UKH

Have been using an Onnight 710 from Decathlon for running, but it's died from an intermittent fault that means sometimes it won't turn on.

Replacing like for like is an option, but slightly concerned about reliability.  Usually used for rural night runs through winter (up to an hour), but sometimes gets called on for cragging/winter climbing/ski touring.  The 300lumen max brightness on the Decathlon was useful for skiing, where you can end up travelling at a decent pace, but other than that don't have any criteria beyond sensible weight, reliability and decent battery life (minor preference for rechargeable).  Max budget £60.

Any other models I should be looking at?

Would the Alpkit Quark be of any use?

Mine doesn't like the cold so not much use for winter running I'd have thought?

As a warmer weather headtorch it's great value for money.

In many ways I like the look of it, but was put off by the comments in the UKC group test last year about poor cold weather performance, now backed up by similar comment above.  I really don't want to be out skiing and find my fully-charged head torch is dead.

If you've got the budget I fully recommend a Moonlight headtorch.

the 700 lumens is a good compact size and if you're using it for skiing the lead from Torch to Battery can be extended to battery can be kept warm inside jacket.

Uses a go pro style mount as well so can easily be placed on a helmet,

https://moonlightmountaingear.com/collections/lighting/products/bright-as-d...

I'm using a Fenix HL60R, which sells for about 75USD, so will be in your price range.  It's a stout piece of aluminium, IPX-8, rechargeable and really bright.  I use it daily running in the winter and climbing down to about -30C with no issues.  It is a tad heavy compared to plastic ones, but much more durable. 

Just bought a Swift RL that was delivered today. 
Bought online for £67 so only a smidge above your max budget

Very handily just reviewed and discussed in the forums  

Ah ok I wasn't aware of such issues. I use a Zebralight H600W, not cheap but it takes rechargable 18650 batteries £7 each and you'll need a decent charger £20. After 6/7 years of use mine broke and was replaced by Zebralight with a new one, all I had to pay was the cost of postage!

Cracking service, but you pay a premium for it.

Like all the suggestions above, very tempted by the Swift RL or the Fenix.  Only hesitation is that they're pushing my budget, which I'd already pushed a bit over what I was thinking of paying (started with an absolute limit of £50).

Is paying the extra £20 going to give me a significantly more bang for buck?  Any more suggestions toward the lower end of the price scale?

fenix hm65r

https://gb.foxbuying.com/fenix-hm65r-1400-lumens-tri-proof-magnesium-headla...

Regarding Fenix:

HL50 fits right into your budget (50 quid), although it's not rechargeable (just use Eneloops with a standalone charger). 1 AA or CR123A, small, metal, waterproof and rugged, neutral (warm) white led and can be taken out of the headband and used as a torch. 2-3 hrs on high with ~150 lumens (depending on battery), ~300 on turbo (just burst). Runs constant output in every mode but turbo.

Or if you want rechargeable, the HM50R? 60 quid, micro USB and can use CR123A for the really cold days as well. Cold white led (personally I like neutral white ones more) and this one uses a step-down output curve to extend runtime:

https://i.imgur.com/yjdlZdr.png

I'd normally call it "false advertising", but since the industry allows it, almost everybody including Petzl does it, they do actually (if vaguely) mention it in the description and in some situations the extended runtime - even with lowering output - can be useful (like getting benighted and bailing out), I guess it's OK. Just something to be aware of when buying any torch.

You can actually get an upgraded model with constant output (no step-down curve), neutral white LED and added red light (HM51R), but it is sold only in some CEU markets with demand for it - go figure.

While the bigger models (HL55 or HM61R) might offer a lot more bang for the buck, they might be a bit too heavy for running. The metal bodied Fenix torches are generally regarded as pretty reliable. I have some that I have been using for years in all conditions and they still work well.

Thanks for all the input.  The HM50R looks like the right balance of features and cost, just ordered one.  

not a bad torch - I carry one as my back up caving light.

Small and light enough to keep around your neck so its to hand but out of the way - and separate to main light

When you've used it in anger a few times would you mind posting a bit of a review on this thread? I'd be interested how it performs as a running headtorch.

Yes, will do

I have an Alpkit Quark, its cheap and cheerful but was somewhat disappointed by its poor light spread / pattern - it seemed a lot less than 500 lumnes. Just had a Petzl Swift as a birthday present and it is brilliant. The middle reactive light setting is rated at 300 lumens and is better than the Alpkits 500. Also the headstrap on the Alpkit is a bit rubbish, but overall you get what you pay for. 

The Alpkit is fine for walking etc, but for running the Petzl is light years ahead (ahem)

Just for the record, here is an (google-translated) article on the HM50R and HM51R. It has some nice and readable graphs of the output curves in Turbo and High of both models (which are very similar otherwise):

https://bit.ly/3jhd2a1

It shows nicely how any advertised numeric runtimes are often pretty much useless, even with the ANSI/FL1 label, without the actual graphs. To be fair, Fenix were among the first few manufacturers to use constant output regulation for most of their torches years ago and weren't ridiculously inflating their runtimes for marketing purposes, like Petzl and many others did 'til only recently. I think both modes (constant or curve/step-down) have their uses and users, but it should be always clearly communicated to the customer. Preferably via a clear graph like that - without any marketing shenanigans like unlabelled axis or log scale tricks.

I have a Fenix hand torch (PD35) that runs an 18650 rechargeable battery, and it's a very solid bit of kit.

I was looking at the headtorch version (HL55), but I reckon it's a lot of weight when running. I'll be interested to see how Sam's lighter HM50R performs.