https://www.amazon.com/Black-Diamond-Revolt-Headlamp-Nickel/dp/B01LE9Z5DM/?tag=lxf0d-20
If you live like we do, full time in an RV or van, you really live outdoors. Sure, we love our rigs and we retreat to them when the weather is bad, but most of the time this is a very outdoor life, which means you're often outside at night, in the dark.
I love the dark, and I try to do everything by fire and moonlight, but even I need extra light sometimes. Headlamps are one of the unsung necessities of living outdoors. For the love of gods, please do not use a lantern camping. Many of us like darkness, we seek it out in fact. Don't ruin that. Get a good LED headlamp instead.
Headlamps offer focused light, shining where you need it and not where you don't. The LED bulbs last forever and are easy on the batteries (and you can get some rechargable AAA batteries so you never need to worry about running out of juice).
Which headlamp should you buy? Good question. If you're not an overthinker, It's easy. It's just a light. With a strap that goes around your head. Go the nearest home supply type store and get whichever is cheapest. It'll do the job. But the fact that you found this review tells me that you, like me, sometimes overthink things. Great! Let's overthink headlamps.
**For those in hurry, here's the tl;dr: The best headlamp for camping is the Petzl Tikka**. You can buy it at [REI](https://www.rei.com/product/162479/petzl-tikka-headlamp){: rel=nofollow} or [Amazon](https://amzn.to/33DDPWc){: rel=nofollow} for about $30, often less. If you want to know why the Petzl Tikka is the best camping headlamp, read on.
The best place to start overthinking headlamps is how much light they produce.
### How Many Lumens Should a Headlamp Have?
Lumens is an arbitrary measure of brightness. It means nothing really, so the answer to the question, how many lumens does your LED headlamp need, is: enough. It needs enough.
What's enough? Probably not as much as you think. As modern industrial people we seem doomed to think bigger is better. That means, judging by other reviews, you might think a headlamp with at least [insert arbitrary number] Lumens is necessary. Don't buy the marketing BS. Bigger and brighter is not better, all you need is bright enough. Remember, a brighter headlamp drains batteries, and your wallet, faster.
In my experience, living full time in an RV, for casual use around camp a 150-200 Lumen LED headlamp is ideal. I happen to prefer the lower end of that scale. What's more important are the other features and how the headlamp works. Here's what I look for when buying a headlamp:
**Ease of use:** How do you turn the headlamp on? One press? Two? Some crazy sequence? Does it start on low? That's ideal. Do you have to cycle through 10 lighting modes just to turn in it off? That's a pain.
**Red Light/Spot Light:** I want a headlamp with a few lighting modes. I like to read at night and the red light is considerably less disruptive to other people's sleep. It also preserves your night vision, something I like when I'm getting up early in the morning and plan to turn off the headlamp as soon as I gather my things. The spot light is less necessary, but it does make hiking in the dark, whether that's a early approach to some climbing or going owling, considerably easier and possibly safer.
**Battery Life:** When you're boondocking on solar every bit of battery life you can save helps. I want a headlamp that gets at least 2-3 hours at full brightness and at least 100 hours at the low setting.
**Cheap:** A nice headlamp really shouldn't cost more than $30. Actually, paying everyone involved in its manufacture a living wage probably means it should cost at least $80, but in the world we actually live in, with the market what it is, I would not pay more than $30 for a headlamp. The possible exception being use cases like hiking or climbing, where the extra money can get you a more focused beam of light, which you might need (see the Black Diamond headlamp below).
### The Best Headlamp for Camping: Petzl Tikka
Petzl Tikka
Out of that bewildering world of headlamp options, my favorite headlamp, and the headlamp I'd recommend for most people is the Petzl Tikka.
Petzl headlamps, especially the Petzl Tikka, defined a lot what we've come to expect in a headlamp. The Tikka is dead simple to use. Press the button once and it turns on at the lowest brightness level. Press again for medium brightness, and again for full brightness. A fourth press will get you to strobe mode. Press once to turn it off. A long press will switch from white to red or vice versa if you're already in red mode. That's all there is to it.
I've been using various iterations of the Petzl Tikka headlamp since I started backpacking in high school and in the 25+ years since I have never worn one out. I have lost them, but I've never had one let me down or malfunction in any way. This is the main reason I continue to buy them despite cheaper options. The Petzl Tikka does exactly what I want it to do, and they last forever.
The Foxelli below does 90 percent of what the Tikka does, and costs half as much, but the Tikka has the edge when it comes to red light, which is what I use the most -- to read at night and write in the early morning. The red light of the Tikka is brighter and clearer. The Foxelli's red light is bright enough, but the plastic casing (or possibly the lens itself), casts a distracting smear of shadows on the white page of a book, ruining it for me.
The Tikka is smaller, lighter, and better constructed than most other headlamps at this price. It also has a nice glowing ring around the bulb which makes it easy to find in the dark.
