Head torch advice.

Petzel are the leaders in this area. Think mine is the tikka. Was only about 20e

Use lumens to compare, the bigger the better

I got the led lenser seo 3, find it good

I'm having trouble posting links, but if you do a search for "CREE head torch on ebay" there's some serious stuff on there. I bought a 2000 lumens model with a single beam last winter. It died pretty quick but I bought a set of rechargeable batteries and a charger from tmart for a few quid and I was up and running again. It turned out the original charger was faulty - I'm sure I could have got a refund for it but it was so cheap it was hardly worth the effort. Now I have a spare set of batteries which is handy.

I see there's a 5000 lumen model for £12.50 + £7 postage to Ireland - it looks amazing.

I've had a Tikka XP Pro for about 5yrs now, gives just enough light for running where there's little / no light, batteries get changed once per year, think it cost about €50.
I've also attached a small flashing red light to the strap to improve me been seen from behind.

AKW wrote: »

A super bright lamp is not worth a damn if it burns through batteries in an hour or so. Too bright a lamp is going to dazzle yourself if running in rain or foggy nights. You need to look at the type of beam and a bright yet softer light that is functional without causing night blindness.

Any of those LED lensers, Petzl or Silva lamps are designed with a runner in mind and the light is far superior IMHO than a super bright cone of light that can be seen miles away.

It might be a matter of personal preference. I haven't tried any of the big brand names, so I can't comment on them. My running head torch doubles up as a worklight when I need short-term specific task lighting, so output is important.

On battery life, I have two sets of batteries - one gives about 3 hrs life on the lower setting (I only use the high setting for short off road sections of my runs), and the other set is fairly poor, about 1 hr. Most of my night runs are less than 1 hr duration so not a problem for me.

Can you define "functional" for me? Can you see tree roots etc?

I might give beepbeep's model a try...

aero2k wrote: »

It might be a matter of personal preference. I haven't tried any of the big brand names, so I can't comment on them. My running head torch doubles up as a worklight when I need short-term specific task lighting, so output is important.

On battery life, I have two sets of batteries - one gives about 3 hrs life on the lower setting (I only use the high setting for short off road sections of my runs), and the other set is fairly poor, about 1 hr. Most of my night runs are less than 1 hr duration so not a problem for me.

Can you define "functional" for me? Can you see tree roots etc?

I might give beepbeep's model a try...

Give you a breakdowm on lamps I use(d):

Silva Siju - grand little light, fine as a work lamp or city running where surfaces are flat
Silva Jogger - great for city running, grand for country roads, ok for trails.
Silva Trail Runner II - great for country roads and solid on the trails. Light emits as an oval with a focus beam in the centre. Light levels bleed together so not mad bright cone in front and blindness to periphery.
Silva Cross Trail II - class bit of kit for all types of night stuff. Light auto adjusts to account for ambient light, multiple light settings including a map beam so no dazzle. Strong enough light to be seen a long way away which is good to mark ditches and warn approaching cars but not so bright to cause night blindness to drivers either.

I also have several of the cheapo lamps which are super bright to the point that you see nothing outside of the cone of light in front of you, major dazzle and blindness running in the rain, too strong a light will cast shadows on rough ground giving no depth perception.

This is what I light about the Silva Intelligent Light you have enough light to see everything in relief, no blind spots either. I would run country roads and forests regularly and only the Trail Runner II or Cross Trail II give me enough light to see properly and make out the lie of the land. Proper balanced light.

If I remember correctly the lux of the lamp combined with the lumen is what is important. A warm colour light that is not blindingly bright is best IMHO.

Just to further, the LED & Petzl are also brands that do watches suitable for running, I have looked at them but never used them so can't comment either way on them. I also buy my headlamps and gear so not a case of 'upping' a brand for the sake of it. Those lamps I have are damn good.

aero2k wrote: »

Cheers. I have had that dazzle problem in rain and fog - I didn't realise it was avoidable.

I've just had a look at some of the Petzl ones - the reactive lighting looks like a great idea (i.e. useful technology). Christmas is coming....

Yeah, I've the Petzl Nao and the reactive technology works really well, only exception is when running alongside people wearing a lot of reflective material, the sensor picks up loads of reflected light and dims the output right down. But that's easily avoided by angling the lamp downwards.

The reactive light is great when orienteering, look at the map, it auto-dims so you're not getting glare, look off into the distance and it focuses to a bright narrow beam so you can spot controls, etc.

If the dazzle in clouds/ fog is too bad, take the light off your head and hold it in your hand. That way the bright haze is just in front of the lamp, and not your eyes and you get a better view of what's on the ground in front of you.