlamp thats capable of cranking out at least 200 lumens on its high setting. The co-founder and former editor of Trail Running magazine, Claire now runs the YouTube channel Wild Ginger Running, creating films packed with trail- and ultra-running content. And, amazingly, there is a wide variety of other beam configurations from such a budget-friendly headlamp: You can choose high, medium, low, or flash from the spotlight, floodlight, or a combo of the two. The lamp is light, but its all up-front, which makes it seem a bit top heavy and theres no rear safety light unless you clip on a small additional light. longboard flashlight nighttime zephyr skateboarder period jogging joggers runnerclick The cable to the battery pack is cleverly encased within the headband so there are no wires to catch around the head. To do so, we turned each lamp on at its maximum setting and pointed it at a digital luxmeter on the ground roughly two strides awayabout as far as youd look ahead on technical trails. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. Youll find the spotlight is great for casting the light farther down the road or brightly illuminating the trail directly in front of you. But if youre the type to run in a Polar Vortex, you can use the included extension cable and move the battery pack inside your jacket so the cold wont sap the power prematurely. The entire unit is lightweight and well balanced. headlamp zoomable modes As above, longer-lasting batteries are unfortunately heavier but there are different designs to offset heavier batteries, like placing the battery pack at the rear of the head for better balance, or even an extension cable so you can pop it in your running pack. But the Swedish brand is new here in the States. The omission of batteries makes it featherlight. All the latest inspiration, tips and guides to help you plan your next Advnture! finder cloudrush The battery pack is a slim hybrid unit mounted on the back of the headband and, rather than routing coiled cables through clips, the power passes through the headband itself. livestrong optimal For such lamps, the max lumens and battery life are a bit misleading, since youll never be able to keep the lamp at 100 percent for more than a few minutes. There are many, varied reasons why you should try running with a headlamp, and the night is waiting for you so why not embrace the dark side with the best running headlamps. road tennessee biking trails alltrails The spot light was bright enough to illuminate the road a good distance in front of us, and switching it to flood mode cast a wide spread closer to our feet when we wanted to see where we were actually stepping. You will receive a verification email shortly. The lamp itself is bombproof, cold-to-the-touch metal. The trick: It uses a magnetic attachment to, yes, snap the LED light into multiple mountsincluded are the head strap, handlebar attachment, and a carabiner clip. night ragnar relay socal recap run running leg All of the best running head torches were put to the test on dark trails and unlit roads and country lanes during winter training runs. distress Compared to most headlamps, the Lupine is a beast. battery): 259g / 9oz | Max light output: 1,000 lumens (boost) | Average run time: (Low) 65 hours / (High) 4 hours | Max beam distance: 250m / 820ft | Water resistance: IP67 (waterproof for 30mins up to 1m submerged). If you want a single light that is capable of multiple situations, look for one with more than just low, medium, and high settings. This simple little model pulls a neat trick. Its a neat feature that makes the lamp even more comfortable in use. An ultralight, rechargeable, water-resistant headlamp, great for roads and easy trails, RRP: $65 (US) / 50 (UK) | Weight (incl. chest running torch lights torches head You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io, Altra Provision 6: Stability for Every Runner, Article One Launches Active Eyewear Collection, Float Through Your Runs in the Soft Phantom 2, Shop These Period-Product Discounts for Prime Day, Altras First Carbon-Fiber Super Shoe Has Landed. By Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, This is the headlamp I reach for most often for my dawn patrol runs on streets with poor lighting, Runner-in-Chief Jeff Dengate says. Oncoming car headlights and even reflective roadsigns also confuse it into dropping the light level too, suddenly leaving you in the dark. montana glacier national park sky night gnam steven milky way lasting 48 mins, while the one youre most likely to use for trail running the 400 lumen mode lasts an impressive three hours. skechers escape urban Make sure the headband is easy to adjust, even when youre running, so that if you do need to make on trail alterations, you can do so without stopping. When the batteries do eventually start to run low, a small light on the bottom of the