Need a headlamp for running; lightweight, but powerful!

So my girlfriend signed up for a half marathon, night-time race and informed me that she needs to get a nice, lightweight headlamp for the run. DING DING DING :party: :party: Music to my ears. I immediately thought of how much fun its going to be to mod something like this into a 3000 lumen monster…. (or even slap a triple in each one of those heads)

BUT, I soon realized that carrying something like that around for 13 miles just isn’t practical. So, I need some ideas.

Requirements:
As lightweight as possible
So bright that it makes the sun look like a AA Mini-Maglite 8)
Preferably running on a lithium battery (14500 or similar)
Decent mode selection that will last the entire race (2-3 hours)
Combination of flood and throw

A quick glance led me to this 120LM LED Headlamp but it just isn’t bright enough. Has anyone ever torn a headlamp apart? How easy are they to mod?

Thanks guys!

I just got a Fenix HP12 from GearBest

http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_162806.html

400 Lumens for 3.5 hours on a single 18650 and a 900 lumen burst mode. The construction is solid and it has a nice neutral beam similar to the PD35. It also accepts the protected KeepPower Panosonic 3400’s

How about the skillhunt?

Bigger and heavier than a Zebralight.

The 120 lumen headlamp you linked isn’t 5/5 stars: it has visible PWM and is hardly water resistant but the output is good and if this is the same as mine, the warm white center emitter is beautiful :D. I own the Sunree version (which I believe is the original) and brightness on trail is sufficient but it’s not realBRIGHT and would not remain at that brightness for the whole time. For road running it’s sufficient.

Would the headlamp be used to see with or is it mainly for the purpose of being seen? If being used for the latter, being super bright is not a necessity and something boring such as a tripple AAA, 4x5mm, LED light would work.

I do a four person trail race that starts at 4am so we need up to 2 1/2 hrs of light and I’ve done well in the past with a Fenix HL21 which uses a single AA cell. I change modes quite often depending on speed, terrain, and weather I’m in front (bright) or at the back (lowest output.) Last year however, I used an 18650 powered light with a NW, XM-L2, and Dr Jones driver and must say that having a super bright light is FUN!!!

Expectations are unachievable. Please revise requirements. LOL

Zebralight for me… (50lumen is ok in most situations, 200lm is overkill unless lost on dark trails)

HAHA I know I’m asking for a lot, but I figured I would go for broke…

The Fenix HP12 and the Skilhunt H02 are both pretty heavy headlamps (relatively speaking). I’m looking for something in the double digit gram range on weight.

Awesome info eebowler. It’s a road race… well along a river. There are supposed to be glow in the dark trail markers, and with it being in a city, it should be pretty well lit. I just cant help but want to make a flashlight blinding 0:) , and have modes to control the output. Just trying to get an idea for what people have used, and how easy one would be to mod (because I know I’m going to tear it apart the second I get it)

Nitecore HC50
Nitecore HC90

I actually received a warm white, Armytek Tiara C1 (16340) that I’m CONSIDERING testing out on Fri for a 3hr river/trail/road run. Up to this time, I’ve gotten 1:18 on high with a protected,650mAh, Olight cell before the light CUT OFF!! That sucked bad. I assume the protection circuit kicked in… :frowning:
.
I believe silkhunt uses 105C drivers so they can easily be moded before use :smiley: Will look for links. Edit: I’m wrong. oops.

I have never seen a running headlamp! Please take a picture next time you see one, running ;)

Following the thread..lightweight bright headlamps

Hahaha, I’ve seen my wallet grow legs and start running away… but a headlamp with legs would be interesting to see for sure :bigsmile:

Let me know how it goes if you decide to use it while running.

I did use it, and the run was 2 1/2 hrs not three hrs as expected. I switched to low mode while running road (about 2/5 total time,) and kept it at medium for trail/river (more like a wide stream, 1ft deep, 20-30 ft wide,) and the light lasted the whole time. At the end, open circuit voltage of the cell after an hours rest, (chatting, liming) was 3.66V so it had a little juice left. The capacity of good primary 123 cells are in the range of 1500-1700mAh so you’ll get more runtime on the lower modes for sure.

I normally run early morning or night.

I alternate using Wizard Pro and Zebralight(add an extra elastic band on top of the headband). I think these two are the lightest in terms of weight.

Running in trails I use 502b, DQG Tiny and or Convoy S2+ in addition to above headlamps mainly to spot snakes along trails.

I have one of this. Quite happy with the performance.

http://www.xtarlight.com/05-chanpin/p-001-1.asp?styleid=252

I have the headlamp Fritz recommends above; with a Nichia in it it’s quite nice for working — but I am sure it would bounce far too much wearing it running.

I’d look for a headband that will mount a 2xAAA or 2xAA light alongside your head (and carry a spare light or batteries)
I have several of these: https://www.niteize.com/product/Headband.asp
and they do OK. Adding some elastic to keep them snug would improve them for bouncing around.
Using Energizer lithium primaries to lighten the weight makes a noticeable difference in how well it stays on my head when moving around significantly (or upside down doing plumbing under the house, etc.)

I use this headband from FT to hold my 18650 flashlights on my head. IMO it works ok, but not really ideal, because with this setup I couldn’t adjust the light angle while most of the time I wish to aim the light downward during hiking. The flashlight will keep on pointing forward instead and probably blind the oncoming drivers, which is a bit inconvenient.

I’ve ordered a budget angle light last week and I think that would work much better with the headband because you may be able to adjust the beam angle upward or downward freely. We will find out when it arrives.