We prioritized headlamps that offered both a narrow and a wider beam. You might, however,want a wider beam on occasion, for camping, for instance. Beam distance and shape: For around-the-house or running use, your best option is a thinner beam.(Running a 400-lumen headlamp at 200 will also make the battery last longer.) We looked at headlamps that offered at least 200 lumens (except for the headlamps for kids). Based on our experience and research, we’ve found you don’t need more than 300 lumens for everyday tasks, and often 200 will do just fine. Lumen count also doesn’t tell you much about the actual light quality, either: From an optics perspective, the beam length and the shape both impact a light’s output more than the lumen number. However, there is the trade-off with weight, low run-time, and price,” said Victor Kabo, the co-founder of Bookman Urban Visibility, a Swedish company that makes bicycle lights. “A lot of lumens can be attractive to many and feel fun. But when you’re buying a headlamp, you don’t want to just go for the highest lumen count possible. For reference: 1 lumen is 10 times brighter than moonlight a flashlight offers about 20 lumens. Lumen count: Lumens are a measure of the quantity of light emitted from a light source.(If you want to save a little money, the discontinued Spot 350 is still a good headlamp, if you can find it.)

As of 2023, you can also buy an add-on rechargeable battery for the Spot.

The Spot 400 weighs 3 ounces, has a lock mode, and is weather-resistant.Īlthough headlamps with brighter, higher-quality beams exist, none offer the same combination of brightness, simplicity, and reliability at such a low price. It has a red light (for night use), a “proximity” floodlight (for a wider field of view), and strobe options (for throwing an emergency signal). The Spot 400’s two top buttons are intuitive to use you’ll have to experiment with clicking through the various modes, but the learning curve is fairly quick. The Spot has been at the top of our list since 2012 because it’s reliable and bright enough to light the way in most situations, indoors or outdoors. Whether you’re car camping or digging through a closet, the Black Diamond Spot 400 provides exactly what you need: a bright beam, easy-to-navigate buttons, and long-lasting battery life.

100 lumen lights ozark trail