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best headlamp for emergencies or late skiday trips

  • evan
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7 years 2 weeks ago #232434 by evan
Curious what others use for their go-to headlamp during typical snow ski touring days or planned  overnights?  I was thinking possibly one principal light and one small Petzl e-lite for emergency/emergency.

Principal lights among my research includes:
Petzl Nao+ Plus
Black Diamond Storm
Black Diamond Icon.

Obviously, opinion seems to range the gamut here, but I really need a good light when the sunshine fades away and we still have to skin or ski out - and especially if there were an actual problem to deal with - I need a lightweight, waterproof-ish, powerful, and something I can see what's in-front-of-me kinda headlamp.  Suggestions, field experience?, comments?

Thanks!

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  • dave095790
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7 years 2 weeks ago #232436 by dave095790
I really like my nao+.

All about lumens and it has a ton. it can synch with your phone for a plethora of adjustable.

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  • haggis
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7 years 2 weeks ago #232442 by haggis
BD Storm is good. Lots of options now. The storm is good as its small, the Icon kind of large with battery pack. I've had both.

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  • evan
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7 years 2 weeks ago #232443 by evan

BD Storm is good.  Lots of options now.  The storm is good as its small, the Icon kind of large with battery pack.  I've had both.


Seems two of those are lot different in brightness but was your experience?

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  • Blizz Mountain
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7 years 2 weeks ago #232445 by Blizz Mountain
Replied by Blizz Mountain on topic Re: best headlamp for emergencies or late skiday trips
I had a previous version of the BlackDiamond Storm. Worked just fine...until I pulled it out of my backpack the first time early this season. It didn't work, I found the batteries leaked and were slightly corroded (battery issue? headlamp issue?). I cleaned all the contacts and had replacement batteries, but the headlamp would never work again. I decided to try a cheap Amazon headlamp, USB rechargable, ans only $15. Really surprised at the lumens, great light output and throw. Many features (4 brightness levels, including near and far, red night LED, touch free on/off option). I've used this about 4 times, maybe an hour each time, on a single charge. Really surprised - the quality doesn't seem much different than BD, but a lot cheaper. My thought was...would I want to trust my life to a cheap $15 headlamp? ...but if it was a critical situation, the BD would have failed me. Real moral of the story... Check your headlamp BEFORE you leave the house on a tour. I always check my beacon, but not always my headlamp.

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  • Scottk
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7 years 2 weeks ago #232446 by Scottk
I have a Petzl Reactik+ that I'm pretty happy with. The rated capacity of 300 lumens is dramatically better than my previous headlamps with more like 100 lumens. I particularly like the re-chargeable battery so I don't have to burn through batteries plus it recharges on the battery pack that I use for my phone for multiday trips. No need to carry extra batteries. I like the ability to link with my phone and see how much battery is left. The disadvantages are price and it's a bit complicated to operate. If you're easily frustrated by technology it's probably not the best choice.

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