The Best Headlamps of 2024: Tested

Headlamps are important tools that help lengthen your days outside, allowing you to have fun after dark and see places you couldn't otherwise, and they serve as a safety net in case something goes awry. That's why picking the right one is critical. Depending on your outdoor needs, you'll want to weigh the balance of brightness, battery life, features and comfort, but know that these handy (and hands-free) torches are more powerful and affordable than ever before.We spent two seasons field testing more than 16 models in all sorts of darkness during a variety of activities. The result? These nine lamps, which will serve every user and budget.Test ResultsFor quick recommendations, check out the results of our round-robin here, or scroll down for in-depth reviews.Best All-Around Headlamp & REI Co-op Editors' Choice Award Winner: Black Diamond Spot 400Most Versatile Power Source & REI Co-op Editors' Choice Award Winner: Petzl Actik CoreBest Budget Headlamp & REI Co-op Editors' Choice Award Winner: Black Diamond Astro 300-R HeadlampBest Headlamp for Backpacking: Petzl Swift RL HeadlampBest Headlamp for Running: Black Diamond Deploy 325 HeadlampOther Top PerformersPetzl Tikkina HeadlampBioLite HeadLamp 800 ProPetzl IKO CoreBlack Diamond Wiz Headlamp - Kids'Other Top PerformersShop All HeadlampsBuying AdviceWhether you're making an alpine start up a volcano or just digging through the junk in your closet, having your hands free to work while still being able to see what you're doing is key. But not all headlamps are created equal. Different features make certain lights better in certain situations, so deciding what you expect to use the headlamp for is a critical first step in choosing the right one. Lighting up the trail while you're running at night will require a very different headlamp than one you'll want for starting a fire or setting up your tent in the dark, and both of those could be different from the light you jam into the kitchen drawer for power outages.FeaturesDifferences in brightness, lighting modes and power source are three of the biggest differentiators in headlamps and do the most to determine how well a lamp will work for your needs.BrightnessBrightness is the first thing everyone sees when they're searching for a new headlamp. A number of lumens, which corresponds to how bright a light is, is often part of a headlamp's name and emblazoned prominently on its packaging. The higher the number, the brighter the light.While some headlamps boast hundreds and hundreds of lumens (cough, Petzl Swift RL, cough), you don't actually need all that many to see things close at hand. If you're only using your headlamp to read a book or look at things close-up, you can get away with 100 lumens or fewer, using something like the Petzl Tikkina. Once you want to see a little farther away—like the trail as you walk to the outhouse from camp, or whatever was making that noise in the bushes—a brightness above 300 lumens or so is more important. Lamps like the Black Diamond Spot 400, Black Diamond Astro 300-R, Black Diamond Deploy 325, Petzl Actik Core hit that sweet spot. High-speed activities like trail running or skiing that require you to see greater distances, as well as disciplines like climbing that call for seeing in higher detail, could necessitate a lamp with more brightness like the BioLite HeadLamp 800 Pro or Petzl IKO Core.Keep in mind that most manufacturers name headlamps using the maximum lumen count. You can often scale back the brightness based on what you're doing. Still, brighter lights tend to need larger or more batteries (or the hardware for recharging), regardless of how many lumens you're using, which can make them heavier and bulkier.Lighting ModesMany headlamps give you the option to scroll through a handful of different lighting modes to customize the output. A beam or spot light is a long, narrow beam of concentrated light, perfect for peering into the dark trees around camp or to the other side of a lake. A flood or proximity light spreads the beam over a wide (but not very deep) area, perfect for cooking dinner, changing your socks or even hiking.Many lights come with both a beam and proximity light, each with a preset brightness. If you value simple user-friendliness, go for a lamp like the Petzl Tikkina or Black Diamond Deploy 325, both of which have one button that intuitively toggles through the lighting modes. If you're techy, though, you might prefer a headlamp that lets you customize the brightness of each lighting mode to your liking, such as the Black Diamond Spot 400 or Petzl Swift RL. Fair warning: The latter can be frustrating for someone who's not willing to read the instruction manual and learn the ins and outs of their headlamp before going into the field.Power SourceBatteries—of one kind or another—make a headlamp tick. Most headlamps run on AAA batteries or a rechargeable battery, and both have their benefits. The type of battery, typically either alkaline or lithium-ion, also has an impact.As the batteries in your headlamp die, the light gets progressively dimmer (read more about how brands calculate burn time here). With a rechargeable battery, you can juice your lamp fully and start off every trip at 100 percent. Such lithium-ion batteries also tend to operate better than alkaline batteries in colder conditions, and they hold a more consistent brightness as they die. Plus, on longer trips you can recharge your headlamp using a power bank or even solar power.Disposable batteries, however, are quick and easy to replace and available for purchase almost anywhere. They often hold their charge better over time if unused, making them great for emergency headlamps like the Black Diamond Astro 300-R or Petzl Tikkina.MethodologyWe passed the best-selling headlamps available at REI out to 15 testers across the Lower 48 for a round robin-style throw down. After more than 225 nights encompassing late starts, longer-than-expected days, wrong turns, multisport epics, campfire dinners, nighttime walks and plenty of charging hours, we asked them to weigh in.We wanted our testers to consider how useful the brightness of the headlamp is for varying outdoor pursuits; how great the headlamp's battery life is (and if it was as advertised); how comfortable the headlamp is to wear over long periods of time during different activities (on bare heads, hats and helmets); how useful (and how user-friendly) the headlamp's features are; and how expensive the headlamp is for what you get.Our testers graded each headlamp on a 100-point scale for each criteria (brightness, battery life, comfort, features and price), then we averaged the scores to determine the seven best headlamps of the year. The Black Diamond Spot 400, Petzl Actik Core and Black Diamond Astro 300-R received top scores all-around, earning our REI Co-op Editors’ Choice Awards.Shop All HeadlampsPhotography by Andrew Bydlon and Joel Hopkins.