I currently use my trusty [Petzl Tikka XP 2](https://www.rei.com/product/808896/petzl-tikka-xp-2-core-headlamp). It is about 10 years old and should have 50-80 lumens. When I got it it was amazing, now not so much. Recently I had two occasions where I wasn’t sure if my headlamp was still on because the light output was insufficient. Some emergency storm water management at the campsite and setting up multiple canvas tents in the dark.
Do I need new proper batteries instead of the cheap ones or is it time to upgrade my lamp?
What I like about my current lamp: compact, easy to focus if I need distance, red light for mountain huts where multiple people sleep
What I need a lamp for: setting up big tents at night, manual labour when dark, reading/singing at campfire, hiking at night from time to time -> so I guess brightness for vicinity but also dimmable
Nice to have: (somewhat) waterproof/rainproof, option to focus beam for distance
Is there am model that could suit my needs? (European Market)
What is the currently recommended light output to look for?
by Luchs13
2 Comments
Most recommended headlamp in the ultralight hiking community is the nitecore NU25 1st gen or 2017. This is well deserved, it has everything you want in a hiking headlamp. I use it myself and love it. Try to get the first gen or the 2017 version. The new only has 1 redlight mode instead of two and the lowest white light is much brighter than on the old version.
Option to focus is unlikely to be found on a high quality headlamp and usually isn’t necessary if the light has a decent beam profile. If you really need throw+flood look into dual channel flashlights, they have a throwy and a floody emitter, something like the Wurkkos HD15