[bigironhorse]

After a night bouldering session last night I have realised that my headtorch is pretty much useless. Can any one recommend something with the golden combination of brightness and long battery life? I think I would prefer old style batteries rather than USB charging etc. Ideally should be cheap but could probably stretch to £40 if good value.

Cheers.

[T_B]

The Alpkit ones get talked about as being good and cheap.

Or you can probably get an LED Lenser SEO 5 on-line for £40. 3 x AAA and 180 lumens.

[dave]

The alpkit ones are good. Only thing I would say is the type I have isn't great for dynos as it has a lot of inertia and can flick around, otherwise fine and bright enough for alpine starts on big mountain routes in the dark. The current model my Mrs has is better for dynos etc.

[SamT]

Do the alpkit ones run on 1.2v NiMH batteries, I heard they'd only run on non rechargable 1.5v alkalines, or has that now changed.

These things are shit hot,

http://www.flashaholics.co.uk/flashlights/zebralight/head-torches/

but you'd have to be prepared to by a Li Ion cell charger.

http://www.flashaholics.co.uk/products/fenix-fenix-are-c2-advanced-multi-charger.html

[Paul B]

We've got a LED Lensar H7 which is great but I wouldn't want to climb with it on.

Silva regularly do sales on Sportpursuit.

[SamT]

Answered my own question - they do now cope with 1.2v rechargeable NiMhs

[bigironhorse]

Thanks everyone.

Or you can probably get an LED Lenser SEO 5 on-line for £40. 3 x AAA and 180 lumens.

Liking the look of this. You can get it for £33.41 including postage here: https://www.bagoftools.co.uk/tools/home-leisure-&-car-care/torches/led-lenser-torches/led-lenser-seo5-headlamp-black-test-it-pack/p32271?showvat=true&gclid=CNHCptfSsNACFda4GwodIQMP-Q

[Duncan campbell]

Petzl Tikkina 13 quid in decathlon. I lost my Gucci petzl yo and was shocked at how much a similar one would be also the battery life on them is shit so looked at the tikka plus sort of ones and they are expensive and have worse battery life than the tikkina. Only has two settings but they are perfectly adequate for all/most settings

[Fultonius]

My sister got me a Petzl tikka RXP (now reaktik??) and I was initially dubious about it being a usb recharge only light. But, it's actually been really good and I don't really miss buying expensive batteries. 

[Richie Crouch]

The latest versions of the black diamond spot and storm are worth a look for brightness and longevity in the £36-45 range

[SA Chris]

My sister got me a Petzl tikka RXP (now reaktik??) and I was initially dubious about it being a usb recharge only light. But, it's actually been really good and I don't really miss buying expensive batteries.

Missus got a USB recharge one for doing night running and tot a USB recharge and really one like that and really rated it.

I note these are back in stock, probably not ideal as a headtorch, as they are quite heavy and possibly too bright, but ideal for lighting the crag up

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01JOEMGJ0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[danm]

Another Petzl fanboi, got a Tikka R+with USB charging and reactive lighting. Expensive, but  very functional.

[Will Hunt]

+1 for Alpkit.

Not the best and brightest headtorch on the market, but ticks the box for me for value - they're quite reasonably priced.

[dave]

What I will say is I think the Alpkit ones might actually be pre-existing Chinese units just branded up as Alpkit - I'm sure mine I'd seen on sale elsewhere under non-brand but clearly the same basic unit. Not difficult these days to make a good quality battery powered LED headtorch for not much money.

I'm sure the USB rechargeables are great for local stuff or use from a car, but for anything in the mountains I don't think you can beat a torch where you can just stick a couple of spare AAAs in your bag.

[T_B]

You can buy battery packs for the new Petzl re-chargeable headtorches.

https://www.petzl.com/BE/en/Sport/PERFORMANCE-headlamps/REACTIK--REACTIK-PLUS-BATTERY-PACK

[Fultonius]

What I will say is I think the Alpkit ones might actually be pre-existing Chinese units just branded up as Alpkit - I'm sure mine I'd seen on sale elsewhere under non-brand but clearly the same basic unit. Not difficult these days to make a good quality battery powered LED headtorch for not much money.

I'm sure the USB rechargeables are great for local stuff or use from a car, but for anything in the mountains I don't think you can beat a torch where you can just stick a couple of spare AAAs in your bag.

I'd always thought the same, but I've used mine on several overnight alpine routes with a fair chunk of climbing in the dark and had no problems with the battery.

Instead of taking spare batteries,  I take a small cheap spare headtorch which isn't as mad as it seems - it's quite easy for one of the two of you to have a malfunction or drop one and then you're  quite in the shit.

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

[Drew]

My opinion is that the USB charging is great. I've got a USB port in the car, but even before this car I'd just have a USB whatsit in my cigarette lighter and I could make sure the headtorch always has a full battery.

I also like Petzl's Constant lighting. Basically it's regulated so you don't lose 50% of your power output within the first 2 hours. Even if you use rechargables (or the USB battery) and charge them up every time you use the torch, the power after a decent length session, will be drastically less than when the batteries first go in.

More controversially I also like Petzl's Reactive system. Not everyone does (you can override it to Constant), but when walking in being able to let your eyes adjust slightly by having a minimal amount of light while walking on a reasonable footpath I find useful. As soon as you want to look at something in the distance it automatically shines brighter to work out which bit of crag you're at.

Petzl Tikkina 13 quid in decathlon. I lost my Gucci petzl yo and was shocked at how much a similar one would be also the battery life on them is shit so looked at the tikka plus sort of ones and they are expensive and have worse battery life than the tikkina. Only has two settings but they are perfectly adequate for all/most settings

£13 is a massive bargain for that, although for me 80 Lumens isn't nearly enough, but my eyesight is shit, and I think my night vision is pretty poor too. My Tikka RXP is up to 215 Lumens, but it's usually kicking out between 120 and 160 and would last for 8-10 hours. Pretty poor battery life, but fine for me as it gets charged after every use.

[slackline]

More controversially I also like Petzl's Reactive system. Not everyone does (you can override it to Constant), but when walking in being able to let your eyes adjust slightly by having a minimal amount of light while walking on a reasonable footpath I find useful. As soon as you want to look at something in the distance it automatically shines brighter to work out which bit of crag you're at.

I've an old Petzl Tikka+.  It has manual reactive lighting, three brightness settings and a flashing mode and you cycle through them pressing the button successively. 

[Drew]

I've an old Petzl Tikka+.  It has manual reactive lighting, three brightness settings and a flashing mode and you cycle through them pressing the button successively. 

Exactly. Manual. I'm a lazy bastard.

[SA Chris]

What I will say is I think the Alpkit ones might actually be pre-existing Chinese units just branded up as Alpkit - I'm sure mine I'd seen on sale elsewhere under non-brand but clearly the same basic unit. Not difficult these days to make a good quality battery powered LED headtorch for not much money.

I've seen a few things I've bought from Alpkit in the past in places like TK Maxx without the Alpkit logo on it, but otherwise identical in appearance

[duncan]

I recently acquired something like this from one of Archway's numerous pound shops. They saw me coming as it cost £1.50. Shoddy quality - I might not want to rely on it if I was soloing the Annapurna S. Face - but considerably brighter than my Petzl tikka RXP (RRP £90).