Favorite Things | Headlamp

Today’s guest post from Jennifer Miller is part of Simple Black Coffee’s Favorite Things series. Submit your story to share.

I want to tell all of the Simple Black Coffee readers about why a Petzl Zipka Plus headlamp is one of my favorite things. And it is only because I really, really like it. It’s not because I like to write since I write as little as is required by my profession. My only blogging experience happened in picture form last year. Maybe it’s because I consider Craig a friend and I read about how he is making changes towards simplicity. I’m not a minimalist, but over the last year I’ve challenged myself to take less with me on daily trips and longer travel. (It’s inspiring me to move a lot of crap out of our basement…someday.) But, most of all I’m writing because one of MY favorite things is my headlamp.

My husband and I are avid geocachers, but this only involved short jaunts whenever a flashlight is needed and we carried a bulky, heavy 2D Maglite in the car for geocaching and emergencies. I bought headlamps for us when planning a trip a few years ago to the Black Hills and Rocky Mountain National Park. We planned to do some remote hiking, starting early in the morning. A headlamp was essential to take with us into the backcountry so I researched for the lightest, strongest, toughest little lamp I could find.

I don’t mind spending a little extra time or money to make sure I get what is the best fit for me. In my review of what was available the Zipka Plus took the cake. I found it useful during that trip for hiking and other travel tasks, and have carried it daily since that time. If it isn’t in my purse or pocket, it’s in the console of my car.

Some features I like:
• Retractable string attachment makes it less bulky when being worn or carried and increases versatility in how you can attach the light
• Fits on wrist or forehead when worn
• Weight with the batteries is about 65 grams
• 3 levels of brightness and a flashing option for the lights
• After being carried daily the only noticeable wear is the string is dirty (was white, now grey) and the print is nearly worn off (doesn’t impact use)
• Only replaced batteries once in almost 3 years

Some situations where I’ve used it:
• Hiking, geocaching, setting up camp, walking in from our unattached garage in the dark
• Making pie-iron or dutch oven recipes by the campfire
• “Front porch light” for our tent
• Around dog’s neck with her collar so we could see her at night
• Makeshift headlight for my bicycle when I stayed out longer than I should have
• Precise lighting when removing a splinter from a foot
• Finding something in my purse in poor lighting
• Working on craft projects
• Car trouble (I didn’t have to hold the flashlight for my husband and the light was always on what he was inspecting.)

The Maglite is now moved to the house. Petzl has changed the design slightly now, so the new lamps are a little different from the one I have. I’ve given them as gifts to some select people, who often tell me how useful they have become.

How many thirty-something women do you know that carry a headlamp daily in their purse? Well, you know of at least one.

Today’s guest post was written by Jennifer Miller. Follow her on twitter @jengalbraith.

The next Favorite Things post will be from Naomi Seldin of Simpler Living.

Previous posts in the Favorite Things series:

• Sharpie Pen by Craig Keirstead of Simple Black Coffee
• Clothing by Joshua Millburn of The Minimalists
• TUL Pen by Kevin Lemere of Ground Up Life
• Evernote by David Damron of Life Excursion
• Nothing by Dusti Arab of Minimalist Adventures
• Chrome Shoes by Seth Werkheiser of The Bike Nerd
• Work Boots by Andrew Odom of Tiny r(E)volution
• Safety Razor by Bernie Mack of Get Off This Wheel
• iPod Touch (+4 more) by Serena of The Everyday Minimalist
• Kitchen Tools by Cheryl Breuer of Peculiar Girl