This "Best Of" selection won the honors because it's bright, very bright. The five-watt Luxeon K2 LED light creates what Brunton purports to be the "brightest LED headlamp in the world." We have no reason to doubt that claim. Or the fact that the Brunton L5 beam is a long-distance wonder in two key ways. First, the beam will reach out through the darkness to 246 feet. So you can see raccoons while you still have time to hide the marshmallows. Second, the batteries are rechargeable and will last 50 hours. If you're spending that much time in the dark, we hope you're doing research in Antarctica, or you might want to see a counselor. The external battery pack, which holds the rechargeable 4.5ah NIMH pack, easily attaches to your belt or backpack. The Brunton L5 has four different light modes, so you can control brightness for high output or conservative use. An emergency flash mode may also come in handy should you find yourself in a bad situation, which we hope you never do, of course.

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