BioLite Headlamps and Lanterns

What BioLite makes for hunters and campers

On this site, BioLite covers two product types: headlamps and lanterns. Inside those two, the grid above splits into a few families:

• Range headlamps: fast-charging, IP67-rated per the maker
• Dash headlamps: light front, rear red light
• Luci Beam: a headlamp that doubles as a flashlight, specs from its listing
• AlpenGlow lanterns: USB-charged, with a charging port on the bigger two
• Luci lanterns: inflatable solar lanterns, plus a flameless candle
• Solar string lights and Site Lights: camp lighting you hang or stake

The grid filters by type and changes as listings come and go. So I'll write about the families and what separates them, not about how many of each are listed this week.

BioLite also makes camp stoves, fire pits and power banks. This site doesn't list those, so they're not on this page.

The BioLite headlamp lineup

Range 400: the wet-weather headlamp

The Range 400 is the BioLite headlamp in the grid with the most maker data. Here's what BioLite's spec table lists:

• Output: 400 lumens on high, 1.5 on low
• Burn time: 200 hours on low, 6 hours on high, plus a 1-hour reserve at 5 lumens
• Beam: 90 meters, which is the 295 feet the grid shows
• Water: IP67, which the maker says means submersible to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes
• Weight: 2.6 oz (75 g)
• Modes: dimmable white spot, white strobe, red flood, red strobe

The charging line is the one that caught my eye. BioLite says 30 minutes takes the battery from empty to 80 percent, and that 8 minutes of charge adds a full hour of brightness. That's the headlamp for the guy who remembers to charge it in the truck on the way in. (I'm describing myself. Every November.)

The maker also lists four tilt positions, a lock mode and brightness memory.

BioLite's site lists a Range 300 and a Range 500 too. Neither is in the grid right now, so the specs here are the 400's only.

Dash 450: light on the head, red on the back

The Dash 450 is built differently. BioLite calls the construction 3D SlimFit: the electronics sit in the band, so the front unit is only 10 mm thick. The maker lists it at 2.75 oz (78 g) with a moisture-wicking forehead fabric.

What BioLite's page states about the light:

• Output: 450 lumens in all, from a 325-lumen spot and a flood up to 125
• Beam: 15 meters on flood, 90 on spot
• Burn time: 60 hours on low, 3 on high, plus a 1-hour reserve
• Water: IPX4, which covers splashes and rain, not a dunk in the creek
• Rear light: red flood and red strobe, both dimmable

The rear red light is for being seen from behind. If you walk a township road to your stand before daylight, that's a real feature. If you sit in a blind all morning, it's a light pointed at the blind wall.

The Dash also has a red flood up front, which matters more for a hunter. The National Park Service explains why: bright white light breaks down the chemical in your eyes that handles night vision, within seconds, and it takes roughly 20 to 40 minutes to fully rebuild. A dim red light is the gentle option.

Luci Beam and the HeadLamp 800 Pro

The Luci Beam is a headlamp and flashlight in one. Its values in the grid come from its Amazon listing: a built-in rechargeable battery, a red light and a tilt.

The HeadLamp 800 Pro is on BioLite's site but not in the grid. The maker lists 800 lumens as a 30-second burst, a rear red light and 5.3 oz.

BioLite AlpenGlow lanterns

The AlpenGlow line is BioLite's USB lantern family. All three sizes are in the grid, and the maker's numbers separate them cleanly.

AlpenGlow 500 and 250

The two bigger AlpenGlows share a lot. BioLite lists both at 5 hours on high and up to 200 hours on low, both at IPX4, and both with a USB-A output that can charge a phone or power string lights. The difference is size:

• AlpenGlow 500: 500 lumens, a 6,400 mAh battery, 13.4 oz (380 g)
• AlpenGlow 250: 250 lumens, a 3,200 mAh battery, 210 g

The 500's page lists a long menu of modes: cool white, warm white, single color, multicolor, candle flicker and a few party modes, one of which the maker calls "Shake to Party". I'll leave it to you whether a deer camp needs a party mode. (Walt has asked me not to find out.)

The page also lists a color rendering index of 90. That's a measure of how true colors look under the light. Under a low-CRI light, venison chili and cold coffee look the same. Under a good one, you can tell which cup is yours.

The maker lists a 3-hour charge for the 500 and 2.5 hours for the 250.

AlpenGlow Mini

The Mini is the tent lantern of the family. BioLite lists 150 lumens on high, 40 hours on low and 5 on high, IPX4 and 98 g. It doesn't charge anything else.

What it does have is a bungee strap. The maker shows three ways to hang it: around a pole up to 3/4 inch thick, as a closed loop from a tent ceiling, or around a branch up to 1 inch. Rule of thumb from the ice-math department: a light you can hang is a light you won't knock into the cooler.

Luci solar lanterns

The Luci lanterns are the BioLite lantern line that charges in the sun. Most of them inflate: you blow into a valve, and they pop up into a glowing cube or cylinder. When you're done, they fold flat. BioLite says the Original and the Candle collapse to about 1 inch, and the Charge 150 to about 1.5 inches.

