When walking at night, if we hold a flashlight, there will be a hand that cannot be empty, so that unexpected situations can not be dealt with in time. Therefore, a good headlamp is a must have when we walk at night. By the same token, when we’re camping at night, wearing a headlamp keeps our hands busy.
There are many types of headlamps, and features, price, weight, volume, versatility, and even appearance can all affect your final decision. Today we will talk briefly about what to pay attention to when choosing.
First of all, as an outdoor headlamp, it must have the following three important performance indicators:
First, waterproof.
Outdoor camping hiking or other night operations will inevitably encounter rainy days, so the headlamp must be waterproof, otherwise rain or flooding will cause a short circuit out or bright and dark, causing safety hazards in the dark. Therefore, when purchasing headlights, we must see whether there is a waterproof mark, and it must be greater than the waterproof level above IXP3, the larger the number, the better the waterproof performance (about the waterproof level is no longer repeated here).
Two, fall resistance.
Good performance headlights must have drop resistance (impact resistance). The general test method is 2 meters high free fall, no damage. In outdoor sports, it may also slip due to various reasons such as loose wear. If the shell cracks due to a fall, the battery falls off or the internal circuit fails, it is a very scary thing to even look for the lost battery in the dark, so such a headlamp is definitely not safe. So at the time of purchase, also look at whether there is an anti-fall sign.
Third, cold resistance.
Mainly for outdoor activities in the north and high altitude areas, especially the headlamp of the split battery box. If the use of inferior PVC wire headlights, it is likely to make the wire skin hard and brittle because of the cold, resulting in the internal core fracture. I remember the last time I watched CCTV torch climb Mount Everest, there was also a camera wire due to extremely low temperature caused wiring cracking and poor contact failure. Therefore, in order to use the external headlamp at low temperatures, we must pay more attention to the cold design of the product.
Secondly, regarding the lighting efficiency of the headlamp:
1. Light source.
The brightness of any lighting product depends mainly on the light source, commonly known as the bulb. The most common light source for general outdoor headlamps is LED or xenon bulbs. The main advantage of LED is energy saving and longevity, and the disadvantage is low brightness and poor penetration. The main advantages of xenon lamp bubbles are long range and strong penetration, and the disadvantages are relative power consumption and short bulb life. With the rapid development of science and technology, LED technology is becoming more and more mature, high-power LED has gradually become the mainstream, the color temperature is close to the 4000K-4500K of xenon bulbs, but the cost is relatively high.
Second, circuit design.
There is no point in unilaterally evaluating the brightness or battery life of a lamp. In theory, the brightness of the same bulb and the same current should be the same. Unless there is a problem with the light cup or lens design, determining whether a headlamp is energy efficient depends mainly on the circuit design. The efficient circuit design reduces power consumption, which means that the brightness of the same battery is longer.
Third, materials and workmanship.
A high-quality headlamp must choose high-quality materials, most of the current high-end headlamps use PC/ABS as the shell, its main advantage is strong impact resistance, 0.8MM thick wall thickness of its strength can exceed 1.5MM thick inferior plastic material. This greatly reduces the weight of the headlamp itself, and the mobile phone shell is mostly made of this material.
In addition to the selection of headbands, high-quality headbands have good elasticity, feel comfortable, absorb sweat and breathe, and will not feel dizzy even if worn for a long time. At present, the brand headband on the market has trademark jacquard. Most of these headwear material selection, and no trademark jacquard is mostly nylon material, feel hard, poor elasticity. It is easy to get dizzy if worn for a long time. In general, most of the exquisite headlights pay attention to the selection of materials, so when buying headlights, it also depends on the workmanship. Is it convenient to install batteries?
Fourth, structural design.
When choosing a headlamp, we should not only pay attention to these elements, but also see whether the structure is reasonable and reliable, whether the lighting Angle is flexible and reliable when wearing on the head, whether the power switch is easy to operate, and whether it will be accidentally opened when putting into the backpack.
Post time: Sep-21-2023