In autumn and winter, we face 12 hours of darkness and then some. If your headlamp fails, it's game over.

A backup light must work, and ideally, it should weigh next to nothing. When it comes to a primary light, there are hundreds of great options, many runners swear by the Lumonite Compass or the Mila Vega.

But what about the backup light? The one that has to be in your pack, but will hopefully never be used?

It's frustrating how hard it is to find something so simple. Fortunately, Nitecore managed to pack all the critical features into the small NU25. It weighs just 50 grams (headband included) and provides around seven hours of usable running light.

Rechargeable with USB and a powerbank if needed. Four white light modes - low, medium, high and turbo. Two red light modes. Rain and waterproof 1 meter. Lockable so the light won't turn on accidentally. Battery level indicator.

In other words, everything you could wish for. In maximum Turbo mode it pushes out 360 lumens with a battery life of 80 minutes. Medium gives 38 lumens and is great for trail running for up to 7 hours.

Note: I have no affiliation of relationship with Nitecore