LED Lenser P7 Flashlight

www.ledlenser.com, 6.77 ounces
For car camping, when what you pack is limited only by the size of your trunk, the concept of roughing it can seem more quaint than hardcore. But even if your version of the great outdoors involves down pillows, couch cushions, and a ten-person tent, we love that you’re getting out there. To help illuminate your outdoor estate, we suggest you turn to the new P7, a high-powered LED flashlight from LED Lenser. This sleek products boasts three potent light modes, from a high of 175 lumens that illuminates distances up to 630 feet (!!) to the low setting of 27 lumens, which casts light to just under 300 feet. In other words, if you can’t see something with this flashlight, it ain’t there. A textured button at the back turns the light on and off, and toggles between settings, while the front of the flashlight sports a one-handed rapid-focus system; glide the front of the flashlight forward for a more focused beam, back out to cast wider illumination. The durable housing is also water-resistant. The 5.24-inch P7 runs on four AA batteries and burns for up to 13 hours at the low setting (the high setting burns for only one hour—but how long do you really need to see 630 feet ahead of you?). Ultralight fanatics will scoff at the hefty 6.77-ounce weight, but when weight isn’t a concern, this flashlight will see you through the wilderness (or a power outage) with the assured confidence you want in the dark.

$70

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Princeton Tec Bot Headlamp

princetontec.com, 2.25 ounces
Sending my two kiddie campers out into the dark with their very own headlamps was a big moment, albeit one tinged with a degree of sadness. Gone were the days of haggling over my pair grownup headlamps, which never quite fit properly and were always too clunky for little heads, but also the sense that I was responsible for doing everything around camp—including getting them to the washhouse when nature called. The Princeton Tec Bot Headlamp buys as well as bestows outdoor independence in a package that’s versatile, durable, and fun. They come in bright, vivid colors, and the head strap is both comfortable and designed for younger noggins, with a light unit that’s easy for small hands to operate and manipulate. Two AAA batteries power three LED beam settings (high, low, and strobe), topping out at 15 lumens—which is more than enough light to assure no imaginary hobgoblins or ogres pay your campground an unwanted visit.
-Alistair Wearmouth

$16

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Mammut TR1 Head Lamp and Ambient Light Set

www.mammut.ch, 2.6 ounces
How do you make a headlamp even more useful? Make it more than just a headlamp, as Mammut has done by pairing their already powerful Lucido TR1 four-LED device with an ambient light attachment. Just remove said lamp off head, click on the plastic housing, and you’ve got a halo of gentle light that’s perfect for low-key camp-side and tent activities like cooking, reading, or other…more amorous activities. The headlamp itself runs on two AAA batteries, casting light up to 20 meters for up to 60 hours, with two brightness settings—perfect for nighttime hiking, biking, climbing, and running and other hands-free needs, while the attachment packs easily and weighs a few measly grams. It saved two testers sanity one particularly buggy night after a 14-mile slog left them cooking after dark–the bugs swarmed to the lantern…not their heads, and they were able to dine in peace. Never as such a little thing made such a big difference.
The Ambient Light ($11) is also sold separately, and attaches to Mamut’s T1 and TXlite headlamps.

$55

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Petzl MYO RXP Headlamp

www.petzl.com; 6 ounces
When you run a 200-mile relay race from the Appalachian Mountains through the Potomac River Valley and down to the nation’s capital, seeing is essential. And when I ran the DC leg of the Ragnar Relay, my best companion (other than my teammates) was undeniably the MYO RXP headlamp. Whether on the dark side mountain cutbacks, through park trails, or in the throws of suburbia, footing can get rough during the wee hours of the night, and the lightweight headlamp illuminated the scene like a head-mounted Kleig light. The powerful light capacity ranges across 10 power levels, from a relatively dim eight lumens up to an intense 160 lumens. After virtually blinding my teammate at the first handoff, I quickly familiarized myself with the manual before my next run. Thankfully, adjusting levels is a breeze, and you can customize three light-illumination levels. It even offers an SOS strobe mode in case you need to go there (thankfully, I didn’t). There is also a convenient button for a quick boost of light. The angle of the lamp is easily adjustable, allowing anywhere from a straightforward focused beam to a downward flood beam, especially handy for trickier terrain. Another cool feature? Regulated lighting, which enables a consistent beam without dimming until you get really low on the juice. Not to worry, the maximum battery life is a notable 95 hours, and there is a color-coded battery life indicator so you should have plenty of notice—but it was still a comfort. Lots of potential wrong turns over those 200 miles…
-Pawan Bhatia

$200

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