Hello people, I could not find a place to ask question about the light. So sorry if there was the similar thread. I want to buy a good backpack and lantern on Christmas sales. What can you recommend about the lantern? Are LED lanterns powerful/ reliable? thanks
I need a little more info before I can give a good recommendation. How will you use it?…
Will it be a “5-am-start-time/just-in-case-the-day-gets-too-long” light or “camping for 5-days” kind of light?” Is weight a big concern? Will the light double-duty in other activities: mountain biking, road biking, big wall climbing, reading in bed at home? How important is the ability to mount it to a helmet? How waterproof does it have to be?
For a starting place, I have had four headlamps and Black Diamond’s Storm is my favorite in terms of versatility and price: relatively inexpensive, small, relatively light, simple to use, will last 8-10 hours on full and 20+ on lesser settings per charge, fully waterproof, button lock, red light, I can attach it to my helmet (with a ski strap), not too bright for snow. I also like how it’s a single unit with one strap as opposed a light-in-front + battery-pack-in-back, three-strap style. The latter is a fine design for a heavier-duty lamp. I hear they will revamp it this year. However the Storm is wholly inadequate (by itself) for mountain biking, big wall climbing, attaching to a helmet, and 5+ night trips. It’s also overkill for farting around the house and weekend camping where it never rains, i.e. you could save money buying a less expensive lamp which will meet your needs just fine.