Thirty-five hours of light on low, so a long weekend does not need a power bank. 124 grams on your head. A red mode that does not blind everyone else in the tent. And if the charge does go, three AAAs will get you home.
Every model here is USB-C rechargeable, rated IP67 or better and works down to −10°C. Where they differ is weight, how long they last on low, and whether they will take batteries when the charge goes.
The one to take if you are only taking one. 124 grams, Auto Focus that widens as you look down at your feet and reaches back out along the trail, and a red mode for the tent. If the charge goes on day three, three AAAs bring it back.
Thirty-five hours on low is three or four nights of cooking, reading and finding the toilet block without ever charging it. Same 124 grams as the ZB5H, and the entry point to the range.
The handheld for when you need to see across the field rather than in front of your boots — a noise at the treeline, finding the car, walking someone back to their pitch. Red Dot Best of the Best 2026.
Twelve hours at 400 lumens covers a full winter night on the hill. Heavier than the ZB5H because the cell is bigger, which is the trade you make for not thinking about charge.
For moving after dark over ground you do not know. 260 metres of reach picks out a cairn or a path junction well before you get to it, and Auto Focus pulls back in when you look down at the map.
60 grams in a jacket pocket or a tent pocket. Enough to find something in a rucksack at 2am without turning a head torch on. Pull the cell out and drop two AAAs in when it dies — no adaptor needed.
The full range side by side. Read across for the model that matches how and where you camp; the notes under the table explain how each figure is measured.
| Model | Type | Max output | Beam distance | Runtime on low | Weight | Takes batteries | Red light | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZB3H | Head torch | 600 lm | 150 m | 35 h at 30 lm | 124 g | No | Yes | £49.99 |
| ZB5H | Head torch | 1,000 lm | 200 m | 124 g | Yes, 3×AAA | Yes | £79.99 | |
| ZB7H | Head torch | 1,200 lm | 240 m | 233 g | No | Yes | £89.99 | |
| ZB9H | Head torch | 2,000 lm | 260 m | 50 h at 30 lm | 252 g | No | Yes | £109.99 |
| ZB11H | Head torch | 2,500 lm | 260 m | 80 h at 30 lm | 371 g | No | Yes | £149.99 |
| ZB6T | Handheld | 3,000 lm | 300 m | 213 g | No | Yes | £89.99 | |
| ZB4P | Penlight | 400 lm | 90 m | 60 g | Yes, 2×AAA | No | £34.99 |
Runtime is quoted at the mid setting, which is where most people work. Boost figures are on each product page. All weights include the battery.
Six places the difference shows up on a trip, and what we have done about each.
Thirty-five hours on low on the ZB3H, fifty on the ZB9H, eighty on the ZB11H. That is a long weekend of cooking, reading and finding your way back to the tent without carrying a power bank for it.
Every battery in the range is replaceable. On the ZB4P you pull the rechargeable cell out and drop two AAA alkalines straight in, no adaptor; the ZB5H does the same on three AAAs with its included adapter. On day four of a trip with no power, that is the difference between having light and not.
Exposure to a white LED costs you around 20 minutes of night vision, and it wakes everyone else up. A red mode on the ZB6T, ZB5H, ZB7H, ZB9H and ZB3H lets you find your boots, read, or check a map without blinding the tent or losing the stars.
The ZB3H and ZB5H both weigh 124 g with the battery in. Light enough that you stop noticing it an hour into a walk, which is the only weight test that matters.
IP67 means dust-tight and able to take a short dunk in shallow water, so a downpour or a dropped-in-a-puddle moment is fine. Rated to a 2 m drop and specified to work down to −10°C.
The ZB3H, ZB5H, ZB7H, ZB9H and ZB11H are flicker-free. If you have ever worn a cheap head torch for three hours and come away with a headache, that is why.
The ZB6T took Best of the Best, the competition's highest award, given only for groundbreaking design. The ZB7H head torch was also honoured. Judged by an international design jury against the field, not self-declared.
Camping is the use case where the lumen race does you the most harm. A 3,000-lumen head torch pointed at a tent wall is unusable, it ruins your night vision, and it flattens the battery in three hours.
Most of a camping trip happens between 30 and 300 lumens. What matters is that the torch will hold that level for days, and that it drops to a red or low mode without a fight.
For the full explanation of lumens, lux and beam distance, read our plain-English guide to lumens.
For most people it is a head torch rather than a handheld, because everything you do at camp after dark needs both hands. The ZB5H at 1,000 lumens and 124 grams is the all-rounder — light enough to forget you are wearing it, with a red mode for the tent and the option of three AAAs if the charge runs out. If you are watching the budget, the ZB3H is £49.99, weighs the same and runs 35 hours on low. A handheld like the ZB6T is worth adding if you want to see across a field rather than in front of your feet.
Far fewer than most torches are sold on. Inside a tent, 10 to 50 lumens is plenty. Cooking and moving around camp takes 100 to 300. Walking a known path after dark needs 300 to 600, and only night hiking on unfamiliar ground calls for 600 to 1,500. A 3,000-lumen head torch pointed at a tent wall is unusable and will be flat in three hours. What matters far more is how long the torch holds a low setting.
On low, longer than most trips. The ZB3H runs 35 hours at 30 lumens, the ZB9H 50 hours and the ZB11H 80 hours. That is three or four nights of normal camp use without touching a charger. At higher settings it drops sharply, which is why the low-power figure is the one worth comparing.
The ZB4P takes two AAA alkalines: pull the rechargeable cell out, drop them in, carry on — no adaptor and no tools. The ZB5H does the same on three AAAs using the adapter in the box. Every model in the range has a replaceable battery, so you can also carry a spare cell rather than a power bank.
Every model on this page is IP67 — dust-tight and able to survive a short immersion in shallow water, so a downpour or a torch dropped in a puddle is fine. All are IK07 for impact and rated to a 2 metre drop, apart from the ZB5H at 1.5 metres. They are specified to operate down to −10°C, which covers a UK winter.
Not one we currently sell in the UK. Rather than point you at something that is not a lantern, the honest answer is that the nearest thing in the range is a head torch opened up to its widest setting. Every head torch on this page uses Multiple Optic Technology with a focus switch, so the beam spreads to a flood rather than a spot, and hung from a tent ridge that lights the inside of a tent perfectly well. The ZB3H gives 35 hours on low and the ZB11H 80, so either covers several nights without a charger. Inside the tent, the red mode on the ZB3H, ZB5H, ZB7H and ZB9H is the better choice — it lights the space without wrecking everyone's night vision.
What actually works after dark at camp, tested by use.
ExplainerWhat lumens, lux and beam distance mean when you are choosing.
Buying guideOur picks across camping, trade and everything after dark.
Other use cases