Head torches......any recomendations?

[Chris Melbourne]

/Hi there. I'm starting my first Camino from Pamplona on May 17th. I'm early riser and will probably need ta head torch for the first hours walking.

Can any one suggest a good head torch that is bright enough, light enough and not too expensive?

 

[Rob the Slob]

Mine is a ThorFire cap light: rather than strapping it to your head, you clip it onto the peak of your cap. Weighs 50gr plus the weight of three AAA batteries.

 

[Waka]

Petzl are a very good make, I bought one for my early mornings and it served me well, two light settings and comfortably went around my hat.
Mine was about £30.00, I felt this was very good value, and it didn't let me down.
One word of caution, whatever light you get remember too carry some spare batteries, you can pick these up at any Tienda along the way.

Hope this helps.

 

[Dael]

Chris, enjoy your Camino BUT if you plan to sleep in shared accommodation you will soon find that early leavers are classed alongside snorers. The noise an early leaver makes and the light cast from their head torch wakes other Pilgrims so you may learn some "new" words and phrases.
The second thing to consider is why travel to Spain and not see the lovely scenery beyond the narrow torch beam? The Camino isn't a race, slow down and enjoy the experience.

 

[Martyduc]

don't take one ,,,,,,,

 

[Tincatinker]

Sunrise May 17 will be around 7am, first light roughly 6am. You may find you are carrying 150g of redundant weight. If you do go for one make sure it has a red-light setting for use in the Albergue.

 

[MaidinBham]

I second Petzl Tikka - lightweight, well made, but suggest you buy model that has a red light setting that will not disturb others when you pack up in the early morning. I can't find mine, and so will just take a key chain purple light led, which was sufficient on last Camino.
Janice

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Please stay in bed until at least first light if sleeping in shared accomodations.

 

[Lmsundaze]

Don't do it! The guy in the bunk above me started making noise at 530 this AM. Ugh

 

[Rob the Slob]

Don't forget, though, that you might also need a torch if, for whatever reason, you're still walking after sundown.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Don't forget, though, that you might also need a torch if, for whatever reason, you're still walking after sundown.

Walking after sundown? In summer? On the Frances? Then let's add to the "please don'ts" please don't walk super long days that have you walking into albergues after the others are alraeady asleep. In fact, if you do that, all you will manage is not finding a bed.

 

[Rob the Slob]

@Anemone del Camino, ideally, no. But people get lost, linger too long over lunch or misjudge distances. A headlamp is as much part of standard hiking gear as a first-aid kit: you hope you never have to use it, but if and when the time comes you're very happy that you brought it.

 

[MaidinBham]

Wow! The OP just wants flashlight recommendations. Lets not assume that he is the rude-snoring-bull-in-the-china-shop-Torchy-who-shines-his-light-in-your-eyes kinda of guy.

 

[Priscilla NC]

I would say, if you want to get a head torch, get one with a 'stay off' feature. Mine (which I am not bringing) is easy to accidentally turn on, meaning that it drains batteries fast. I'm just bringing a very small/lite led light.

Whatever you decide, Buen Camino!

 

[Felipe]

Remember to discard batteries in the dedicated containers. In Spain, there is a campaign to store and process them in a proper way. Containers are generally in supermarkets, big and little. They look like that. Ask the hospitaleros, surely they know, and your contribution will be well appreciated.
The name for batteries in Spanish is "pila" (I guess it is pronounced as "peelah"). So the containers are word derivations as "Ecopilas" or "Recopilador".

 

[bunnymac]

/Hi there. I'm starting my first Camino from Pamplona on May 17th. I'm early riser and will probably need ta head torch for the first hours walking.

Can any one suggest a good head torch that is bright enough, light enough and not too expensive?

I wouldn't recommend walking in darkness along the Camino. If you want to rise early to greet the sunrise, you'll have a good hour of daylight before the sun rises. Also, if you are in shared accommodation, other peregrinos do not like (a) to be disturbed by an early riser and (b) being awakened by a head torch shining in their eyes. If you intend being up and out early, be mindful of your fellow peregrinos.

 

[november_moon]

I took one, but only used it for locating things that had rolled under the bed
Next time I will just take my usual small flashlight that I always hike with.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I don't want to walk at night, and I don't want to wear a sleep mask to keep your flashlight out of my eyes. I like to sleep late and take afternoon naps, and don't like ear plugs. So please do your camino my way, so that I can be happy.

Courtesy, of course, is always welcome...

