Lumens are a unit of measurement used to determine the total amount of visible light emitted from a source. In the backpacking and hiking world, you can use the lumen value to compare the amount of lighting you’ll get from various nighttime illumination sources such as a headlamp.

Lumen Considerations / How Many Lumens

Higher lumen values typically come at the cost of shorter runtimes and decreased battery life. Brighter lights are also generally heavier and more expensive. For general nighttime trail navigation, I’ve found that at least 30-50 or more lumens are needed to follow good trails with relative ease, with around 50-100 being preferred for more vague and / or unfamiliar trails.

However, lights that have the flexibility to switch between several modes of brightness can be especially helpful while backpacking. While in camp very low levels of lighting of just a single lumen or less can be great for reading or finding a tent zipper without disturbing fellow campers. However, this all comes down to personal preference.

Additionally, very low levels of light will allow you keep your own night vision somewhat intact. On the other hand, there will be times where you may need to briefly light up an area to make it through a particularly difficult section of trail or to check out an unfamiliar noise in the night. For these circumstances a higher level of lighting in the 200+ lumen range can be especially welcome.

Beam Pattern

Don’t forget to consider the beam pattern. A light with a flood beam is great for close up work, but won’t project very far into the distance. A spot beam projects far, but only illuminates a small area. Consider a light that allows you to switch between flood and spot using a diffuser or a light that compromises and has a flood beam with a center hotspot – my choice for the best of both worlds.

More Lumen Related & Headlamp Information

See our full article on How to Choose the Best Backpacking & Hiking Headlamp for more on headlamp selection. For a list of backpacking and hiking-ready headlamps on the market, see this page at REI Co-op.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in Issue 6 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here.