An article on choosing and using a headtorch that i wrote for Edale Mountain Rescue Team in 2024.
Bright Ideas
Tomorrow is ‘Mountain Rescue Awareness Day’ … and the clocks are changing too. It’s about to get darker earlier. Rescue Teams in Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation – PDMRO and across Mountain Rescue England and Wales will doubtless be called out to rescue people who had either no lighting or lighting that was inappropriate for the type and duration of activity they were doing. Eating lots of 🥕carrots🥕 is good for general eye health but carrying a torch is still a much better way to see in the dark
Here are some free words of advice for you from us so that you can see in the dark and not require our assistance …
Torch Types
They come in various shapes, sizes, ‘power’ and types. For outdoor activities on two feet there are two types – hand torches (aka a torch you hold in your hand) and a head torch (aka a torch with a band on it that fits on your head like a headband). For most general outdoor users a headtorch is better because it leaves your hands free. Most of this article will focus on headtorches.
In Mountain Rescue we spend quite a lot of time searching for casualties and lost hillwalkers – we need to be able to see (and be seen). We use headtorches and handtorches at the same time. It’s not unusual in the darker months to find us with a small outdoor shop worth of lighting options being carried by each of us – headtorch on head, handtorch in hand, spare head torch, spare batteries for all of those torches, tiny torch for map reading etc etc … as well as some serious lumen torches on charge in our support vehicle.
How Bright ?
Brightness is measured in lumen. It’s the amount of visible light that the human eye can detect. Torches vary in lumen from about 50 lm to about 1500 lm. A car headlight is about 800 lm and 1500 lm on full beam. Newer HID car lights be up to 4500 lm. You don’t need to carry a car headlight round with you. A brighter torch needs a bigger battery and a bigger battery weighs more. This ‘triangle’ of options of weight v lumen v duration sits at the core of torch buying. There may well be one torch that is ideal for most of what you do. Equally there are full on torch addicts we know that own more torches than shoes ….
Brightness is altered by pressing a button on the torch or by purchasing a ‘Reactive’ torch (which senses the amount of light bouncinjg back to the torch sensor and auto adjusts the brightness and focus required). Adjustable focus (either manually or ‘Reactively’ ) is essential because the amount of lumen required to peer down a dark holloway is different to that required to read a map. Being able to use the right amount of lumen for the right job will also protect your own night vision which is important too.
As an aside, wherever you are and whichever torch you’re using it’s also good to have other ways of making yourself visible so your friends, car drivers, mountain rescuers or helicopters can see you. This might be a headtorch with a rear red light on it and or outdoor clothing with reflective piping. Being visible means being easier to find.
About 250 – 500 lumens is good for hillwalking. If you’re going faster (running or cycling) you’ll need more lumen. A torch that offers multiple brightness settings is recommended.
Power
The size of the battery you need is determined by your activity and how long you’re active for. As you use more of the battery the power output reduces. This steep decline in output can be reduced by using a rechargeable in-built battery, these also perform better in the cold, are more environmentally responsible and easier to charge at home via USB cable. Just remember that you may need to carry a charged replacement for your in-built battery too. Also bear in mind whether actually charging the torch (plugging it in) is a non-starter on your trip – in that case a battery that uses a rechargeable battery pack but also accepts disposable batteries will work better.
There can be a temptation to buy a torch that could light up all of the Dark Peak when you’re only walking up Win Hill…. it will exceed your requirement, cost you more, weigh a lot and burn out quickly. Read the product data, get advice from a torch geek in a good outdoor shop and be honest about what you’re using it for. And whilst you’re using it have it on the brightness setting appropriate for what you’re doing, thereby reducing battery use.
Look After It
For most of the year your torch sits in your rucksack ‘just in case’ getting covered in Haribo, bread crumbs, bashed about, sat on and thrown in the car boot … then you expect it to lumen in to action in a nano second. Look after it. Store it in a case or a dry bag if possible. Take the batteries out (but store them with it) if you need to. Give it a good check over before the Autumn nights close in. Use batteries and replacement parts from the manufacturer or reputable sources to avoid issues.
Knicker Elastic No More
There’s a story in the history of Petzl (they invented the headtorch) that in 1973 they bought some knicker elastic and started trialling ways to keep a torch balanced on a forehead with it. Must have been a sight to behold. You no longer need to ruin your best underwear as comfortable practical headtorches have been on the market for ages. Have a think about whether the band needs to go over a warm hat or a helmet. Wider headbands are comfier. Larger headtorches have a supporting strap that goes over the top of the head as well as round it. Have a try on in the shop with the batteries in. High lumen headtorches with heavy batteries may be cumbersome on smaller heads. There is also a myriad different ways that headtorches are operated from buttons to toggle switches to hand strokes in front of the lens, so again make sure these work for you – wearing your big winter gloves in the shop whilst trying torches out is a good idea too.
Beam Me Up
Most torches nowadays have Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) in them and most torches have more than one. A main LED will cast a focussed beam of light light towards your area of focus or the route ahead. Smaller LEDs, usually fitted around the sides of the main LED, provide a softer wider beam to illuminate a wider area. A torch with focussed and wide beams is the best option.
Light Discipline
Whatever you’re doing whilst out with your torch please be respectful of other walkers, runners, horse riders etc and don’t blind them with the 1300lm Mini Cooper headlight tied to your head (with knicker elastic). Reduce the output and point the beam at your feet. Night vision in humans takes about 30 minutes to fully return once it’s been ruined. If you see bright lights coming towards you it is a good tip to immediately gently close one eye (don’t screw it tightly closed) and that will retain your night vision in one eye. Wildlife can be traumatised and even miscarry due to very high lumen light shone at them. Be respectful of everything that’s out in the dark including the wildlife.
How Much ?
Like everything in the outdoors you can get the super duper brilliant just launched thingy that costs more than a monthly mortgage plan or you can shop around and get a good quality, reliable, durable torch that does what you need it to do for a sensible price. Visit a reputable outdoor shop and they will help you choose a torch that meets your needs and budget. About £40 to £80 will suffice for a good hillwalking headtorch. Think of the opportunities that the torch will provide you (star gazing, night walks etc) rather than the initial cost. A good one will easily last a decade of adventures. Not having one may well be a whole lot more costly !!!!
Black Diamomd, Petzl, Fenix, Silva and Alpkit all have comparison tables, advice articles and videos on their websites to help you choose.
On the Edale MRT patch Outside and Alpkit staff can help you choose.
Mobile Phone Torches
An iPhone light is about 40-50 lumen. If you’re using your phone to navigate, photograph, speak to your Mum, check your socials, put a reel on instagram and sort pizzas from Deliveroo for when you get home chances are that the battery is exhausted and its usefulness as a torch will be limited. It isn’t a torch. It’s a phone. Buy and carry a torch.
Conclusion
- A torch doesn’t have to break the bank – think of it as an investment
- A torch does have to best suit the activity you do for the duration you do it for
- It needs to be comfortable (summer and winter) or else you’ll not wear it
- Look after it so it works when you need it to – don’t presume it’s charged
- Carry a spare battery / batteries for it and a spare torch in winter
Stay safe and have a great Autum and Winter of adventures ⛑️👍
If you need Mountain Rescue in an emergency dial 999 and ask for
‘Police – Mountain Rescue’
* article on Edale MRT Facebook has lots of gnarly torch photos 😉
©️2024