Lighting systems are important for several reasons. You need to be able to see at night, or even in a dense wood or a backpack. There are three main types of flashlight that makes any sense to use during camping, so I’m going to quickly cover those in this essay.
The first one is the handheld flashlight. It is a great multipurpose tool for most lighting situations. It is probably the one you will use most, and is good for getting a strong concentrated beam of light.
Next we have the headlamp. Headlamps are great if you are going to be doing anything at night, like hiking. They are also good because they don’t take up any of your hands. They are especially good for climbing, caving, and being outside at night for extended periods of time. They do not really concentrate the light that they produce, so they are best for lighting up most of your field of vision, at the cost of not being as bright as a flashlight.
A really small key chain light is the other flashlight that is practical for a camping trip. It is really just good for looking inside a bag or for when you need a very quick and accessible light source. This one is a very weak and also fairly spread out light source, but it is always available, as your keys will always be around your neck or in your pocket.
If I had to pick one flashlight to use on a backpacking trip, I would pick the handheld flashlight, as it is the best multi-purpose tool on this list.