See in the pitch black darkness without holding a flashlight

Seeing in the dark can be useful for a variety of different things, from night hunts to simply going for a late night jog. However, humans unfortunately do not have the natural capability to see in the dark, which is where different pieces of equipment come into play that can aid in that process. While you have options such as night vision goggles that attach right to a tactical helmet, these may not always be necessary, nor within the budget for you. Tactical helmets are not cheap, and if you get quality night vision goggles, whether you get dual tube or monocular, they are not cheap either. This is where headlamps come into play, providing a hands-free solution to seeing in the dark.

Now, obviously, headlamps are not going to be good for a mission that you need to be concealed on, for example if you are trying to use the cover of darkness to stalk and eliminate your prey, it might not be good to use a headlamp. But, for other adventures that require you to see in the dark, a headlamp can do the job just fine.

Let’s break it down.

Headlamps Overview

A headlamp is essentially just a flashlight that goes around your head, and while it sounds somewhat ridiculous, these pieces of equipment can be life saving. It comes in handy when you need to see in the dark and want your hands to be free to do whatever, whether you are lacing your boots up, holding a rifle, loading a pistol, and so on, you do not want to be left in the dark while doing this. Now, with a quality headlamp, you do not have to worry at all about being left in the dark.

When to Use Headlamps

Headlamps can be used in a variety of situations, whether you are hunting at night, hiking, or camping. A piece of equipment like this is essential for adding to your overall kit, whether that be in your backpack, on your chest rig, or even better, on your head.

What to Look For in a Headlamp

Now, when shopping around for a headlamp, there are a few things that you want to keep in mind, so you make the best decision for yourself and get a high quality piece of equipment. Let’s break it down.

Lumens

The first thing to pay attention to is lumens, you want something that is high enough power to see a decent distance in the dark. However, if you go too low, you may not be able to see anything and it could be a complete waste of time and you just have a useless piece of equipment. Best case scenario, you have a headlamp that enables you to choose from multiple different settings including low, medium, and high.

Spot and Distance Lighting

A good headlamp will allow you to choose from flood and distance lighting. Distance lighting is more of a direct beam that would be good for spotting a specific target at more of a distance. A good example of when to use this would be if you are hunting at night, and need to confirm that you have hit your target but are a further distance away, you could switch on the distance setting for your headlamp and light it up. This is like a flashlight beam.

Flood lighting covers a larger area, but a slightly less distance. This would be useful if you are hiking or camping at night, and need to light up more of an immediate area. Think of this more of an actual lamp setting rather than a flashlight.

Battery Life

There is nothing worse than being fully dependent on your headlamp to see, and it suddenly blows out. This can lead to a lot of problems, especially if you are camping, hiking, or hunting at night and using a headlamp to see what you are doing and maneuvering, as if it goes completely dark you are risking injury or even worse. That being said, you need a headlamp with dependable battery life to sustain you for whatever expedition you are embarking on.

Our Top Choice of Headlamp

Now, obviously the Core Vision team loves their night vision goggles, but not every night time activity calls for something like that, and we understand that they may not be in the budget for everyone. That being said, we also utilize headlamps, and while there are plenty of options on the market, we certainly have our top pick, which is the Streamlight Enduro Pro Headlamp. Check it out.

Streamlight Enduro Pro Headlamp

Streamlight is a household name amongst lights, whether you are discussing hand held lights, weapon mounted lights, or in this case, headlamps. This is a low-profile multi-function headlamp that comes with the high class performance we have all come to expect from a Streamlight product. This headlamp comes with three lighting modes to cover a variety of tasks: spot beam for a focused beam, flood for soft area illumination that won’t tire your eyes, and red or green LEDs to preserve your night vision.

Let’s take a look at the specs

Lighting

The Streamlight Enduro Pro Headlamp has different settings, for both distance and flood lighting, ensuring you max visibility for whatever your situation calls for.

Spot for distance lighting:

High: 200 lumens; 95 m beam; runs 6 hours
Medium: 75 lumens; 57 m beam; runs 14 hours
Low: 25 lumens; 35 m beam; runs 38 hours

Flood for area illumination:

High: 135 lumens; 29 m beam; runs 6 hours
Medium: 45 lumens; 18 m beam; runs 14 hours
Low: 15 lumens; 9 m beam; runs 38 hours

The Streamlight Enduro Pro Headlamp also comes equipped with Coyote cover with green LEDs, great for those nighttime hunts.

Price: You get all of this for the price of just $29.99.

Wrap Up

Overall, headlamps are great tools when it comes to seeing in the darkness, whether you are doing some tactical training, hunting, focusing on your fitness and going for a nighttime run or whatever else your schedule calls for. As not everyone can budget for night vision, nor is it practical in every situation, a quality headlamp is a good secondary option. The Streamlight Enduro Pro Headlamp is our top choice!

Will you be giving it a try? Let us know!

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Images courtesy of Instagram (@streamlight)

Why You Need a Headlamp in Your Kit