lamp changes from green to yellow to red, indicating how much juice is left. New York, Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). We measured the intensity at 15-minute intervals to see how quickly the light faded. Of course, a budget lamp sometimes has trade-offs. finland lights northern revontulet night scenery aurora landscapes places nature Lumens: 200 | Weight: 36 grams | Battery: Rechargeable (up to 25 hours). cecil lofty lighted skellington In this case, you get just one white LED that has two brightness settings (plus a very dim red LED), and neither is all that bright. If you want a budget light for laps around your neighborhood, the former will suffice. A good one for children or teens, a little less so for running fast and light. The H stands for Hybrid it has a rechargeable battery interchangeable with three AAAs, making it doubly useful if you want to take or buy spares on a long race or remote trip. Lumens: 450 | Weight: 75 grams | Battery: Rechargeable or 3 AAA (2 hours on high, 130 hours on low). BioLite is better known for its camping gear, with a range of cook stoves and fire pits. Its handy to have more control over whether the headlamp emits a flood or spotlight beam so some head torches facilitate this with a swivel bezel or extra button clicking. NY 10036. But more advanced options include both a spotlight and a flood, allowing you to use each separately or combine the two for maximum brightness. At almost half the weight of the other headlamps on test (50g / 1.8oz), this is definitely one to pop in your pack in case youre out longer than you expect to be, losing yourself in the beauty of a sunset. I keep a Byte in my travel bag, so I know I always have a headlamp wherever I go, Dengate says. The best way of turning a headlamp on or off is a two-second hold-down of the main button, or similar. As you swing your hands, you always have a light pointed out in front of you, and that swinging motion is extremely attention-grabbing for car drivers. These lights are worn (obviously) on your knuckles, with an adjustable strap that fastens them tightly to a range of hand sizes. However this does also mean it should take a fair beating to break. Plus, the band has 360-degree reflective accents and a whistle built into one of the adjustment buckles. Some headlamps (see the Silva Trail Runner Free H and Black Diamond Sprinter 500 below) work with either AAA batteries or a rechargeable battery pack. Its still hard to beat, though. We liked that it also stays on at full intensity until it dies, rather than automatically dipping in brightness after a few minutes like other models here. In use, it has three modes, with a floodlight and spot beam, plus a red lamp that lets you see in the dark without blinding yourself or your running partners. But it was still shining more brightly after three hours than nearly every other lamp here at their brightest settings with fully charged batteries. Plus, the headband, made from a performance Lycra that wont rub or irritate, was one of the most comfortable weve ever worn. Even if you choose to cast a small beam far out ahead of you, enough light still falls off closer to your footstrike. Out on the road, we noticed a weird halo in our peripheral vision where the spotlight abruptly ended, but it wasnt too bothersome when we were looking straight ahead. Running on an open road under a full moon is a completely different experience than running singletrack trails beneath heavy tree coverand both require different lighting. Lumens: 330 | Weight: 69 grams | Battery: Rechargeable (3.5 hours on high, 40 hours on low). cloudventure fjord finder premiumsport If you need the high-beam and drain it, swapping to disposable batteries is quick and easy. A floodlight, on the other hand, diffuses the beam, spraying light to the sides as well to help with peripheral vision. It has a bright beam and separate buttons for the spot and flood/red lights, plus you can combine those LEDs in any way you wantdim spot and bright flood, for example. Its comfy, very water resistant, has a rechargeable lithium battery and a battery life indicator on the side, but annoyingly you have to read the instructions (and even worse, remember them!) Few things derail dawn-patrol mojo as abruptly as reaching for your headlamp and discovering that its rechargeable battery is dead. For road running especially, having a small red light on the back of the headband is an excellent safety feature, allowing cars to see you. The main high setting then is 500 lumens, which lasts for two hours on what they call Constant Runtime aka, definitely 500 lumens the whole time, which is what every headlamp brand should really be quoting here. This is when the headlamp stays on while you charge it not common as of March 2022, but hopefully it will be one day as its a super-useful feature and saves you money on