Know your gear

Lighting: Is smaller better?

Ten years ago when I bought my very first headlamp, the purchase was simple: "I’ll have that one," I said, pointing to the only model on the rack: a rather cumbersome beast with a battery only marginally smaller than my car’s battery. Then headlamps were still something of a novelty, and I remember standing around the campfire the following weekend, smugly flipping the boerie with one hand and holding a beer with the other, while my mates looked on in envy (or tried to emulate handsfree lighting by clamping torches between their teeth).

How things have changed!

These days it seems like everybody around the campfire has a headlamp strapped to their noggins. And if they don’t, they certainly want one — after all, headlamps just make a lot of sense, whether you’re hiking, camping, climbing or wandering around your house during yet another power outage.

For one, they leave both hands free. And, because they’re positioned directly above your eyes, the beam always points in the direction that you are looking.

All of which is fantastic news if you’re selling the things. Only, as the retailer, how do you guide the buyer to make the right choice (and let’s face it, there’s a lot of choice out there right now)? And are headlamps stealing the limelight from other excellent outdoor lighting products?

LEDS: the future of lighting

With the LED revolution in full swing, you’d think most shoppers would be well aware of all the advantages of this awesome new lighting technology. Not so, according to Leni Hamilton of Hikers Paradise, who says a large number of her customers are still completely in the dark.

"People still need to be educated about the advantages of LED headlamps," she advises. For example, about the fact that LEDs are four to five times more efficient than normal incandescent bulbs, and have a lifespan of up to 100 000 hours (which equates to big savings on batteries and replacement bulbs, not to mention convenience).

LEDs are also much more robust than incandescent bulbs, so they’re less likely break in the field.

Of course, there are now a variety of options when it comes to buying a LED headlamp — ones with little one watt diodes for proximity (close-up) lighting, ones with more powerful three-watt diodes that kick out a spot beam, and various hybrids offering combinations of the two — and here you must be guided by the customer’s needs.

"Find out what sort of activity they want to use it for," suggests Hamilton.

Somebody who just wants a light for reading in their tent or checking on the potjie can get away with a basic LED headlamp, while people involved in nighttime adventure racing, trail running or mountain biking will obviously require a more potent beam.

"Most of the time you can actually convince the customer to buy up and go for the spot beam, especially once you’ve explained the benefits to them," she says. "Whether you’re hiking, 4x4ing, cycling or fly fishing, there will invariably be some situation when you will need a nice, strong beam."

To buy cheap or not?

There’s also a big choice when it comes to headlamp pricing, with the established brands like Silva, Petzl and Black Diamond costing anything from around R200 up to R500, and a flood of new cheaper names coming in at much lower prices. Are these budget headlamps a liability, and are they denting sales of the premium brands?

John Fontyn of Eiger Equipment, the local distributors for Petzl, doesn’t think so. "We haven’t noticed a drop in our headlamp sales," he says, pointing out that there will always be a market for the more high-end products.

Ram Mountaineering’s Simon Larsen agrees. "People are definitely prepared to spend money on an expensive head torch," he says, referring to the Black Diamond Icon, which has been doing exceptionally well despite retailing for around R500.

Hamilton also agrees there’s room in the market for both the budget and premium brands: "The cheap headlamps are fine for your once-a-year camper or Boy Scout hiking trips. But if somebody comes in and tells me they’re off to climb Kilimanjaro or Mt Kenya, I’ll obviously encourage them to buy something more robust and reliable."

It’s important to remember that the influx of cheaper brands also grows the market. People who might not have wanted to splash out on an expensive headlamp before, can now take advantage of the price break and buy one. Once they’re sold on the concept there’s a good chance they’ll end up buying a more expensive model when the cheap one gives up the ghost.

Choice galore

Another positive effect of the cheaper competition is that the other manufacturers are upping their games. Headlamps are now coming out with all sorts of added value features, such as different lighting modes and beam strengths, different coloured beams, and even personalized styling.

"Customers like to compare features," says John Fontyn, "so having lots of different options is now a major selling point."

It’s not all pointless gimmickry, however, and it’s important that the retailers know the advantages of the different settings so that they can educate the customer.

» The strobe function, for example, is handy if there had been a car accident and you want to warn other motorists to beware.
» Red light doesn’t affect your night vision as much as a white light, so a red beam is useful for things like nighttime map reading.
» Green beams are preferred by hunters because they are less conspicuous to animals.

Some manufacturers, like Black Diamond, have also introduced things like different coloured casings and patterned headbands. "This way they become more personalized," says Larsen. People can now choose a headlamp to suit their personality, sex or age group.

Other lighting options

With the headlamp boom some other forms of outdoor lighting have had the carpet pulled out from underneath their feet, most noticeably handheld torches. But this certainly doesn’t mean there’s no market for them at all — on the contrary, established brands have maintained a strong following, especially those that offer LED options.

Indeed, the introduction of LEDs has been a major boost, allowing folk who still prefer to use a handheld torch to now enjoy the same benefits as LED headlamp users. Some manufacturers even offer a LED conversion set, allowing existing customers to upgrade their torches, rather than having to buy brand new ones.

There is also a growing demand for mini LED torches, some smaller than an index finger, that have a surprisingly bright light. These are small enough to attach to a keyring or belt, always ready when needed, for example to find a key hole in the dark or during power failures. Hikers will also appreciate the big weight savings.

Finally, don’t forget about the good old rechargeable camping lantern. "Lanterns are great because they offer a wide spread of light, filling the whole hut or tent, where headlamps only really provide light for the person wearing them," says Hamilton. There’s no doubt that there were some real shockers in the past (many models had burn times shorter than their charge times!), but some of the new-generation LED ones are surprisingly good. Some of these new models sold incredibly well during last year’s power failures in the Cape.

The big thing to remember when you sell a customer a rechargeable lantern is that most need to be charged for an extra-long time initially, and must be topped up every 6 weeks to 3 months, even if they haven’t been used.