The best headlamps

The Vitchelo V800 Headlamp is affordable and reliable, ready to illuminate objects both near and far even in adverse conditions.

The Vitchelo V800 headlamp punches well above its weight. For a light that costs only around sixteen bucks, it has attributes you'd expect from a unit valued at double that price, or more. It has three brightness settings for its white light and a strobe feature, which can be valuable during an emergency when you want to be spotted by responders or when you're assisting with an emergency response and need to stay in touch with your team. The headlamp also has a solid and flashing red light.

Thanks to an IPX6 waterproof rating, this headlamp should be impervious to damage from rainfall or even a quick drop in a puddle or stream — just don't wear it while you scuba dive. And at its low output setting, the white light can shine for up to 120 hours with fresh batteries, so you'll have ample time to work, search, travel, or conduct other activities.

One reason I would not recommend this for a backpacker or camper is that the buttons are easily pressed by gear tumbling in your bag. A headlamp shining in a pack all day might mean dead batteries when you need it at night. That's not much an issue when the unit is stashed in a nightstand or in your emergency prep kit, though — just make sure it's not on when you close the drawer or the bag and you should be good.

Pros: Durable and weather-resistant, affordable price, white and red strobe functions

Cons: Easily turns on by accident, no floodlight setting

The Coast FL75 Focusing headlamp can throw 405 lumens of brightness but best of all, you can use its focusing ring to narrow or widen the beam.

I own and often use a Coast FL75 and it's my first choice for any project around the house I work on after dark — like cleaning the grill in the evening, checking on my scarecrow sprinkle set up, or adding some extra air to the tires of my bike.

Like all Coast lights, this headlamp creates a remarkably clear, crisp white light that makes it easy to see what you're doing. It's a great choice for illuminating anything that's close at hand, though most people will likely be more interested in its long-distance throw capacity.

If you need to see objects or terrain more than 400 feet in front of you in a total darkness scenario, the Coast FL75 headlamp is a good choice. In fact, its beam is rated to stretch out 459 feet at its top 405-lumen output. Even the lowest setting of this light is still bright, rated at 53 lumens.

Here's the thing: That's a drawback, not an asset. This light's low setting is far too bright for many uses, such as viewing a map or reading at night when you want to preserve your night vision and avoid disturbing others (or attracting attention to yourself). The Coast FL75 only has three output settings and they could reasonably be called Pretty Bright, Really Bright, and Whoa OK That's Super Bright.

If you only plan to use a headlamp as you work, during power outages, or as you survey the scene of an accident as a first responder, then you probably don't have the need for a dim setting but you do have the need for bright, crisp light. This one certainly offers that.

And, if you want something a little beefier, consider the FL85, with 615 Lumens and a 183-meter beam.

Pros: Bright and crisp light quality, easy to change the shape of the beam, clips for securing band to hat or helmet, extremely long beam throw

Cons: Limited brightness settings, short battery life, no strobe option

Wearing the GRDE Zoomable headlamp is like strapping a headlight to your head with its maximum brightness setting of 1800 lumens.

The top setting of the GRDE Zoomable headlamp is so bright you won't even use it in many situations. But when you're on a bike at night and contending for space with cars and trucks, or while you're pedaling your way down a mountain trail, you'll love the awesome output power of this lamp. The 1800-lumen beam fully illuminates the trail or road far ahead of you, and you'll be almost impossible for an oncoming motorist to miss seeing.

This headlamp is heavier than I'd recommend for use by a climber or distance trekker but for the cyclist or for use on a shorter hike where gear weight isn't much of an issue, it's a great choice. Its beam can be focused and adjusted to best suit the conditions ahead of you, though the limited brightness settings — which are high or low — are a drawback. This is not the light to strap on as you hide out in a hunting blind hoping to stay unnoticed by attentive wildlife, for example.

The GRDE headlamp can be operated using regular batteries but is also plug-in rechargeable, and can be juiced back up using a wall's AC outlet, a car plug adapter, or a USB cable. It is rated to last for up to 100,000 hours of operating life.

Pros: Amazingly bright light, great price point, long operating life

Cons: Only two output settings and it's rather heavy

The Black Diamond ReVolt Headlamp offers both a 130-lumen spotlight and a broader proximity light with dual side-mounted LEDs.

