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Headlamp: Black Diamond Astro 300 ($20)

These days, $40 will buy you a premium, fully featured, and reliable headlamp, which might be worth the investment for many. Dropping down to the $20 price range is where we find our budget models, many of which are cheaply made and not ready for the backcountry. But Black Diamond’s new Astro 300 is a high-quality outlier: You get BD’s trusted quality, a solid 300 lumens, dimming and strobe modes, and four whole hours on the brightest setting (and 140 hours on low). You won’t get a red-light function (nice to have in a tent at night) or rechargeable battery, but for a simple backpacking headlamp, the Astro offers long-lasting quality at a low price point.



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