The NiteRider Adventure 180 headlamp is one of those essentials that covers so many needs, I almost don’t know where to begin. With five light modes, and four flash modes, it has a lighting solution for most of the situations I would encounter while camping, being outdoors at night, or even working around the house. First, I’ll go over the specs.
Weight: 85 grams
Charge time: two hours, fifteen minutes
Run time: two and a half hours, to 37 hours, depending on the setting
Output: up to 180 lumens
Battery: USB-charged Li-Po (lithium polymer)
Package includes: Adventure 180 headlamp, micro USB cable for charging, and NiteRider’s Comfort Headband
One switch on top controls all the light modes. This makes it easy to operate, once you remember to hold it down long enough to switch from one mode to another. A short tap turns on the red night vision (up to a bit under 8.5 hours), then the red flash (up to 25.5 hours). Or hold it a bit longer, and go through the white LED modes, which includes the diffused (35 lumens for up to 11 hours), walk (11 lumens for up to 36 hours), medium (50 lumens for up to 8.5 hours), and high (the full 180 lumens). Hold the button longer, until the white LEDs flash, and you can switch through white daylight flash (20 hours), locator beam (52 hours), or SOS (5 hours). Nine options, one button.
Of course, all those light options would not be much use if you can’t put the light where you want it. So the Adventure 180 can be tilted down to light your path, or up to spot drop bears in the trees (we never saw any though). I found this a nice feature when walking, but also the red was handy when taking photos of the moon at night. I can see my camera controls without any worry about my night vision. You could read a map or directions just as well too.
I did find the Comfort Headband to be just that – a comfortable headband. It’s got elastic for a stretch fit, and a nice terry cloth feel to it. Once you put it on, just pull the two back pieces away from each other to adjust the fit. I could wear it for a couple of hours without feeling too much pressure.
NiteRider wants us to save money, and the environment. So you can use the included micro USB cable to charge the Adventure 180 via the USB port. I felt the run times were more than fair, given that it takes just over two hours to charge. When we camp, we take a few different solar chargers. If you top up your devices before you leave, this makes it easy to ensure that all the batteries have juice when you need them. And no more buying, lugging, and disposing of batteries in our landfills.
Overall, the Adventure 180 is a great light. It puts out enough white light for walking, campsite tasks, or even running, although I’m not sure I would like the weight when trail running. The red light modes are handy as well. If you don’t already have a headlamp, then going hands-free with a light like this will change your life. From setting up a tent in the dark, to finding your way to the loo, to digging through your tent (or the trunk of your car) to find things in the middle of the night, or just walking your dog, it’s super handy, and at a very fair price. I’m pretty stoked that NiteRider sent this one over to us to review, as it’s one of those things we always enjoy putting to the test. Check it out at NiteRider.com.
– Brian