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 |
Once you know the features you need, we can look at the technologies that provide these features.
| Power |
3 & 1 Watt LEDs both offer good beams, up to 80m for the 3 watt and 50m for the 1 watt. There are also multiple superbright LEDs which give even greater beams up to 120m but these are generally for specialist use. Combined Halogen and LED units also offer 50m beams. Halogen bulbs will gradually disappear over the next couple of years as they are very power hungry compared to LEDs. |
| Battery Life (or burn time) | Multiple standard LEDs and 1 watt LEDs offer the longest life with Halogen being the worst . For trips longer than 2 days on the same batteries then LED technology if preferable. |
| Weight | Our lightest headlamp is only 35g including the battery but as always weight must be measured against what you need your lamp to do. All the Lamps we sell are lightweight, just some are lighter than others |
| Cost | The headlamps range from £18 upwards. With plenty of models for £35 or less |
Now we can look at the ranges that offer these features
| Range | Pros and Cons | Explanation | Models |
| Multiple standard LEDs | Strengths - size, weight, battery life
Weaknesses -beam range | Compact and light weight with small batteries. These lamps offer long duration LED light with burn time up to 150 hours. Enough light for walking in the dark and looking for things close by but no real beam.
| Petzl Tikkina
Petzl E+Lite
Black Diamond Ion
Petzl Tikka
Petzl Zipka
Petzl Tikka Plus
Petzl Zipka Plus
Princeton Tec Quad
Black Diamond Nightray |
| 1 Watt LED or equivalent | Strengths - battery life, size & cost
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 30m which is more than enough for most users. A good choice for most people. Available regulated or unregulated. | Petzl Tikka XP
Princeton Tex Eos |
| 3 Watt LED or equivalent | Strengths - beam range, battery life
Weaknesses - cost | These new superbright LEDs produce Halogen type beams with less battery drain. They offer multiple power settings and flash modes. The battery unit and light unit are normally separate which gives a more balanced unit on the head and less bounce when running | Black Diamond Zenix IQ
Petzl Myo XP
Princeton Tec Apex
|
| Over 3 Watt |
Strengths - Beam range, battery life
Weaknesses - cost, weight |
Multiple super bright LEDs with multiple power settings and over 100m penetrating beam. Normally using custom rechargeable batteries. |
Petzl Ultra
Petzl Ultra Belt
|
| Combined Halogen and LED light sources | Strengths - beam range, battery life on LED, cost
Weaknesses -battery life on halogen, bulb failure | Combines 2 light sources so can be used in just about all situations. The Halogen for distance beam and the LED's for proximity work. The Halogen sucks the power but the LEDs do not. As Superbright LEDs improve these models wil be phased out but at the moment they still offer the longest beam but only just.
| Petzl Myolite 3
Petzl Myo 3
|
| Traditional Filament Bulbs | Strengths -price Weaknesses - battery life, bulb failure | Superceded in technology, size, burn time and features by all the new LED models but still selling. | Princeton Tec Blast
Petzl Micro
Petzl Zoom
Petzl Myolite |
Click Here for features comparison chart
Once you have decided on your headlamp please read How to choose the right batteries for my Headlamp.
