Headlamps

The Headlamp ….., what a great invention.  Coal miners could work hands free with good light right where they wanted it.  The same is true for sailors today. We can work hands free and put the light where we need it, particularly in the engine compartment.

But  sometimes headlamps can be the pebble in your shoe, the burr in your saddle.  You might know what I’m talking about.   A  guy has his REI headlamp and comes up on deck at night.  You say his name and he looks right at you blinding you for the next several minutes.  All you can see is a white dot. 

Yes, there are “red” settings on many of these headlamps for use at night and they really do help, but I’ve been blinded by these too.   Some of them are just too bright for what is needed on a sailboat at night. 

My friend Ray on “Javalina” showed me one that he found that works really well.  It’s made by PETZL.  It’s called the “Ultra-Compact Emergency Headlamp.”   It features white light settings and it has a very low red light setting.  This one won’t do much damage to your mate’s night vision when you turn and look them in the face.  The red light setting is only 2 lumens.  The white light is either 13 lumens on low or 30 lumens when on max setting.  Compare this to many headlamps that feature 280 lumens of bright power that can light you up at 160 meters!   Sometimes more is not better. 

This headlamp by Petzl is very compact and light weight.  It comes with an adjustable elastic head strap and includes a small attached whistle.  The whole thing weights just one ounce.  It uses the common 2032 flat disk batteries.   Cost is about $30. 

Want to go cheaper?  Wal-Mart has an LED light that clips on to the visor of your cap.  It costs $1.  You’ll find it in the camping gear department.  Take some red fingernail polish and turn it from white to red, dimming it down at the same time.  Buy two and keep both a bright white and a dim red one on your visor.