Best Tactical Headlamp

Let’s look at the best tactical headlamp.

Why a tactical headlamp?

Because it gives you bright light, when you need it, in a hands free fashion.

It is a lot more convenient than a flashlight – because you don’t have to hold it.

What’s more, today’s models with LED bulbs are incredibly bright, lightweight, and have great battery life.

There’s more than one way to see in the dark (the other is Night Vision Goggles or thermal vision – but those are very expensive.

Here’s the models we’ll review.

Whether you are working on a car, night trail running, road side repairs, camping, GORUCK challenge events, or on a mission – a head lamp can help make you more efficient.

A headlamp with long battery life should be considered a bug out bag essential.

What should you look for in a headlamp?

We’ll talk about that next.

Features of the Best Tactical Headlamp

The best tactical headlamp will have an LED bulb, not an old school xenon or incandescent bulb.

Why?

LED is just better – in just about every way.

For one, they can be very, very bright.

Light intensity (or brightness) is measured in Lumens.

You’ll see some of these models have 150 Lumens of brightness- that is very bright.

Secondly, LED bulbs are TOUGH.

They are drop proof (there’s no filament to snap) and will survive abuse that will quickly destroy an old fashioned incandescent bulb.

They are LIGHTWEIGHT – a very small LED can make a lot of light. And that’s just what we want in a headlamp – you don’t want to load up too much weight on your head and neck – because it’s fatiguing and uncomfortable.

Lastly, they are very power efficient – combine an LED bulb with a rechargeable lithium battery and you’ll have lots of light for a long time. Run times of 40 hours or more are not uncommon.

Secondly, look for a Lithium or Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery.

Why? Because just like the LED bulb – Lithium and Li-Ion is the battery technology of the future.

It’s light-weight, stores a lot of power, and can be rechargeable.

Also – these batteries have great shelf life – they’ll stay charged a long time – even when not in use.

There’s no point in having a headlamp in your emergency bag – only to find out the batteries are dead or too weak.

There’s some other features that are bonus: green and blue night vision modes, super dim “firefly” modes for total night vision preservation, or tilting mounts so you can fine tune where the light shines rapidly and easily.

Also – consider the conditions you will use this in. For GORUCK challenge events, hiking, camping, and tactical use we’d recommend water resistant to water proof models.

That way the lamp will survive in a heavy downpour, if you become immersed in water (as could happen in a GORUCK event), or if you accidentally drop the lamp.

Also – if you are using the headlamp in any sort of night time “tactical” or pseudo-tactical situation – get one with a red LED mode.

Dim red light is best for preserving night vision.

Let’s look at some lamps.

Princeton Tec Headlamp Remix Pro MPLS

This is our premium headlamp pick.

This model has a bright 150 Lumen LED bulb.

It is lightweight.

It uses CR123 batteries.

These are not rechargeable, but these are easy to get a hold of and you can quickly swap batteries to get a full charge when you need it.

Compare that to a fixed rechargeable battery – where you are “out of action” until the battery charges.

For that reason, our ultimate pick needs to have swappable batteries.

And that’s just what you’ve got here.

It’s waterproof, has dim or bright modes – and will run 40 hours using the lower light setting.

Lastly, this is truly a tactical headlamp – because it is NVG (Night Vision Goggle) adapter plate friendly. That means if you have a helmet with NVG adapter plate you can mount the headlamp in that fashion, rather than via the strap.

That mounting will also work with bump helmets – like the Ops-Core FAST Bump Helmet.

It’s also MOLLE compatible – mount it anywhere you have MOLLE webbing.

And if that’s not enough – it’s got a RED led for night vision also.

Yep, this is our top pick.

BioLite HeadLamp 330 Lumen No-Bounce Rechargeable Head Light

Here’s another great choice.

There’s no hassle of changing batteries with this model. The batteries are built in.

That’s good and bad – no need to worry about spares – but there will be some downtime while you recharge via the micro-USB connector.

But, other than that, this is a good model

It’s very bright (330 Lumens) and has a red night vision preserving mode also.

It’s also available in a variety of headband colors – but you’ll be wearing this at night – so who will know?

By the way – this is a no bounce model – so it’s great for running and other movements – where having a constantly bouncing light is very annoying.

PETZL – TACTIKKA + Headlamp, 250 lumens, Ultra-Compact Headlamp

This is a great option if you need to match multicam camo patterns.

Not only that, but this is a bright (250 Lumens), comfortable head lamp.

Choose between red (night vision preserving) or bright, white LED light.

It uses 3 AAA batteries.

These will not give as good life (run time or shelf life) as compared to more advanced (and more expensive!) batteries like the CR123 battery.

Having said all that, this is a solid light. Petzl has been making these devices for many years, for caving and for other activities.

Black Diamond Storm Headlamp

The Black Diamond Storm Headlamp is another great choice.

These provide bright, white light – but also red, green or blue for night vision.

Green light is preferred for some nocturnal activities – such as feral hog hunting.

This model uses AAA batteries.

WOWTAC A2S LED Headlamp LED Headlight

Here’s one more option for you.

The WOWTAC A2S LED Headlamp LED Headlight has some options the other’s don’t.

First of all, they claim 1,050 Lumen output mode – which frankly is probably too much.

But, this model has a very robust head strap and you can actually remove the lamp and use it (lose it?) separately as a handheld flashlight.

This package includes a USB Rechargeable 18650 3400 mAh battery.

That’s the best of both worlds – you can swap batteries quickly , or you can recharge with a USB connector!

This unit also has an ultra-dim (but still usable!) “firefly” mode.

Petzl – e+LITE, 50 Lumens, Emergency Headlamp with Carry Case

Want a super-lightweight option?

The Petzl – e+LITE is the model for you.

It’s only 50 Lumens – but that’s still pretty bright. More than bright enough for many things.

The selling point of this model is just how small and streamlined it is.

This is hands-down the lightest model here.

So, if weight matters – even at the expense of brightness – this is the one you want.

It also has a safety whistle built-in to the back of the headband.

Headlamp for a Helmet?

If you’ve got to wear a ballistic helmet – that’s the perfect place to mount a light.

The Princeton Charge Pro Task Light (Buy on Amazon) is meant for just that purpose.

First of all, this Charge Pro takes CR123 batteries, and has a flexible neck so you can adjust the light’s direction for pinpoint accuracy.

This is a great feature that everyone loves, even if it looks a big odd.

There’s a high powered LED for distance, and less bright LEDs for close-up use – including red, green, blue, and IR.

This will mount on the rails on most ballistic helmets.

Here’s an example of the Team Wendy EXFIL helmet – you can see the rails on the side.

You’d have to add rails to an ACH/ECH helmet to use this light, but it could be done.

Lastly, you can also mount this light anywhere you have MOLLE too.

Best Tactical Headlamp – In Summary

For hands-free work in the dark – the headlamp is king.

A good quality headlamp should be considered an essential for your survival gear, bug out bag, get home bag, and more.

The latest models use advanced LED bulbs and Lithium Ion battery technology – and are better than ever.

You may also be interested in a tactical flashlight – which is a better option for when you need to see long distances.

Last update on 2024-11-12 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API