johnsonandjohnson
New member
I have both a headlamp and one of the new LED maglites.
With the headlamp, I find it's great when there isn't a lot of fog or that sort of thing, and it's pitch black out (which when you're in the woods, is pretty much every time after 6pm.) The downside I found with these though is they aren't all that useful in the fog, and they're also not quite as versitile as the maglite.
I saw a maglite on sale at Walmart, $20 for the 2D LED one, so I bought it in a flash. It came with the belt holster thing where it hangs, and although I thought it'd be cumbersome and awkward, I actually really enjoy it. I have it on my right hip, and when hiking, I can't even tell it's there most times, which is great for when I don't need it. Not only does it have many other functions, but the thing is amazingly bright. I shone it in the woods, on a clear night, and it lit up what must've been at least a half mile away. I was thoroughly impressed by this.
By far though, the best thing I have noticed is the filters. I had the option for another $3 to buy an anti-roll mount, a traffic cone, and two filters for it, I agreed mostly because the girl was really nice, and I tend to buy without thinking. The cone just pops on top and I've used it a half dozen times when I've found car accidents on the side of the road, and it works great, but is useless if you won't be dealing with traffic on dark roads. The filters however have saevd my life a few times. The blue filter was designed for fog apparently, and it works WONDERS on the foggy shores of Newfoundland. It lights things up, but without the expected cloud of the fog hampering my view. This alone is reason enough in my opinion to buy the maglite and filter, but the red filter also works wonders. Pop it on, and it dims the light, making things visible, but it also doesn't mess with your night vision too much. Useful if you're gonna be needing that a lot.
All in all, although headlamps do have their advantages, if I could only have one, I'd choose a good maglite one hundred percent of the time.
With the headlamp, I find it's great when there isn't a lot of fog or that sort of thing, and it's pitch black out (which when you're in the woods, is pretty much every time after 6pm.) The downside I found with these though is they aren't all that useful in the fog, and they're also not quite as versitile as the maglite.
I saw a maglite on sale at Walmart, $20 for the 2D LED one, so I bought it in a flash. It came with the belt holster thing where it hangs, and although I thought it'd be cumbersome and awkward, I actually really enjoy it. I have it on my right hip, and when hiking, I can't even tell it's there most times, which is great for when I don't need it. Not only does it have many other functions, but the thing is amazingly bright. I shone it in the woods, on a clear night, and it lit up what must've been at least a half mile away. I was thoroughly impressed by this.
By far though, the best thing I have noticed is the filters. I had the option for another $3 to buy an anti-roll mount, a traffic cone, and two filters for it, I agreed mostly because the girl was really nice, and I tend to buy without thinking. The cone just pops on top and I've used it a half dozen times when I've found car accidents on the side of the road, and it works great, but is useless if you won't be dealing with traffic on dark roads. The filters however have saevd my life a few times. The blue filter was designed for fog apparently, and it works WONDERS on the foggy shores of Newfoundland. It lights things up, but without the expected cloud of the fog hampering my view. This alone is reason enough in my opinion to buy the maglite and filter, but the red filter also works wonders. Pop it on, and it dims the light, making things visible, but it also doesn't mess with your night vision too much. Useful if you're gonna be needing that a lot.
All in all, although headlamps do have their advantages, if I could only have one, I'd choose a good maglite one hundred percent of the time.
