#10 Best Headlamps for Trail Running 2023

This trail running headlamp is excellent because it can be powered by either three AAA batteries or a rechargeable “Core” battery pack with the lamp. You don’t need any special adapters. Petzl has a floodlight, a spot beam, and a red light that lets you see in the dark without blinding yourself or the people you are running with. Also, the band has reflective parts in all directions, and one buckle has a whistle built in.

The company says the Energizer Vision Ultra HD is fabulous because it puts out 400 lumens. The spotlight was bright enough to light up a long stretch of road. You could switch it to flood mode to get a wider spread of light closer to your feet when you want to see where you’re stepping. This trail running headlamp also has red and green LEDs that help you see in the dark.

The Nitecore NU25 is low-profile and very light, and it has many features that are on par with the best trail running headlamp. It weighs less than two ounces, for starters. The leading light has four brightness levels and an “SOS” mode. There are two more lights on the headlamp: a natural white light that makes it easy to see colors in the dark and a red auxiliary light with three settings, including a strobe.

The Petzl Nao+ can give off up to 750 lumens and send a light beam as far as 459 feet. “High” gives off 750 lumens, while “low” gives off 120 lumens. The Nao+ is one of the best headlamps for trail running because it can be used in different ways. It also comes with a helpful app. Petzl Light lets you check the battery life, change and save settings, like how long you want the headlamp to stay on, and more. Then, it adjusts the brightness to keep power and fit that time frame.

BioLite’s camping gear, like its cookstoves and fire pits, is better known. It also makes solar and camp lighting, so a headlamp was a natural addition that runners would love. The battery pack is distinct from the light on the headband’s back. Both parts are fragile and light, so no matter how fast you run, there won’t be any bouncing. At its brightest, the unit puts out 330 lumens. It was made of a performance Lycra that doesn’t rub or irritate.

The Knuckle Lights are worn on your knuckles and have a strap that can be tightened to fit hands of different sizes. Each light has 140 lumens, which may not sound like much compared to some of the other models, but you get two lamps and can point the beam wherever you want. The lights have three brightness levels: bright, soft, and strobe.

When you’re on dawn patrol, there aren’t many things that can throw you off as quickly as reaching for your headlamp and finding that its rechargeable battery is dead. So black Diamond Equipment puts the battery pack on the back of the head strap so that the weight is more evenly distributed. It makes the bag more comfortable to wear. But if you’re the type to run in a Polar Vortex, you can use the included extension cable to move the battery pack inside your jacket.

This trail running headlamp is great for backpacking trips because of its small size and multiple light modes. You don’t need a lot of light almost all the time, just one that works well at night in and around a tent. Princeton Tec’s Axis model has more than twice as many lumens and a micro USB cable for charging. The beam can be switched between its four modes by pressing the single, large button on the side, and the brightness can be changed by turning the dial around the button.

BioLite is a relatively new brand of headlamps. The company is best known for making high-quality camp stoves, but its high-performance headlamps have stirred up a lot of attention in the past few years. So you’ll immediately notice one of the Headlamp 750s most unique features. Instead of clipping or threading on, the light is built right into the fabric band. That means they won’t slip or bounce while you run, and the flat shape makes them very comfy to wear for long periods.

Silva’s ultra running trail running headlamp is built like a tank. This model, which is lighter and thinner, is suitable for short trails and road runs. The battery pack is a narrow hybrid unit attached to the headband’s back. Instead of coiling cables through clips, the power goes through the headband itself. It’s a cool feature that makes using the lamp even easier. But a more extended, cloth-wrapped cable is included if you need to put the battery pack inside a jacket on a cold day.