Head torch... Good recommendation please

Thanks in advance.

If I am going to keep enjoying / upping my miles I am going to need to keep running my route that is on unlit path/road maybe even cross country.  Running round an estate just isnot so much fun.  Yesterday some some suggested a head torch - anyone recommend the one that they use.

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Comments

  • I use the LED Lenser H7R (160 lumin)  ...... got it for £40 and so far its been superb,  70% power is sufficient for following single track through the forest at night....

  • Petzl Tikka XP2 or the Lenser H7 which is not rechargeable

    Both use 3 x AAA batteries which last a long time
  • BWT, do you want me to ruin this thread too or do you want to punish me in advanceimage........
  • ....so'k so'k im going.....
  • KeirKeir ✭✭✭

    Google Alpkit. Their Headtorch is £12.50 inc batteries (3xAAA) and postage! A total bargin as its excellent. Designed for runners (also has red back light), horitontal battery compartment to stop shaking around and fits great. I already own a Petzl, which is good, but have bought the Alpkit just because it is so good.

  • The petzl myo XP is pretty good - my cousin has one and I keep trying to 'borrow' it, as it outshines my Tikka 2.

  • http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?dt=&UTN=168985&last=1&V=1&SP=

    Cyba-Lite Sprint Led Headlight

    Coin cell powered, and all contained within the lamp, so no secondary power source

    Very light at 25gr

    £8.99 on Amazon

  • For unlit roads, paths and clear trails, Alpkit Gamma should do you fine - I use mine for just that purpose, also for hill walking, including night navigation in pathless areas. Lensers and Myos will be bright enough to vaporise a cow at 100 metres, but if you're just starting off at running in the dark, the great value Alpkit is incredible. The only thing it's not good for is reading in a tent at night whilst lying on your back - the battery compartment sticks in the back of your head!

    BTW, I don't work for Alpkit, but I love their stuff, their philosophy, and their customer service team.

  • There was a good thread on this a few months back when I asked the same question.

    I narrowed my search down to the Lenser H7 and the Fenix HP10. I went for the Fenix in the end because it is waterproof and has the extra band over the top of your head. Both are good torches but probably aimed more at trail running.

    If you just want to light up a road or good path, then there are cheaper alternatives.
  • Alpkit Gamma is great for running and so cheap. Better than my Petzl that was almost 3x as much !
  • I wear mine round my waist, (I have a cyber lite) but having fallen in a bush and nearly come a cropper have decided I need something brighter.  Are the Petzl straps elasticated and big enough to go round a med waist? and same for the gamma, can you remove the top head strap?
  • Second vote for the Alpkit Gamma - very good! and fast service.
  • Another vote for the Alpkit Gamma, I used it for the Lakeland 50 and it was awesome and only £12.50 delivered:

    http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16345&category_id=25

    Would highly recommend this headtorch, cheap and does a great job, a nice touch having the rear led on the back.

  • Thanks folks I have ordered a Alpkit Gamma as it looks like lots of you recommend it and at that price not a great deal to lose.
  • OMG what customer service and what a head torch...

    Took it for a night out and it is light, and BRIGHT - and love the rear light saved me from two cyclists!

    Thanks guys was a very good call....  One question can I use rechargeable batteries in it?

  • MACbMACb ✭✭✭
    A vote for the petzl tikka SP2, very light and bright, only 2 batteries (not 3 like the persons says above - unless it is a newer version). I use it for all sorts from putting the bins out, going in the loft, running in the dark and even trying to locate my guinea pigs under the dresser after they have had their run-around whilst being cleaned out!
  • Rechargeable batteries - I haven't found any definite information about this but I seem to remember it can't use rechargeables. Generally speaking, if a torch can use rechargeables, the manufacturer will advertise the fact prominently - no news is bad news, I think.
  • BWT Are you using this on country lane type running or off-road? 

    Interested in if its ok to use on-road or is it possibly too bright for oncoming traffic?

  • Used it on the pavement and it was bright - got flashed by one car - who had full beams on and dazzled me totally - but bending head down solved that issue for oncoming veichles.

     I would highly recommend it.

