The best headlamps

• With the right headlamp, you can safely hike at night, navigate a nighttime campsite, take your dog for an evening walk, or work on that prized '69 Mustang hands-free.
• When shopping for a headlamp, you'll want a durable option that offers a comfortable fit, variable brightness settings, and enough battery life that it won't go dim after just a few hours of use.
• Our top pick, the BioLite Headlamp 330, is a balanced and comfortable headlamp featuring a sweat-wicking headband and a light enough weight that we'd often forget we were even wearing it.

The first time I went on a major mountaineering trip, I brought all the wrong gear. From head to toe, I made mistake after mistake. From a second-hand pair of boots and heavy army surplus trousers to a bulky skiing parka, I was woefully underprepared. Perhaps the worst choice I made was to bring a single small flashlight instead of a headlamp.

As I soon learned, trying to pick your way over rocks, roots, streams, and snow in the middle of the night is difficult with just a handheld flashlight. My 45-pound pack and ill-fitting boots hardly helped the situation.

The next time I climbed a mountain, I brought a headlamp — but foolishly putting my trust in a ten-dollar lamp from a flea market put me out on yet another figurative limb. It did work well enough for a few hours of nighttime trekking but then its hinge failed and the lamp flopped completely forward, shining directly into my eyes instead of onto the trail. I turned to duct tape for a quick fix but knew right then just how valuable a quality headlamp is.

On my third multi-day hike, you better believe I had a damn good headlamp along for the journey. Through trial-and-error, I went from an ordinary flashlight to a bonafide headlamp but you don't have to suffer through the same mistakes I did. Before getting into the best headlamps to buy, let's talk about how to pick one best suited for your lifestyle.

First and foremost, a headlamp has to be bright enough for the task at hand. But the type of beam a light creates is every bit as important as its sheer lumen output. While the tendency is often to check the lumen rating of a headlamp and treat that like the most important metric for judging a headlamp, the type of beam is a better deciding factor than the intensity of the light alone. For example:

• A cyclist needs a powerful lamp that throws a beam dozens of yards ahead, letting him or her see plenty of the roadway or trail.
• A mechanic, on the other hand, benefits from a wider beam pattern that illuminates a broad swath of the area close at hand.
• If you're camping, consider a headlamp with variable light settings, a red light option, and one that offers long battery life (especially for backpackers).

You also have to consider features such as strobe effects, a red light option, battery life, weight, and more. The way those and other secondary attributes assist you in your hobbies or work should help you choose the headlamp best fit for you from the following guide.

• Best headlamp overall: BioLite Headlamp 330
• Best rechargeable headlamp: Black Diamond ReVolt Headlamp
• Best headlamp for bicycling: GRDE Zoomable Headlamp
• Best headlamp to use while working: Coast FL75 Focusing Headlamp
• Best headlamp on a budget: Vitchelo V800

Updated 5/8/2020 by Rick Stella: Added additional information in the "how to choose the right headlamp" section, specifically what features to look for if you're camping, updated the copy for each of the selected models, checked the availability of each pick, and updated the prices, formatting, and links.