A night hike on the Florida Trail last weekend let me compare two headlamps: my trusty Princeton Tec, which I’ve carried for at least 8 years on backpacking trips and camping expeditions, and a brand-new Energizer Trailfinder Series 3 LED Headlight.  Earlier this spring, a representative from Engerizer got in touch with me and asked if I would take a look at their new headlamps. I asked them to send the lightest-weight version, but alas, my postal scale has gone missing, so I’m not sure of the ounces. The Energizer feels slightly heavier than my old Aurora, but not by much. Both run on 3 AAA batteries, so I refreshed their batteries and off we went!

Joan and I hiked a paved portion of the Florida Trail - the Cross Seminole Trail - between the bridge over SR 434 in Winter Springs and a trail crossing to the east, a distance of a half mile or so. Right off the bat, the Energizer (which Joan wore) was the better performer. It lit up the reflective signs so anyone could read them, and did a good job of sweeping across the edge of the forest. I captured a little of our walk on film, but it’s night … and the camera knows it.

Notably, we were the only hikers amid a swarm of bicyclists, and they didn’t run us down, thanks to the lights… since the moon was out, we could have walked without lights, but we’d probably been hit by somebody speeding by.

The Energizer Trailfinder 3 LED has a slider switch (I like better than a push-button) and a nice range of adjustment to swivel the lamp itself. The foamy pad cushion is comfy against the forehead. It runs 50 hours on white LEDs, or 150 hours on red. We could see with red, but not very well for walking. No blink mode on the lamp.  In all, a solid product for under $20. Check it out for yourself!

Energizer HD33A2ODE 3 LED HEADLIGHT TRAILFINDER SERIES

PS. Just had access to a postal scale this morning. It weighs 3.5 oz with batteries in.