Meet the Dusk & Dawners

Real people, real adventures, real-time feedback.

Today, we’d like to (re)introduce you to a few of our HeadLamp 330 beta testers who we call the Dusk & Dawners. You might remember their faces from the short films released during our Kickstarter campaign. We call them the Dusk & Dawners because they operate in that brief transitional part of the day where everything slows down for just a second. Whether they are ending the day with an run after work or packing up camp to hit the trail before sunrise, they are constantly outside and off the grid during those in-between, low light hours of the day.

These folks have been using our HeadLamp longer than anyone else, so we caught up with them to see how it’s been going. In this blog, you’ll get to know them a bit better and hear more about their first hand experience with HeadLamp 330:

Jet, The Thru-Hiker

“I have always felt most alive outside," says Jet. "A deep connection that tends to make me smile when I reflect on it. When I started my first trek on the Pacific Crest Trail, I felt simply at home. I loved it.”

Jet Garner was a Fleet Marine Force Hospital Corpsman for the Navy who was enlisted from 2007 to 2012. After getting hit by shrapnel from an IED in his dominant arm, he was medically retired after two tours in Afghanistan. Upon returning home he graduated from college and started looking to reconnect with nature which led him to plan his first long distance trail hike - 1200 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. He was instantly hooked and during Summer 2018 he planned more thru-hikes on the PCT and the Colorado Trail - this time he brought along HeadLamp 330.

HeadLamp Off-Camera: How's It Going?

It’s been going great! It remains so comfortable I will forget I'm wearing it often when I'm using it. I've found myself carrying it in my standard day hiking pack to throw on if I’m out after dusk. It’s handy for doing projects of any kind in low-light conditions like tying a fishing knot or trying to cut something very precisely.

The coolest new thing I've been doing with HeadLamp lately is using it at work. I’m a kayak guide that takes people on daytime wildlife tours and nighttime bioluminescence tours in Tomales Bay within Point Reyes National Seashore. I use the HeadLamp on night paddles when looking at my compass (red light), packing up gear and tying up boats on the pier (white light). 

Kathryn: The Runner

 “Having grown up the daughter of a weekend warrior in the North Cascades, I have always found refuge and strength outdoors. Life in SF never seems to slow down, so escaping to the mountains or finding new places to explore along California’s beautiful coastline provides the fuel I need to maintain balance and find joy. Whatever the activity, I'm usually happiest when there’s rocks and dirt beneath my feet.”

Kathryn is distance runner, optimist, and fish taco enthusiast. A five year resident of the bay area, she currently lives on a houseboat in Sausalito, CA, and works at tech company in San Francisco. To balance a demanding work schedule with her love of running, you'll often find her run-commuting to the city by headlamp across the Golden Gate Bridge or easing the stress of the day with sunset miles in the Marin Headlands.

HeadLamp Off-Camera: How's It Going?

Headlamp has permission to board the houseboat! This is by far the most comfortable headlight I’ve ever worn. Most importantly, if doesn’t move when I run, which is important when running longer distances. I also love that it has high lumens with an extremely light and slim battery pack. And lastly, the colors are awesome. It’s almost like a headband that becomes your light once the sun goes down.

My dad is a headlight connoisseur. If he’s helping Santa stuff your stocking, you can usually bet on find a headlight in there. He’s always obsessing over comfort and lumens, which comes in handy when he finds himself unexpectedly bivvying on the face of a cliff. I can’t wait to give him a headlight for a change.

You can find Kathryn on Instagram at @happywhenrunning.

Wendy & Vince: The Ranchers

“My connection to the outdoors was founded from an organic desire to play,” says Vince. “Over time, that play evolved into a realization that the outdoors can also be where I can push myself, mentally and physically, and discover something new every time out.”

Wendy and Vince are busy. In their downtime they keep up a beautifully functioning ranch in Mancos, Colorado. During the day Wendy is a yoga teacher, massage therapist, and nurse. Vince is a runner, climber, cyclist, and works in marketing over at Osprey Packs. Wendy is also the co-founder of 3 Sisters Equine Refuge, an amazing charitable organization dedicated to providing rehabilitation, retraining, and placement for equines. (Told you they’re busy!)

HeadLamp Off-Camera: How's It Going?

Wendy: Light and comfortable. Super easy to use different settings. Use it daily in the evening doing chores, feeding animals. Have taken it camping multiple times. Absolutely love it!

Vince: This headlamp is excellent. It is the headlamp that I reach for nightly and in the mornings to head out and work outside. I reach for it because of the feel. It is remarkably comfortable and stable. The perfect headlamp to me is one that you can forget is there and this is the closest thing to that that I have found.

We have a feeling that most of you are just like these beta testers and you love operating in the dusk & dawn hours of the day. If you’ve had the chance to test out your new HeadLamp, share your review with us here or tag us on Instagram - we’d love to hear about it.

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