Following the big push from Petzl last year to retrofit all of their TIKKA and ZIPKA line of headlamps with the Core rechargeable battery, many headlamps makers from large to small are jumping on the rechargeable bandwagon. Black Diamond recently announced the launch of their first rechargeable headlamp, the ReVolt, while a Kickstarter campaign recently funded a brand new headlamp company trying to design their own rechargeable headlamp from scratch.
The new ReVolt from Black Diamond is a hybrid power headlamp that runs on both rechargeable power and traditional alkaline batteries. The 110-lumen ReVolt recharges via a USB cable that can be plugged into anything from a computer to a solar charger to the USB input on your car stereo.
The hybrid power headlamp features one TriplePower LED, two SinglePower LEDs, two SinglePower red LEDs, and a battery level/charge status indicator. The light settings include full strength in proximity and distance modes, dimming, strobe, red night vision and lock mode. The ReVolt will retail for $59.95, out Spring 2013.
Bosavi is a bright, lightweight, ultra-compact headlamp designed by San Francisco local Dan Freschl. Dan has years of experience developing batteries for pacemakers, defibrillators, and electric vehicles, experience which he drew upon to create an all new headlamp design from the bottom up.
Made from a custom Lithium-polymer battery, the Bosavi headlamp can be charged from almost any power supply including your computer, solar charger, or wall plug. The heat sink inside the headlamp doubles as a reflector in order to keep the 110-lumen LED super bright, cool, and focused. The Bosavi packaging even converts into an origmai lantern for fun ambient lighting around camp.
Just completing a Kickstarter campaign for funding, the Bosavi headlamp is still in the process of final production. The expected retail price is $80 when they do finally make it to market. Too expensive, too late? We shall see.
As headlamps appear to be one of the last disposable battery holdouts within backcountry electronics, hopefully we won't be needing to pack those AAAs much longer.