ENLIGHTENING EXPERIENCES: IN PRAISE OF THE LED HEADLAMP

Last winter I made a purchase that changed my life. I look the plunge and bought an LED headlamp.

The particular lamp I have is a Petzl with built-in elastic headband that completely retracts into the case.

It has three bright-blue LED lamps that will never need replacing. It weighs just two ounces and is so small that I can hide it in a closed fist - it is barely larger than the three AAA batteries that make it go. The cost was about $40.

I have used my lamp on four expeditions so far. The amount of light that this little device throws out is stunning. The pale, natural light emitted by LEDs contrast sharply with the butter-yellow glow that oozes from a standard flashlight. Blue LED light makes the inside of a two-man tent as bright and cheery as mid-day.

The headlamp provides illumination enough to comfortably read a book, operate a QRP radio or to perform any other task in my tent when the night is black and starless. Outdoors, the lamp on my forehead makes the ground clearly visible for many feet around me. Trekking through the bush at midnight has become a much safer pastime.

Here is the most amazing thing: I have not yet needed to change the batteries!

If you spend time in the black out-back, I strongly recommend these new gadgets. The only problem mine has given is anxiety that I will lose or misplace it.

Editor’s note: To see Petzl’s line of headlamps, visit: http://www.rei-outdoor.com/petzl_helmet.htm

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Dr. Bob Armstrong, N7XJ, is an experienced outdoorsman and QRPer living in Manti, UT. A contributing editor to The ARS Sojourner, he is a doctor in family practice in Manti, UT.