One thing I suggest skipping is the battery pack. There's no need, just get some [good rechargeable AAA batteries]().
### The Second Best and Notably Cheaper LED Headlamp
Foxelli Headlamp
For about half the price of the Petzl Tikka you can get what I consider the second best headlamp, the Foxelli. The Foxelli has three level of brightness, though personally I can't tell much difference between them. The main difference is the focus of the beam of light, which gets ever wider as you move through modes.
Like the Tikka you press once to flip through the three white modes and long press to switch to red. There's a strobe mode for red, which the Tikka lacks.
Also worth noting, the Foxelli is compatible with Petzl mounting accessories, which means you can detach the lamp and stick it on your helmet or bicycle. Ironically this is a feature the Tikka, despite being made by Petzl, lacks.
### The Fancy Headlamp You Don't Need (But *is* Pretty Damn Nice)
Black Diamond Revolt Headlamp
I like Black Diamond stuff. I had a bunch of their climbing pro back when I was rock climbing more (technically I still have it, somewhere). Black Diamond makes solid gear, but most of it is out my price range. Of the three there, this is the one I did not spend my own money on. Black Diamond sent me one to test.
The Black Diamond Revolt is a great headlamp, it really is and if I were still climbing, and facing possible decents in the dark after a long day of climbing this is unquestionably the headlamp I would get. It's 300 are wonderful when you're hiking in the dark. For most people though, myself included currently, the Revolt isn't necessary.
The one feature on the Revolt that tempts me is the "programmable" brightness setting. You can set the brightness and then the headlamp will remember it and automatically turn to that brightness the next time you turn it on. The power meter is also nice, though it's not that hard to tell when your headlamp is getting low. If you stumble in the dark, your headlamp might be low.
### How I tested and why should trust me.
First off, you shouldn't trust me. I'm just some random stranger on the internet. We've never met, you know nothing about me. Think for yourself. That said, I've been living in an RV for three years now, and I test products for a living for WIRED. I suppose that might qualify me somewhat in some people's eyes, but seriously, think for yourself and don't ever buy something just because one person said it was good. At least read some other reviews. Here's a few I found useful:
- **[All about the lumens and some real world use](https://pmags.com/all-about-the-lumens-and-some-real-world-use)** -- Backpacker and guide Paul Mags shares my skepticism of Lumens, but does the work to actually compare Lumen ratings to real work things, like your standard 40 household bulb.
- **[Candlepower Headlamp Forums](https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?6-Headlamps&s=246728a130e78cc60a7a97eaa51a12fd)** -- Yes, the internet has a forum, several in fact, full of hardcore light fans who spend considerable time researching, testing, and one presumes, loving headlamps of all sorts. This rabbit hole is unexpectedly deep.
- **[Adventure Journal's review of Biolite's headlamp](https://www.adventure-journal.com/2019/04/biolites-330-headlamp-is-light-bright-and-darn-near-perfect/)** -- I've used Biolite's headlamp and I am not a fan, mostly because I do not like the separate battery pack, but I like this review because it's thoughtful and well-reasoned.
As for how *I* tested. Well. I put it on my head and did stuff at night. I built camp fires. I cooked dinners. I hiked a few times. I rappelled off a summit in Joshua Tree. I read in bed, I wrote at picnic tables with a fresh cup of coffee.
This particular review took 25 years. It started in high school. I needed a headlamp for my very first backpacking trip. I mean I didn't know why, but it was on the list of stuff we were supposed to bring.
I dragged my dad to REI and we bought a Petzl Tikka, pretty much at random. (I'm not sure it was called that back then, but it was roughly the same size and shape and made by Petzl). I took it on that trip. It worked great. I took it on hundreds more trips. It went [around the world with me](). It even started out on our current trip in the bus, but somewhere along the way I lost it. I bought another. ThenI lost that one, so I bought another. I have used Petzl Tikkas for 25 years. That's how I tested.
What about the other headlamps? Well, just because I had the Tikka all that time doesn't mean I didn't try others. I tried quite a few other brands. Headlamps seem to be popular stocking-stuffer type gifts for the "outdoor" person in your life (that would have been me, to my friends and family) so I ended up with quite a few other headlamps, all of which worked okay, but didn't last.
When the kids wanted headlamps, the price of the Petzl and it's potential fate in five year old hands made me want to investigate cheaper headlamps in more detail. Which I did. Out of the ones we've used in the last three years of living on the road, the Foxelli rose to the top. It's lasted, it works well and you can get [two for $22 with free shipping](https://www.foxelli.com/collections/headlamps/products/foxelli-headlamp-flashlight-2-pack-165-lumen-3-x-aaa-batteries-operated-included-bright-white-cree-led-red-light-perfect-for-runners) straight from the company. It's perfect for kids and anyone else who need a good solid headlamp and doesn't want to spend a fortune.
As always, if you have questions either drop a comment below or email me, sng@luxagraf.net.