Here's what separates them, per BioLite's pages:

• Luci Original: up to 65 lumens, 24 hours on low, 3 hours to charge by USB-C or 7 by sun, 4.4 oz
• Luci Candle: one amber LED with a candle-flicker mode, 28 hours on low, solar charging only, 2.47 oz
• Luci Emergency: up to 25 lumens, 10 hours on low, with SOS and steady red modes, 2.8 oz
• Luci Charge 150: up to 150 lumens, 50 hours on low, USB-C and USB-A outputs, 6.1 oz

All four are rated IP67 by the maker, which BioLite describes as fully waterproof. The Original comes in matte (warm white), clear (cool white) and color versions, per BioLite's lantern page.

The Charge 150 is the one to read twice. BioLite lists 14 hours to charge it by sun and 2 to 3 hours by USB-C. Fourteen hours of sun is a long ask in a Pennsylvania November. Plan on the cable and treat the solar panel as the bonus.

The Candle got the best review at camp. Walt picked it up, turned it over and said, "A candle that won't burn the cabin down. That's the first candle I've approved." It's going on the kitchen table, he says, for "atmosphere." He means for finding the coffee.

Solar string lights and Site Lights

Two more lantern-type products round out the grid. Both are rated IPX4 by the maker.

The 44-foot solar string lights carry 20 shatterproof bulbs on a braided cord, per BioLite. The maker lists 7 to 25 hours of runtime, a 4,000 mAh battery, and a detachable power unit with USB-C and USB-A outputs. You can unclip the unit to charge it and leave the string hung. The color version adds red, orange, blue, purple and green modes.

The Site Lights are six small lights with three-sided stakes and one charging case. BioLite says the six together cover 1,000 square feet, run 20 hours each on low, and that the case can recharge all six twice on a full battery. Put a few around the truck tailgate and the cooler, and nobody backs into either one. (Again. It was one time.)

How to choose a BioLite headlamp

Start with water

The two headlamp lines carry different ratings. BioLite rates the Range 400 at IP67 and the Dash 450 at IPX4. If you hunt in rain, cross water or set your gear down on wet ground, that's the first line to read. More on ratings is on the headlamps page.

Then the low-mode runtime

Hunters spend most of their headlamp time on low: walking in, tying a boot, finding the stand ladder. The maker lists 200 hours on low for the Range 400 and 60 for the Dash 450. On high, they're 6 and 3 hours. Both have a 1-hour reserve at 5 lumens when the battery runs down.

Then red light, front and back

All three headlamps in the grid list a red light. The Range 400 has a red flood in front, the Dash 450 has red in front and behind, and the Luci Beam's listing says red without saying where. For a red mode you can reach without flashing white first, check each manual. Cross-brand options are on the red light headlamp page.

Weight and fit last

The maker lists the Range 400 at 75 g and the Dash 450 at 78 g. The Dash puts its weight into the band, the Range into a front unit that tilts. More options are on the rechargeable headlamp page.

How to choose a BioLite lantern

Pick the power source first, then the size.

• Wall outlet or truck charger every day: an AlpenGlow
• Days of sun, no outlet: a Luci
• Need to top up a phone: AlpenGlow 500 or 250, or the Luci Charge 150
• Hanging in a tent: AlpenGlow Mini or a Luci on its strap
• Lighting a whole site: the string lights or the Site Lights

Then match lumens to the job. A Luci Emergency at up to 25 lumens is a path marker. An AlpenGlow 500 at 500 lumens is a kitchen light. The camping lantern page and the rechargeable lantern page compare across brands.

Charging, storage and warranty basics

My one opinion on this page: charge a new BioLite light the week you buy it, and then every few months while it sits in the bin. The reason is in BioLite's own warranty. It says the limited warranty doesn't apply to a product with a battery unless you fully charged it within 7 days of purchase and at least once every 6 months after. That's the maker telling you how the battery wants to be treated, and a light that rides in a duffel from one opener to the next doesn't get that.

The warranty terms, per BioLite's page:

• Length: one year from the original purchase date for most products, three years for the Range 300, 400 and 500
• Not covered: normal wear, misuse, unauthorized repair, modified products
• Seller: products bought from non-authorized outlets are excluded, and BioLite names third-party merchants on marketplaces such as Amazon among them
• Claims: made directly to BioLite with an RMA number and a sales receipt

So read the seller line on a listing before you order.

Lithium-ion battery safety, from the U.S. Fire Administration: don't charge below 32°F or above 105°F, don't leave batteries in direct sun or a hot car, and stop using one that smells, swells, leaks or gets too hot. In deer season, that means charge in the cabin, not in a cold truck overnight.

Who's behind BioLite

BioLite's About page starts its timeline in 2006, when two founders began a weekend project to make a wood camping stove. The page shows a Certified B Corporation logo and says BioLite is Climate Neutral Certified. The company now sells headlamps, lanterns and power products alongside the stoves. A company that started by trying to make a campfire charge things is my kind of idea. Mine usually don't work.

Water rating, low-mode hours, red light. Write those three on a strip of tape inside the lid of your light bin, and next November's version of you will know which one to grab.