headlamp for a runner

[pipspeak]

A friend of mine has a tendency to run at night and also do the occasional ultramarathon, which requires nighttime starts, and asked me to research the best headlamp out there.

Obviously size and weight are issues (no light sliding down in front of eyes) and ability to run for a good few hours while providing bright, spill-oriented light is also a requirement. Bright light up to about 15ft out would probably be best rather than really wide spill or tight focus.

Suggestions from runners and non-runners? I'd be especially curious if runners suggest a separate, waist-mounted battery pack, which seems to make sense to me (but I don't run, so what do I know?!)

I'm thinking a CR123 light would probably be best in terms of size/weight to brightness ratio. Being PT Eos fan, I immediately thought of the new rebel version, but I think it's too front-heavy and would end up sliding down a sweaty forehead. Zebralights appear to be way too spilly for running. Perhaps a new PT Apex?

 

[gunga]

I use a modded EOS with seoul and smooth reflector.

I find the Zebralight H30 to be too floody without enough throw for night running.

I may swap out the led to a Q3 5A with McR17XR reflector to try for better colour rendition and depth perception at a later date.

I would prefer something smaller and lighter than the EOS, but I find not enough throw in Zebralights.

 

[65535]

I would think a waist mounted SMALL battery pack. Something like 2 separate 18650 battery slots. Mounted on opposite hips, towards the back not directly on the side.

For the headlight something similar to an L4 sounds about right. I would say look for something around 50 lumens with a small reflector or a wide angle optic. Keep in mind they make special optical diffusers if you find a light you like that's too narrow.

 

[likeguymontag]

[...] Being PT Eos fan, I immediately thought of the new rebel version, but I think it's too front-heavy and would end up sliding down a sweaty forehead.

I agree, you could run with an EOS, but it's less than optimal. You could mod it for a remote battery pack though, maybe 3xAA lithium primaries or something. The EOS is 105 grams with alkalines loaded in it. It should be about 70 grams with no batteries at all.

Anything with front-mounted batteries will either bounce too much or have too crappy a runtime or both. I think you need to look exclusively at lights with rear or remote battery packs.

 

[pipspeak]

If only the Surefire Saint had already been released :candle: Bit pricey, but looks like it will have the perfect beam pattern, runtime and balance for running. The new lil energizer with rear-mounted 1xAA also looks perfect for sporty types, but that's another light not yet released. Maybe I'll suggest she stops running for a few months

I jogged around the house with my Eos on and it annoyed the hell out of me. So that's out. And modding is not an option... I'm looking for something off the shelf.

 

[likeguymontag]

I jogged around the house with my Eos on and it annoyed the hell out of me. So that's out. And modding is not an option... I'm looking for something off the shelf.

Good, efficient runners don't bounce. Do you bounce? (I do, I was a mediocre xcountry runner.)

 

[gunga]

If only the Surefire Saint had already been released :candle: Bit pricey, but looks like it will have the perfect beam pattern, runtime and balance for running. The new lil energizer with rear-mounted 1xAA also looks perfect for sporty types, but that's another light not yet released. Maybe I'll suggest she stops running for a few months

I jogged around the house with my Eos on and it annoyed the hell out of me. So that's out. And modding is not an option... I'm looking for something off the shelf.

I agree on the saint and the Energizer. Maybe soon?

 

[BSBG]

Here's a thread from a few weeks ago:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/212243&highlight=running


I use the now discontinued BD Zenix IQ - it takes 2AA in a rear compartment, has a high (luxeon) and 2 5mm low LEDs. I swapped the Lux for a Seoul, but even in stock form it is not bad and can still be found cheap from time to time. The newer, brighter models from BD and petzl are probably the better choice.

 

[pipspeak]

Good, efficient runners don't bounce. Do you bounce? (I do, I was a mediocre xcountry runner.)

I'm not the runner in this case... just the flashaholic charged with finding a good headlamp

 

[likeguymontag]

I'm not the runner in this case... just the flashaholic charged with finding a good headlamp

Exactly, that's my point. I bounce, you probably bounce, and if your friend can survive ultramarathons without injury, then she probably bounces less when she runs than you and I do. So if a light passes your test, it'll probably work fine for her.

 

[hurricane]

You said he wanted 'the best' well here it is: http://en.petzl.com/ultra/petzl-ultra.html

It's designed for orienteering and ultra-running. There is a battery harness to keep the weight from bobbing on your head and you can choose smaller/larger batteries - based on requirements. It's plenty bright too [350 lumens]. They're known for their very good power to weight ratio.

Lupine lights from Germany are also in this league [quality and expense] and even have lights pumping-out more than 1000 lumens: http://www.lupine.de/web/en/

These are expensive lights, which make the 'expensive' surefire saint look like a bargain, but they're rechargeable and their output is exponentially more. They are designed specifically for this purpose.

Something with a remote battery pack is ideal because you don't get the battery-pack bobbing and strain on your head. You have to look at what the athletes are using and they're using: Petzl, Mila, Lupine. I use a Petzl Myo XP Belt for snowshoe running and night time running and it's great. Plenty of light. Running on trails at night requires tons of light, you roll your ankle under load and your day is over, you do it bad enough and you may never run again ...

