Looking for a tiny headlamp for a small kit. Recommendations?

A good, small light is the Petzl e-lite. It is even smaller if you dump the rigid plastic case. Runs on lithium wafer batteries.

I have the e+lite as well. Its a pretty handy and very small headlamp.

I have a Blackdiamond Ion headlamp, which works very well when the battery isn't discharged (but this applies to all flashlights), the battery is also quite hard to get hold off, more so than the coin lithiums. So if the size isn't too much of a constraint I would recommend the Pak-lite Super with 9V Lithium Battery and a Nite Ize head band. It competes very well for brightness/runtime of a 2AA (alkaline battery powered) cell flashlight.

NiMh rechargeable 9V cells are also available but have less than 1/3 the capacity of the 9V Lithium Primary.

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=176514&page=1

+1 on the e+lite

Pete

I'll add my 2 cents and agree that the e light is fantastic!

I also own the e-lite and like it a great deal. But it is not perfect, it is the smallest, but there is a trade off or two which have been mentioned. In addition to difficult to find coin batteries, the headband is small, not comfortable, and prone to shifting. Again, a trade-off for being so small.

Just a bit bigger is the Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core which has a nice headband, USB rechargeable lithium ion battery, and can be easily converted to eat AAAs in alkaline, lithium, or nickle metal hydride. If you really want to go all out, Petzl also makes a very nice Adapt Tikka 2 Kit that provides all sorts of cool mounting options. Finally, Petzl makes a sturdy carry pouch for this unit.

Two points. One, you can find better prices than the REI links I provided. And two, all this adds up to be a much higher price than the e-lite, but you gain much versatility and dependable power options in the trade.

I also am a big fan of the Pak-Lite mentioned above, but its not much of a thrower and hard to keep positioned in a headband. It is THE emergency power outage or backup light for your BOB because of its extreme runtime using the 9v lithium battery.

YMMV

Yes, very nice, but the wire headband is not comfortable for anything other than short-term emergency use. Its the one I keep in my car for an emergency tire change.

Actually, headlamps have been on an LED-induced diet and all have shrunk considerably. My favorite, a Priceton Tec EOS, has a lot of lumens, variable power levels, and it is not what I would call large. There are lots and lots of very capable headlamps out there, a big contrast to the "dark ages" of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

My choice for my kits is the Petzl E+Lite. It is compact, has useful features and comes with it's own case that's still small than my other headlamps.