Running outside, whether early in the morning or evening after the light departs the sky, can be a bit of a challenge. However, you can keep safe during the run by equipping yourself with a high-quality headlamp. What constitutes a high-quality running headlamp? What should you be mindful of in your search for the “perfect-for-you” headlamp?
3 Things to Consider for Your Running Headlamp Purchase
Brightness
Where you run – open road or trail – will make a difference in what kind of headlamp you need. The general rule is to find a headlamp that gives out 200 lumens on the high settings. Lumen is the measurement of light intensity. The best lights for starless nights and trails and roads without lights are those with a lumen of 300 or more.
You can also find a single headlamp light that can work in all circumstances. These are ones that offer three light settings – high, medium or low. You can also find headlamps that will automatically adjust to ambient lighting. Some headlamps you can manually adjust.
Battery Life
Battery life will affect the weight of your headlamp. The longer your battery life, the more weight is added to the headlamp. This isn’t a general problem for some activities, but when it comes to running, the added weight causes some bounce. Some manufacturers will place the batteries inside the lamp you put on your forehead; other manufacturers that offer longer battery life will provide two separate parts. The power back will go on the back of the head.
If you want to run the neighborhood, go with the lighter headlamp. If you’re going for an all-night run, you will want the longer-life battery.
Running Headlight Types
You can save yourself money with a single lamp light with a constant beam. However, you can also find other running headlamp options, such as those with a flood or spotlight. These you can use individually or in conjunction with each other. The spotlight will allow you to see further down the road, while the floodlight will allow you to see around you, not just in front of you.
5 Popular Running Headlamps to Consider Buying in 2024
Lepro LED Rechargeable Headlamp with Motion Sensor
Lepro designed this rechargeable headlamp to be compatible with any USB port, offering up to 20 hours of light with one charge. It also offers 1500lux, with three white light brightness levels – low, how and strobe. It also comes with a red light, flashing or constant. The headlamp has a motion sensor mode that allows you to turn it on or off with a wave of your hand (dirty or clean).
What makes this headlamp from Lepro so versatile is that it can be used for all kinds of situations – camping, night fishing, hiking, walking your dog or running. It’s exceptionally durable and can withstand outdoor elements and being dropped.
Another reason this headlamp is so popular is that it’s got a 60-degree adjustable angle, allowing you to make adjustments without the need to move your neck (most headlamps have only a 45-degree tilt). You can adjust it so that it won’t move when you’re running, and since it’s only two ounces, it’s barely felt when worn.
Black Diamond Icon
A dawn or dusk run can be ruined if you go to use the headlamp and find that its rechargeable battery isn’t working. Black Diamond Icon addresses that problem with its use of four AAs that appears to always work. It doesn’t give off the brightest light, with some dips in intensity experienced by some people. With the batteries fully charged, it still works brightly after three hours of use. When running low on juice, the indicator light on the lamp will go from green to yellow to red.
The headlamp’s manufacturer made sure that the battery pack is located on the head strap’s backside, so runners are more comfortable wearing it. However, you can also use the included extension cable and put the battery inside a jacket to ensure the cold doesn’t sap the injury. It’s no wonder ultra-runner, and Runner’s World video producer Pat Heine used the icon throughout a 100-mile race during cold, wet conditions.
Black Diamond Sprint 225 Headlamp
This Black Diamond headlamp is popular because of its sleek, comfortable fit as well as its numerous features and performance.
The headband is flimsy, but it does manage to keep bouncing to a minimum with the light. You can also adjust it to change the brightness level. Instead of hitting a button to increase or decrease the brightness level, you just swipe – gloved or sweaty hands work with this ability – past the sensor on the side to make changes to the intensity.
The manufacturer claims the battery will last two hours on high, but within the first five minutes of working on high, it starts to dim and works at a mid-intensity level. According to Black Diamond, this is to save power. The medium intensity is still bright enough for road and trail running and stays constant for three-plus hours. The total 225 lumens only lasts for minutes.
Energizer Vision Ultra HD
If you want a cheap running headlamp, you need to look at the Energizer Vision Ultra HD, with its alleged 400 lumens. The bright spotlight is plenty bright, allowing runners to see far ahead. You can also easily change to the floodlight mode that lets you see where you are stepping. The manufacturer also included red and green night vision LEDs, using them as you need.
Being a budget headlamp, there are some things to be mindful of. For example, the charging cable isn’t of good quality, and any damage to it can cause the insulation of the wires to become damaged.
This can be easily repaired and doesn’t appear to affect the device’s durability, but it is something to be mindful of.
PETZL IKO CORE Rechargeable LED Headlamp
PETZL made sure to radically design its headlamp, using stretchy straps for its plastic halo, but it’s a bungee strap that you pull tightly in the back. The whole unit is very light, and its small front light comes with seven thin, lightweight white LEDs. You can turn on as many as you need, but even with all seven, it may not provide the entire claimed 500 lumens. On top of that, the beam doesn’t cast very far, but you can still use it to walk around in the dark.
The company made sure to use a small rechargeable battery that rests on the back of the head but can be changed out for three AAA batteries if needed. For people who live in poorly lit areas, the lamp will help you see what’s in front and around you when running at dusk or dawn with plenty of light.
After learning how to choose running headlamps, I want to highly recommend the LED headlamps from Lepro. Lepro provides high-quality headlamps for hiking with motion sensors, USB cables, or a 3AAA battery to meet your different needs in running.
