Published September 3, 2025 01:39PM
Gone are the days of dragging a flashlight filled with D-cell batteries into the woods. Today’s headlamps are featherlight, rechargeable, and—obviously—hands-free. But, technically speaking, they’re also a good bit more complicated than the light sources of yore. If you’re trying to pick the right one for your adventures, a little bit of know-how is handy.
An example: You might assume that if a headlamp’s packaging says it lasts 3 hours at 400 lumens, it would shine at that brightness the entire time. In fact, the truth is more complicated, as most headlamps only hit their listed brightness for a few seconds or minutes before rapidly dimming. I got together with my colleague Adam Trenkamp, Outside’s test editor, at our gear lab at CU Denver to break down brightness, why it doesn’t matter quite as much as you think it does, and the other factors you should be paying attention to instead. Plus, get a peek into the specialized equipment we use to put headlamps through their paces.
Whether you’re kicking around camp, making miles, or even night skiing, there’s a headlamp out there for you. Check out our guide to the best headlamps for every kind of hiker, updated for this season.
