The Cheap Headlamp That Made Me Stop Fumbling With a Flashlight in the Dark

I spent thirty years telling myself I didn't need a headlamp. A flashlight in the coat pocket worked fine, I figured, right up until the moment it didn't. That moment came on a November morning outside Mitchell, South Dakota, when I was trying to get from the truck to the blind before first light. I had a flashlight in one hand, a thermos in the other, and a 7-year-old yellow Lab named Tucker pulling at the leash. The beam bounced off every fence post except the one I needed to see, and I nearly went face-first into a ditch. I stood there in the dark, caught my breath, and finally admitted the obvious: I was making this harder than it had to be.

A week later I ordered the LHKNL headlamp. Not because I had done a bunch of research, and not because some magazine told me to. I ordered it because it was cheap, it had thousands of reviews, and I was tired of fumbling. I figured if it lasted one season, it had already paid for itself. That was two years ago, and I have not carried a handheld flashlight since.

The first thing you notice is how much light it actually throws. I have used headlamps that cost three times as much and felt like a candle strapped to my forehead. This one lights up the whole path from the truck to the blind, which means I can keep both hands on the thermos and the leash. That alone was worth the money to me.

The second thing you notice is that it stays where you put it. The strap does not slip on a knit cap, and it does not slide down your forehead when you are walking. I have worn it for hours on cold mornings and forgotten it was there, which is about the highest praise I can give any piece of gear.

I have not carried a handheld flashlight since the morning I nearly went face-first into a ditch with a thermos in one hand and a dog leash in the other.

I will be honest about one thing: I did not buy this headlamp for the fishing. I bought it for the walk to the blind. But it turned out to be just as useful on the water. When you are out on a Missouri River reservoir in late October, the wind comes up fast and the light goes down faster. I have tied more knots by headlamp than I ever did by flashlight, and I have done it with both hands free. That is the part you do not appreciate until you have tried it.

It has also earned its keep in my day job. I run a county road maintenance crew, and there are plenty of mornings when I am out before the sun checking culverts and marking problem spots. The LHKNL headlamp lives in the glovebox of my old pickup now, right next to a spare pair of gloves. I reach for it more than I reach for anything else in that truck.

The battery life has surprised me. I charge it every few weeks even with regular use, and I have never had it die on me in the field. The charging port is covered, which matters when you are out in a light rain or kneeling in the snow to check tip-ups on a glacial lake. I have had it wet, I have had it cold, and I have had it knocked around the bottom of a 16-foot aluminum boat. It still turns on every time.

Is it the fanciest headlamp on the market? No. It does not have a bunch of modes I will never use, and it does not cost what a good rifle scope costs. What it does is the one job I actually need done: it puts light where I am looking, and it does it every single time. For a guy who hunts public land and fishes from an aluminum boat, that is the whole ballgame.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If you were sitting at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee, here is what I would tell you. You do not need to spend a pile of money to stop fumbling in the dark. You need a headlamp that is bright enough to see the path, comfortable enough to forget you are wearing it, and cheap enough that you do not baby it. The LHKNL headlamp is all three. I have used mine for two years of whitetail hunts, pheasant walks with Tucker, and ice fishing trips on the glacial lakes, and I would buy the same one again tomorrow. If you are still carrying a flashlight in your coat pocket, do yourself a favor and try one. You will wonder why you waited as long as I did.