Blukar Headlamp 2000L

Headlamps are, of course, a critical piece of gear in the backcountry. If you're still holding a flashlight in your hand at night, you've got a long way to go. When it gets dark, having light aimed wherever you look is the only way to do it. 

Now, there are a few things that I insist on in a headlamp, but I don't necessarily want to invest too heavily. I want brightness with multiple levels, I want a red light, I want it to be strong, and so far, I want it to use AAA batteries, because I have headlamp range fear. The Blukar headlamp—drum roll, please—doesn't meet all these, so it's not my main headlamp right now. (That is currently a Petzl Tikka Headlamp, and maybe I'll review it later). But, primary headlamp aside, a frequenter of the backcountry naturally needs plenty of backups and headlamps to share, especially with kids around, who sometimes lose them. This is where the Blukar comes in strong! 

I love this little headlamp. If I reach into my "bush-purse" and find a Blukar before my Petzl, that will usually do. The Blurkar features: 

• USB-C rechargeable 1200mAh lithium battery

• A super-bright LED bulb (or bulbs?) 2000 lumens

• A comfortable and easy-to-adjust band

• 45° tiltable base (which doesn't feel cheap)

• ABS housing (which is strong, I think)

• IPX5 Waterproof (so it says—I haven't tested this)

• Red light (with flashing red light. Not sure why)

• And it features an annoying motion sensor which will make you swear at it! 

The motion sensor option, which makes the light activate by waving your hand in front of it, has its own button. It's certainly annoying if you don't need that feature, but once I got used to which side the non-motion button was, I was fine. 

I've used this light on a few 5-night trips now without having to charge it, so I'm not entirely sure how long it will last. I'm not, however, hiking with it on or anything, so it's fairly light evening use, but the red light option was used for a few hours of reading a few times on the trip. 

It says it needs 3 hours to charge, which feels a bit long to me, but fine to charge it overnight. 

Overall, this headlamp is very impressive. The best part, however, is that it is just 16 friggen dollars on Amazon! I don't get too much of my gear from Amazon, but I wanted extra headlamps and gave this one a try. It's incredible for the price. Sometimes it goes on sale for $13.99, or you can get the two-pack for $25. Adjust this price for inflation, and they'd be paying you to use it in the 90s. I've tried a couple other cheap headlamps from Amazon, and they were junk. This one is an incredible deal for the price. 

After loving the first one I got, I later bought 3 more as kid headlamps and loaners. (Kind of like how I buy canoes). 

The only thing that this light is missing is a lock. That's primarily why my Petzl is still my 'main' headlamp. I religiously lock it before packing so I can be confident it will have power the next evening. Blukar, come on, get on it. 

Take a look at the Blukar headlamp on Amazon. 

(I don't know if I have to say this, but I was not paid to write this and was not sent any free gear to do so).