3 Best Fishing Headlamps

Hey there my fellow fishing enthusiasts and welcome to my post covering my 3 best fishing headlamps to light up your catch this year. At time of writing, it is coming into winter where I live meaning that due to species behaviours as the weather cools, we tend to do a little more night fishing. What this usually means for me personally is a treasure hunt through all of my shelving and drawers to locate my fishing headlamps.

Now before we get started, like everything else to do with fishing, headlamps are definitely a personal choice and there are influences on the types that you may look at purchasing that we will run through below. What I have tried to do here then is to give you an outline of the types of headlamps that may best suit a number of environments depending on where you are and how cold it is.

So turn out the light and let’s see if we can find some decent headlamps to shed some brightness on the subject of night fishing…

 

I will review these in more detail below but if you just want to get moving without all the carry on, my 3 are listed here for your convenience:

	Headlamp	Price	Get it
	Foxdott 8 LED Headlamp	$	CURRENT PRICE
	LED Beanie Hat	$	CURRENT PRICE
	Klarus Rechargeable Motion Sensor Cap Visor Light	$	CURRENT PRICE

As the name probably suggests, a fishing headlamp is a light that you place on your head to use whilst fishing at night. The advantage here is that as you probably know, the practice of tying knots, rigging lines and baiting hooks etc. is definitely a two handed job. Hence, placing the light on your head is the way to go.

As a base though, when it comes to fishing headlamps, there are a few main types to choose from:

Band headlamp

These are the common type where the lighting element is attached to a band that wraps around the head. These are good as they often come with an adjustable strap meaning they will stay on your head, are usually light in weight and durable enough to be dropped into your fishing backpack.

Band headlamp lights generally contain a number of settings and colour options as well as extra options such as motion sensors and even radios in the more expensive models.

 

Beanie headlamp

I have one of these and love it – especially when the weather gets a little colder. These are basically a beanie (knitted head hugging hat) with a little spot at the front that houses a headlamp. In general, the light is secondary to the fact that you are keeping your head warm hence the light does not tend to have as many settings as the band varieties above. These are great for camping as well and the more expensive models come with radios included too.

Clip-on headlamp

These are the types that clip onto the brim of a cap or hat and popular with those who either like to wear hats rather than beanies or if you have been fishing over the afternoon into night time or vice versa into the morning. Light settings can be basic or advanced dependent upon the options purchased and some again come with motion sensors as well.

The beauty here also is that decent headlamps do not have to be expensive and in general, I have usually in the past just looked for something that will light things up whilst I am fishing at night. As is common however, there are quite a few options available out there and with the invention of LED lighting, that there are some real advances in what they can do.

So, as you look to purchase your own headlamp, below are some things that you may want to consider:

Brightness – As mentioned above, the advancement of LED lighting capabilities mean that these lights can get very, very bright. I guess it is up to you if you want a standard light or something that can be seen from the moon.

Waterproofing – In my opinion, when it comes to headlamps, regardless of the type you purchase waterproofing is a must (water resistance at the very least). Fishing is usually a fairly wet pastime at the best of times and often in salty environments so anything that is not going to be damaged by water is well worth the effort.

Rechargeable battery – I still remember my first headlamp, I had used it a couple of times and then it sat in my fishing bag for a while. When I finally pulled it out, the batteries had rusted out and damaged the internal wiring etc. so the whole thing needed to be replaced. Look for something with a rechargeable battery – preferably via a USB port so that you can use one of the many, many phone chargers we all tend to have in the home.

Headband material – Headbands come in a number of materials such as elasticized straps, nylon, plastic and even a soft fiberglass. These are definitely a matter of personal preference. Just be careful that the elastic is not too ‘soft’ as it will give a lot with the weight of the lamp and drive you crazy.

Number of lights – Some of the headlamps available look more like something an elite soldier would wear on a night time black op rather than a fishing trip. However, they are built this way to allow fisherman to enjoy a number of lighting and safety modes such as:

• Light strength – e.g. high, medium, low
• SOS strobe
• Red light – for visibility and safety without the light
• Different colours – for use as a fish attractant

Again, it is up to you – I usually use the high setting then turn it off – but just know that these options are out there.

