Tips for Choosing the Ideal Headlamp for Your Needs

By Steve George

July 6, 2016Sports

Waterproof headlamps

With consumerism booming, it’s certainly a time of many choices available that make us and the society we live in of a rather ungrateful character. The reason for this lies in not seeing the importance and values of what we have because as it’s said “you don’t miss the water till the well runs dry”. Unless you develop a habit of remembering to be thankful for the stuff you have, you won’t exactly appreciate things until you find yourself in the situation of needing the exact thing you lack. To put it in other words, you may not exactly notice electricity, or light in general, but when you are in a situation of a blackout or having to walk at night after dark then the importance of things shifts – light becomes all you care about.

To avoid getting in such a situation, particularly if you are into outdoor recreational activities, whether it’s camping, caving, cycling, fishing, hiking, hunting, mountain climbing, running or travelling, along with the basic equipment, it’s advisable to always include torches as part of your survival kit because you never know when you might need them. When you take part in the above mentioned activities, you know how important it is to have your hands free, so probably the best solution there is are headlamps. There are also many choices of them that you will find, which is why it’s good to know a thing or two more about what to pay attention to so you make a wise purchase.

Since you can’t always predict and prevent accidents from happening, nor control weather conditions, the material a headlamp is made of is essential. Waterproof headlamps are perfect for all kinds of weather, so you won’t have to fear water will cause any damage and quality ones can even be submerged under water. They are designed in such a way so as to have the sensitive components coated with waterproof material which makes waterproof headlamps about the best choice there is when it comes to looking for outdoor headlamps. Along with water resistant properties, waterproof materials also add to the durability of the headlamp and its resistance to shock.

Depending on your preferences and activities, you have to pay attention to the beam distance that the headlamp covers. Beam distance, the combination of brightness and the focus of light into a beam, is perhaps even more important than the number of lumens because lumens are just the sum of light which isn’t connected with the quality of the beam. In the case of night time hiking, cycling, climbing, you have to follow certain trails and you need optimal lighting so the ideal choice would be headlights with maximum beam distance. For the less demanding activities and home chores, you can choose one with a lower beam distance.

Batteries also matter especially when you have to replace them when you are travelling, so to save on money and help preserve the environment, you should get rechargeable ones. Concerning batteries as well is the preference of whether you want them to be placed at the front or at the rear. Headlamps with batteries at the front tend to be smaller whereas batteries at the rear are larger, with the unit being well-balanced which can be important especially with activities that include more movement, such as running.