Red & White Dual Led Headlamp

I have a generic Husky headlamp bought from homedepot a few years ago, it was alright but the runtime is pretty weak and I needed something that would last me a few hours without needing a recharge. A buddy of mine has a Sofirn flashlight and he likes it a lot, so I thought I’d give it a shot, and wow it was good! You can’t beat it at this price point for the feature it offers. The 18650 battery that came with it has a 3000mah rating, that’s more than 3 times the Husky light I have. It’s got both a regular LED bulb and a red bulb. I use the red for nighttime photography and it works really well for me. I could see all the camera controls without blinding myself or attracting a bunch of bugs. The regular LED is also pretty bright, it has multiple brightness settings and a simple UI for easy operation, much better than the old Husky light. I’ll recommend it to anyone who needs a headlamp for working on things that’s got a great runtime and also simple to use.

The battery lasts a long time, recharges easily, the flashlight itself is made out of metal so it's really durable and can handle being thrown into your bag and getting banged up a bit without any problems. The different light strengths in both red and white are perfect for different situations, though the brighter the light the faster the battery will drain. It's easy to see how much battery you have left because the on/off button changes from green to red-green when about half way empty and then red when nearly empty. It's comfortable to wear and easy to adjust the strap to fit on your head. you can easily adjust the angle of the light direction. I also like how it's at least water resistant, I've never dunked it in water but it worked perfectly when raining hard. Overall my favorite headlamp that I've had because of how durable and reliable it is. I did buy two because while one is in use the other one can charge so I never have to wait for it to charge. I also got extra batteries with an external charger for the same reason and it has served me well over the past 10 months that I've been using it.

Another update: I previously called out the lack of accidental power-on protection for the power button. It has now happened to me when I forgot to partially unscrew the battery cap before putting the light into my pack. Depending on your use of this product, an accidental-on is a serious flaw. If you're backpacking or climbing, your safest option is to store the light with the battery removed, but that's an annoyance. The manufacturer needs to fix this bug. A raised metal ring around the button would help. It needs to be deep enough to protect the button, but not so deep that you can't easily press the button while wearing winter gloves. Another option is to require a long-press of at least 8-10 seconds (so that the power disable isn't confused with turning on the red light) to disable/enable power-on. [I also own Black Diamond and Petzl headlamps, and they include a power-on disable that requires pressing two buttons at the same time.] Update: I've been using the headlamp often for months now. In the original review I said that battery life is excellent. That's true only at the lowest two settings. If you need more light, you'll get about 2.5h from 3000mah cell. So, if you were using this lamp for work and need to pull a full shift, you'll need three fresh batteries. At the lowest red or white setting, it'll run for more than a day on one battery. Six-eight hours for the next highest setting. The upper two settings eat up the battery, but then, they also make a lot of light. 40 years ago, the headlamp of an automobile didn't make this much light. the housing gets warm but not hot. A potential wear item: the light "clicks" and stays in place by aluminum teeth on the lamp body against plastic teeth on the headband. The plastic is going to wear out long before the aluminum. Manufacturer should provide a spare. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I rarely leave a 5-star review. Five stars is for an exceptional product. If it's merely as advertised, it's four stars. This headlamp is so much better than its competitors that it deserves five-star recognition. I've purchased and returned several red headlamps. They're all big and bulky, or they require you to switch through white or strobe to turn them on/off. They have battery compartments that obviously predate lithium batteries, and most of it is empty space. One crappy piece of junk after another. This headlamp was designed by someone who has a clue -- a person who apparently uses their own gear. It's usefully dim, and usefully bright. There's no useless strobe or SOS, and you don't have to turn on a white light to get to the red light. Battery life is excellent. On the dimmest red setting, this light is good for astronomy -- that's rare. The two brightest red settings are bright enough to hike a steep trail in the blackness under a tree canopy. The reflectors are just right -- not too focused, not too diffuse. The built-in USB-C charger works well. The button is easy to work while wearing gloves. This is an awesome headlamp for my purposes. This one is a keeper. That being said, it has one definite flaw: there's no protection against the light turning on in your pack if the button gets pushed into other gear. It needs a raised lip about 6mm around the button, just like the raised lip that forms when you unscrew the cap to charge the light. The battery cap can be unscrewed a bit to disconnect, but I'm not sure how reliable that is. This is the only flaw I've found with this light. Also, and this isn't a flaw, just a tradeoff: it's heavy (120g with battery), compared to my regular Black Diamond light (82g with batteries).

