Trail Gear Guide 2022

HEADTORCHES
ALPKIT GAMMA III £26
It’s far from the best designed or most
powerful, but for this price you can’t
complain. You get a maximum output
of 150 lumens for 7 hours, 70 lumens
for 18 hours in low, and then up to 45
hours of burn time in the white LED (10
lumens), green LED (7 lumens) and red
LED (5 lumens) modes. The rear battery
pack takes three AAAs and features a
red LED so you can be seen from behind.
VERDICT A decent headtorch for basic
tasks, at a very affordable price-point –
but it’s not very powerful.
PETZL IKO CORE £75
With its space age frame that looks a bit like
a crown or tiara, this is an unusual looking
headtorch. But the design means there’s
no bulky light unit at the front, no overhead
strap and no tight elastic headband. The
result is an ergonomic and comfortable
lamp that packs a capable 500-lumen light
output when powered with one of Petzl’s
rechargeable Core battery packs.
VERDICT Lightweight, compact, bright and
extremely comfortable to wear, this is an
innovative bit of kit that works well for night
hikes, alpine starts and wild camping trips.
LEDLENSER MH8 £90
This muscular headlamp delivers powerful illumination, up to 600 lumens and
200m in the boost mode. A single rubberised button toggles between the main
power levels (20, 170 and 400 lumens), and the quoted burn times range from
7 to 60 hours, while the beam distance varies from 40m to 180m. Power is via
a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, or two AA alkaline batteries.
VERDICT A powerful, fully-featured headtorch
at a decent price – but it’s quite bulky and heavy.
GEAR GUIDE 2022 TRAIL
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