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Whether you’re heading out into the countryside or just taking your dog for a night out, with a quality headlight, you’ll never be left in the dark.
We’ve been testing headlights since 2012 and after years of night hikes, night runs and stargazing, we still think the Black Diamond Spot (currently Spot 400) is the best headlight on the market.
The Spot 400 is an easy-to-use headlamp bright enough to provide long battery life and reliable performance year after year.
Whether you’re out camping or digging, the Black Diamond Spot 400 has everything you need: bright beams, easy-to-use buttons and long battery life. The Spot has been at the top of our list since 2012 as it is reliable and bright enough to light up the road in most situations (indoors or outdoors).
The top two buttons on the Spot 400 are intuitive to use; you will have to experiment with pressing different modes, but the learning process is quite fast. It has a red light (for use at night), a “proximity” searchlight (for wider visibility), and a strobe light (for alarms). The Spot 400 weighs 3 ounces, has a lockout mode, and is weatherproof.
While there are headlights with brighter, higher quality light, none offer the same combination of brightness, simplicity and reliability at such a low price. From 2023, you will also be able to purchase additional batteries for your Spot. (If you’re looking to save some money, the discontinued Spot 350 is still a decent headlight if you can find one.)
This headlight is as bright as our top pick but costs half the price and weighs even less. But it is uncomfortable to wear and lacks some useful features.
The Black Diamond Astro costs just $20 and despite having fewer lumens, it’s about as bright as our top models in testing. And it weighs half as much. We have 10 hours maxed out, the same as our top pick, and it’s easier to set up. But the headband feels less expensive than the Spot, and it doesn’t have a battery indicator (which most of our other options have) or a red light. Still, this is a reliable headlamp for housework. Astro is compatible with the same optional batteries as Spot.
Weighing just over an ounce, this comfortable, adjustable and ultra-light headlamp is perfect for running or other high-intensity sports adventures. However, it’s not as bright as our top pick and has more limited battery life.
After years of testing headlamps that didn’t work properly, we were happy to find the Petzl Bindi Rechargeable Headlamp. Instead of the usual thick straps, the headband uses elastic cords that can be adjusted with one hand but still sit securely on the head. The Bindi’s light isn’t as strong as the Spot’s (only 200 lumens), but it’s more than enough for running in the dark. You’ll also need to charge your headlamp frequently (a color-coded system will signal you when to plug it in); it lasted five hours in our tests, half that of the Spot and Astro. However, the Bindi’s light weight (our lightest pick), low-profile headband, and easy-to-beam beam make it ideal for running. The only serious drawback: the lack of taillights. (If you need it for security reasons, check out the Black Diamond Sprinter.)
The Black Diamond Wiz shines with all the colors of the rainbow, which made us very interested in the headlights. Not only is this headlamp affordable, it’s also more fun to use than the other kids’ models we’ve tested (both of which only offered red and white light). It also turns off after two hours if your kids forget. The control mechanism of the Wiz is a little tricky, but our test kids don’t mind clicking on the colors of the rainbow after they’ve figured it out. Although the Wiz is only 30 lumens bright, it should be enough for most kids (plus, they won’t blind each other or you with the light).
The Spot 400 is an easy-to-use headlamp bright enough to provide long battery life and reliable performance year after year.
This headlight is as bright as our top pick but costs half the price and weighs even less. But it is uncomfortable to wear and lacks some useful features.
Weighing just over an ounce, this comfortable, adjustable and ultra-light headlamp is perfect for running or other high-intensity sports adventures. However, it’s not as bright as our top pick and has more limited battery life.
Jenny Gritters has been a science reporter for nearly a decade, and for the past six years she’s been writing outdoor gear guides, covering everything from yoga pants to camping tents and leggings. She’s been reviewing Wirecutter headlamps since 2019 and uses them regularly for chores (like fixing a broken drain) and on hikes and night hikes in the mountains of central Oregon.
This guide is for those who want an alternative to a flashlight with a hands-free function. Headlamps can be used for car camping, doing DIY home improvement projects, walking the dog late at night, digging through dark closets, and more. Whether you need a running headlight or want one for your kids, we have options for those situations too.
Over the years, we’ve polled experts to determine the most important characteristics of quality headlights. We were told that a good headlight is basically just a flashlight attached to your head, with a long battery life and a reliable, bright light that can be controlled with an easy-to-use button. After compiling an extensive list of test options, we determine which headlights to test based on the following considerations:
After narrowing down our list, we called up the current selection and ordered a few new options, ordering a total of 17 headlights for 2019 and 2020 and 10 more for 2023. We ran the following tests on each headlight:
Battery Test: The specifications of flashlights and batteries on headlight housings can be misleading, so we tested the flashlights ourselves to see how they perform in real life. We turned on all 17 headlights at maximum power and checked every hour for 12 hours to make sure they were dimmed or off.
