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Night skating can be a lot safer than skating during the day, with the help of a good headlamp. Only in the last couple years have bight-enough, light-weight, affordable headlamps been available. I've spent most of the last year testing out the Fenix HP10 7 Level 225 Lumen LED Headlamp and these things definitely change the game for night skating. There are plenty of roads that just have too much traffic to skate safely during the day. At night there is less likelyhood of traffic, and if there is, you can see the headlights from far ahead and around corners. This opens up a lot of possibilities with a headlamp bright enough to see not only the edge of the road, but the quality of the road, and what's the sides of it. I hope to put on an outlaw race or two on roads we wouldn't normally have any opportunity to race, at night, sometime in the not-too-distant future. There will be a headlamp requirement, and not shitty ones. Here are a few options worth checking out, most of them are new so no one has tried them for downhill yet.

$14.25
Camping Hiking 300 Lumen CREE LED Headlamp

http://www.amazon.com/Camping-Hiking-Lumen-CREE-Headlamp/dp/B004NK6Q7Y/ref=pd_sim_sg_3

$35
300 Lumen Forehead Bonfire, 3-Mode UltraBright Cree LED Headlamp

http://www.amazon.com/Forehead-Bonfire-UltraBright-Headlamp-batteries/dp/B00513DJN6/ref=sr_1_26?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1316062897&sr=1-26

$39.95
Ultrafire 220 Lumen H1d Q5 CREE LED Headlamp uses CR123a

http://www.amazon.com/Ultrafire-Lumen-CREE-Headlamp-CR123a/dp/B005GEP6PY/ref=sr_1_28?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1316062897&sr=1-28

$59.95
Fenix HP10 7 Level 225 Lumen LED Headlamp

http://www.amazon.com/Fenix-HP10-Level-Lumen-Headlamp/dp/B002RX2QLY/ref=pd_sim_dbs_sg_7

Ultrafire 220 Lumen H1d Q5 CREE LED Headlamp uses CR123a

The Fenix is sick as fuck. I haven't changed the batteries once yet. Get the diffuser for it if you want to use it at close range for anything (skateparks), otherwise it's too focused and bright a beam. Which is perfect for seeing down long straightaways going fast, but not for setting up a tent or skating a park. I skated gtown with it full speed a few weeks ago at night without any problem seeing the road. So at least up to 40 it still projects enough light to feel comfortable seeing what you're coming up on.

i've been wanting to buy a nicer headlight. glad to know these are pretty affordable, are there any local stores that carry em?

I bought a nice one (petzel?) at rei for 60 bucks some time ago, however mine only had a rating of 60 lumens. The ones casey posted must be bright as fuck! MISA WANT!

Check this out. Build your own.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Curiously-Strong-Bike-Light-Cree-LEDs-in-an-ALTO/