I've used Black Diamond headlamps for going on a half-decade now and it's my go-to brand for so many of my outdoor pursuits. Do keep in mind that I use a headlamp almost exclusively for mountain treks and camping, so just because this is the best headlamp for me, the best option for you may well be elsewhere on our list.

To start, the ReVolt weighs just a quarter of a pound. You'll hardly know you're even wearing it save for the fact you can see the path or project in front of you. Its primary triple power LED puts out 130 lumens at its maximum brightness, easily lighting up the trail for dozens of yards ahead. When you're in camp or you want to light up a broader area of your immediate surroundings, the twin proximity LEDs create a generous pool of light. You can use them to light up a tent or illuminate your work area as you prepare a meal, rig up your belay device, or hang with your camp friends.

My favorite thing about a Black Diamond headlamp is the fact you can dim both the spotlight and proximity lights from full power down to the faintest glow. These headlamps are ideal for preserving night vision as you make your way on the trail or read a book in your sleeping bag. The red light setting further preserves your vision and causes less disturbance to others nearby, too. You can also set the lights to a flashing strobe if you want to attract maximum attention.

This latest edition of the Black Diamond ReVolt features a charging port built right into the unit. When you have its rechargeable batteries installed, you can connect the light to a power source using a USB cord and power it back up anywhere. With rechargeable batteries, it offers an admirable 80 hours of output at the maximum brightness, and 190 hours on a lower setting. With alkaline batteries, the max brightness run time is the same but at a low setting, you get an impressive 300 hours of light.

Pros: Excellent brightness control options, multiple different lighting settings, lightweight and durable

Cons: Low-powered (which is okay for many of us), poor optical quality (hot spot in middle), expensive, can be hard to operate with gloves on

No headlamp I've tested has been near as comfortable as the BioLite HeadLamp 330. With a balanced, comfortable fit and a sweat-wicking headband, it's our favorite headlamp for any outdoor activity.

Headlamps may seem like lightweight, unrestrictive tools (or toys) but having those extra few ounces bobbing up and down on your forehead for several hours at a time, takes its tolls. Not only are some of the heavier and more powerful options a literal drag, they're annoying, even if you don't realize it. I didn't.

With the BioLite HeadLamp 330, its 330 lumens of output is a good balance between what most of us need to be able to see in the dark and how long the battery life lasts, which is a respectable 40 hours on the low setting and around 3.5 hours on high. It also makes a good reading light, unlike a work-specific headlamp that puts out 500+ lumens, which would reflect off the pages of your book or magazine and blind you.

I took the HeadLamp 330 fishing at night, hiking to camp, hiking just to hike, and generally just stumbling about in the dark behind my father's woodshop, which is, for all intents and purposes, a treacherous deathtrap of wood and metal scraps. Yes, dearest reader, I take my job, and your safety, extremely seriously. I'm glad to report that, throughout the testing process, there was not a single visit to the emergency room.

In all seriousness, the best thing about the HeadLamp 330 is how well balanced it is. With the light in front and the battery pack in back, you don't feel the strain of a light and a battery pack dragging your forehead down. Which I'll say, as someone who spends a lot of time outdoors both night and day, compounds over the course of a couple of hours. Add a strenuous activity, and many headlamps are bobbing up and down, giving you cramps in your neck, and headaches, too, in my experience.

The most notable spec about this headlamp is that the light and battery are separate, which puts a lot less weight on your forehead, and the light itself. The whole kit, I might add, weighs only 69 grams, or less than 2.5 ounces. One common problem we see a lot with headlamps is that the joint where the light meets the base loses its threads or just breaks altogether, especially when the batteries are in the same pivoting unit as the light. BioLite does away with any such worry.

Speaking of pivoting, the light pivots up and down between four positions, which is, in my opinion, just enough. There's also a red light, which makes it a lot easier for your eyes to readjust after you flick it off.

The small on/off button (gray, left of center) can be a little hard to find at first, but you'll learn to love it because you'll find that you won't accidentally activate the epileptic test strobe in your hiking partner's face, and it's actually positioned right where you want to be (at least, if you're adjusting it with your right hand). — Owen Burke

Pros: Durable, moisture-wicking headband, balanced with light and battery in front and back, respectively

Cons: Doesn't take AAA or AA batteries as backup, the lithium-ion battery is not removable (you can't get a spare battery to take with you and swap out, but a power pack would fix that), 330 lumens is bright, but could be brighter (still, it saves on battery)