2017 is going to go two ways. An AT thru heading nobo in march, or an awesome amount of 30-60 mile end to ends every weekend. I'll be happy either way.
Anyways, I'm interested in a new headlamp. I do not know much about the market and if upgrading is worth it at this point in time.
Backstory, I'm an aspiring ultralight hiker. I like going minimalist now. I only carry what I need and I typically go with the most suitable, yet allbeit, the "lightest, most suitable" piece of gear for said given tasks and agenda.
I have found that lightest gear doesn't always means the best piece of gear for what I need. Why am I blabbering about this, I figured out I don't like tiny little flashlights for thru hiking, the hard way.
I have always backpacked with a headlamp of some sort. I had the cheapest Petzl at the time when I first started. It didn't have a red light after a couple seasons I got a newer Petzl Tikka Plus 2 and have been pretty happy with it. I thru-hiked with it in 2014 on the Long Trail and have used it backpacking since.
On my recent thru-hike of the Cohos, I decided to only take my every day carry flashlight. My 1x AAA streamlight microstream. This thing has been to hell and back and keeps on ticking. It's a beast. It also puts out a good amount of light and it is LIGHT. I carried the flashlight with a fresh lithium, and carried three spares. I only ended up using one of the spares.
However, I really didn't like holding the light all the time, and sometime in my mouth. It got dark early on the Cohos (hiked in late sept/early oct). It was also cold, so having to hold the flashlight was an inconvenience. Also, I forgot that I like to go to bed with my headlamp around my neck and handy. I kept my stream light in my ridge line organizer of my hammock but it wasn't as convenient. Furthermore, I really did miss not having a red LED. I'm going to call it mandatory on any trail I'm thru-hiking. Because it's fantastic at night.
So, I have found I like a headlamp and want to keep a headlamp in lieu of typical ultralight philosophy to go with a photo micro or a tiny little handheld like my beloved stream light.
So if you were me, and your best head torch were a few years old Petzl Tikka Plus 2, where would you be looking? Any significant improvements the past few years or should I just continue to use this trusty old Petzl. Have torches gotten brighter, more efficient, and lighter? If so, I'd drop the coin to upgrade and save some weight.