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If you recall, at the end of last month, we brought you word about a new trio of headlamps that Biolite was releasing. I’ve been spending some time with the BioLite HeadLamp 325; read on to see what we thought.
In many ways, the BioLite HeadLamp 325 is very much a result of the BioLite HeadLamp 200 and 330 (reviewed here), with an integrated light/headstrap design that allows the light to hug very close to your forehead. This is great if you’re wearing a headlamp while active (say, on a jog) as it helps keep the light in place and not bouncing around.
While the 330 has it’s battery pack at the back of your head, the BioLite HeadLamp 325 instead has it built into the light itself. The construction still makes for a fairly light package, and that 700 mAh battery (rechargeable via micro-USB) is definitely way lighter than any 3 AAA battery setup you’re going to find. In other words, I didn’t have any problems with the light moving around once I had the strap adjusted to fit my head.
A feature I was glad to see incorporated into the BioLite HeadLamp 325 was a lock feature. When you press-and-hold the button on top for 5 seconds or so, it unlocks the light to be used. This is handy so you don’t have the light accidentally turning on in a bag. Once you’re done, the same 5-second procedure locks things back down.
For lighting modes, you’ve got four with the BioLite HeadLamp 325. When it first comes on, the red light comes on solid, at it’s brightest setting. Press and hold the button, and you can dim it down (and then back up again if you like). Another button press, and you’re into the main white LED. Again, it comes on at full brightness, but you can dim it down. Another button press, you’ve got the red light strobing, and the 4th press puts you to the white LED strobing (no dimming on either of those). The 5th button press turns everything off.
The UI for the BioLite HeadLamp 325 is fairly simple, but no, you do not have to cycle through the settings to get it to turn back off. Once it’s been on for a few seconds, a press of the power button will turn things off. Also of note, there’s memory to the headlamp, so it remembers which lighting mode you were in, or what brightness you had set things to. The one caveat I noticed with this was if you lock things. That seems to reset the memory.
I’ve been using the BioLite HeadLamp 325 around the house (hasn’t been dark enough in the mornings to need it for a jog just yet) and even put it to work when I had to change out a car battery in the driveway – and it worked great in all those scenarios. In fact, I’ve already got at least one kid eyeballing it, so I’ve a feeling it’ll be sized to their head sooner rather than later. If you’d like to pick one of these up, they’re available in three different colors for $39.95 directly from bioliteenergy.com
Tech Specs from BioLite
- Lumens – 325
- Lumens/Dollar – 6.51
- Weight – 50g
- Weather Resistance – IPX4
- Beam Distance – 75m
- Charging Port – Micro USB
- Rechargeable Battery Size – 700 mAh
- Run Time (Low) – 40h / Run Time (High) – 5h
- Light Modes – White Spot, White Strobe, Red Flood, Red Strobe
- Colorways – Midnight Gray , Ocean Teal, Ember Yellow
- 3D SlimFit Construction – By integrating electronics directly into the band, BioLite creates a flush low-profile front with no bounce, with a moisture-wicking band that keeps you cool and dry.
