A head torch is one of the easiest pieces of fishing equipment to underestimate.
You only realise how important it is when you’re trying to land a carp, tie a rig or find something in the bivvy at 2am and your light decides to die.
Cheap head torches can be perfectly adequate, but I’d prioritise reliability over maximum advertised brightness.
Useful features include several brightness levels, a red-light mode, decent battery life and controls simple enough to operate with cold hands.
Rechargeable models are convenient, although I still like carrying a small backup light or spare batteries.
Extremely powerful torches aren’t always better. Blasting a swim with hundreds of lumens can ruin your night vision and annoy anglers across the lake.
For close work, a low setting is often all you need.
If you’re buying budget, make sure the headband, charging port and switches don’t feel disposable.
What’s the cheapest head torch you’ve bought that turned out to be genuinely good?