A hunting headlamp is a must have when you’re out for several days on a hunt, and it’s extremely dark and your hands are full and you can’t see where you’re going.
Luckily though, there’s no shortage of headlamps you can get in preparation for your hunt, and we’ve got a pretty thorough buying guide for you to help you whittle down your choices.
We’re pretty sure you’ll find your headlamp in our Top 5 hunting headlamps we’re about to show you now.
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Elmchee 6 LED 8 Modes 18650 USB
- Hands Free
- 8 WORKING MODES
- Rechargeable & Long Lasting
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Best Hunting Headlamps – Comparison Table
| Image | Product | Technical Details | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
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Top Pick
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Rechargeable headlamp,Elmchee 6 LED 8 Modes 18650 |
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Check Price On Amazon |
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Vont ‘Spark’ LED Headlamp Flashlight (Batteries Included) |
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Check Price On Amazon |
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GearOZ Coon Hunting Lights Headlamp for Coyotes Hog Predators |
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Check Price On Amazon |
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Headlamp LED 4 Colors(White, Red, Blue, Green) |
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Check Price On Amazon |
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Black Diamond Storm Headlamp, One Size, Dark Olive |
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Check Price On Amazon |
Best Hunting Headlamps – Reviews
1. Our Top Pick: ELMCHEE Rechargeable headlamp
This is one of Amazon’s best sellers in headlamps, and when you look into it, you can see why!
There are a total of 8 different light modes all together, to suit just about every circumstance. Within the key light mode, you’ve got high beam, low beam, all bright and strobe. Then, within the auxiliary light modes, you’ve got high beam, low beam, red light and SOS red strobe. We talk about the usefulness of colored lights for hunting within our buying guide.
It uses 6 super bright LEDs all together and the lifetime of each is over 100,000 hours – you’ll never have to replace them. You’ll be able to see 500m ahead of you – double what you need.
It uses rechargeable batteries which are included in the price, and the battery holder is situated at the back of the head, balancing out the weight of the lights on the front for a comfortable fit, which is also helped by a stretchy strap to go over the top of your head.
The lamp has a swivel of up to 90 degrees, which also helps with comfort, as you won’t get any unnecessary neck strain.
The batteries can be recharged with a power bank, so no need to go back home to charge it, and there’s also overheating protection within the batteries themselves. The batteries have plenty of life, and there’s a battery indicator too – very handy.
It’s IPX4 water resistant, so you don’t need to worry about a bit of rain on your hunt, and you’re protected from splash at any angle.
It comes with a 2 year warranty, whereby Elmchee will give you a full refund if you’re not 100% satisfied.
2. LUMENSHOOTER H14 Upgraded Multi-Color Hunting Headlamp
This head lamp comes with not one but two real stand out features.
The first is that it offers light in 4 different colors, namely green, red, blue and white. This gives it real multi use functionality. We talk about the usefulness of different colored lights for hunting in our buying guide, and there’s also more info on this in the product description on Amazon.
The handy bit is that the headlamp remembers what color you used last and automatically features that color when you turn it back on
The second is that the lamp itself is on a 90 degree swivel head and has zoomable to adapt to different circumstances to gradually move between diffuse or focused light or vice versa. You can put just the right amount of light on the animal without spooking it with too bright of a light.
These headlamps were designed with hunting in mind, just take a look at the manufacturer’s description on the Amazon page.
It’s really comfortable and secure, since in addition to the headband going around the head, there’s also an adjustable head strap going over the head.
It’s USB rechargeable, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have to go back home if it needs a recharge – you can charge it with a car charger, or even more conveniently, via a power bank.
3. Vont Spark LED Headlamp Flashlight (2 PACK)
Look at the price on this headlamp – what a bargain! Especially when you consider that it comes as a pack of two – your mate can have one too.
But to be honest what we really love about this headlamp is the battery life, which comes in at a staggering 90 hours. That’s about double that of their competitors!
It’s also one of the comfiest models around. It’s so lightweight you’ll forget you’re wearing it. But not only that, it throws light out at a 45 degree angle, completely avoiding the neck strain you get using traditional 30 degree headlamps.
It has super bright LED lights – a main light and 2 side lights to transform your surroundings from pitch black to nice and bright. There are 2 colors available, your standard white light on the main light and the side lights are red. (We talk about the advantages of colored lights in our buying guide.)
There are 7 different light modes all together. On the main light, you’ve got low, medium, SOS, and strobe, while on the side lights you’ve got low, SOS and strobe.
It’s IPX5 waterproof rated, which means it can withstand heavy rain, and it’s drop resistant too.
Vont are so confident in their product, they offer a lifetime warranty!
4. Black Diamond Storm Headlamp
What we love about this headlamp is that it’s 100% waterproof, with a rating of IP67 – not water resistant, waterproof. In the (unlikely) event that the headlamp were to slip off while you’re wading through a stream, your headlamp will be just fine. (It’s dustproof too.)
It has one quad power LED and one double power LED, for your white light, with a light output of 350 lumens (more on light output in our buying guide).
You can easily transition between full and low power, and adjust the light according to whether you need to examine something close up like a map or blood trail, or whether you want a wider field of vision if you think you’ve missed something in your peripheral vision.