I’ve owned over 20 different headlamps, I camp/hike/hunt a lot. Most headlamps out there cast what I would call frustrating beams; they’re either too wide-angle and you can’t see ten yards ahead, or they’re too much a spotlight and you have no peripheral. For illustration purposes I’m going to compare this headlamp to a Zebralight Floody. Now, nothing I’ve seen beats the Zebralight. That thing casts a wonderfully pure 90-degree beam that still gives you about 30yds of distance (and that isn’t even its max setting). It can be cranked up to an uncanny level. That said, this one is similar. It’s in the same ballpark. The white beam will do anything for you that the Zebralight will do on foot. For something like riding a bike in the woods at night, you’re moving faster which means you’ll need the brighter ability of the Zebralight. But at such a price difference, to get this level of performance is astounding. The beam is actually a spot/flood, meaning it’s stronger in the middle and there’s a definitive difference in the peripheral lighting. This isn’t as stark with the white light as it is with the red light. Overall though it gives a great balance of near/far viewing for hiking. Hope this helps people out there get a sense for what kind of light you’ll get. So other than the actual beam of light, what sets this apart from the rest of the field? Simplicity. It’s a simple red or white light. Click to turn on the white, hold to cycle through four brightness levels. For the red you hold to turn on, then just as with the white you hold to cycle through four brightness levels. It also remembers your last setting even with the battery removed. Super. Stinking. Simple. No flashing strobe modes or 16 brightness levels or multiple colors or any of that. It’s amazing performance in a very easy-to-use platform that gives you both red and white light, and both are actually usable. Perfect simplicity. FYI if you’re wondering why red light, it isn’t just because it doesn’t disturb wildlife like white/blue light does, it’s not just a hunting thing. It also saves your night vision. If you’re using the white light and you turn it off, everything is pitch black for a while until your eyes adjust. With the red light, once you turn it off it’s like your eyes are already adjusted and you don’t spend a few minutes blind. Red light is much better in the dark for that reason alone. Use the white for when you really need to see better.

Much nicer than the cheap Coleman ones. The 5000k temp is bluer than I would like (I strongly prefer 3500-4000k, more usable light for human eyes at the same lumen output, plus subjectively I like the neutral color). The light does seem reasonably high CRI, it doesn't look flat the way a lot of these cheap blue lights do. The beam pattern is a nice combination of spot and flood, basically a flood with a weighted center and a good gradient between the two. I don't like spot lights, but this one doesn't bother me. They did a good job here. The red light on medium is about perfect for me, on low it's basically a Coleman (not very useful, but good for some situations), on high it's so reflective off things at <10ft range that it makes things look flat. Medium is awesome, I can see everything around me and my dog super easily and it's very bright to traffic. A good red light means being able to see in summer without bugs in your face! They don't see the red light nearly as well as white. I have to be leaning down near the grass for them to notice me. Very pure red light out of this. The battery is a standard 18650 you can easily swap yourself, or charge over the well protected USB-C port. The power button is the charge/full light. All very easy. The covers on the light reflectors seem to be glass. I dropped this once and it did not shatter but I don't expect those to last for drops. Balance and weight on the head feels super comfortable from the weird sideways bar form factor. The weight is right against your forehead. The strap is soft. It adjusts a little too easily (gets loose). The angle of it stays put no matter what, due to the weight positioning. Overall a well executed little light at a fair price that appears to be honest about its lumens. I just wish it were offered in 3500k or 4000k. I would pay $40 if it were 3500k with the same output. I'm buying more products from Sofirn based on this experience.

Good features Can turn on red without cycling thru white brightness levels from very dim to very bright I used this on a recent ocean journey. Was able to turn on red very dim and not disturb others To turn on Red, long press power button (last used red brightness will turn on) To turn off, quick press power button To turn on white, quick press power button To turn off, quick press power button To change brightness; once on, long press power button, each time will cycle to brighter until back to dim Easy to adjust headband Unscrew end opposite power button to expose USB-C charge port Well made, very durable construction Mutli-functional for a variety of dark environments White light when maintaining night vision is not critical Red light for night vision protection

I just got it and learning to use it! My first impression is it is GREAT! Reviews say it is heavy and it is heavy compared to my 2xAAA headlight. It is very well made and you can choose if you want red or white light. Short push white light last setting. Long push red light last setting. To change settings after turning it on hold down the button and it goes through the different brightness settings. I have only used it for a couple days walking the dog so I have only changed it once. I was wondering if it came off the head strap easily I was afraid it could be knocked off in the brush. While I have not used it in brush yet it seems to be in place for keeps. Also the different angles is 180 degrees. You can have the button on either side. Easy sizing it will fit any size head hat. I have not use it on high for walking the dog but in playing with it on high you can feel it getting warm. I use it more around my neck than on my head and have used it for a hand light sometimes. It seems to be very versatile in how you use it. Charging port is covered by a screw cap. Cost is reasonable for a rechargeable light and this is my first rechargeable headlamp. 6 stars out of 5. lol

When visiting a barrier island last year, we borrowed this model headlamp from a friend to go looking for hatching turtle nests and was immediately a fan. There are lots of different brands out there of similar style, and they may be just as nice, but we decided to get this one for our daughter before she goes to study abroad in remote area. Headband is comfortable and adjustable. There's no over-the-head strap, which may be an issue for long term use, but I've never felt it was necessary. It's very easy to use with just one button for all the functions. Press once to turn on white light and it remembers your last brightness setting. Long press when on will cycle through the brightness levels. One click to power off. From an off position, long press will turn on the red light, and the brightness is controlled the same. Overall this is plenty bright for our use, in both the white and red light settings. The brightest setting was more than necessary for general use, though it's nice to have if you really need it. We haven't run the battery down fully, so I can't say how long it will last before needing a recharge, but we've used it 3 nights without needing a recharge. The protected USB-C charging port is something we liked. Rather than just having a little rubber cap, like some do, the port is hidden and protected - unscrew one side of the lamp to get to it. The lamp clips into the headband securely and can be adjusted up or down. If you're with other people, you'll want to aim it more to the ground or you'll blind them every time you try and talk to them. The weight is good and the overall size is clearly "just big enough to hold the battery", so nothing extra.