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Review

This is probably the best all-round headlamp I’ve ever used. My older headlamps are either too large, too heavy, aren’t rechargeable or are very expensive. So why the Nitecore NU25 headlamp?

Why Nitecore NU25?

This little lamp came highly recommended to me by my viewers and friends. I saw lots of them on the Pacific Crest Trail and for good reason. While it’s not as light and tiny as the Nitecore Tiki or as bright as the Olight H2R Nova, it’s a fully-fledged headlamp with brightness modes, an SOS, an auxiliary red light and, most importantly, it packs a fully rechargeable lithium-ion battery. It’s light and capable and you only have to look at the specs to see. I used this for over 200 miles on the PCT and only had to recharge it once while on-trail and the rest while at camp.

Is there anything constructive to say?

Literally, the only problem I have with this headlamp is that it comes with quite a thick, heavy head strap which while comfy is too bulky and heavy for most long-distance backpackers. It’s fine and I enjoyed wearing it, but Nitecore could definitely shave a few grams off by providing us with a much more minimal strap. The lamp is so light, there’s no need for all that elastic. I did see lots of hikers switching out the head strap to a simple length of shock cord which seemed to do the job, but they said it would slip around a fair bit.

Value for money

If you’re looking for a capable, light, feature-packed, rechargeable headlamp at a reasonable price, look no further. Worth every penny.

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