 

[november_moon]

So please do your camino my way, so that I can be happy.

Ok, but only because you asked nicely

 

[CaminoDebrita]

I have a speedy Black Diamond head torch to glows right, glows softly, glows with the magnitude of a thousand suns and also flashes red. I took it for a nice ride--a GAIN--without using it once.

My recommendation is not to bother. If you have a tiny torch (an inch long job) or a cell phone with a flashlight, you are all set.

 

[Mike Savage]

I went with a Black Diamond Revolt. It has a high and low setting as well as a red lamp and is rechargeable. It used the same charging cable as my Samsung phone which helped save weight too.

 

[gerardcarey]

I'm a Petzl fan. I have a few.
On the Camino I took the e+Lite.
It's small and very light, 27gms . Has continuous and strobe functions in red (good for inside albergues) and white light. The batteries seem to be readily available and will be ok for 10 years without being used.
With 27 lumens it won't light up the side of a mountain nor be suitable for sustained trekking thru the night (imo for that you'll need 80+ lumens).
But it's fine for early morning starts or a short evening ramble thru a dark area.
https://www.petzl.com/GB/en/Sport/CLASSIC-headlamps/ePLUSLITE#.VxVVAhKubxA

Petzl are pretty readily available.
For an idea of pricing Amazon.com list a reasonable range.

Regards
Gerard

 

[koilife]

I like my Princeton Tec Remix with the combination of red and white LEDs. The low-light red comes on by default (friendliest to those around you in the albergue), and then I have to deliberately turn it to the brighter and/or blinking red or the dim/bright white settings which are best for outdoors. It also has the advantage of coming in at about 83 grams, including batteries.

I also like my Petzl e+LITE, which is lighter and very nicely adjustable, but not nearly as bright for regular use as an early morning walking light.

 

[Bogong]

G'day Chris,

I walked in winter so there were few pilgrims to awake early morning, in some albergues I was alone. Even where there were others, it was quite easy to arrange packing of most things the night before and to get up and sneak out early without thumping around and disturbing anyone. And I found little more joyous or uplifting than walking for two or three hours before dawn in pitch darkness, particularly through the Meseta. Well at least it was when it wasn't bucketing down!

Now the head torch I had was the type you can buy in many places in Oz, such as the Reject Shop, Silly Willys etc for anything from three or four dollars up. And I've seen news shots of surgeons wearing these in operating theatres! Better than risking losing a Petzl or something mega expensive! Occasionally Aldi have a head torch on special which is also cheap and appears a very good product indeed - I recently got one and it's a lot more robust.

I rarely turned mine on except when reaching a junction where I needed to know which way the arrow went.
The one exception was going down from Alto de Poio in the dark down the road when it was snowing quite heavily. The light had several functions including a red flashing one, useful when vehicular traffic (only half a dozen snowploughs) came the other way. One downside was that I struck some very wet conditions, and the dye in the strap ran making me look a bit like the wild man from Borneo!

The light eventually met its nemesis when something heavy fell on it when I was struggling with something or other underneath a classic car. I really shouldn't have bemoaned the few dollars I paid for it!

De Colores!

Bogong

 

[whariwharangi]

Lets take it as read that its not safe for any pilgrim to disturb others in their slumber and you wouldn't otherwise need one to walk.

You do however need one to go to the washroom ... even in daylight. Often the lights are on a timer and there is no way to activate them when your pants are around your ankles and you have a hank of soiled paper in hand. No aid the sun if there are no windows.

If you use it to navigate around the bunks in the albergue in the wee hours, put your hand over the light and allow only a few beams of light to escape between your fingers. It shouldn't be on your head when used this way. Consider it a game where you don't want to be found out to be 'the noober that wakes everyone'

 

[koilife]

You do however need one to go to the washroom ... even in daylight. Often the lights are on a timer and there is no way to activate them when your pants are around your ankles and you have a hank of soiled paper in hand. No aid the sun if there are no windows.

If you use it to navigate around the bunks in the albergue in the wee hours, put your hand over the light and allow only a few beams of light to escape between your fingers. It shouldn't be on your head when used this way.

I have a lanyard with three items attached that I wear pretty much non-stop except in the shower. The first item is my mini-Swiss Army knife (16 grams). The second item is a whistle (7 grams). The third is a red LED micro light (9 grams). This final item is great for navigating the albergue at night and solves the problem of timed lights.

