Best Headlamps

Headlamps are an incredibly useful piece of technology to have along with you in the outdoors, whether you are hiking, camping, or backpacking.

The best headlamps will have a few fairly specific features to look out for. When shopping for your next headlamp, you should consider each headlamp, and whether that particular model has these important features.

Features of High Quality Headlamps

Lightweight - Many of the better headlamps are also some of the lightest headlamps. After all, everything that you bring with you in to the outdoors has to be carried on your back, and it really pays to bring along a light headlamp instead of a heavy headlamp. The best possible headlamps, then, are often the light ones.
Battery Life - Related to weight is battery life. The good headlamps will have a long battery life, so that they can be relied on for a long trip. Carrying extra batteries with you after all, increases the weight of your backpack and isn't much fun.

High Quality Headlamps

Here are a few of the best possible headlamps with the above features.

Petzl Myo RXP 2 Headlamp - This is an LED headlamp that weighs in at 175 grams, or 6.2 ounces. On the maximum setting it has a 97 meter range, and will last an impressive 95 hours on the lowest power setting. A battery indicator rounds this headlamp out, making it one of the top headlamps for all around use.
Black Diamond Icon Headlamp - This is a great headlamp from Black Diamond that won a Best in Gear Award from the climbing magazine Rock and Ice. It features two different types of LED bulbs, one optimized for high power settings and another for low, so that it manages to get 80 meter range on the high settings and 200 hours of battery life on the low. Definitely an excellent choice for a headlamp.
Petzl Zipka Plus 2 LED Headlamp - If weight is your chief concern with a headlamp, then this is an excellent potential headlamp. It weighs in at just 2.5 ounces, or 70 grams, and that's with the batteries. It only gets 35 meters on high settings, and 140 hours of battery life on the low settings, but the weight is impressive enough to overcome those shortcomings.
Petzl Ultra Headlamp - If you are in need of a dependable headlamp that can put out a serious amount of light, then this offering from Petzl is the best headlamp for you. It puts out an impressive 350 Lumens, and has a max distance of 120 meters. It also comes with a rechargeable lithium battery. If you want a serious headlamp, you will get plenty of performance from the Ultra.