Small, lightweight LED lights like Petzl Tikkas et al are useless for trail running: reading a book, cooking dinner, changing a flat - fine, but they have no place for fast-paced sports.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Maybe a new PT Apex Pro. One light that might work for this application well is the River Rock 2 123A Cree XR-E headlight. It is $15 at Target now and states that it puts out 136 lumens for 4 hours bright with 2 more additional hours. It has a top strap, but it only works well for those with small heads. I removed the top strap on mine. It weighs 4 ounces with the unneeded top strap. It isn't waterproof, but that shouldn't be an issue as most people don't run at night in the rain. It doesn't have much in the way of heatsinking, but running at night when it's cool out should limit this problem. Plus, it's only $15. The batteries it comes with cost $10 in the store. Might be worth giving it a try.

 

[gillestugan]

If you want a lamp that sits securely on the head while running for long time you may want to look at orienteering lamps.

You can for example have a look at Silva or Mila which both makes lamps specialized for running and are cheaper than petzl ultra.

 

[JackJ]

I also run with a Seoul + reflector modified EOS. It works well for road runs, but I need more total light and more throw for trails, which I get by bringing along a handheld, usually a Nitecore D10 these days.

As mentioned by others, bounce is an issue for some, but I honestly think running with a headlamp has improved my technique by forcing me to pay attention to the bounce. Less bounce equals less wasted energy on vertical motion AND an easier time for those precious, delicate joints (feet, knees hips), so maybe batteries on the front is a good thing.

I use NiMH because I'm cheap and they perform well. If considering CR123, then Lithium AA might be a good option to save weight and get more output.

Jack

 

[likeguymontag]

If you want a lamp that sits securely on the head while running for long time you may want to look at orienteering lamps.

You can for example have a look at Silva or Mila which both makes lamps specialized for running and are cheaper than petzl ultra.

Help me understand something. Why are all of the high-powered headlight manufacturers European? Do European (Scandinavian?) orienteering competitions only run at night? Or is it a winter sport maybe? Here in the US I've only done orienteering during the daytime, and I shudder to think how much harder it would be to locate myself on a topo map at night.

 

[zemmo]

Help me understand something. Why are all of the high-powered headlight manufacturers European? Do European (Scandinavian?) orienteering competitions only run at night? Or is it a winter sport maybe? Here in the US I've only done orienteering during the daytime, and I shudder to think how much harder it would be to locate myself on a topo map at night.

I think you kind of answered your own question. For running on familiar ground you can get by without a lot of lumens, but when off-trail and actually trying to figure out where you're going at night, as you are some of the time in European Orienteering events, you need a lot more help.

 

[likeguymontag]

I think you kind of answered your own question. For running on familiar ground you can get by without a lot of lumens, but when off-trail and actually trying to figure out where you're going at night, as you are some of the time in European Orienteering events, you need a lot more help.

Oh, I understand why you'd need a lot of light to do orienteering at night. In the boy scouts with an incan minimag I occasionally got disoriented searching for firewood only a hundred yards from my campsite, and I've gotten lost plenty doing orienteering in the daytime.

So this is my real question: Why do Europeans/Scandinavians do orienteering events at night? In order to make it more challenging?

 

[pipspeak]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I hope most are available in the US but I'll be in London next month so that might also be a good place to pick one up. Can anyone suggest a good London store that might have some of the Petzls in stock?

 

[ifor powell]

I go Orientearing in the dark for the added challenge. My technique in the day is probobly too conservative and I rarly get realy badly lost. In the dark it is a different ball game and far more challenging. I am ok on most of the terain we use here in the UK in the dark but every now and then we have a night event on a realy technical area and it is a real challenge again. All the Night O I have done in Scandinavia has been of the realy chgallenging sort.

There may well be Night O in the US but the scale of the sport is far smaller than the Scandinavian countries. No way is there the demand to support comercial lights in the US but in Scandinavia where the biggest all night relay event in the summer can have 10 000+ competitors there is a good market for people with the right product.

As for the light to use for night running it depends upon the terain if on good tracks with a smooth surface then any on the latest generation small led lights should be good. There are a number of 3 aaa lights that come in under 100g. Or for more runtime rougher trails a 4 AA setup with batteries on the back and an over the top headband can normaly be made to work well. althoiugh a seperate batery pack is better especialy if it will be very cold. If you are looking to run off trail or on rough trails at any speed then you idealy need more light and are looking at the real O lights or some of the biking lights that are avalible with headbands.

Ifor

 

[jankj]

So this is my real question: Why do Europeans/Scandinavians do orienteering events at night? In order to make it more challenging?

Well, plenty of European/Scandinavian day time orienteering at day, too. . .

The nights events are popular probably because a) many Europeans are outdoor fanatics, b) its fun, c) involves high-tech gear. In Scandinavia, you have the additional factor that there just aren't many hours of daylight in the winter.