If you have ever run more than 24 hours through the night(s) during an ultra race, you will know how critical it is to have a top notch headlamp. Often times the head lamp would be your only companion from sun down till sunrise, through the darkest hours of the night, navigating remote wilderness on technical terrains while attempting to locate the next elusive road marker which seems a light year away. The darkness surrounding you, animals making noises from near or far under the cover of the night, your eyelids are heavy and you are trying desperately to stay awake with the guide of a small circle of light.
I am an ultra runner and have used other headlamps during races. Let me tell you how impressed I was with Fenix HM65R head lamp. First thing first, brightness is its middle name. It opens up the night on its medium setting and the high setting was shockingly bright when I tried it the first time – guess I never expected a headlamp to be THIS bright 🙂 And the best part was its battery since other head lamps would have similar brightness at their high setting comparing to HM65R medium setting, but they would last 2-3 hours on the trail and make those not that much of a use. This thing would last about 15 hours on medium – which is SUPER impressive. And it is still light in weight – since it would not be comfortable to carry a brick on my head while running at night. Lastly, the removable headband. It might not be a big deal for other people, but if I wear this over my running hat, the top headband would be annoying. So whoever in Fenix paid this much attention to details during the product design phase, I want to give a big thank you!