ozark trail outdoor equipmentThe Spot’s highest setting is 400 lumens, which we found we didn’t need most of the time. For dog walks and evenings at camp, the middle setting (200 lumens) did just fine. (This also made the battery last longer.) The lowest setting is 6 lumens, which is bright enough to read a map by.
No matter which mode you choose, there’s no glare, and the lantern is lightweight yet sturdy enough to withstand frequent use and inclement weather. With the handle, you can carry it in your hand or hang it from a tent hook or tree branch. Alternatively, just set it on the ground or a table. The way you set up your campsite could make or break the whole trip.
One of the best parts of backpacking is settling around a campfire and enjoying a hot dinner after a long day of hiking. You may find it helpful to make a list of meals for each day you are out on the trail to ensure that you are not over- or under-packing for your trip. These don’t cast very far into the distance—definitely not the promised 26 feet on high.
Make sure to let a friend or family member know what you’re doing and where you’re going. Tell someone how many days you’ll be gone and approximately where you think you’ll stay each night. Physically check in by filling out a backpacking card at dedicated trailheads. Also, learn the seven principles of “Leave No Trace” to keep the backcountry beautiful.
ozark trail backpackThis hydration compatible backpack has a connection for a water bladder built in to the design. It also includes loops to hang your trekking poles when not in use. I’ve had this pack for 2 years and I’ve beaten the living daylights out of it and it still performs just as well as the day I bought it. It was the perfect size bag to hold water bottles and a few other important things in it.
They didn’t hurt my shoulders as I carried the bag around with me. When my bag got wet from a few rides, it easily and quickly dried because of its thin material, I really liked that. The bag has one large compartment and then a smaller one on the front/side.
The Spot 400’s main button, which turns the headlamp on and changes its brightness, sits slightly higher than the top of the headlamp’s body (the 350’s button sat flush). This small improvement is surprisingly helpful when you need to find the button quickly with your finger. The Spot also has a PowerTap function; find the small starburst icon on the side of the light and touch it to immediately bump the power up to max, and then touch it again to revert to low. Costing only $20, the Black Diamond Astro matched the brightness of our top pick in our tests, despite its lower lumen count. We got 10 hours out of the battery on high, the same as our top pick, and the settings are simpler.
We tested the Spot 400 with AAA batteries and the BD 1500; we also tested the new Black Diamond Spot 400R, a variation of the Spot that you recharge using a Micro-USB cable. You have a choice of two beam shapes and two colors. The Spot 400 has three LED lights, two white and one red.The main “spot” LED throws white light far down the path in front of you, which is useful when you are hiking or walking your dog at night. We could see trees (and other neighborhood dogs) at a distance of about 100 meters.
It also turns off at the two-hour mark, in case your kid forgets. The control mechanism on the Wiz is a bit complicated, but our kid testers didn’t mind clicking through the rainbow colors as they figured it out. Although the Wiz has only 30 lumens, that should be good enough for most kids (plus, they won’t be able to blind each other—or you—with the light). Rainbow lights make this kids headlamp fun to play with during camping trips or backyard adventures. As bright as our top pick for half the price, this headlamp weighs even less. But it’s not quite as comfortable to wear and lacks some useful features.