Have an old Petzl Tikka Plus which doesn’t seem as powerful as it once was even with new batteries. The tech is pretty old now – maybe 10 years and wasn’t really that bright to begin with. Looking for a good replacement for general use, camping and in case a walk goes on too long – not for biking. Got £50 birthday money I could use – what’s my best bang for buck given that it’s the wonderful Black Friday coming up?

If you want tiny, and bright enough the petzl bindi I picked up a couple of weeks ago is great. £35ish on amazon.

Alpkit Viper is great for the money. We have loads of them now. FIL is getting one for xmas as well.

You won’t go far wrong with a Fenix. If you can stretch to £55 then the HL55 is a great light (I have the HL60 which is the slightly higher output/newer one). Used by a lot of cavers these days as they are so robust. They are however, relatively heavy as they are solid aluminium. Or just choose one from their range that suits your needs/budget.

https://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/Shop/Fenix-Torches/Head-Torches.html

Edit. The HL60 actually differs in that it is rechargeable and comes with a battery already. while the HL55 needs a separate battery and some way to charge it which makes it almost the same price!

LED Lenzer has always been  “the shiz” , yet to see a product that performs better…….

I got one from decathlon, kalenji 710, £25. A few usefull beam settings, high, med low and a map reading light that turns off the main one and just illuminates downwards so you arent blinding anyone else crowding round the map.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/onnight-710-black-and-orange-id_8370255.html

Picked up one of these following a recommendation on here. Pretty impressed so far. Prefer it to the two Alpkit ones I’ve previously had.

Theres a head-torch test in the better halfs TRAIL magazine this month if you want a few ideas (6 in total). Best value went to the GP Xplor PHR15 @£35 and best in test went to Black Diamond Revolt @£60

LED Lenzer has always been “the shiz” , yet to see a product that performs better…….

And their customer service is superb.

I got one of these https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/LIJODBOMH15W/jobsworth-bobby-dazzler-on-me-head-headtorch-15w-1500-lumen a few weeks ago.
I’ve only used it three or four times, but I’m happy so far. Pros:
It’s comfortable
Battery has lasted ok
Good variety of light modes
Nice tight, bright beam on standard mode
Versatile – it’s good for cycling, and it would work for camping, walking, climbing, etc.

minus:
It could be smaller and lighter
It looks ridiculous (but hey, I’m wearing it in the dark).

£20, and 20% off if you use code “LIGHT20” at checkout.

Petzl Bindi, as Jam bo says.

As per usual recommending what I’ve got which is 2x alpkits.

Thanks for all the tips…done a bit of reading up and at the mo it seems to be between Petzl Actik – 300 lumens and £28; GP Xplor PHR15 – 300 lumens and £35 and Alpkit Qark – 580 lumens and £33. All get good reviews. Popping into Blacks for a touchy-feely Sat. All will be way better than what I have without busting the bank…other things I need too 😉

Do you want AA/AAA batteries or a rechargeable?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenser-LED7298-H7R-2-Rechargeable-Head/dp/B00FYVF62C
I got one of these a couple of months back, used mainly for dog walking/spotting, it’s been bang on.

Get one with a rechargeable battery. i have a petzl one, cost around £50 and is good for everything from walking the dog at night to winter climbing. Not quite good enough for night biking.

Yep, I’d maybe be be looking at the Aktik Core rather than the standard Akitk. Comes with a rechargeable battery, slightly brighter, can also be used with AAAs. If you run off road at night the Petzl Swift RL is brilliant and also adjustable enough to use for more mundane stuff. Bindi is brilliant for shorter outings, tiny, rechargeable, surprisingly bright, very floody beam. Useless for picking out more distant objects though.

Alpkit’s various options are good value generally. The Quark’s plenty bright and gives you the option of rechargeable or AAAs again. If you want waterproofing, Silva does a couple of neat little torches that are fully waterproof rather than just water resistant.

If you want something that’s pretty much a modern Tikka though, I’d take another look at the Bindi.

I bought one of these and pretty impressed with it. Looks identical to the Decathlon linked above but cheaper (especially with the LIGHT20 20% off code)

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/LIJOOMH600/jobsworth-on-me-head-headtorch-600-lumen

There was a thread the other week:

Head torches for running on unlit roads

Junior J & I have the Actik mentioned above. Both are brilliant for the price. 3 brightness options ,of which ,middle is waaay bright enough for a wander in the deep dark woods while camping. One takes a3batts ,one rechargeable. Don’t lose the battery which costs as much as the torch! Wish I had bought both as rechargeable option now tbh.

Check the specs carefully if you need the 580lumens from the alpkit, as that is in boozt mode, only 10 sec at a time if I remember correctly

I recently got the https://www.alpkit.com/products/qark and I couldn’t be happier for general use and trail running.

Unbelievably even beam pattern with absolutely no bright spot. It’s a fairly harsh cutoff, but on such a wide beam, that doesn’t bother me.

The adjustable zoom works really well when searching for stuff, but most of the time I leave it on a fairly wide setting – it’s bright enough still.

The fact it’s rechargeable and also runs of normal batteries was the clincher.

(oh – and for running I much prefer a top strap which some don’t have)

Actik core is quite cheap on amazon. Nearly bought one, even though I have too many head torches

Three most used or carried ones are petzl e+lite, black diamond revolt and petzl bindi. Last one is used most regularly, easy to recharge lithium battery helps with that

I have a hope r2 that I bought a couple of years ago for night running, first race with it was 10miles on the cliffs to lands end in 55mph wind and rain and I had no bother with running that terrain in what otherwise was pitch black so I’d say it was pretty good.

Cons… expensive and bulky compared to other headtorches (for road at night I use an alpkit).

Plus… it gives you daylight.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenser-LED7298-H7R-2-Rechargeable-Head/dp/B00FYVF62C
I got one of these a couple of months back, used mainly for dog walking/spotting, it’s been bang on.

That’s the one I have, only the non-R version. Works well enough off regular rechargeable AAAs. Eneloops FTW, then it’s not flat after sitting in a drawer for months.

Just ordered the Alpkit Qark on preorder. Looks like it could be just the ticket for late shift working – I finish at 7pm, so that’s roughly two hours in darkness, and only some pars of the site have any sort of useful lighting.

The Qark arrived on Friday, and I second what @AlexSimon says about it – the light is incredibly smooth across the beam, with no artefacts, and it’s the first light with a zoom that’s actually functional that I’ve come across; usually on the narrowest beam the actual emitter comes into focus, with the Qark it’s a smooth bright circle.
I like the overhead strap as well, once I got it adjusted properly it makes the light more stable.
It’ll get a proper outing at work tomorrow, should be ideal for inspecting cars on arrival.
I’m going to check to see if the rechargeable battery is available separately, it would be easier to carry a single charged battery rather than a pack of AAA’s, which can escape and discharge. No biggie if not.

Glad to hear the review of the Qark, Santa has got one for my lad for his DofE gold next year. I really like the rechargeable/battery options

Good to hear @CountZero – Let us know if you hear anything about the batteries. I thought it might be a standard off-the-shelf thing and found the petzl core, but not sure if it would be compatible.

I’ll be all anti-STW and not recommend what I have!

Silva CR300 something

Annoying head unit that is very loosely attached to the strap. Move the head unit around with your hand or when attching to your head and the bloody thing comes off the strap!! Annoying at the best of times, down right dangerous if climbing etc

Will be consigned to the bin