HeadLight

[davidinaus]

Hi - just a quick question - do I REALLY need a headlight? [Starting SJDP mid September] I do have a small hand torch

Thanks
David

 

[sternenstrasse]

AW: HeadLight

Yes, it's a must-have for walking in the dark as well as getting dressed in the albergue while others still sleep (choose a headlamp with an additional red light or filter).

Buen Camino!

 

[Anniesantiago]

No. I've walked the Camino many times and I've never taken one.

Please leave your headlamp at home.

Those headlamps shining in my eyes in the early morning (even with the red) are as annoying as the rattling plastic bags.

Just stay in bed until the rest of the people begin stirring and turning on lights.
There is no reason for a headlamp and there is no reason to begin walking in the dark.
Leave it home and relax...

 

[dougfitz]

I carried a small Black Diamond headlamp that I could hang around my neck and wear to bed. It was then easy to find if I needed to visit the toilet after lights out. A small hand torch would have worked as well otherwise, but if you have to rattle around finding it, you might be at risk of waking your neighbours in the dormitory.

As a technique, I never wore it on my head, but left it hanging in front of me pointing towards the floor. You might be surprized how much you move your head around, with the attendant risk that you will shine it all over the dormitory. You torso moves much less.

Red preserves one's night adapted vision, which you will destroy if you then turn on the lights in the shower/toilet etc. So if you do take a red torch, the trick is to either learn to close one eye when you are in white light, or just use the red light. Not as easy as it sounds, but not impossible.

As for walking in the dark, I am with Anniesantiago on that issue. Civil twilight will start around 0715 in September, a bit earlier the further east you are and later as the month progresses. If you are really keen, nautical twilight is even earlier. It is possible to walk at nautical twilight, but shapes on the ground will still be seen as general outlines, and not in any detail. Getting away earlier is possible, but you make no friends with a noisy early departure.

Regards,

 

[Lydia Gillen]

Most Albergues insist that boots and sticks should be left in the hallway. I would recommend that the same rule apply to headlamps.

I think that people who use them in the dorm in the early hours of the morning are totally selfish.
If they want to leave early let them put their rucksack outside the dorm and slip out of the room silently in the dark and get dressed outside on the landing.

Even as I write this I can feel myself getting angry and yet we must try to be tolerant of others.

PLEASE PLEASE Lampcarriers dont use them in the dorm.

 

[k1ypp]

Re: HeadLight in Sept/OCT

A headlight may not be all that important in the summer months, especially if getting a later start each day, but in Sept/Oct, it is a must.

The sun rises much later in autumn and to be out walking on roads without natural light or street lamps and automobile traffic is a death wish. Additionally, finding the Camino markers in daylight can be a challenge, in the dark, impossible.

Carrying a lamp doesn't mean you HAVE to use it, but when needed, it can be a life saver. In Villafranca we were leaving in the dark and came upon a missing section of sidewalk that dropped off five meters (15 feet) and was totally invisible in the dark. It had a small piece of plastic police tape draped between two poles, nothing else. We just looked at each other in wonder.

I do agree, the red lamp option is also a must, it is much friendlier. We also found that many times the lighting in the albergue is mostly "natural" and if you enjoy reading and are stuck on a bottom bunk, it can be quite dark there.

 

[unadara]

We found we had to start early due to the intense heat of the day 33* last Sep/Oct and we needed the lamps, to find signage, and avoid trips, but my husband sometimes turned around shining his light in my direction, after my eyes had adjusted to seeing in the dark.
Like others we never used the light to dress or get out of the dorms or pack bags. We slipped on extra clothes in dark, left bags outside with boots and left quietly. An Italian Mum and daughter for days on end woke up to an alarm 5.30-6, turned on headlamps, went to bathroom, came back and packed and sat on bed chatting! No amount of giving out to them changed this routine. They might not leave then until after others.
I carried only the small light of the headlamp without any straps and kept it in my pocket and shone it at my feet. I didnt use it for night time at all.

 

[Portia1]

Now you've touched on one of my "hot" buttons--headlamps in the alberque! I cannot tell you how many times I thought extremely uncharitable thoughts about my fellow pilgrims who flashed those lights at early and late hours with no thought whatsoever for those around them. One fellow must have looked around, over and under his bunk ten times--flashing and rustling around until the whole room was awake. It looks like a train is headed your way! If you insist on a headlamp, wear it ONLY after you have LEFT the alberque!

I took a tiny petzel LED light on a lanyard around my neck--less than an ounce and it produced all the light I needed--even on the Camino before dawn. I had a red one too, just in case. I wore it constantly, except in the shower, so it was always handy--never know when you have to do some deep diving into your pack!

 

[mikevasey]

A headlight is a must sometimes, not so much for the albergue you can always have your gear ready the night before and just get up and transfer you and it to a non sleeping part of the building.But you need it for the early starts to avoid the heat of the day or even sometimes in the evening if the day or section has lasted longer than you expected and you have started going into the twilight.You might not use it often(or even at all) but if you do you will be glad that you took it with you. I used it 5 times in November on the Frances, 2 early starts and 3 unexpected late finishes.

 

[davidinaus]

well that created an interesting thread and some passionate responses
i would have no intention of using the light in the dormitory - it was more about if it was going to be apporopriate or necessary in the mornings. we are just coming out of summer and its light at 6am mid summer ....i really have no intention of doing the 5am dash ,,,,,but it will be an interesting transition as i get up at 5am most days to go to the pool......guess i'll have to learn to sleep in

thanks all for the advice, i didnt know about the red light - but will now buy one with that option.

thanks again and regards

david

 

[sharmuk]

If you have to walk on the road at night and are in a group then the red light worn backwards on the head of tail-end charlie is a handy warning to motorists.

 

[Abbeydore]

If you have to walk on the road at night and are in a group then the red light worn backwards on the head of tail-end charlie is a handy warning to motorists.

Yes walking @ night without a 'light' is pure madness :roll: ,

 

[dougfitz]

If you have to walk on the road at night and are in a group then the red light worn backwards on the head of tail-end charlie is a handy warning to motorists.

Yes walking @ night without a 'light' is pure madness :roll: ,

So is stumbling around a dormitory in the dark trying to find the toilet. I would rather use a light aimed at the floor than bump into other's bunks and wake them that way. Some dormitories are well enough lit to move around without a torch, but not all are.
Regards,

 

[Charleston Tom]

Next month I'm leaving for my first Camino...and I intend to take my Petzl headlight. I certainly will abide the comments about rudeness and don't intend to use it in the albergue. I do, however, rank a compact headlight (along with a knife, compass, and map) very high on my short list of essential gear for travel in unfamiliar places.

I've found a headlight is much more functional than a handheld flashlight/torch. On a personal note, I once found my headlight to be quite useful for finding my way along a trail when caught out after dark on a moonless night. Obviously, there are many other uses for a headlight. In my opinion, a headlight adds very little bulk and weight to my pack. It might, however, prove to be quite useful in a variety of ways.

Buen Camino
Charleston Tom