Beam quality: We placed all the lights in a dark cabinet and compared their beams (spot and flood, if any) on a white wall to check for hot spots and compare light quality.
Convenience and comfort: for several weeks we used all the lights in the house to do household chores. We wear them when we’re looking for items in dark closets or when we’re rearranging a small space under a sink. In winter, when daylight is limited, we carry working headlights with us on our morning and evening runs. If the headlights are rechargeable, we analyzed how easy it is to figure out the charging system and how quickly the headlights charge. We also thought about comfort, which is key.
As for children’s headlights, we gave them to two very discerning kids (who lived with gear testers for many years) and asked them to use the headlights for various adventures.
The Spot 400 is an easy-to-use headlamp bright enough to provide long battery life and reliable performance year after year.
Since 2012, Black Diamond Spot has been our choice. Sure, you can find stronger flashlights with better optics, but this one occupies the part of the Venn diagram where price, reliability, performance and ease of use intersect.
It’s bright enough. The maximum Spot setting is 400 lumens, and most of the time we found we didn’t need it. For a walk with a dog and an overnight stay in a camp of medium setting (200 lumens) is more than enough. (It also prolongs battery life.) At 6 lumens at the lowest brightness level, it’s enough to read maps.
You can choose between two beam shapes and two colors. The Spot 400 has three LED indicators: two white and one red. The main LED “spotlight” illuminates the path ahead of you with white light, which is very convenient when you go camping at night or walking your dog. We could see trees (and other neighbors’ dogs) about 100 meters away. Spot also offers a fill option (a white LED emitting a wider beam) and a red LED; like the main LED, both have a maximum brightness of 400 lumens and both are dimmable.
Very comfortable. At 3 ounces, the Spot is light enough to make you forget you have a flashlight on your head. The polyester strap (which also contains a small amount of spandex) is comfortable against the skin, even when you’re sweating.
It’s very intuitive to use. The main Spot 400 button, which turns on the headlight and changes its brightness, is located slightly above the top of the headlight housing (the Spot 350 button is flush). This little improvement comes in handy when you need to quickly find the button with your fingers. (Other than that, the discontinued and often discounted Spot 350 is still a decent headlamp, and if you can find it, it’s a good buy.) You can switch the LED with a smaller button: from spotlights to spotlights and red. lights. Pressing both buttons at the same time for two seconds activates Spot Lockout Mode, which prevents the light in your bag from accidentally turning on – it’s one of the few headlights we’ve tested in this mode. The Spot also has a PowerTap feature: look for the little starburst icon on the side of the flashlight and tap it to boost power to maximum instantly, then tap it again to switch back to low power.
It can use conventional batteries or rechargeable batteries. The Spot 400 accepts three AAA batteries (included with the headlight) or a Black Diamond BD 1500 Lithium Ion battery (sold separately). We tested the Spot 400 and BD 1500, which run on AAA batteries; we also tested the new Black Diamond Spot 400R, a Spot variant that charges with a Micro-USB cable. (You can’t remove the battery—it’s built in.) In the end, we determined that if you’re interested in a rechargeable headlight, it makes sense to buy the Spot 400 plus an extra battery pack, so instead of buying the Spot 400R, you can use disposable batteries as a last resort.
Battery life is good enough. In our tests, the headlight ran at full power for three hours (beyond the Black Diamond rating of 2.5 hours). Even after three hours, it continued to work, but lost a significant amount of brightness, which can cause you to squint if you are looking for small items in a tent or trying to walk along a dark path. After 10 hours we turned it off. Spot has a battery indicator that lights up when the headlight is close to burnout or needs to be recharged. (If you press the main button, the indicator will also show the battery level.)
It also works in the rain, but don’t take it with you on a swim. The Spot 400 has an IPX 8 water resistance rating, which means it can operate at a depth of 1.1 meters for up to 30 minutes. We put the lamp in a shallow bucket of water, and it continued to glow even in the water. Remember that this level of waterproofing is primarily for casual exposure and not for a deliberate underwater adventure. When we took the Spot out of the barrel, the battery case was filled with moisture. After we left it to dry overnight, the headlight worked just as well as before the water test.
This is a very (very) solid headlight. The Spot 400 is considered one of the most durable headlights on the market. Jenny dried it in the dryer and it didn’t wear any worse. We also toss it in backpacks on long hikes and sometimes in a cluttered car trunk, and Jenny lets her kids play with it. All Black Diamond headlights come with a three-year company warranty.
