Many believe that a rugged, expensive, heavy, and super bright headlamp are the components of a quality tactical or military headlamp. We at Vincenox, having had actual military experience, understand what your headlamp will experience in these settings. When it comes to selecting the best military or tactical headlamp you will want to follow the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle.
The best military or tactical headlamp will come in a lightweight enclosure with a high Ingress Protection (IP) rating (IPX8/68 or higher) which protects against dust and liquids, replaceable AA/AAA/18650 batteries, a red light option, the ability to light at many angles, and a durable headband.
Military or Tactical Headlamp Recommendations
- CHEAP – Purchase a headlamp on the cheaper side of the price spectrum in order to easily replace a damaged unit or to carry a backup light
- WATER RESISTANT / PROOF – Make sure your headlamp has some sort of water resistance, preferably IP66/67/68 but a minimum of IP64 will do in most situations (Not sure what this means? See a quick guide here)
- 18650 BATTERY TYPE – The choice of battery is ultimately up to you, but we recommend the 18650 batteries as they are cheap, long lasting and often powerful
- AAA BATTERY TYPE – If you decide to get AAA over our 18650 recommendation, understand that this choice changes your headlamp enclosure entirely. The 18650 battery is quite large, and the headlamp will be designed with that battery compartment in mind
- RED LIGHT MODE – To keep a headlamp truly tactical, a red light (red lens in military speak) is an absolute must. If you are not going to use the red light at night to move long distances, the white light in either a flood or spot beam will work. If you will move at night using only red light, a spot beam is HIGHLY recommended to better assist you in seeing your path and surroundings. If you do not understand why or how a red light works for your eyes at night see our post all about it.
- BIG BUTTONS FOR USE WITH GLOVES – Using gloves while operating your headlamp? Look for a model with big buttons that will be easy to press while wearing gloves OR get thinner gloves because this can be a HUGE problem sometimes
- SIMPLE OPERATION – No matter which headlamp you end up purchasing, memorize the settings, features and even which way the batteries go in so you won’t need a light to fix your light; but if you do, the backup headlamp is already proving itself handy!
Why Purchase a Cheaper Headlamp?
Having had the privilege of serving in the US Army Infantry, we understand that a headlamp can be the difference between comfort and straight up survival. Given this fact, however, does not justify spending $300 on a headlamp which can easily be broken, no matter how durable it claims to be, lost, or worse yet stolen.
Is there a difference in quality between a $15 headlamp and a $300 headlamp? Yes, the difference in quality is immense and not only do you get a great headlamp, but you get great customer service and a reputable brand backing the product. If you are truly looking for a tactical or military headlamp though, you will be best served purchasing one under $50.
Purchasing a cheaper headlamp will still provide you with what you need, but you will unlock the ability to bring something with you that is even better than an expensive headlamp: a backup headlamp. When you purchase a cheaper headlamp you will also unlock the ability to purchase a replacement without hesitation, and to use the headlamp to its fullest potential because we all know how much humans baby something that was expensive.
Cheaper does not mean poor quality. A $50 headlamp will be made of superb materials and have a long life.
As a hard-working customer, you do not want to pay a huge sum of cash for something that you will probably lose, destroy or even worse, get stolen from you. When the military conducts training, specifically the US Army, it is called going to the field. In our experience, we have witnessed people lose phones, expensive GPS watches, knives, weapon magazines and, you guessed it, headlamps.
What Are The Uses For A Military Headlamp?
In the field, a soldier will come across many challenges and obstacles. One of the biggest challenges will be dealing with the noise and light discipline required while being tactical. Noise and light discipline basically translates to not being seen or heard. This simple requirement for a combat job almost makes a headlamp useless while conducting tactical training.
In more favorable situations, where light is allowed, red light will almost always be the preferred color as it is not seen from far away, does not blind others when in their eyes and is easy to distinguish as a fellow human at night as nothing else will produce red light.
Setting Up Your Sleeping Area At Night
Setting up your sleeping area at night is no easy task without light. Add rain or snow to the darkness and you will soon find yourself frustrated, tired, and unable to sleep in what you call your sleeping area because you couldn’t see a thing when you were preparing it.
