Whats the best headlamp for running early morning or night? Road and trail alike
I’m a big fan of the Petzl active lamps. I’ve been using a Tikka+ for about two years now. It’s bright enough, last more than long enough and is rechargeable.
I like the Black Diamond Sprinter
Big fan of the battery pack is at the back so its lighter and less obtrusive at the front
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5039-039/Sprinter-Headlamp
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+2 for Petzl. I have the Petzl Tikka RXP and love it. If you look on their website I think it is now called the Reactik.
Admittedly I have not tried a lot of headlamps for running but I find I don’t like both the feel of a light on my head and the effect of the light as it bounces along. I find I’m more comfortable just holding a small flashlight or Serfas light in my hand as I run.
If I’m running in the dark, it’s usually early enough that there aren’t many cars or other people around.
For that, I use a super high powered 700 lumen+ bike light that came with a headstrap for running, and it’s AWESOME. Literally as bright as a car headlamp. You can buy them now on Amazon for <$30, but you will probably want to spend a bit more as the battery packs for the cheaper chinese versions just don’t last long. (I ended up buying a separate pricey waterproof battery than runs the lamp on high for 4+ hrs.)
I don’t get any head bouncing problems with the combo of the headstrap and the brightness of the light - it’s nearly as good as running in daylight, it’s that bright.
The big caveat - if it’s not late enough such that there are other runners or walkers coming your way, you will blind them, so it’s not a good choice for such situations.
On dark trails where you’re solo pretty much the entire way though - these bike-style superpowered lights are awesome.
I’ve run with the puny older Petzl headlamps (AAA powered) and even the vaunted Black Diamond headlamps, and I find them nearly a joke in terms of brightness they’re so dim. I love those small headlamps for errands around the house and when the power goes out, but for running, they’re just too dim for me, even the $80 ones. The new Petzl lamps are brighter, though, but I haven’t tried them (for sure they won’t touch that 700 lumen light.)
I used to run with a Fenix L2D tactical flashlight strapped to my head, which I thought at 220 lumens, was the perfect brightness for city running where you don’t want to blind people. But I never enjoyed running at night with a 220 lumen light - it made for ‘just passable’ running for me. With 700+ lumens though, it’s just about as good as running during daylight (better, because there’s less heat and less cars!)
I guess I haven’t been doing a lot of super technical trail running at night, but curious what you need so many lumens for?
For biking it makes sense, you are presumably moving fast and need to be able to see details further away in order to have sufficient reaction time. For running I simply need to be able to see ~10 feet in front of me to avoid tripping on things.
I run off road, in the dark in some combination of ice, mud or snow straight through the winter. Cold wet feet have been my problem way more than my head lamp ever has been, and I’ve got some old dinky one.
Whats the best headlamp for running early morning or night? Road and trail alike
Lupine Piko X
I guess I haven’t been doing a lot of super technical trail running at night, but curious what you need so many lumens for?
For biking it makes sense, you are presumably moving fast and need to be able to see details further away in order to have sufficient reaction time. For running I simply need to be able to see ~10 feet in front of me to avoid tripping on things.
I run off road, in the dark in some combination of ice, mud or snow straight through the winter. Cold wet feet have been my problem way more than my head lamp ever has been, and I’ve got some old dinky one.
I wouldn’t say I NEED 700+ lumens.
But I’ve run extensively on trails and road and urban with:
30-40 lumens (Older Petzl tikkas AAAs)
100 lumens (upgraded Petzl AA headlamps)
220 lumens (Fenix L2D) - I’d consider this best ‘urban’ lighting since you won’t blind everyone, but still can run well in the dark. I think this is as bright as most of the newest Petzls I saw online when I just googled them
350 lumens (Fenix HP50) - I bought this last year for kicks, and it’s very, very good. Plenty good for all situations, and highly recommended.
700+ lumens - (Magicshine knockoff + a better Magicshine upgraded battery) - It’s bit, it’s very bulky (I have to put the battery pack in a camelbak it’s so big!) but as much as I hate the bulk, there is no question for me that this is the light I want if I’m running on dark trails.
The 700 lumens just makes things ‘running with this is nearly as good as running in daylight!’, as opposed to ‘works fine but nowhere near as good as daylight’ at 220-350 lumens, or ‘tolerable but still sucky compared to daylight’ at under 200 lumens.
Again, def not REQUIRED (I could run those trails with a 30-40 lumen older Petzl Tikka, but it sucks so bad), but if you’re really running a lot at night, it’s well worth the $100 or so it costs for a good setup that actually makes you WANT to go run out there as opposed to just tolerating being out there.
