Which Headlamp Brand Wins?
We compared 18 headlamp options head to head. Fenix came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Fenix
Price shown in test: $121
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Wurkkos
Price shown in test: $53
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Initial Brightness Lm | Brightness 30s Lm | Brightness 15min Lm | Temp 15min | Weight G | Battery Capacity Test | Light Throw | Beam Quality | Medium Width Beam | Total Lm Over Time | Comfort Rating | Max Current Test | Run Time | Visibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fenix$121 | 2,953 (better than its 2,700 rating) | 2,187 (below its 2,700 rating) | 1,216 (brightest of all headlamps at 15 minutes) | pretty hot at 114 F | 207.71 g | rated 5,000 mA hours, actual 4,890 mA hours, second place among 21700 cells behind Wurkkos | did not place in top three throw distances (Zebralight 129 m, Amaker 57 m, Danforce 46 m named) | best possible rating of 1 for focused beam (tied with Olight, Zebralight, Ledlenser); best possible rating of 1 for broad beam (only headlamp to earn this) | amazing visibility at around 150 ft, best of the group | 3,131 lm cumulative, third place behind Ledlenser (4,103) and Princeton Tec (3,260) | best possible rating of 1, most comfortable headlamp | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Coast$81 | 2,373 (exceeded its 2,075 rating) | 2,164 | 210 (headlamp automatically lowered power setting after overheating) | pretty hot at 132.2 F | 225.59 g | rated 4,000 mA hours, actual 3,780 mA hours, barely outlasted Olight | not tested | 1.5 rating for broad beam (tied with Nitecore and Ledlenser) | not tested | not tested | not tested | 18 A, first place among headlamps tested for max current (Olight 17 A, Nitecore 15 A) | lasted about 9.5 hours on highest setting, best run time of the group | not tested |
| 3Wurkkos$53 | 2,330 | around 2,000 | 474 | a little bit hot at around 114 F | just over 211 g | rated 5,000 mA hours, actual 4,927 mA hours, best capacity among the four 21700 cells tested (Fenix second at 4,890) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 4Nitecore HC68$100 | 2,165 (better than its 2,000 rating) | 2,115 | 271 | around 122 F | just over 169 g | rated 3,500 mA hours, actual 3,363 mA hours | not tested | 1.5 rating for broad beam (tied with Coast and Ledlenser) | not tested | not tested | 1.5 rating, very comfortable (tied with Sofirn) | 15 A, third place among headlamps tested for max current | not tested | not tested |
| 5Nebo$49 | 2,081 | 1,985 | 329 | a little bit warm at 102 F | 164.17 g | rated 3,200 mA hours, actual 3,267 mA hours, beat its own rating | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6Ledlenser$210 | 1,878 (well below its 4,000 rating) | 1,854 | 971 (second best sustained brightness after Fenix) | pretty hot at 124 F | just over 400 g | not tested | not tested | 1.5 rating for broad beam (tied with Coast and Nitecore) | not tested | 4,103 lm cumulative, tops the list (Princeton Tec second at 3,260, Fenix third at 3,131) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 7Amaker$40 | 1,614 | 1,503 | 528 | around 99 F | 396.91 g (very heavy) | rated 3,000 mA hours, came up over 600 mA short of rating, graded a C | 57 m throw distance (10 lux assumption), second best of named throw leaders | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | decent visibility at around 75 ft on medium zoom |
| 8Sofirn$50 | 1,563 | 1,115 | 637 | pretty hot at 126 F | 169.43 g | rated 3,000 mA hours, surpassed its rating (exact figure not stated) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 1.5 rating, very comfortable (tied with Nitecore) | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 9Millertech$55 | 1,132 | 1,106 | 543 | pretty hot at 127 F | 125.3 g | rated 3,500 mA hours, actual 3,238 mA hours | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 10Zmoon$29 | 812 (well below its 100,000 lm claim) | 785 | 661 | by far the hottest at 154 F | 380.46 g, by far the heaviest headlamp tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 11Zebralight$100 | 713 | 710 | 693, held up best of any headlamp with the smallest 15 minute dropoff | pretty hot at 125 F | 127.94 g, extremely light | rated 3,000 mA hours, actual 2,821 mA hours | 129 m, best throw distance of the group (10 lux assumption) | best possible rating of 1 for focused beam (tied with Olight, Fenix, Ledlenser) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 12Princeton Tec$110 | just over 700 (better than its 550 rating) | just under 700 | 632 | around 130 F | 262.66 g | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 3,260 lm cumulative, second place behind Ledlenser (4,103) | not tested | not tested | lasted about 9 hours on highest setting, second best run time after Coast | not tested |
