Backcountry Lighting Technology and Products: State of the Market Report and Gear Guide

I would imagine it is nearly as critical for back-country use, especially when things go south…
Well, maybe not.
When things go south in the night – – – I am most likely in my (tunnel) tent, on my mat, under my quilt – – and fast asleep.
Yes, I used to go caving, a long time ago. Totally different sport from UL walking. Comparisons are not relevant.

Cheers

Follow up to my comment last year mentioning the Nitecore HA11. I bought one, and the nitecore NL1411R 14500 size rechargeable battery to go with it.

The specs are great on paper. The build quality is perfectly adequate, simple but effective.

The button interface is simpler than say the NU25 (non MCT model) that I bought at the start of last year and found annoying. Not quite Petzl simple, but closer.

The price is rather cheap, seemingly a bargain. But I realised why after a few night time walks and jogs… Nitecore spent precisely zero on developing the lens for this. Its the junkiest beam pattern I’ve ever had in a headtorch. Seriously, the only thing worse I’ve ever used was a AAAA everready pen torch (that had an exposed, tiny, incandescent globe half sticking out of the tip) I had for a couple of years as a young Scout, that I only needed to use for camp tasks and didn’t mind at all as it was tiny and quaint (and far lighter than what everyone else had at the time). Its such a spot beam, and a weird one at that, and bad enough that my eyes are immediately strained in the dark on turning it on and I much prefer to just turn it off and run in the dark on night vision alone.

Such a shame, as everything else about this is excellent. Maybe in the future Nitecore will put a bit more effort into the lens for an update. Having the single AA option is great for those of us who like to travel off the beaten track a bit in more developing places. Just peace of mind that I can find a cheap AA battery somewhere to throw in if I am unable to charge the 14500 for a while. It’s probably the format of battery in a headtorch that is most likely to be able to find supply for, anywhere in the world.

Fast asleep in your tent is considered, “things going south [bad]?”

I’m envisioning something having gone wrong, and having to navigate some kind of exposed, or unfriendly terrain, because you DIDN’T yet make it to camp, and inside your tent.

That’s when a solid headlamp will make a difference, vs. a crummy one. For mulling around camp, sure, use a crappy flashlight pen if you want. That scenario is pretty low consequence.

What’s interesting, is that whatever the outdoor sport is, headlamps are one of the things that people complain about being fussy, or inferior, quite often.

I looked, and the Fenix HM61R-V2 light that I’ve used, weighs in at 5.36oz / 152 grams. It has been fantastically durable, and has some really nice features. Retail is 90 USD. 72 USD on Expertvoice. Fenix has other models I’d consider as well, with smaller batteries, but many of the same nice features, for less money, and less weight.

A quick comparison of that HM61 to some of the popular NightCore models – It seems like the NU25/27 are in the 2oz. ballpark.

This isn’t about advocating for one brand over the other. But moreso, that I can’t imagine ranking the importance of a couple ounces, above more important attributes, on an important piece of gear.

@JAshley73, everyone has their own priorities about what is “important.” You keep saying “I don’t understand the ultralight obsession with headlamps” and “I can’t imagine ranking a couple of ounces above more important attributes …”

Do you really not understand, or is this just a more acceptable way of saying that the other forum members are foolish and inexperienced, and that you know better? I think this is the attitude that BPL is trying to get away from.

If you really don’t understand, I’ll try to explain. Every item is important in some way, and almost every item can be better if you add weight to it. However, this forum is full of people who are extremely experienced, they know the conditions that they are facing, they are aware of the things that can go wrong, and many of them choose to use lightweight headlamps because they believe that they are FIT-FOR-PURPOSE. Period. The argument that “a heavier XXX is better” can be used across-the-board; it carries no weight.

Most of us would admit to taking along a luxury item or two, or packing some of our fears, but I think we try to be self-aware about it. If you want to pack your fears about being lost in a dark, wet place, that’s totally fine. But it’s extremely patronizing to make continued posts essentially calling people stupid for thinking that a sub 2 oz headlamp is sufficient for typical 3-season backpacking.

I don’t think people are stupid. That certainly wouldn’t be fair to say.

I guess I find weight in headlamps to seem silly – to me. (Yeah, I know, opinions are like, well, you know…) ;) I do find it a little bit humorous though, that low-weight headlamps are quite often complained about. That’s not unique to backpacking, or ultralight really. I’ve used both [models] of mine in many non-caving scenarios. I’ve never, not once, thought to myself, “Gee, I wish this headlamp was lighter weight.”

Maybe being new to ‘lightweight backpacking,’ and coming from other activities, I guess I see things differently, from farther out…

From what I’ve seen, read, and listened to – including a lot of BPL content – it seems like a lot of folks are unsatisfied with many of their “lightweight” headlamps. I guess objectively, I’d say that weight isn’t as important as other factors – because people are usually complaining about non-weight related attributes – like fussy controls, poor life, inconvenient re-charges, unsupportive headbands, and so on…

I guess what I am saying though, is that people may be more satisfied with their headlamps, by placing less emphasis on weight, and more emphasis on actually using the headlamp – controls, battery/recharging, etc. Again, we’re talking about 3-4 oz difference in weight between a single-18650 powered headlamp, and the smallest of ‘lightweight’ headlamps. If you compare a single-16340, or single-AA powered model, the difference can be 1 oz. or less. The difference in capability, ergonomics, recharging, etc, is often huge though.

Related – I kid you not, last weekend I was at a talk/clinic, about hiking Colorado 14’ers. An older guy asks the presenter, “How heavy is your headlamp…” I chuckled and thought to myself, “who cares…”

Perhaps the more important question should be, “how GOOD is your/my headlamp.”

Nothing personal, I promise…

I am surprised the Aurora A5 (G4) was not included in the comparison as it seems to be gaining popularity with EDC and ULers alike. It is technically a flashlight with a hat-clip so I understand it doesn’t really fit in with the rest listed. I like the lantern function for camp chores and the beam is enough to get around on trails after dark without issue. I still find myself preferring my old NU20 for most trips as I like to sleep with my light around my neck, but it is definitely an interesting option and I’m curious to see how it technically stacks up to the others listed here.

+1 for the Rovyvon. Even thought it’s not as bright, I like the 5000K version because it doesn’t wash out the colors.