The Importance of Choosing a Headtorch with the Right Features

Whether you have been exploring the beautiful Australian outdoors for years, or it is your first time camping, having a quality and reliable source of light is essential. There is always something to do outside – fix your tent, start a fire or simply find your way around the area. When performing these things and many different others, having a headtorch can make a world of difference as you will have both of your hands free to do whatever you need to do. However, you can’t just buy the first model that you come across online – there are certain things you need to consider to make the most out of your purchase.

Brightness

The first thing to do is consider your needs and determine how bright you want your headtorch to be. The brightness is measured in lumens – the more lumens the model is rated for, the brighter it will be. Some torches have as low as 100 lumens while others can go up to 600 lumens. Naturally, the bigger the lumens, the higher the price of the model. If you’re someone who goes camping every once in a while, your best bet is sticking with a headtorch that ranges from 100 to 350 lumens. Usually, camping headlamps that have high lumens also have a wider circumference of illumination, meaning, if you can find a good spot to hang the light, you can easily illuminate your entire camping spot.

Traditional Batteries or Rechargeable?

Traditional batteries are cheaper and you don’t have to wait for them to charge before you can use them – just replace the old ones with new ones. They are very convenient and easy to replace. However, this frequent replacing might end up costing you even more in the long run than buying a rechargeable battery. And if you’re someone who likes going on long walks, I’m pretty sure you’re going to hate it that you have to replace the batteries so often. Rechargeable batteries are a bit more expensive, however, as long as you have a power source where you can charge them you will never run out of power. And, you won’t carry with you extra packs to change them every so often.

Light Distribution

An important feature to look for, that not all head flashlights have, is the ability to adjust the direction of the light. This feature can be very useful in various scenarios – for instance, if you are working on something in your hands, you will want the light to be tilted slightly down so you don’t have to have your neck in an uncomfortable position. Another useful feature is adjusting the brightness. Lamps that can go up to 300 lumens are too powerful to be used on maximum output when using them to work on something up close, so being able to decrease the brightness to suit your needs is definitely a great feature.

Settings

Headlamps for camping that are adjustable, tend to have pre-installed settings that allow you to quickly switch through your chosen favourites. For example, the brightness of the torch can go from 10% to 100% – you can find which 3 high, medium and low options you like and you can set them as your defaults. This is a very important feature in powerful torches as you want them to use only as much light as needed to preserve energy and use your battery life more effectively. Generally speaking, you want the medium setting when you are walking near your campsite and in poorly lit areas, the low setting when you are in a tent or other enclosed area that allows light to bounce from it, and the high setting when walking in unexplored territory and need to be able to see as much as possible and scare off any animals that might be nearby.