The new petzl reactik’s are 220 and 300 lumens respectively, so I think they’re plenty bright. But you can get a Fenix in that lumen range for half the price so yeah, good recommendations.
Everyone has different conditions, but to me running at night is mostly a winter thing and while a solid light definitely helps it’s generally not my biggest problem (re: snow/ice/mud)
Technically not a headlamp but Knuckle Lights are awesome: https://www.knucklelights.com/
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Technically not a headlamp but Knuckle Lights are awesome: https://www.knucklelights.com/
Doesn’t the bouncing light while you’re running get somewhat annoying? With the powerful headlamps described above, the light is rock-solid and stable with zero bouncing.
Really upset with you for posting this. I was perfectly OK with my Petzel Nao 2 (not thrilled with it).
Didn’t even know this light existed. Now I MUST own it.
The new petzl reactik’s are 220 and 300 lumens respectively, so I think they’re plenty bright. But you can get a Fenix in that lumen range for half the price so yeah, good recommendations.
Everyone has different conditions, but to me running at night is mostly a winter thing and while a solid light definitely helps it’s generally not my biggest problem (re: snow/ice/mud)
Yeah, you do have to tailor it to your conditions.
When I lived in LA, I def could not use a 700 lumen light as I had a lot of urban/suburban areas to traverse and pedestrians would be totally blinded by it. At the same time, you still want 200 lumens even though the sidewalks are usually lit up well enough to see without a headlamp, just to flash the drivers of cars that are turning into your path or pulling out and otherwise are oblivious to a sidewalk pedestrian/runner (happened a lot!).
700+ lumens for trail running on isolated trails is amazing, though. It’s remarkable what that light does. With a 30-40 lumen Petzl Tikka old-school headlamp (was the only thing around in 2005!), it was like the Blair witch project to run at 5AM on secluded trails, since it was so freaking spooky and scary in the dark. I hated it so much I did it a few times and sweared never again.
That same trail at 700 lumens is a wide, welcoming and most importantly, FUN activity, with nothing to be afraid of. (The light even illuminates all animal eyes, so you’ll see them very quickly.)
I like the Black Diamond Sprinter
Big fan of the battery pack is at the back so its lighter and less obtrusive at the front
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5039-039/Sprinter-Headlamp
+1
Had my 1st for about four years and the battery stopped charging. Contacted Black Diamond and they sent out a replacement free of charge! Great product and support.
Diamondback Sprinter
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Technically not a headlamp but Knuckle Lights are awesome: https://www.knucklelights.com/
Doesn’t the bouncing light while you’re running get somewhat annoying? With the powerful headlamps described above, the light is rock-solid and stable with zero bouncing.
Surprisingly not. I can see from the demo video why it might seem that way but honestly I don’t even notice it. Since you wear one on each hand, most of the movement of the light is left/right, but the area directly in front of you stays consistently illuminated because one of the two lights is always right at your midsection.
I’m a big fan of the knuckle lights as well. For me, more comfortable, less bouncing, and better lighting than a headlamp.
I love my Petzl Nao. I like that the brightness automatically adjusts as it gets darker or lighter outside so I don’t have to do anything. And the battery life is impressive and retains its charge well even when not used for long periods of time.
Technically not a headlamp but Knuckle Lights are awesome: https://www.knucklelights.com/
Doesn’t the bouncing light while you’re running get somewhat annoying? With the powerful headlamps described above, the light is rock-solid and stable with zero bouncing.
Surprisingly not. I can see from the demo video why it might seem that way but honestly I don’t even notice it. Since you wear one on each hand, most of the movement of the light is left/right, but the area directly in front of you stays consistently illuminated because one of the two lights is always right at your midsection.
Agreed. They cast a pretty wide beam and with one in each hand, the gaps from one are filled with the other. Even when I only use one, I don’t have any issue.
Another cool point about them (or any non-head light) is that you get better contrast from shadows. If a light is above your eyes, the shadow will hide behind the object. So, if you have a brown object on a brown background with a hidden black shadow, bummer. Holding the lights lower, the shadow is longer than the object is tall, so you can actually see that shadow.
The new knucklelights with (non-removable) rechargeable batteries are a good bit brighter than the originals, but still not going to be anywhere near the 700 lumens mentioned above. I run on semi-technical trails at night and with only one, it is enough light for me. With two, I’ve needed wanted or needed more.