The Headlamp that Lit Up Our Lives
Over the course of the past year and the hundreds of products we’ve had the opportunity to tell you about, there have been a few items that crept into our daily usage here at home. One of these came at an opportune time last Spring when we were caught off guard by a later-than-ever freeze. Our garden was already planted and we risked losing all of our work if we didn’t do something to protect the seedlings. We heard about the oncoming freeze late in the evening, well after the sun had already set.
Fortunately we had just opened up a package from Northbound Train containing their newest headlamp. We couldn’t get the package open fast enough that evening to put it to use and get our garden beds covered before the frost hit the plants’ leaves.
What we didn’t plan on was how many times during the next six months we would be grabbing that same headlamp for around-the-house repairs and chores. Just look at some of the times the light played a critical role during my “husbandry duties”!
First it was a small leak on our reverse osmosis system. When the drain tube gets a little clogged where it meets the main drain pipe, water backs up and leaks out of the faucet base on the sink. Every six month or so I have to get in there and open it up. Holding a flashlight while trying to peek into a 1/4″ diameter connection is not high on my list of things I like to do. The Northbound Train headlamp makes it a LOT easier.
A couple months ago we finally upgraded the thermostat on our home heating system. Of course it is never as simple as the box tells you it will be. In our case the old one was battery-powered and this new state-of-the-art wifi-enabled model needs continuous power. I did get lucky though – the builders used a 6-wire cable, but only attached four of them. A little fishing in the wall yielded a spare wire I could tie in directly to the furnace. Since I needed to cut power to that area to do the wiring, the Northbound Train headlamp allowed me to use the required two hands to quickly attach the wire to the circuit board. I cannot imaging trying to balance a wire, screwdriver and a flashlight at the same time. It would have required a second person.
And just last week it was time to pull out the Christmas decorations. Like most people, we have them stored away for the entire year, in our case underneath the basement staircase. Not a single light source nearby, and in the past my wife elected to balance an electric lantern on a 2×4 cross brace. Borrowing my headlamp and she was able to maneuver the holiday boxes around (Easter, Halloween, etc.) until she finally located all the Christmas ones, of course way in the back.
A headlamp isn’t a glamorous product and won’t win the envy of your friends and neighbors, but for us it has become an important tool in our home repair arsenal. In all honesty, we have grabbed it at least 3 times as often as we do a flashlight, and since it uses LED lights, we haven’t had to worry about batteries being dead when we need it.
Consider it an inexpensive insurance policy for the fix-it person in your house at under $30. Need more specifications before you make a decision? You’ll find what you need on their website, or by following them on Facebook and Twitter. We think you’ll be impressed with what you see.
And if you’re feeling a bit lucky, Northbound Train is giving one away to a lucky SahmReviews reader! Enter using the form below, and don’t forget to come back tomorrow for additional entries. Who knows, you might be lighting up someone’s world sooner than you think!
I would use it when I working in the closet and under the sink.
I would use it in my dark garage looking for things, and I would use it to take my dog outside when it is dark! And I would use it in my dark basement to look for things!
That would come in handy around here; We’re always searching for our one flashlight and usually our daughter has gotten ahold of it and run the batteries down. That is so super-bright, it looks like you opened the Ark in your tent!
Being single and slightly on the shorter side and live in an apartment where light bulbs seem to go out all the time (I am not handy by any stretch of the imagination) I need to climb up on a chair type step ladder which of course is in the darkest part of the apartment-couple that with me being night blind and with a cat who seems to go directly in front of me when I can’t see –I think you are getting the picture–I need that headlamp!!
We do have one of those and use it quite often. Yours seam to have a stronger light though.
If I won, I would give this to my husband to use when he is working on the house or cars
Yes, this would be amazing! So many times have I needed light but didn’t have a hand for a flashlight!
These really is such a useful gadget. I could think of so many uses for it in our home.
These are awesome gadgets. My dad uses one to look under the hood of the car all the time. There are so many uses for one. I definitely need to think about getting one for our home.
I can think of tons of ways this would be helpful. I’d love it for visits to the barn when it’s getting dusk and I’m still doing yard work!
We have a similar headlamp and they really are a huge help! Our one is quite old, so maybe we should replace it before it brokes down.
I would love to have this for reading at night so that I don`t disturb anyone else and I would also love it
for when we go camping.Usually most parks we camp in have washrooms that are not near our site
& I have to walk three or four campsites down the road in the dark to get to a washroom.
This headlamp would be the perfect solution for me in many ways.I also have to work night shifts and I could wear this to and from my vehicle instead of walking in the dark in the wee hours of the morning.
Thank you for this awesome giveaway and best of luck to all.
I would use it for all kinds of stuff.
What a cool product.
Thanks!
I want a headlamp so I can crochet in the car at night on long car trips without blinding my husband. 😉
I would use it in our dark garage looking for tools and other stuff.
use it for garage work
This would be great for walking the dog’s.
I would use it in the garage to keep my hands free.
Power outage
I would have it for a power outage but would use it most while camping. We camp a lot in the summer.
great combo uses
This would be real handy when I go on road trips with my best friend.
Beautiful Jewelry Box.
Great prize! It has so many uses, I’m sure I’d use it almost every day! Thanks for the giveaway and for the chance to win.
I would use it when we go camping and riding bikes
cool, very useful when you need both hands and are working alone.
Very cool headlamp. This would come in handy.
I can use this for working on the car or in tight spaces in my house.
I can think of so many idea’s that this product would be good for! Searching for the pets in the yard at night, under the sink and back of closets, searching for things that have fallen between the seats in the car!
I would give this to my husband for his birthday,,he works outside a lot
Any way to enter without linking my gleam account with facebook or twitter? It gets destroyed whenever I try to link it to either. Thanks!
Unfortunately that’s the only way they have of validating and preventing multiple entries from one person. Sorry!
What a handy item!
Wonderful for grandson’s birthday. We’ve had 7 electric trains
going at once in my living room
This would be an enormous help when you’re working on computers and electronics.
That looks like a great item to have! I wish I had seen it before Christmas. Would have gifted one to each of my boys and my husband. Will definitely keep it on my list for the future. Thanks for the review!
Amazing review! I might get one of this soon. This headlamp is very helpful.
I would love to have this!
Is the light from a train or is it the light at the end of a tunnel?
I might gift it or use it in closets, cupboards or for going outside when it is dark.
I would use a headlamp when I have to work underneath one of the sinks in my home or repair one of the toilets in my house. Having a headlamp around my home would most likely really come in handy at some point.
Going out into the garden at night for coal and wood or for taking the dog down our unlit lanes
Would be great for night fishing!
My husband would use this for bringing some stuff up from storage at our place!
This would be perfect for my husband when he is working in our crawl space or on something rather tiny like wiring.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
wow
I would use this when working under the car hood
While camping outside with kids! or working on car.