02
May
Finding your way in the night without a sustainable source of illumination can be extremely difficult, that’s why every outdoor (hiking, cycling, camping) kit should include a good flashlight that can show you the path in the most darkest of hours. However, there’s something even better than a flashlight, something that will be way more convenient and effective in critical moments while in the outdoors – a headlamp. Whether you’re camping in the woods, hiking on a mountain or doing an off-road ride with your bike, headlamps will always have your back…and your front!
But if you think purchasing a headlamp is nothing complicated, I’m sure you haven’t found yourself in a hardcore situation like climbing a steep mountain in the middle of the night. In such moments, the need for a powerful source of light is definitely one huge point in the direction of staying alive. In the light of the aforementioned, it should go without saying not all headlamps are the same. Some of them look nice and are not meant to be used in such extreme situations, some are way too heavy and uncomfortable while others are so powerful you can use them to see as far as several hundreds of meters in front of you.
So what are the features you should look for when buying a headlamp?
Fist of all, make sure that for the making of these headlamps led is the technology manufacturers used. Led lights have proven to be very powerful and way more durable compared to fluorescent or incandescent lights. Plus, led technology is environment-friendly, it’s energy efficient and when it comes to the fun part, led technology gives you the opportunity to change the colors of your light, so you can get an orange, red or purple source of light if that’s what you want.
When choosing headlamps led technology’s features should guide you and show you what’s good and what’s not. For example, you don’t want your headlamp to leave you unprepared in the middle of the forest! That’s why you should reach for a headlamp that has a runtime of over 4 hours, even though the runtime also depends on the battery type you’ll be using. If you’re an adventurer at heart and you like to make history even when the weather is making it hard for you to do so, you can pick a headlamp that’s waterproof and that has protection against accidental activation.
Another feature you should have in mind is the headlamp beam type. For example, the flood or the wide beam type is useful for general camp tasks and close-up repair work. The spot or the focused beam type is best for long distance viewing and in most cases it’s the best choice for navigation on poorly illuminated trails. The last beam type is a mixture of the previous two so it offers you both close-up and long-distance viewing.
Also, make sure that you know your lumens. Lumens is the unit of measure that gauges the total quantity of light emitted in all directions by a light source. So in most cases, the higher the lumens, the brighter the light. But in the end it all depends on the manufacturer and the type of headlamp you’ll go with, so take your time and buy the one that you think will suit all your needs the most.
