STATE OF THE MARKET REPORT: LED Headlamps (2007)

Has it really been over three years?

When last we summarized LED headlamps the market was just hitting its stride, with several companies releasing mass-produced, affordable lights in a variety of configurations with an array of capabilities. While the groundwork for the future had been laid, what remained was the ugly truth about most of these early efforts: LEDs weren't yet ready to replace high-performance incandescent lights for very demanding conditions, high-power incandescent's great weight and fleeting battery life notwithstanding.

No more.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

• Introduction
• Technological Strides
• Who's Who; What's What?
  • Beam - Wide, Narrow or Both?
  • Intensity - Bright, Really Bright or Scorching?
  • Battery Life - Brief or Long-Term?
  • Batteries - AA, AAA or Button?
  • Battery Pack - Integrated or Separate? Plus Swapping Cells
  • Switchgear - Single or Dual-button? Ease of use?
  • Straps - Wrap, Bucket, Hybrid?
  • Waterproof?
  • Current Regulation?
  • About Those Batteries
• LED Headlamp Specifications
• TABLE: Headlamp Facts and Features
• LED Headlamp Review Criteria
  • Weight
  • Output
  • Battery Life
  • Beam Quality
  • Modes
  • Switch
  • Fit and Comfort
  • Regulation
  • Battery Change Ease
  • Waterproof
  • Value
• LED Headlamp Ratings Summary
• TABLE: LED Headlamp Ratings Summary
• Our List of Bests
• Sizing Up the Manufacturers
• Matching the Tool to the Task
• Designing Our Dreamlight
• What's Next?
• Backpacking Light Staff Choices
  • Ryan Jordan
  • Mike Martin
  • Carol Crooker
  • Will Rietveld
  • Don Wilson
  • Roger Caffin

Sidebars

• LED Variability
• Lenses, Reflectors, Filters, Colored LEDs, Naked LEDs
• Flashlight Electronics - Control Schemes
  • Linear Regulators
  • Step-Down (Buck) Regulators
  • Pulse-Width Modulation
  • So What?
  • Radio Frequency Interference

# WORDS: 7150
# PHOTOS: 16
# TABLES: 2