 

[Latecomer]

After spending quite a bit on other clothes and equipment, I tried to say money on my headlamp. I bought the "Ozark Trail 150-Lumen Multi-Color Headlamp" at the large blue big box store - it was 12.97 USD. It weighs 2.8 Oz loaded with its 3AAA batteries. I has Hi (150 Lumens / 6 hours), Low (15 Lumens / 66 hours), and Red (2 Lumens / 35 hours) modes.

I really liked the Red mode which could be used with minimal impact on night vision (and reduced chance of annoying others). I used it a lot during the VDLP as everybody was getting up early to avoid some of the heat of the day. I used 2 sets of batteries over ~36 days and believe I had a lot of life left. The only drawbacks: It could turn on if stuffed in a pocket without care, and I think you could probably damage the battery door if you were too rough with it. I was very happy with this light.

Information about my other equipment at:

 

[CaminoDebrita]

Lets take it as read that its not safe for any pilgrim to disturb others in their slumber and you wouldn't otherwise need one to walk.

You do however need one to go to the washroom ... even in daylight. Often the lights are on a timer and there is no way to activate them when your pants are around your ankles and you have a hank of soiled paper in hand. No aid the sun if there are no windows.

If you use it to navigate around the bunks in the albergue in the wee hours, put your hand over the light and allow only a few beams of light to escape between your fingers. It shouldn't be on your head when used this way. Consider it a game where you don't want to be found out to be 'the noober that wakes everyone'

I always laugh when people mention the lights going out "mid way"---I have decided recently that as long as the door is locked, I can usually find the paper and my backside in total darkness!

 

[koilife]

I always laugh when people mention the lights going out "mid way"---I have decided recently that as long as the door is locked, I can usually find the paper and my backside in total darkness!

ROFL!

 

[Felipe]

When needed, I have resorted to activate my cell phone screen -it is more a glare than a light, and I cover it with my fingers, anyway. I usually only need to find my sandals, or negotiating my way to the bathroom.
On the other side...after reading this thread, I have come to appreciate its symbolic meaning. This could be a metaphor about a soul lost in the darkness of the world, looking for a spiritual light. A medieval theologian could have written a bulky treatise on this issue.

 

[jayobrien]

Chris, enjoy your Camino BUT if you plan to sleep in shared accommodation you will soon find that early leavers are classed alongside snorers. The noise an early leaver makes and the light cast from their head torch wakes other Pilgrims so you may learn some "new" words and phrases.
The second thing to consider is why travel to Spain and not see the lovely scenery beyond the narrow torch beam? The Camino isn't a race, slow down and enjoy the experience.

On Camino now and the headlamps tend
to encourage folks to rise too early..for what reason....and awaken everyone in the shared room. If you MUST have a red filter!

 

[Jo Jo]

I second the Pezel e+lite. One ounce, and a red setting--you can't ask for more.

For what it's worth, I found I had to leave by 6am or the sun was too hot by the time I finished. We tried sleeping in, but that required at least some walking in the afternoon sun. which resulted in my feet sweating so much I could not keep them dry, and I developed cities of blisters on my feet. (July 2014). It's not a race for a bed--it's a race against the sun.

It was not really that hard to avoid waking other pilgrims--sleep in your walking clothes, have your pack ready the night before, roll out of bed, switch on the red light (so you don't trip over one or anything), grab the pack in one hand, the sleeping bag liner in the other, and walk out to a common area to rattle any necessary plastic bags.

Buen Camino,
Jo Jo

 

[Chris Melbourne]

Thanks for your suggestions. I guess I won't bother taking a head torch then! I'll take a water boiling element and some nice English breakfast teabags instead and smell the flowers.

 

[williamlittig]

Mine is a ThorFire cap light: rather than strapping it to your head, you clip it onto the peak of your cap. Weighs 50gr plus the weight of three AAA batteries.

Someone more cleaver than myself described "an albergue full of headlamps being like drunken lighthouse operators". My very first night was a room well-lit by a pilgrim reading by headlight. The reflective light kept most of us awake. I gave my headlamp away in Larasona. I use a small, waterproof light that wraps and connects to itself, blinks and has a red light. I handhold it flashing in early morning traffic, or connect it to the chest strap for guidance. The Tikka was a great light and I have replaced it for camping . Please be considerate in albergues. We all need sleep...... Ultreya......... Willy/Utah/USA

 

[trecile]

Headlamps on the Camino bring out strong feelings.
If you use them please only use them outside, or very judiciously inside - hold it cupped in your hand if you need a light.
This is six year old thread that will be closed now.