The gear that gets you there.
The top three in every category.
Only the best. Nothing else makes the list.
USB-C headlamps under two ounces, plus a co-op lamp you can replace in town.
Three picks. That is the whole list. If it is not here, it did not earn a place.
Surveys 40% · independent tests 30% · merchant ratings 15% · relative street price 15%. Sources & method
Listed prices and shop ratings stay live once a shop page loads. GEAR UP for official product page.
Built from published thru-hiker surveys and independent testing — not commissions. Sources & method · Disclosure
Swipe — three picks side by side
USB-C · 360 lm · 1.3 oz
Typical street · Price updates live — GEAR UP for official product page
Listed prices and shop ratings stay live.
Highest-rated headlamp · Halfway Anywhere 2025
1.3-ounce USB-C headlamp with a red light. Our first pick, and the lightest of the three.
Sources: Halfway Anywhere
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USB-C · 360 lm · 1.7 oz
Typical street · Price updates live — GEAR UP for official product page
Listed prices and shop ratings stay live.
38% of 790 hikers · Halfway Anywhere 2025
USB-C Nitecore that cottage shops sell widely. A little more weight and output than the NU20.
Sources: Halfway Anywhere
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400 lm · rechargeable · 3 oz
Typical street · Price updates live — GEAR UP for official product page
Listed prices and shop ratings stay live.
Rechargeable 400-lumen headlamp you can replace at a co-op.
Sources: Halfway Anywhere
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USB-C, under two ounces, and a red light you will actually use. Nitecore took this class in 2025. A co-op lamp is the replacement you can buy when a cottage shop is closed.
NU20 Classic is first: 1.3 ounces, the highest-rated headlamp in that survey and the lightest of these three. NU25 is Best Value — the Nitecore cottage shops sell in volume. Black Diamond Spot 400-R is Trail Tough: rechargeable, 400 lumens, widely stocked. Keep it in a hipbelt pocket for early starts.
Nitecore NU20 Classic
USB-C headlamp with red mode. HA: 1.34 oz (38 g), 360 lm, $25, IP66, reflective/glow headband. Card: 1.3 oz · $25 · 360 lm.
Primary night light when ounces matter and town USB-C is available. Slightly less output / different strap story than NU25. Not a flood work light — camp / night-hike class.
Best Overall as the lightest USB-C Nitecore that HA’s PCT class rates highest — 360 lm, red light, $25 — ahead of the more-common NU25 and co-op Spot.
For more information, go straight to the source. Click GEAR UP for the product page.
Nitecore NU25
USB-C Nitecore with red mode. HA: 1.66 oz (47 g), 400 lm, $37, bungee strap (traditional +0.1 oz). Card: 1.7 oz · $37 · 360 lm (card lumen print is below HA’s 400 lm row — cite both).
Default thru headlamp when cottage shops and survey classes both push Nitecore USB-C. A little more weight than NU20; most-common on trail. Still not a 3 oz co-op flood lamp.
Best Value as the USB-C Nitecore most of a PCT class actually carries — survey most-common, still under 2 oz, red light, town-charge simple.
For more information, go straight to the source. Click GEAR UP for the product page.
Black Diamond Spot 400-R
Co-op-class 400-lumen Spot. Card: 400 lm · rechargeable · 3 oz · ~$60. HA Spot 400 row: 3.03 oz, $55, 400 lm, 3×AAA. Maker still sells Spot family headlamps on blackdiamondequipment.com.
When you want a Spot you can replace at REI and do not want a Nitecore bungee. Heavier than NU20/NU25. Confirm R vs AAA battery before you buy — survey rows and the card SKU are not identical.
Trail Tough as the co-op Spot on a Nitecore-heavy three — replaceable in town, 400 lm class, heavier and more conventional than NU20/NU25.
For more information, go straight to the source. Click GEAR UP for the product page.
This ranking already sits in a finished kit. Weighed. Ranked. Ready.
A harness, shoe, and layer stack that actually fits.
9 lb 11.3 oz base · Open kit →02 · UltralightThe lighter pick in each slot. Dyneema shelter, open-foot quilt, flask filter.
8 lb 1.6 oz base · Open kit →03 · Lower spendA complete thru-hike kit from the best in each slot, chosen for a lower street price — not for a lesser hike.
9 lb 11 oz base · Open kit →04 · Highest performingThe highest-performing pick in each slot this site already ranks. Dyneema shelter, closed-foot quilt, SOS in the hipbelt.
8 lb 8.2 oz base · Open kit →05 · First long trailForgiving shelter, a stove that lights, tape in the hipbelt. Built for the first hundred miles, not for a forum argument.
9 lb 8.1 oz base · Open kit →06 · Two hikersOne two-person shelter, two sleep systems, a shared kitchen. Split the tent, the stove, and the filter. Carry your own pack.
15 lb 8.8 oz base · Open kit →07 · Cooler weatherA 15° bag, a warmer pad, a fleece under the puffy. For starts and finishes that are not summer.
9 lb 15.4 oz base · Open kit →08 · No stoveNo canister. No boil. Cold soak in the pot you already carry, or eat in town.
8 lb 1.6 oz base · Open kit →09 · Section hikesForgiving shelter, a stove that lights, tape in the hipbelt. Weekend-to-week volume — not a five-month food carry. No traction.
9 lb 7 oz base · Open kit →10 · Sierra snowSnow travel with the traction this site already ranks #1. Rain pants and hiking pants on. No ice axe — that ranking does not exist here.
11 lb 2.6 oz base · Open kit →Rankings and kits are based on published surveys and independent analysis. They are opinions for informational purposes only. Users are responsible for choosing and using gear appropriate to their conditions and experience. Thru Picks is not liable for outcomes related to product use. Terms