Anyone else, besides me run in the woods after dark when life simply doesn’t allow for a daylight workout?
I wear a LED battery powered headlamp. The relatively cheap kind you can get at any outdoor store. Its not bad actually and since I don’t run too fast on trails anyway, I can’t outrun the light (bad joke), but it does go far enough and bright enough to do the job. Still, I frequently get the feeling that the blair witch is after me, and would like a brighter lamp (and a gun, a wooden stake, rock salt, and that demon killing knife from Supernatural). Mostly I’d like a brighter lamp.
Anyone out there run with a headlamp with a remote battery pack? Which one? How do you like it? Any recs on a really good self contained, lightweight headlamp?
Black diamond is coming out with a remote battery pack light soon. A couple of ultra runners friends got to use a prototype in a recent 100 and liked them.
I’ve used a black diamond Spot for some ultras and lots of trail running in root infested NW and I like it. It’s self contained and fairly popular among ultra runners. Still didn’t help calm the nerves when I ran into a bear at 3am.
I’m a nighttime runner because it gets dark by 4:30 in the winters here. I use two things, a headlamp and a handheld. The headlamp doesn’t do a good job of showing depth so it is easy to stumble of roots. The handheld accounts for that and adds that third dimention to the lighting.
Here is what I use. I dropped bucks on them because I run in the dark almost every night in the winter and have done races in the dark so they get used, alot.
I got a few Light and Motion Lights for the MTB and just ordered their headstrap. Have not tried it yet but the lights have several hundred lumens , enough for several riders. (downside: $500)
Hope to be able to put the battery in the camelback. while running
Thanks everybody for the great replies. Just did my first after dark trail run of the season. No casualties, no witches, goblins, vampires, zombies, or related denizens of the nighttime woods. I definitely need more light than I had, but it was technically enough.
I use this for some vision assistance but mainly so others can see me. It is super bright and super small and lightweigh - - then again I don’t run on unpaved or rutty trails at night so I don’t really need the more heavy duty version:
The key to getting over the fear of running at night is to do it more often… When I first started running at night, I think I felt the same way. now I often prefer to run at night because there is no one out there to bother me.
Running at night rules, except you can’t fall asleep after…but the coolest I remember feeling was running at 2 a.m. at the start of a snowstorm, nobody on the road so you can run right down the centerline.
I do 90% of my running in the early morning or late evening and use a Petzl Myo-XP Belt. It is an awesome light and well worth the cost. Plus, my wife loves my cool coal miner look.
I run on the road at night quite a bit. I have a generic LED handheld, and a $12 headlamp from walmart. They have like 2 models more expensive. It has last probably 50hours on one set of batteries and it is cheap enough to replace if it breaks as my daughter has abused it quite a bit. Energizer brand I believe, 4 settings. Two narrow white LEDs, 2 wide LEDs, all 4 on, or 2 red LEDs. Combined with handheld, its perfect.
I’ve done it a few times, but my feet are barely stuck to my ankles so I fear uneven footing with low light. Fortunately, they just opened a paved rail trail in my town…there is something primal about running through a corridor of darkness, your other senses heightened by the lack of visual input. A chipmunk or squirrel scampering away sounds like a hungry and angry grizzly. I carry a small LED but don’t use it unless someone is coming the other way. One of these days, there will be another jackass like myself running in the pitch dark the opposite direction and we will knock each other out.
BTW - running at night can really spook me too. My neighborhood doesn’t have any streetlights and there is a .5 mile stretch where there are no houses and it is all woods. Scares the crap out of me whenever I run through there. It is usually my speed work section. I don’t do runs in the woods by myself. Small blondes make yummy snacks for zombies, vampires and warewolves.
I was doing some trail running at night for a while. I was never afraid of people - if anything, they’ll be afraid of some psycho running around at night. I was however, afraid of mountain lions. Still am. I realize that it is beyond rare to be attacked, but still - its creepy out there! Ugh.
Yep, its getting that time of year… Have to start running in the evening… But, you WILL NOT catch me on the trails at night. For example, If I get a late start and the sun starts setting while Im out, I feel like something is on my heels and I HAUL ASS (Good training?)… Haha… I thought it was just me! Same with the MT Bike!!! Army of Darkness, That “Thing” thats screams through the woods after Ash…
BTW - running at night can really spook me too. My neighborhood doesn’t have any streetlights and there is a .5 mile stretch where there are no houses and it is all woods. Scares the crap out of me whenever I run through there. It is usually my speed work section. I don’t do runs in the woods by myself. Small blondes make yummy snacks for zombies, vampires and warewolves.
Oh, last night the acorns were falling like crazy. Every single one of them was something out to get me. I think I’ve been tainted by growing up in Baltimore city. The wooded park in front of my childhood home was full of typical teenagers and more nefarious types. Never knew which you were going to encounter. Now I live out in the suburbs, the most dangerous thing I’m likely to encounter is a turtle crossing the path.
I do a lot of night time trail runs, and I routinely use a Petzl Myo-XP around my waist (upside down so that I can angle the beam up), along with a Petzl Tikka XP headlamp on my noggin. The combination provides fantastic long- and short-range lighting, something that a single lamp cannot seem to provide. On occasion, I will also throw my flashing red bike light on my back for no apparent reason other than that I like it.
i like my petzl tactikka - prefer to use the red lens so i don’t destroy the night vision of someone coming the other way. on its highest setting it’s enough for me on the quite well maintained trails in town.
the battery life on the light is insane - it was about 2 years and probably 20+ nights of camping before i needed to change the AAAs, since i usually use it on low power…
I do almost all of my winter running in the dark. Full time day job and all.
I also have been using the Myo XP and just got the new one Myo RXP or something - it is white and has more flexibility in setting light output. Light enough, comfortable and stable enough, sufficient light output. I also have the belt battery pack version for really cold weather, which allows battery carry under clothes next to body to keep them warmer. I also carry a very small handheld (1 AAA cell) that is very bright and use it in gnarly sections in addition to the headlamp. Helps cast shadows on uneven terrain and improves depth perception.
I do trail mountain runs in the dark from time to time. I just use a basic $40 Petzyl (sp?) light that seems to work fine. I also find that listening to music helps keep the boogey man at bay. It’s hard to be scared when I’m jamming to Boom Boom Pow!