There are also single power LEDs for red, green and blue light, which are super handy (please refer to the buying guide for more details). The colored lights also have dimming and strobe settings.
It has a power meter which enables you to check how much battery you have at any time (especially handy before you leave the house!) It takes AAA batteries which is another factor we praise in our buying guide.
5. GearOZ Headlamp Flashlight
If money were no object, this baby’s a great buy!
Rather than being placed on a headband, the stand out feature of this headlamp is that it can be clipped onto your camouflage cap, so you can stay incognito and don’t have to change your headgear during dusk. And you won’t need any tools to install it.
It’s powerful LED bulb shines light up to 800 yards. It features 4 light modes for short and long range scanning.
It has 2 filters you can add on, one for red light and one for green (more on colored lights for hunting in our buying guide).
It’s comfy to wear because while you’ve got the lamp at the front the battery pack is situated at the back.
The batteries are rechargeable and they last for a whopping 15 hours on full charge. It even comes with a charger for your car.
It’s 100% waterproof, with a rating of IP68. Rain, what rain? And it’s durable too.
Best Hunting Headlamps – Buyers Guide
Light feature and colour options
Any hunting headlamp worth its salt uses LED lights because they’re extremely bright, last ages, don’t overheat, and make real efficient use out of the battery. That’s why we’re kinda skipping light type and going straight to light features and colors.
Headlamps are generally very good at producing focused beams of light. Focused beams are particularly good for looking into the distance, for instance to see further up the trail. A good focused beam should enable you to see more than 250 feet in front of you, to provide a real visual advantage.
There are times when a more scattered, less focused beam is more appropriate though. Like when you’re in a blind, up close, or just trying to use the whole of your vision, including the peripherals. That’s where wider, more diffuse beams come into play.
Different colors can come in handy too. Colored light can help preserve the main white light for the night ahead. But that’s not all. Red light, for example, is good for when you want to just check something in the blind. This is because it’s a harder light to see at night, so you can flip the light on and off without it bringing too much disruption to your night vision.
If you need to look at a map in the middle of the night though, then a blue colored light would be best. It can bring up the details and lines on the map and retains your night vision better than a white light would.
Purple and violet colors are often used for tracking blood trails, as it makes the blood really stand out.
A green or red glow tends to blend right into the night, keeping the potential game utterly clueless.
If you decided to examine a blood trail in the night during your hunt, then a purple or violet light would be the one to go for to really show up the blood.
Another feature sometimes provided by a headlamp is zoomability. This is when you have the facility to gradually move between diffuse or focused light or vice versa. This is handy for trying to spot something before finding it and then using the zoomable light to focus in.
Light output
Ideally you should be looking for a headlamp that has adjustable light output, so you can dial it up or down in accordance with your circumstances.
Light output is typically measured in lumens, and as a general rule of thumb, the more lumens, the more distance you can see in white light. For the large majority of hunting situations a good headlamp with a lumen range of about 300 to 400 lumens will do just fine.
Of course the number of lumens is not a measure of brightness per se, since this is also determined by whether the light is shone as a focused beam, or is made more diffuse.
Battery
Battery type is an important consideration here too. Some headlamps are set up with a rechargeable battery. But that’s only any good if you intend to go home every evening after the hunt and have both the time and the opportunity to recharge it. Worse still if you were out tracking one night for several hours and the battery died, you could be screwed.
Headlamps with watch style batteries aren’t really a good call either. They’re more expensive than a simple AA and have lower run times. Speaking of which, many headlamps these days use a simple AA or AAA battery, which are super light to pack in your kit, and are easy to keep handy. Which also means you don’t have to worry if you’re not sure exactly how long the batteries will last.
Some headlamps come with a battery charging pack you can carry along with you, so that’s another option. And some can be charged via a USB power bank or a car charger.
Size and weight
Take it from us, wearing a heavy headlamp can be somewhat annoying if not distracting. Generally if it doesn’t easily fit into the palm of your hand the headlamp is probably too big.
There may be an exception to the rule however, if you wanted a “zoomable” headlamp. These are bigger than other headlamps, but they’re handy because they offer adjustable beam focusing rather than button selectable beam focusing.
Manufacturers often make up for having a heavy headlamp at the front of the headband by placing the battery pack at the back for balance and comfort.
Weatherproof
We 100% recommend that you go for a waterproof headlamp. And we don’t mean water resistant, we mean waterproof. To get a good waterproof headlamp you’re going to have to lean on brands that have reputations – and warranties.
The ability of a headlamp to stand up against rain and wet weather is generally measured by an IP rating. We would recommend that you go for a headlamp with an IP rating of IP54, as a minimum.
Headband Material and Appearance
Headlamps generally come with an adjustable headband to fit any adult head size. The really important aspect of the headband is the material, which should be siliconized, and any clips or attachments to secure the lamp in place.
This is one aspect where brand comes into the equation. Having a flimsy headlamp that slides off your head at a critical moment would be a disaster But you’re less likely to get that problem with a trusted brand.
Now if there was any consideration that boils down to personal preference, the appearance of your headlamp is most certainly it. Most hunters tend to go for a dark or camouflaged headband which will complete your overall look and really help you to blend into your surroundings.
Elmchee 6 LED 8 Modes 18650 USB
- Hands Free
- 8 WORKING MODES
- Rechargeable & Long Lasting
