Headtorches

Headtorches are great. They leave your hands free, illuminate exactly what you are looking at and can be attached to most climbing helmets.

What to look for in a headtorch? With so many models availaable there is a baffling array of features that have clearly only been included as advertising gimmicks.

Things that are good to have

Main beam....a powerful main bulb, some headtorches have adjustable beams for wide/tight. This is the only really essential feature of a headtorch.

Power saving mode..this is often available, for having half power on the main beam. Useful for conserving battery, for example inside a tent or when cooking.

LEDs....the only colours that I would look for are red and white. White because it gives a useful source of light for very little battery and red because it preserves night vision. This is useful for dusk/dawn.

Things that are there for some reason....probably marketing


My Alpkit headtorch has a green LED. I can't work out why this would be useful, however, it doesn't exactly get in the way. Good for raves. It als has a flashing red LED at the back, on the battery pack, allegedly so that people behind you can see where you are/follow you. Again, not necessary but probably handy now and again. It also has several flashing functions, that might prove useful but weigh nothing.

Other headtorches have halogen bulbs, apparently better in fog(?)

As far as I am aware there are no wind up headtorches, though that would be awesome!

Nick, John, Tom and I started up "Les Chamois Volantes" above the Dalmazzi refuge in the Alps early in the morning. We had dispatched the 18 pitches by mid afternoon (all bolted with solid anchors) and ate on the summit. We had, being Brits, one of who was not able to lead at the time due to an injury had taken far too long and after the first two 60mish abseils were caught by darkess. On went the down jackets and headtorches. Having no bivvy gear and indeed nowhere to sleep other than tiny ledges we abseiled through the night, and the morning of the next day. Seeing the Alps at night form that high, with billowing cloud, a strange inversion that made other peaks look like ships at sea and the brocken spectres and glories cast by our lighting ranks among the things that I remember most vividly from that trip.







Most headtorches, for some reason, use AAA batteries though AA are still common. These it either into the front unit of in a battery pack at the back of the headtorch (as on mine) or in a battery pack on a hipbelt/in a pocket. The latter require a lot of cable and tend to weigh more, as well as being more likely to be ripped off.