Mt Whitney Zone Forums Gear Heads New Headlamp

So my headlamp is starting to fall apart. Duct tape is holding the battery cover on and half of the white lights are dead.


I'm thinking of these:


Fenix HM50R Rechargeable Headlamp

Fenix HL60R Rechargeable Headlamp

Nitecore HC65 Headlamp


Of course, bright main light is important. Red light is nice to have.
Rechargeable worries me a little (don't need more devices to charge on the trail), but since these all can use a CR123 as backup, it's mostly the same as my current setup that uses 3xAAA batteries (so I can carry spare batteries, plus my Steripen uses CR123, so I can share the spares between it and the headlamp).

Anyone have any experience with any of these or have any other suggestions?

REI.com has a nice compare feature, and they show the HM50R and HL60R. You should compare those to maybe a Black Diamond 375.

Comparing those three, it looks like the 60R doesn't have a spot beam, only flood, and it's 5 ounces. I think I'd drop that one.

The HM50R is super lightweight--2.2 oz. Doesn't have the red beam, but that light weight is really great.

I have an older Black Diamond, uses 3 AAA, and it sure is bright enough for any sort of hiking and camping. I think it compares closer to the B.D. ReVolt, only mine doesn't have any recharging capabilities. ReVolt's max is 300 lumens. Since mine is older, it's probably lower output.

Last summer, my ancient Black Diamond headlamp (probably 10-15 years old) started acting up. I bought the Black Diamond Spot 325 on sale at REI. It’s smaller, lighter, and brighter than the old one, AND the batteries should last longer. It’s also, smaller, lighter, and cheaper than the Black Diamond Storm 375. The only downside is that it takes a while to figure out how to use all the cool features. I love it!

Dang, you buy a headlight 5 years ago and think you are up to date and forget about it. Turn around and they're half the size and twice as bright.

I know that I am somewhat of an outlier on this one. But I REALLY like Zebralight headlamps. I am still using my three year old H600Fc III. Yet despite its age and the fact that Zebralight has a newer model, it is still LIGHT YEARS ahead of all the other stuff that people typically use (ie Black Diamond, Petzl, etc). It uses a rechargeable 18650 battery, which may not be to many people’s liking. But the battery lasts long, is rechargeable, and is probably the most weight efficient way out there to store energy for a light (a single 18650 stores the energy of FOUR AA batteries!). It has many modes, from barely visible moonlight mode right on up through a car headlight bright 800 lumens (probably more than most will EVER need). And unlike those ugly blue lights that everyone seems to use, this one is a nice 4000K warm/neutral white that renders colors REALLY nicely. Best of all, it is on clearance on the Zebralight site.

There is also the newer Zebralight H600Fc IV, which takes things a step forward with something like a maximum brightness of 1500 lumens (ie insanely bright) and a more efficient LED. It DOES cost more. But whether or not you need the extra features (or will ever use 1500 lumens on a trail) is up to you.

Zebralight also makes some single AA headlamps. These are cheaper than the 18650 lamps, but not as bright (which shouldn’t be a problem for most, as they are still brighter than other options here). They also don’t operate optimally with alkaline batteries (NiMH is needed for the brighter modes). But you might not want to risk destroying a pricier headlamp with an alkaline battery leak.

In any case, if you want a headlamp that is well-built and exceeds the norm by light years, Zebralight is THE way to go!