Best Headlamp For Backpacking & Hiking Ultralight 2024 – GWC Mag

Expanded Criteria For Hiking Headlamp Shoppers

Choose a Rechargeable Headlamp

If your headlamp runs on AAA batteries, it’s time to upgrade. Not only are traditional batteries wasteful, heavier, and more expensive in the long term, they are simple less effective. The ability to recharge in the backcountry with a power bank means you never have to bring spare batteries, or worry about running out of juice. Simply put, rechargeability is now mandatory, everyone should carry a power bank, and headlamps without rechargeability are officially obsolete.

Choose a bright headlamp >300 Lumens

When choosing or forced to hike at night, you do not want to be stuck with a dim headlamp. It is a safety and navigational liability. And because there are plenty of good, lightweight, economical, bright headlamps available on the market, there is simply no reason to settle for something dim. We recommend models with at least 300 lumen output at minimum, but prefer to have access to 400 if possible.

Choose an Ultralight Headlamp

We define an ultralight headlamp as any model weighing less than two ounces. While the more standard three ounce models are only one ounce heavier, that represents a 50% to 100% weight increase over models in the 1.5-2.0 oz range. With headlamps, a minimalist headband can often save as much weight as a lighter lamp. For the typical person embarking on a bog standard backpacking trip in the middle of hiking season (May-September), there just aren’t many good reasons to not choose an ultralight headlamp.

Choose a Long Lasting Headlamp

When choosing models for this guide, we analyzed battery power, mAh/weight ratio, and battery lifespan on high and low using manufacturer provided stats. This data had a big influence on our selection, and it should for you too. Many popular ultralight headlamps and lightweight headlamps for backpacking were cut based on having merely average lifespan. If it’s not better than average, there’s no reason to settle.

Choose a headlamp for backpacking with USB-C Port

At time of publication, most electronic gear is transitioning from micro-USB charging ports to USB-C charging ports. USB-C is faster, and uses more modern tech. We expect all models to switch to USB-C in the coming years, but for now, it can be annoying to have to bring both cords. While not a strict requirement, we prefer USB-C because it’s a step towards future, rather than the past, and soon enough all gadgets will share this cord.

Choose a backpacking headlamp with water and dust protection

When shopping for a headlamp for backpacking, you probably noticed stats that look like IP67 or IPX6. IP stands for “ingress protection” and the following numbers refer to its rating against penetration from dust and water. A model that is rated IP67 scores a six on dust resistance and a 7 on water resistance. Other models may read as IPX6, for example. In this case, the X implies it has not been rated for dust, but has been rated for water protection. The X does not necessarily mean it is easily compromised by dust or sand, but simply that it has not been rated. Read more about IP code on Wikipedia.

Other nice to have headlamp features

In no particular order:

• button lock – okay this is mandatory, but they all now have it
• gradient dimming/brightening spectrum, as opposed to incremental settings
• red/blue/green lighting, which can be useful in the tent to avoid waking a partner
• strobe lightning for emergency signaling
• downwards tilt frame, so as not blast light into your friends eyes at camp