I have two headlamps that I use. The first is a plain clip-on type housing a single, rechargeable LED light with low, medium and high settings. I use it on high setting only and then turn it off when I fish. It is a cheapie that I bought once when my headband one sagged too much to wear and it was only one I could find in the little beach village we were at. It is however waterproof and has not let me down yet.

I also have a beanie headlamp which I love (I also use it for camping). The light is waterproof, charged via a USB port and has one setting, on and off. It is bright enough for what I need and keeps my head nice and warm.

And as I have said above, I did have a headband one as well, but the elastic band sagged to the point where the light kept falling in front of my eyes… haha

As mentioned, there are a lot of different headlamps available online so I have chosen the following three in an attempt to give you options taking into consideration the information above. Based on this, I recommend the following options:

1. Foxdott 8 LED Headlamp

The first headlamp I have chosen is a great little band option and although it again looks more like night vision googles than a headlamp, for the price it has everything you could possibly need when fishing at night. The unit contains 8 LED lights that operate in a number of modes including:

• 4 color mode
• high, medium and low light settings
• SOS strobe
• 4 auxiliary lights for low light
• Red safety/boating light

The band is made of adjustable elastic with a padded forehead section for extra comfort. Specifications Include:

• Lights – 8x LED
• Light modes – as above
• Rechargeable – Yes – USB with 4 hour average charge time
• Use life before recharging: Not stated
• Waterproof – Yes – IPX4 waterproof

Other inclusions:

• Extra red light at back for added safety
• Front lights offer 90° rotation adjustment

Why have I chosen it?

This is a great one for those looking for a decent versatile light with options to cover every need you may have on the beach, kayak or boat. Yes there are a lot of lights, but all are guaranteed long life and reviews highlight ease of use over a number of other uses such as on a hard hat, bike helmet or thick hood as well.

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2. LED Beanie Hat

This next one is the same type as I use for surf fishing and a great option for those looking to get themselves a decent fishing headlamp and keep their head warm at the same time. They don’t have as many light options as the first one above, however their light settings are definitely strong enough for general beach and bank fishing at night. Specifications as follows:

• Lights – 5x LED
• Light modes – 4 – Low, medium, high and blue/red SOS strobe
• Rechargeable – Yes – USB with 1.5 hour average charge time
• Use life before recharging: 5 hours in low white light level, and 3 hours in the high light level
• Waterproof – Yes – water resistant only

Other inclusions:

• Standard USB port for charging
• Light housed in ultra-soft and elastic material
• Beanie made of high-quality, machine washable elastic knitted material (take the light out first).

Why have I chosen it?

I love my beanie headlamp. Not only does it keep my head warm but I can use it for both fishing and camping. From a fishing point of view it has worked perfectly every time I have used it and I have found it to work longer without charge than stated on the sales pages. You could do a lot worse than this option if you fish in cold weather and like a warm melon!

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3. Klarus Rechargeable Motion Sensor Cap Visor Light

And finally, for those who like to keep their trucker hats on at night, our third option is the popular clip on model. As with the beanie option above, they generally don’t have as many light options however they are great for those who like to fish afternoon into night or night into morning. It also contains two motion sensors meaning you can turn it on and off with a simple wave of the hand. Specifications as follows:

• Lights – 1 x 100 lumen LED
• Light modes – 5 lighting modes of Medium/High/Low/Red/Red Strobe
• Rechargeable – Yes – 1 hour Micro-USB fast charge
• Use life before recharging: Up to 27 hours
• Waterproof – Yes – IPX5 waterproof

Other inclusions:

• 1.31oz lightweight body
• 180° adjustable illumination angle
• Comes with strap to turn into band head lamp as well

Why have I chosen it?

This is a great clip on model with great reviews for a great price. I love the no touch motion sensor option to turn lights on and off and it is definitely light enough for you to almost forget it is there. Once mine stops working I think I will get one of these myself.

 

And there they are – my 3 best fishing headlamps to light up your catch this year. I hope it has been helpful and as usual, please let me know of your experiences with them.

Also, please do not hesitate to comment below if you have any questions, concerns, corrections or would like me to check anything else out for you.

Until next time

Have fun

Paul