Since 2015, Jenny has owned several Spot versions and they never budge, even on rainy, windy days and long hikes. (Eve O’Neill, the previous author of this guide, has been using Spot lights since 2011 with no problems.)
This headlight is as bright as our top pick but costs half the price and weighs even less. But it is uncomfortable to wear and lacks some useful features.
The Black Diamond Astro 300 has many of Spot’s great qualities for less than half the price. It’s a solid option worth keeping in your toolbox, but for off-road adventures, we’d like to go with our top pick for battery warning and red light mode.
very light. The Astro weighs in at 1.5 ounces, making it one of the lightest headlamps we’ve tested (only our running pick Petzl Bindi is lighter).
It’s brighter than it should be and lasts longer. The Astro specs promise 300 lumens, but in our testing it competed with the Spot 400 in brightness when the Spot was dimmed slightly (after a few hours). Beam distance – with only one option, more like a spotlight than a spotlight – is a respectable 50 meters. In our battery test, the light lasted 10 hours without dimming. (The manual promises only four hours.)
It has some useful Spot features. The Astro is powered by an optional Black Diamond rechargeable battery, has the same three-year warranty, and has a brightness memory mode (when you turn it on, it reverts to the last used setting).
But others don’t. The Astro only has one LED, so there’s no red light or separate spotlight, and no battery indicator (meaning you can be spotted without the lights on). Jenny also found the headband to be stiffer and more itchy than the Spot, though the Astro is still more comfortable than most of the other headlights she’s used.
Weighing just over an ounce, this comfortable, adjustable and ultra-light headlamp is perfect for running or other high-intensity sports adventures. However, it’s not as bright as our top pick and has more limited battery life.
After years of frustrating headlamp trials, Jenny finally found one she liked: the Petzl Bindi. This headlight costs the same as the Spot and will make you forget you’re wearing it and is great for long runs.
It is very light and very comfortable. At 1.2 ounces, the Petzl Bindi is the lightest of our options, both past and present, and the difference is noticeable (our previous choice for running lights, the Black Diamond Sprinter, weighed just over 4 ounces). Bindi uses bungee cords instead of thick headbands. Many running lights have a strap that goes over your head, which can be uncomfortable, but the Bindi cord keeps the headlight secure without a cord. It can also be adjusted with one hand and is easier to wear with a hat or tail.
It is bright enough and the beam is long enough. During long night runs, Jenny was able to use the Bindi in the brightest light and see completely in the dark during a rainstorm. The brightest setting is 200 lumens, half that of the Spot. However, in her opinion, Bindi is slightly more than twice as bright and similar in brightness to Astro, which is 300 lumens bright – further evidence that lumens are only part of the apparent brightness equation. The Bindi’s light extends to a distance of about 40 meters – not as far as Spot, but still enough for her to swim safely.
Both the beam of light and the mount are adjustable. The Bindi’s body rotates up and down on a plastic stand that may seem unstable (and isn’t) but ends up being useful for directing light. Bindi has a main white LED and a smaller red LED. You can adjust the main light lens by proximity, movement, or distance. Proximity gives you a spotlight, while setting the distance is more of a spotlight. (The “Move” setting is somewhere in between.) These three settings are more like spotlights than spotlights illuminating a wider (but shorter) part of the ground in front of you. This is the perfect running solution as it illuminates your trail.
STRENGTH AND RELIABILITY: The Bindi has a weather resistance rating (IPX4) which means it can withstand a storm well and won’t get damaged if you drop it in a puddle. However, don’t drown it out. Petzl’s warranty is three years against manufacturing and material defects, but the lithium-ion battery is only covered for one year. In our past tests, the Petzl headlights took a beating. We will continue to test this product throughout the year and report on its performance.
However, it lacks taillights. This is the main disadvantage of Bindi. If you’re running around town or in heavy traffic, you might want to consider the Sprinter option so cars can see you from behind.
Its running time is ok. In our battery test, the Bindi lasted 5 hours, about half that of the Spot and Astro.
But he doesn’t need batteries. The headlight only charges via USB, so be sure to plug it in after a couple of short runs or one long run – you won’t be able to replace new batteries when you go out for a run. Bindi has a battery indicator system with red, yellow and green lights that makes it easy to see when you’re close to needing a recharge. Also note that the headlight needs to be charged out of the box, ours arrived completely dead. It uses a Micro-USB cable, which is becoming rarer (many rechargeable headlights we’ve tested use USB-C).
Sure, headlights are a practical purchase, but they can also be fun gadgets for kids to play with while they’re camping or on backyard adventures. We know kids who mostly use them pretending to be red-eyed monsters or rainbow-colored unicorns, and who are we to judge? With this in mind, we chose the Black Diamond Wiz headlamp as our children’s headlamp.
Post time: Sep-08-2023