I am a fan of lightweight headlamps for general backpacking, but a more robust, longer-lasting, and brighter headlamp works well for certain activities. Among them? Running, caving, or mountaineering. Or, in my case, renewing my Search and Rescue (SAR) activity.
When you are out at night, hiking in, and assisting with a litter carry, you need a headlamp that will last a while and is bright enough for walking on uneven, sometimes off-trail ground.
Enter the Cyansky L2 Rechargeable Lightweight Headlamp. A headlamp that is USB-C rechargeable and lets you swap out a 3400 mAh battery.
I found a suitable handlamp for these more technical activities.
The Specs
In my usual mode of laziness / not reinventing the wheel, I’ll share the specs from the website –
What does all this mean?
You have a highly weather-resistant, bright, long-lasting headlamp that can take a beating. At 110g/ 4 oz it is not ultralight but lighter than comparable headlamps for other technical conditions. At just under $60, it is also a competitive price, as it has similar headlamps in its class.
In the field
The headlamp fits easily over a climbing helmet, stores easily in a pack, and does not feel too heavy on my head.
The medium setting gives a good amount of intensity, lumens, and runtime; I find it the “workhorse” setting. The HIGH setting works well for the occasional need to highlight something. The red light setting also comes on fairly quickly (if not as well as a two-button setting as other headlamps.)
Sorry, no photos during a call. Here’s a photo in my dangerous, fenced-in home in residential Moab.
A neat feature I did not expect is that the headlamp functions as a traditional flashlight with its top button setting and fits in the hand well. Sometimes, a hand-held flashing, especially combined with another headlamp, gives more focused lighting suitable for tricky terrain or needing to shine in crevices that are not as conducive to head-mounted light.
Some may find the removable battery a plus. I adhere to what more experienced SAR people advise and bring a spare headlamp. (Two is one, One is none), however. Futzing with a battery at night in an emergency is not ideal. Other situations and uses are different, of course.
Overall?
Overall, I found the Cyansky L2 a functional and reliable headlamp for more technical pursuits. And one that fits a renewed niche in my life.
Disclosure – Flashlightgo provided the Cyansky L2 Rechargeable Lightweight Headlamp for my review.