BioLite
BioLite Range 500 (500 lumens)
- Brightness: 7/10 How much light it gives at full power, for finding your way in the dark.
- Runtime: 7/10 How long one charge or set of batteries lasts at a level you can walk and cook by.
- Weight: 7/10 How much it adds to your pack and your head.
Trail running, fast hiking and night walks where a light, stable lamp matters
- Brightness
- 500 lumens (maker's figure)
- Runtime
- 6 h at 500 lumens
- Weight
- 75 g
- Power
- Rechargeable
- Water rating
- IPX7
Where to buy
Alpinetrek £52.16 In stock. Delivery £4.49. Reduced price: the page shows £59.95 struck through, so this is a sale price. Free delivery from £85, £4.49 under that. Blue, grey and red all in stock.
View at shop: AlpinetrekGO Outdoors £63 In stock. Delivery £3.99. Free standard delivery on orders £80+.
View at shop: GO OutdoorsUltralight Outdoor Gear £62.99 Out of stock. Free tracked delivery on UK orders; Midnight Grey.
View at shop: Ultralight Outdoor GearPrices checked 8 Nov 2026 on each shop's own page; shops can change them. We earn no commission on these links; shops are listed by price. More
Our ratings (out of 10)
1 to 10, compared with the whole market. Each says what it's based on. How we score
Brightness
From maker's figures 7/10How much light it gives at full power, for finding your way in the dark. 7: Better than most.
Maker's figure, 500 lumens on High with no test standard stated: the 500–799 band, which is the most a figure without a test standard can score. BioLite's EU and US pages agree.
Runtime
From maker's figures 7/10How long one charge or set of batteries lasts at a level you can walk and cook by. 7: Better than most.
BioLite gives 6 hours on High (500 lumens), the 6–9.9 h band. The Low mode (1.5 lumens, 200 hours) is under 80 lumens, so it doesn't count. iRunFar got 5 h 30 min to 5 h 45 min on High in mild weather and 5 h 15 min to 5 h 30 min between -10 and -1 °C, both a little under 6 hours.
Weight
From maker's figures 7/10How much it adds to your pack and your head. 7: Better than most.
BioLite lists 75 g with the built-in battery, in the 50–89 g band. iRunFar weighed 74 g.
What reviewers say (out of 10)
Ratings marked * are from reviews and are not part of the trip score. They are reviewers' scores, not our own measurements. How we score
Comfort*
Reviewers' average 9/10How comfy and steady it sits on your head.
7 reviews on comfort, e.g. "There perhaps isn’t a more comfortable headlamp that I’ve worn".
Ease of use*
Reviewers' average 7/10How easy the buttons, modes and lock are, with gloves too.
7 reviews on ease of use, e.g. "The buttons are reasonably large and usable (albeit with a bit of fumbling) with gloves.".
Reviewers disagree on this.
In short
Good for
- Trail running, fast hiking and night walks where a light, stable lamp matters
- Wet-weather trips: IP67, so it survives rain and a dunk
- Short trips with a quick top-up charge: 8 minutes adds an hour at full power
Strengths
- 75 g with the battery; the front unit sits flush in the headband
- Stable fit with no bounce, and a moisture-wicking band
- IP67: submersible to 1 m for 30 minutes
- Fast USB-C charging: 0–80% in 30 minutes, and 8 minutes adds an hour at full power
- Dimmable white spot (100 m beam) and flood, a red flood mode, a lock mode and brightness memory
- 3-year limited warranty from BioLite
Weaknesses
- 6 hours at full power by BioLite's figure, and iRunFar's runs came in a little under that (5 h 15 min to 5 h 45 min)
- The battery is built in: no spare cells, and no pass-through charging while it is lit
- Low-profile buttons are hard to use with thick gloves
- The red light is flood-only, with no focused red beam
- No cover on the charging port, and the headband can't be taken off to wash
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.
ShowHide sources (8)
- BioLite: Range 500 product page and tech specs (EU shop; the US page gives the same figures)
- iRunFar: BioLite Range 500 headlamp review
- CleverHiker: BioLite Range 500 headlamp review (Ben Dawson)
- Boulder Gear Lab: BioLite Range 500 review (John Tribbia)
- TreeLineBackpacker: BioLite Range 500 headlamp review (sample from BioLite)
- OutdoorHub: BioLite Range 500 headlamp review (Wesley Littlefield)
- 1lumen: BioLite Range 500 review (Nick; pre-production sample, measured in his lab)
- GearJunkie: BioLite Range 500 review (Sean McCoy, four days in the Boundary Waters; launch-day review)