The Best Headlamps for Night Photography and Travel in 2026

I’ve been using Black Diamond headlamps since around 2000, and as a professional photographer I’ve spent a good number of winter nights in Iceland and Scotland standing next to a tripod waiting for the northern lights to do something. Jess has two Black Diamonds she bought for her Kilimanjaro climb in 2014. All of them still work, which says something nice about Black Diamond. None of them has a red light, which is why I’m writing this. If you photograph the night sky, or you just want to find your way back to the car without blinding everyone else at the viewpoint, the headlamp you want is not the brightest one. It’s the one that gives you a dim red light without flashing white in your face first, has a very low low setting, locks so it doesn’t switch itself on in your bag, and keeps working when it’s well below freezing. I’ve ranked these by whether I’d be happy wearing one at an aurora shoot. If you want the quick answer: the Black Diamond Spot 400 is the one I’d buy for most people. Red light that comes on without cycling through white, a 6 lumen low, a proper lockout, runs on three AAAs or Black Diamond’s rechargeable pack, and it’s waterproof to IPX8. For the lightest option ...