| 13Bud K$33 | 1,221 | 1,135 | 439, described as having overheated | around 105 F | 371.59 g | rated a low 1,200 mA hours, actual 1,217 mA hours, met its rating but called awful for an 18650 cell | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 14Olight$81 | not tested | not tested | around 424 | 91 F | 220.13 g | rated 4,000 mA hours, actual 3,750 mA hours | not tested | best possible rating of 1 for focused beam (tied with Zebralight, Fenix, Ledlenser) | not tested | not tested | not tested | 17 A, second place among headlamps tested for max current | not tested | not tested |
| 15Lepro$29 | just over 670, described as more than twice as bright as the Odear | 653 | 496 | around 95 F | 153.07 g | advertised 2,200 mA hours, actual 2,564 mA hours, called pretty good for a budget headlamp | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 16Danforce$30 | 334 | 322 | 221, described as not very much light | a little bit warm at around 109 F | just under 265 g | not tested | 46 m throw distance (10 lux assumption), third among named throw leaders | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | around 25 ft of visibility on medium zoom, focused zoom barely adequate at 75 ft |
| 17Odear$20 | 315 (well below its 40,000 lm claim) | 309 | 288 | around 80 F | 164.15 g | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 18Mioisy$18, the least expensive headlamp in the video | 239 (well below its 20,000 lm claim) | 199 | 133 | around 97 F | just over 150 g | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | only about 15 ft of good visibility |
How it was tested
- initial, 30 second, and 15 minute brightness measured in lumens with a light meter
- beam temperature after 15 minutes of use
- weight
- hot spot and spill visibility assessment at set distances
- battery capacity test (mA hours) versus advertised rating
- battery maximum current draw test (amps) for select removable-battery units
- light throw distance in meters using a 10 lux assumption
- subjective beam quality rating for focused and broad beam (1 is best)
- medium width beam visibility distance
- run time until brightness could no longer be sustained
- cumulative total lumens produced across the full test duration
- subjective comfort rating
- drop test from 4, 5, and 6 feet onto concrete
- battery cell voltage sag test at increasing amperage (Ultrafire cell vs Nitecore's own 18650, used only as a battery-quality demonstration, not a headlamp ranking)
“If I could only pick one headlamp, I would definitely buy the Fenix. It has a great battery and earned As in every category except for run time.”
Data notes and caveats
18-headlamp mega comparison (this channel's Products Tested list confirms all 18: Fenix, Coast, Nitecore, Wurkkos, NEBO, Ledlenser, Olight, Amaker, Bud K, Sofirn, Millertech, Zmoon, Zebralight, Princeton Tec, Lepro, Danforce, ODEAR, Mioisy). Several brand names were caption mangled and resolved against the description/tags list and, for Wurkkos, the narrator's own later self-correction: Moosy to Mioisy, Leapro to Lepro, Zeemoon to Zmoon, Miltec/Millertec to Millertech, Workos to Wurkkos. The video does not give one single composite rank across every metric; products[] here is ordered by initial brightness in lumens (the one metric measured for nearly every unit) as a derived, verbatim-sourced ordering, not a rank the video itself declared. The narrator's closing section instead gives an overall pick (Fenix, directly quoted), a compact and value pick (Wurkkos), and an adjustable-lens category pick (Amaker); those are preserved as the winner, budgetPick, and in Amaker's notes respectively. Two genuine data gaps are flagged rather than guessed: Olight has no initial or 30 second brightness figure due to a self-dimming feature, and the Zebralight is said to ship without a battery but is later given a battery capacity result, an unresolved contradiction in the source video. The Ultrafire battery appearing late in the video is a battery-brand quality demo used for comparison, not one of the 18 tested headlamps, and is excluded from products[].