You’re out in the woods, it’s dark, you need light, but you need your hands free, clearly you need a headlamp. But which one? Out of all the headlamps we tested, these three were our favorites.

First, the question must be addressed, how did we test them? Well to start with we tested all 3 HL’s (Headlamps) the same and all in freezing weather, through hiking, trail running, office wars (don’t ask), urban treks, and other normal activities that all these HL’s should be able to handle. And all of these lamps are in the same price range of $30-40, also are close in output, making the test about as fair as it can be.

The Lamps

Petzl: Tikka Plus 2

50 lumens, 140 hour burntime, 5 lighting modes and max 35m range. It’s a great light, the body is made so it’s perfectly aimed for hiking without needing to adjust the angle. The lamp attaches well to the strap making it hard to knock off be mistake, and switch between the white and red lighting modes is as simple as holding the button down for 2 seconds. I wasn’t a fan of how easy it was to open the battery hatch though, I knocked it open twice climbing, just by bumping it the right way looking down and back up. It’s also hard to hit the button easily with heavy gloves on and the Battery hatch doesn’t have any water sealing, so I found that in a heavy rain or snowfall some, very little, but some moisture could get in around the edges. However, the lighting is great, and it has the most lighting modes out of all the lights we tested. Also the body is built very sturdy in the front, so the lens is pretty tough and rugged. This is the most well balanced of the lights we tested.($40)

Princeton Tech: Fuel

43 lumens, 146 hour burn time, about a 25m range, 3 lighting modes. This is the toughest of the lights we tested and the easiest to use while in the snow. It’s also the lightest, but it also has the shortest range of all three lamps. The swivel system for aiming the light is great, unlike the other two lamps that have a bottom hinge, this HL has a ring around one end that allows you to rotate the whole lamp up or down as needed without risk of it snapping off. This Battery hatch is almost completely water proof, and the whole lamp is very well built. This is the perfect light for a survival or Med kit and makes a great light for climbing. ($30)

Black Diamond: Spot

47 lumens, max 70m range, 200 max burn time. Not as tough as the other two lights, but the Spot outshines them both with ease. It cut through the nightly haze with ease and also put out a strong beam in both lighting modes. The hinge on the bottom isn’t as tight as I’d like, I took a small fall and the light flopped down in my face, but it’s a solid light for around camp or some light climbing. I like the Battery hatch, there’s no way to open it by mistake unless the lamp takes a hefty fall, but like the Petzl, there isn’t any attempt at water protection. The button was easy to hit though, and it’s a very simple, no frills, long lasting, ultra bright lamp. ($40)

Bottom Line? Our favorite over all was the Petzl T2, but if if we needed just one light to get us through, it would most likely be the PT Fuel simply because it’s such a tough lamp, we froze it, tossed it and dropped it and every time it lit up and was ready for action after.

Every one of these lamps does what it should and preformed well and they’re all worthy of your next adventure.  NC