  • BWT - The Gamma has a Pivotable head unit which allows it to be tilted which means you don't need to lower your head.

    If a car is coming towards you with full beam and wont dip, don't lower your visibility to suit that idiot, your light will only inconvenience him momentarily whilst his will be for the duration he is in front of you.

    Marty, the XP2 is new(ish) and does take 3 x AAA's
  • I recently bought a Silverpoint Pro Guide head torch for £20.
    It has a 150 lumen beam with high, low and flashing beam. Its great when cycling as drivers,
    even pedestrians will bloody see you. You can tilt the torch. Takes 3 AAA batteries but needs to
    be the powerful ones. For running, you need to unscrew the front. Tried this round my local park in
    the dark and you can see pretty clearly. It can even light a room up if you have a power cut.

  • <a href="http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/localiser/member.asp?sp=&v=1&MemNo=528864" title="Visit RunningInPleasePass member profile">RunningInPleasePass</a> - I realised that the light will swivel - but for the fraction of a second to bend head to let a car pass was easier that altering angle on the light which I set up for a great field of vision at the right distance.

    Anyone any ideas on use of rechargeables.

  • BWT - You can get high powered rechargeables AAA size so shouldn't be a problem.

    As for inconsiderate drivers/bikers, I never take my beam away from them til they recognise I'm on the same stretch of path/road as they are.

    The beauty of a headtorch is you can focus the light on them til they pass, or have dipped.
  • I use a pretzel XP2. It is a few years old, so not to the latest spec. But it it fine for rural roads, across fields and even through woods. The 3 AAA batteries last about a month or about 20 hours, before they seem to be much dimmer than when fitted.

    I think the big thing is just to make the leap to running with this circle of light in front of you. If you have a diffuser, use that, better to be wide than bright to a point.

    Fog and mist is the worst. When the light is reflected back to you, it can be unsettling. Of course then the more powerful the torch the worst the effect.

  • Going to an evening orienteering event this week so it`ll be interesting to see what those guys/girls are using....
  • I have been to night orienteering in the past. Stopped going as I was not tooled up as I needed to be. I found the experts were using virtually searchlights, which makes all the difference when looking for a control in a wood. My pretzel XP headtorch is fine for running, but for orienteering you need a much better torch to be competitive. A handtorch is probably best of all so you can swing it around quickly checking the lie of the land. A good challenge though, enjoy it.

  • I bought an alpkit gamma on the strengh of this thread and took it for a test run a couple of days ago. I did a six miles mostly off road at around 5:30am. I live in the 1950's and there are no street lights and i found the gamma was fine for running. I had it focused pointing ahead and just dipped my head whenever I was worried about where my feet were going.

    The beam tended to wobble from left to right in line with my head movement which was a bit queezy at first but I seemed to settle in to it. Biggest problem was the vast inky pool of blackness behind me which meant I had to keep looking over my shoulder to check for axemen.

    Also whenever I had to stop to open a gate I was a bit worried about werewolf attack but as long as I kept moving (and looking over my shoulder) irrational fears were kept to a minimum. One attempt to jump gate in order to minimise risk of werewolf attack ended in tears.

    Since then I have also used the gamma when working on my mo'bike and also to check new exhaust on camper van when picking it up from the garage in the dark.

    Only downside is incurring the wrath of my wife when cooking her eyeballs during demo of new torch.

      

  • MuttleyMuttley ✭✭✭
    Ha! The world looks different by headtorch. When I was testing my Gamma on a dark stretch of towpath and in a heavily wooded area I suddenly found I was being tracked by two huge green unblinking eyes. I screeched to a halt and damn near kacked myself - had the Beast of Bodmin migrated from the Cornish moors to Reading, had someone's large and carnivorous exotic pet escaped and established a lair in the Thameside wilderness? Erm, no ... it was a couple of reflectors on the back wheel of a bicycle chained to the railings. Just as well I wasn't wearing an hrm because it would probably have blown up.
  • 182 bpm at point where gate at top of hill coincided with imminent werewolf attack.
  • I was worried by the red eyed demon behind me when using my Gamma - until I realised it was my read head light reflecting!!! 
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