The Award-winning LED LENSER SEO 7R headlamp is our choice this month for hiking, camping, and emergency lighting. Packed with smart features, you get hands-free lighting that is powerful, flexible, has a long run time, and won’t let you down if it gets a little wet.
First, you can get up to 20 hours or more on the low, 20 lumen setting. Crank it up to the max 220 lumens, and you still get 2 hours of bright light. That’s not bad for a 3.7 volt, 3.2Wh, lithium-ion battery that you can charge via USB. But it’s the magic that happens in the middle that we think is so cool. A sensor that measures reflected light will automatically dim it for you when needed. Look down the trail for a marker, than back to the map your holding, and the light dims so you don’t get blinded. This not only helps save your night sight, but can also extend the battery life.
Find your LED Lenser SEO 7R on Amazon!
Next is the lens and reflector design. LED LENSER uses a lot of big words in their description of this, but the result is a clean circle of wide light, which zooms to a spot with sharp focus. So you can see out to 130 meters up the trail with ease, or pull back and light up your surroundings without any annoying hotspots.
This is not my first headlamp, but it is now my favorite. It’s not too heavy, and the band is comfortable. Being able to zoom and tilt is nice too. The auto-dim feature is what sells it for me though. I can be walking along, lighting the path well in front of me, and as soon as I look down to check for obstacles, it will dim, so I don’t get blinded by my own light. And it’s not just for outdoor use. For projects around the house (which I have no shortage of), hands-free is the only way to go. If you have to go in your attic for anything, you want this. I also had to replace several light fixtures, and the LED LENSER SEO 7R lets me put the light right where I need it, while working with the power off. It goes without saying that it almost makes our list of “Must have” gear for your 72 hour kit. In an emergency, you’ll need a good light, and will probably want to be able to use both hands too. It’s got you covered there. ledlenserUSA.com
– Brian
Like most of our readers, we have a limited budget for our gear, so I‘d like to thank LED LENSER for proving their SEO 7R for review. Being able to test and review products and pass that information along allows us to pay it forward in a way that benefits everybody.