Using a red light for this scenario is great as well especially if you are in a group, so that others who did not procrastinate around the fire and are fast asleep will not be woken up when you shine a vibrant, white beam in their face. Using the red light will also preserve your own night vision and you will not get that stunned feeling after turning off your white light.
Doing Odd Jobs (We Refer To These As Details In The Military)
Whether you are conducting training in the military, camping with your family, or lost in the wilderness, you will have to do many things in the dark that could be made much more enjoyable with a light on your head. Walking to the designated restroom area, cleaning up the campsite, or possibly packing everything super early in the morning to move out before the sun comes up will be crucial tasks that a tactical or military headlamp will make quick work of.
Eating
Have you ever eaten in the dark? We have. Unless you want to end up with sticky hands, trash where it should not go, and a hard time packing your bag after taking things out, you will want some sort of headlamp or flashlight. This is another situation in which you will want a red light, especially if you are in a group, as you do not want to blind yourself or others while you are eating since you might have to get on the move quickly after you finish eating.
Conducting Other Duties Such As Hygiene
Hygiene is spectacularly important when outdoors. This can be the difference between a great trip or training exercise and a horrible experience that will change you forever. Conducting hygiene in a tactical or military way is simple: use a red light. A headlamp will also allow you to keep things tidy.
Being on the move constantly in a tactical environment can be quite stressful. Having the ability to stop and quickly make sure all of your things are where they belong is priceless. There is nothing worse than being unable to find your water source or trying to see where you dropped your glasses because you cannot see.
Maintenance For A Military or Tactical Headlamp
Once you have purchased your headlamp, be it expensive or cheap, you will want to maintain it as effectively as possible as it will come in super handy when you need it, and if water got into it or you crushed it when you dropped your backpack you can be sure to be disappointed. We will now discuss some of the ways in which you can maintain your purchase and allow it to live a long, bright life.
Always Carry A Backup Headlamp
Even if your headlamp cost you $300 and you’ve had it for years and it has the most amazing lifetime warranty, things can go wrong, and you will be glad to have packed a second unit. This is one of the reasons we highly recommend a cheaper headlamp as losing or damaging it will not hurt you much in any way and you can easily buy two.
Use A Waterproof Bag
You have purchased two headlamps and are ready for your next adventure, but you are missing one thing: a waterproof bag. Even if your headlamp is waterproof, we highly recommend you bring something as simple as a zip lock bag to stuff the headlamp in because it’s the cheapest form of secondary insurance and it is always best to play it safe when we will be depending on equipment for work or survival.
Carry Spare Batteries
Batteries bring an entirely different issue to the table as there have recently been headlamps that come with a rechargeable battery which is NOT replaceable. This is a big negative in a tactical/military headlamp as you need to be able to quickly swap out batteries and keep going in this situation.
AAA VS 18650 Batteries
This brings us to the popular AAA batteries that have been found in headlamps for ages, but wait, there is another contender: the 18650 rechargeable battery. The 18650 batteries are the best of both worlds because they are almost always replaceable in a headlamp, but they are also rechargeable and can, more often than not, be cheaper than buying AAA batteries over an extended period depending on your personal use, of course.
Make Sure Your Headlamp Does Not Turn On In Your Bag
No matter which choice you go with for your headlamp, it will be utterly useless if, and it will happen sooner or later, the headlamp turns on by itself in your pocket or backpack and drains the battery. One amazing solution to this problem implemented by manufacturers is a locking mechanism for the battery.
There are headlamps which come with a digital lock which simply works by holding the power button for an extra few seconds to lock, and then again to unlock. Other manufacturers like Petzl include a physical lock button on some of their lights like the e+LITE. The other option, available on ANY headlamp with a removable battery, is taking out the battery, but this is not a good idea if you are looking for a tactical or military headlamp because, again, you might not have the time to fumble in the darkness with a battery.
Why Should I Buy A Military / Tactical Headlamp?
Now that you understand what makes a headlamp tactical, because it sure isn’t a hefty price tag or OD Green, we hope you understand that any headlamp can be tactical if it has the right features. A headlamp is tactical by way of use as opposed to color and rugged looks. The user makes a headlamp tactical, and as such you should take the features and options discussed in this post into consideration when making your choice on what you will need and how much you can spend.