buying a spare rechargeable battery and / or landfill from not using regular batteries. Astoundingly this light (108g / 3.8oz), bright headlamp is packed full with all the features a runner needs including three light settings plus a red beam as well, all-accessible via simple button clicks. Naturally, batteries with more capacity have to be larger. Some actually claim the impossible, like 500 lumens for 20 hours for example. you can suddenly run your favorite daytime routes in the dark, and even explore new ones too if youre ready for a challenge. For road running, or a reserve mode, around the 100150 mark works well, too. For road running youll be content with 150 lumens no problems and thats ten hours of run time. An amazing-value head torch that ticks all the right boxes from weight to waterproofness, from light levels to battery life, RRP: $46 (US) / 35 (UK) | Weight (incl. A fantastically robust, waterproof head torch for running with a unique swivel bezel on the lamp for scrolling from spotlight to floodlight, RRP: $130 (US) / 100 (UK) | Weight (incl. A bright headlamp with a nifty automatic lighting adjustment feature that you may or may not be a fan of, RRP: $125 (US) / 100 (UK) | Weight (incl. These days the best headlamps are so light, compact and durable you can pop one in your running pack just in case you feel like exploring a little bit further on your evening jaunt, or watching the sun go down over a particularly gorgeous bit of mountainside (though always keep in mind these tips for running safely at night). Its powered by a small rechargeable battery mounted on the back of your head that can be swapped out for three AAA batteries in a pinch, boosting its versatility. Autumn Spirit field watch review: about as rugged and reliable as watch can be. Its a nice battery-saving feature, and if you notice its not bright enough, you can always switch back to Constant. night superheroes The tagline on the package of this light is Beyond Bright. Thats no joke. We were able to repair it ourselves rather quickly, and we havent had any issues since. We research the market, survey user reviews, speak with product managers and designers, and rely on our own experience on roads and trails long after the sun has set (or before it comes up). The slim headband doesnt look all that sturdy but does a great job of keeping the small light from bouncing, and the easy adjustability makes it dead simple to change brightness. The 4XT is really a purpose-built tool, with a massive battery, so look for something else if youre just lighting up your neighborhood loop at dawn. mcconaughy fkt stringbean vt attempting Beware the large figures claimed for burn time, however. A low-priced headlamp with three light settings, a strobe and a red beam that runs on three AAA batteries, RRP: $70 (US) / 40 (UK) | Weight (incl. The best running headlamps give you the freedom to spend more time out running. We love this sleek, compact headlamp for running because of its performance and features, combined with its comfortable fit. How we test gear. Longer battery life typically comes at a cost: weight. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. The lamp has five lighting modes: low, medium, high, boost (which kicks up the beam to 200 lumens), and strobe. Plus, additional batteries will set you back $80 to $120, and theres no option to throw in some AAs if youre traveling and the battery pack quits on you. So the Alpkit Qark (no u, we did check) must win the best value award of any running headlamp test. That intensity comes with a bit of a costits among the heaviest headlamps we tested. It also makes solar and camp lighting products, so a headlamp was a natural additionone that runners will embrace. If you like to run a long way in the dark and rain, this head torch is your perfect match. Lumens: 300 | Weight: 91 grams | Battery: Rechargeable (4 hours on high, 36 hours on low). Others allow you more manual adjustability. Still, well be keeping an eye on the continued durability of both headlamp and charging cord. Jeff is Runner-in-Chief for Runner's World, guiding the brand's shoes and gear coverage. The best headlamps for running can be expensive, so before you make an investment, consider the following important factors. When a headlamps list of features boasts that it can last for 100-150 hours on its lowest setting, that can be a little misleading. As this torch only uses three AAA batteries, the light output drops off gradually over time, so you dont get 500 lumens on that highest setting the whole time, especially not towards the end of the battery life. This is a wonderful touch and means that you can really quickly and easily tailor the beam to the road, path or trail youre running on. lunar It then lasts seven hours in Regulated Runtime where it auto-dims gradually on the theory that your eyes adjust to the darkness.