How To Choose A Headtorch

Facewest sells a wide selection of Headlamps and Torches. Unless you have experience of a particular model or have be given a recommendation then it can be quite a job to get the right lamp for you. Before you look at the actual lamps you need to decide which features are important to you in the lamp. The main considerations are Power, weight, battery life and cost.

Power	Think what you will use the lamp for and what will be the maximum distance that you will want the beam to reach. If you do a lot of night navigation you will want a good beam, but for general camping then it is not really necessary. Power is very closely linked to battery life, longer beam means more battery drain. There is also the issue of regulated or unregulated LEDs. Regulated LEDs provide a constant beam length for a shorter time while unregulated LEDs provide a gradually diminishing beam range for a longer time.
Battery Life (or burn time)	Battery life is more of an issue for those going on long trips where fresh batteries will not be available than those weekend camping. Long trips require an energy efficient lamp. Replacement batteries cost money so burn time is a factor, although this can be greatly reduced by the use of rechargeables.
Weight	Adventure racers and climbers will be looking for the lightest lamp that fulfills their needs whilst car campers will not be as concerned with weight.
Cost	Everybody cares about the cost, and hopefully you will get the right features for your budget by reading this.

Now you have had a good think about what you really want from a light, look at the table below to find the right range and model.

Power/Range	Pros/Cons	Explanation	Models
Low Power LED	Strengths - size, weight, battery life, cost Weaknesses - beam range	Compact and light weight with small batteries. These lamps offer long duration LED light with burn time up to 190 hours. Enough light for walking in the dark on a track and looking for things close by but no real beam.	SilvaSiju Black Diamond Ion Petzl Tikkina 2 Petzl eLITE Black Diamond Gizmo Petzl TacTikka Petzl Tikka 2 Petzl Zipka 2 Petzl TacTikka Plus Silva Ninox Petzl Tikka 2 Plus Petzl Zipka 2 Plus Petzl TacTikka Plus Adapt Tikka 2 Core
Medium Power LED	Strengths - all round versatility Weaknesses - combined battery and light unit can bounce when running.	This type of lamp is compact, has excellent burn times and a beam of around 60m which is more than enough for most users. A good choice for most people. Available regulated or unregulated.	Black Diamond Cosmo Mammut T Trail Black Diamond Spot Petzl Tikka Plus 2 Petzl Tikka XP 2 Silva Trail Runner Mammut T Peak Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core Silva Trail Runner Plus
High Power LED	Strengths - beam range, size & battery life Weaknesses - cost	LED technology constantly evolves to produce brighter, more focused and more efficient LEDs. The battery unit and light unit are normally separate which gives a more balanced unit on the head and less bounce when running. These lights are popular with climbers, runners and adventure racers	Petzl Myo RXP Mammut X Shot Black Diamond Icon Hope Vision 1 Adventure
Super Power LED	Strengths - Awesome Power, rechargeable batteries Weaknesses - cost	Multiple super bright LEDs with multiple power settings and over 100m penetrating beam. Normally using custom rechargeable batteries. These lights are bright enough for off road biking and generally come with head, helmet and bike mounting options	Petzl Ultra Belt ACCU-4 Hope Vision R4 Petzl-Ultra Hope Vision R4 Head Mount only Petzl Nao

Now that you have decided on the type of headtorch that is suitable for your requirements you may wish to compare similar models, then please Click Here for our features comparison chart.

Once you have decided on your headlamp please read How to choose the right batteries for my Headlamp.