Equipment / lighting
Ideal Beam Patterns for Caving Headlamps
Technical guide to caving headlamp beams: useful human field of view, real beam architectures on current models, and practical setup by situation.
Why beam shape matters more than raw lumens
In caving, visual comfort mostly depends on beam geometry: near-ground reading, volume reading, then long pointing. A high lumen peak does not fix poor beam distribution.
Human field of view: what matters underground
The values below are practical references for lamp setup. They are not a substitute for individual visual assessment.
| Vision reference | Order of magnitude | Implication for caving headlamps |
|---|---|---|
| Very fine central vision (fovea) | ~2 deg | A clean spot helps distant reading and precise pointing, but it is not enough alone for progression. |
| Shared binocular zone | ~120 deg | Main progression beam should stay wide and smooth, without a harsh central hole. |
| Total horizontal field (both eyes) | ~200 deg | Side spill helps keep foothold awareness and peripheral reading while moving. |
| Useful vertical field | about 60 deg up / 70 deg down per eye | Too narrow diffusion creates faster fatigue in down-climbs and technical moves. |
Beam families commonly found in caving
| Beam family | Strong use case | Main limitation | Practical reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very wide (panoramic bare LED) | Near comfort, slow progression, immediate relief reading | Limited reach if not paired with a spot | Excellent progression ambient channel, but rarely enough alone. |
| Medium/Wide optic | Balanced club progression and regular outings | Long-distance pointing limited without dedicated spot | Good compromise when optics are clean and homogeneous. |
| Dedicated spot (focused) | Volume reading, route reading, target pointing | Uncomfortable if used alone during continuous movement | Key channel when you need real throw reserve. |
| Mixed (bare LED + medium/wide) + spot | Maximum versatility | More complex interface and setup | Most complete architecture when correctly tuned. |
What current caving lamps actually offer
Manufacturers do not all publish directly comparable full-angle data. In practice, most caving lamps fall into three useful architectures: wide channel, medium/wide channel, dedicated spot channel.
| Beam architecture | Representative examples | Useful takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| Medium/Wide optic + dedicated spot | Petzl DUO RL / DUO S, Stoots Yeti | Strong progression + throw compromise, without a panoramic bare-LED channel. |
| Medium/Wide optic without dedicated spot | Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Max LR, Sofirn HS20 (depending on preferred mode) | Simple and efficient for progression, more limited for committed long pointing. |
| Very wide (bare LED) + dedicated spot | Scurion 1500, Meandre Prowide 4.5, Phaethon Dual | High near-field comfort with useful throw reserve in larger passages. |
| Mixed (bare LED + medium/wide optic) + dedicated spot | Argolamp 2.0 | Very complete coverage when frequently switching use cases. |
Simple field setup (starting point)
| Situation | Priority channel | Recommended setup |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous progression in known passage | Wide or medium/wide | Use stable output without overdriving; keep some side spill. |
| Large chamber / route search | Dedicated spot + low wide support | Increase spot in short steps to limit heat and glare. |
| Technical close work (down-climb, rigging) | Very wide or homogeneous wide beam | Prioritize near relief reading, lower spot contribution. |
| Photo/video or detailed survey reading | Most homogeneous channel | Avoid harsh center/edge transitions and check for flicker. |
Model-by-model detail (beam column in comparison)
Applied to the current comparison, with the same scoring logic and same model set.
| Model | Selected beam architecture | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petzl DUO RL | Medium/Wide optic + dedicated spot | 4/5 | Strong progression + pointing compromise, without very-wide bare LED channel. |
| Petzl DUO S | Medium/Wide optic + dedicated spot | 4/5 | Same beam-structure logic as DUO RL. |
| Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Max LR | Medium/Wide optic | 3/5 | Useful progression channel, but no dedicated spot for throw reserve. |
| Stoots Yeti | Medium/Wide optic + dedicated spot | 4/5 | Strong versatility between near reading and pointing, without panoramic bare LED. |
| Scurion 1500 Speleo | Very wide (bare LED) + dedicated spot | 4/5 | Very good near comfort with wide channel, plus spot for large volumes. |
| Meandre Prowide 4.5 | Very wide (bare LED) + dedicated spot | 4/5 | Architecture focused on wide progression with throw reserve. |
| Sofirn HS20 | Medium/Wide optic | 3/5 | Good budget base for progression, with similar no-spot limitation. |
| Phaethon Dual | Very wide (bare LED) + dedicated spot | 4/5 | Very-wide near reading plus separate spot for large passages. |
| Argolamp 2.0 | Mixed (bare LED + medium/wide optic) + dedicated spot | 5/5 | Most complete coverage in this set, with three useful beam registers. |