Whether you’re pitching a tent, cooking under the stars, heading out for a late-night hike, reading a book in bed or just trying to find the loo, the best head torch gives you bright, reliable hands-free light wherever you need it.
Well we think we’ve found one of the most versatile models in the Claymore HEADY+, a new type of rechargeable head torch with six lighting modes – including three types of floodlight – a variety of attachment options and one of the best head straps in the business. Let’s give it a whirl.
Claymore HEADY+ head torch review
Price and availability
If you live in the UK, hop over to Wildbounds where the Claymore HEADY+ retails at a very reasonable £59.95. Alternatively try Amazon where it’s shifting for quite a bit more – £97.42. Americans, meanwhile, should head straight to the US Claymore website where the HEADY+ retails at $58.95.
Specifications
- Material: ABS plastic
- Battery type: Rechargeable Lithium via USB-C
- Light options: 3 x floodlights, 2 x spotlights
- Brightness settings: Six (35lm – 600lm)
- Weight: 131g with strap
- Max brightness: 600 lumens
- Range: 150m (Turbo mode)
- Colour temperature: Adjustable
- Running time: 70hr in low mode
- Waterproof rating: IP54
- Drop resistance: 1.5m
- Other features: Clip for belt or strap, tripod mount, battery level indicator. Available in two colours
Design and features
At 7.4 x 4.4 x 4.4cm, this head torch is much bigger than the norm though its 131g weight actually feels pretty minimal when being worn. Perhaps its the lightness of the rather bland ABS shell or the width of the superb, easily adjustable strap, but once this torch is on your head you’ll likely forget it’s there.
Available in black or tan, the Claymore HEADY+ bucks the usual spotlight-only trend and includes three different floodlights – warm white, natural white and cool white – that light up the immediate area with a wide diffuse beam from their 10 surrounding LED lamps. In other words, this torch morphs from trail light to camping lamp in a thrice.
It also comes with three spotlight modes – an 8˚ focussed LED, a 25˚ focussed LED and a Turbo combination of the two which produces the torch’s advertised 600 Lumens of brightness and an illumination range of around 150 metres. In the pantheon of head torches, 600 Lumens is higher than average but not as bright as some big-hitters like the Petzl Swift RL 2 which takes the one spot in our guide to the best head torches with its 1,100 Lumens of raw daylight-producing power.
The HEADY+ has simple controls
(Image credit: Future)
While I see the aforementioned floodlight modes being ideal for illuminating the immediate vicinity at a campsite or inside a tent when the torch is hung up on a line, clipped to a tent flap or screwed to a tripod, the two main spots and Turbo combination are undoubtedly the best modes for general head-wear use since they both provide a long, wide beam.
Crucially, all the main light modes can be dimmed in five smooth steps from 600 Lumen down to just 35 Lumen by holding the power button. Alternatively you can adjust the steps incrementally by holding down the power button and immediately tapping the light mode button until it settles on your required brightness. Although 35 lumens is pretty dim, I’m not sure it’s dim enough to read a book in bed without disturbing a partner (that’s where the good old back-lit Kindle e-reader comes to the rescue). Finally, if you hold in the mode button in for a few seconds on any of the six lighting modes, it produces an SOS emergency signal.
Tripod mount for standalone camp lighting
(Image credit: Future)
To take full advantage of this torch’s versatility – and especially the floodlight options – the extremely comfortable and easily adjustable strap can be removed and the torch hung up using its integral hook or be attached to a standard tripod using its built-in 1/4-20 tripod screw mount – a boon for social media creators who require diffuse light for filming.
The HEADY+ also comes with a separate spring clip for attaching it to a tent flap, strap or a belt. However, the design of the clip means it cannot be attached to the peak of a cap because the torch will be facing the wrong way round. Oops, bit of an oversight there.
The HEADY+ uses a large rechargeable 3,500 mAh battery that provides up to 70 hours of low-beam light and a remarkable four hours at full whack. Also, the handy three-bar battery monitor is a great addition for keeping tabs on battery juice and, you’ll be pleased to learn that this torch will continue to function while being charged.
Performance
(Image credit: Future)
No question, the Claymore HEADY+ is one of the most versatile head torches on the market right now, but the addition of its three floodlight modes could be confusing for some users. In essence, this torch covers two areas – general headwear use when on the trail and stand-alone use as a camping lamp.
Hence, when worn using one of the three floodlight options and articulated downward (it has a maximum angle adjustment of 90˚), an awful lot of light spills through the bottom side of the translucent lens casing and this definitely affects one’s vision, especially when it’s really dark. After some confusion on my part, I now understand the function of the floodlight modes as a camping lamp but think that Claymore’s technical department could still address this light spill issue on subsequent variants with a thin strip of masking along the bottom edge. That way you could also wear the torch using the floodlight modes which produce a wider, more diffuse beam that is perhaps more suitable for campsite use.
Where the floodlight modes proved especially useful was when the strap was removed and the torch used as intended – as a stand-alone camping lamp. The integral plastic hook helps in this regard, as does the provided crocodile clip for fixing it to a tent flap or an overhang. And there’s no denying the usefulness of having a standard tripod screw mount which turns the HEADY+ into a bona fide table lamp, especially when using the warm white mode.
(Image credit: Future)
As for the three spot modes – narrow, wide and a combination of both – this configuration produced no eye glare whatsoever and provided more than enough illumination for long-distance visibility up to the stated 150 metres when used in Turbo mode with both spots at full brightness. The fact that you can choose from a narrow or wide beam – or even a combination of the two – makes this head torch an invaluable asset for night trekking and getting around the campsite without tripping over guy lines, etc. I should also add that this torch is very easy to use since there are only two main action buttons – and that’s a big bonus when you need light and need it quickly.
While this head torch is larger than average, it also has an excellent 12.6Wh battery capacity and that means it will continue shining for hours at a time, no matter which mode or setting it’s in. The addition of a clearly-visible three-bar battery monitor adds extra convenience and a means for checking its battery status before heading off into the wilderness.
Verdict
(Image credit: Future)
While not the most funky looking of head torches, the Claymore HEADY+ provides excellent versatility for a myriad of lighting scenarios, including trail walking, general campsite illumination and even studio lighting for online content creation. Well worth a punt.
