|
| Home | Guest - Not logged in | ||||||||||||||||
|
» Register
» Login
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
» Contact
|
Reviews > Lighting > Headlamps - Hybrid > Black Diamond Gemini 2002 model > Owner Review by Mark RobertsOwner
Review - Black Diamond Gemini Headlamp
 Reviewer Information: Name: Mark Roberts Age: 33 Gender: Male Height: 6’1” (185 cm) Weight: 180lb (82 kg) Email address: mroberts AT biol.sc DOT edu City, State, Country: Columbia, SC, USA Date: 01/07/2003 Backpacking Background: I have been backpacking since I was about 15 years old. A lot of early outdoor experiences, however, involved canoe camping. Because of that, I rarely took the weight of my camping equipment into consideration. I have been trying to break that habit since I was about 25 and am finally starting to get better at it. I am not an ultralight, and probably not even a light, backpacker but I do try to buy the lightest equipment that I can find. Since I have really only had a decent income for the last few years I am slowly replacing my old, cheap, heavy gear with bright, shiny, fancy, light new gear. My typical excursions are long weekends (3-4 days) but they sometimes go longer. My wife and I hike together a lot with our two dogs and are hoping to build up to much longer hikes sometime after our first child is born in May 2004. Most of our nearby hikes are either in the Congaree National Swamp or the on the Foothills Trails of the Appalachian Mountains, so our hiking conditions can vary considerably. Product Information: Manufacturer: Black Diamond Equipment Year of Manufacture: 2002 URL: http://www.bdel.com/ Weight with batteries: 7.1 Ounces (201 g) Weight without batteries: 5.3 Ounces (150 g) Batteries: 3 AA MSRP: $38.50 (US) Battery life: The Gemini comes with both an LED and one of several incandescent bulbs. The battery life for the various combinations are listed in the following table adapted from the product literature:
The Gemini is a hybrid headlamp - it has both LED and incandescent bulbs. It comes in a small blisterpack that is inside of a tightly fitting box. It is supplied with 3 AA batteries, one pre-installed incandescent bulb, and one extra bulb. It is waterproof and has this message on its website: “This lamp has been tested to the IPX-7 waterproof standard. It will continue to function for 30 minutes when submerged one meter deep in distilled water. It is normal for water to enter the lamp and battery housings. Battery life will be diminished, however, the lamp will function. If properly dried, this wetness will not affect the lamp. DO NOT STORE YOUR LAMP WET: remove battery cover, batteries, focus ring and reflector; and allow the housings to air dry thoroughly.” It has a two piece headband with straps that are about 0.79 in (2 cm) wide. The head swivels from straight out to straight down. The light can be focused by rotating the bezel around the light.  Picture 1. Overall view of the Gemini. It is sitting in a 12 in x12 in (30.48 cm x 30.48 cm) floor tile - to help gauge the size. Field Review: I have owned the Gemini since October, 2002 (14 months) and have enjoyed every minute of it. It is small, lightweight, easy to use and dependable. As soon as I got it out of its box, I had the overwhelming urge to test it for waterproofness. I filled up the sink and dunked it. It kept right on running with no discernable effect on its performance. The head is completely waterproof, not a single drop of water entered the head. The battery case looks like is should only be called ‘water resistant’ - not that it is flimsy or anything but it isn’t screwed down with a rubber gasket like the head is. The battery case has a rubber back that is removed to insert the batteries. It is removed fairly easily and can be done with gloved hands. Since it can be removed so easily, I didn’t expect it to keep much water out. I was surprised to find that the inside of the case was absolutely dry, even after letting it soak in the water for five minutes. The Gemini fit comfortably and was easy to adjust, doesn’t wiggle out of adjustment very easily and stayed where I put it. I was a little wary of the battery pack sitting on the back of my head. I thought that it might be heavy and uncomfortable. It actually feels more secure than any headlight I have ever worn without the battery case in the back. It feels ‘balanced’. And because the part of the battery pack that sits against one's head is rubber, with four squishy rubber bumps, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable at all. The head tilts easily and without much effort and even after 14 months of use hasn’t become loose and floppy. One of the mixed blessings with the Gemini is the push button control. Push it once, the LED comes on, push it again and it goes off, again and the Xenon bulb comes on, again and it goes off. The positives of this are mainly that it is easy as heck to operate and can be worked with really thick gloves on. Also, since it isn't necessary to twist the bezel or anything, it can easily be operated with one hand and without tugging on the lamp and moving it around. Some other lamps require twisting the bezel to turn on, which is almost always a two handed operation that results in tugging the head of the lamp and moving it away from that comfy spot. The only negative to the push button system is that one may have to cycle through the light that isn't wanted to get to the light that is wanted. This may become annoying if, for example, a situation required that the LED be turned turned off and on a lot. In reality, my usage is generally on for a long time or off for a long time, so this is a fairly minor issue to me - but it may be a deal breaker for others. A bonus is that it has never accidentally turned on in my pack. The LED is plenty bright for close work but I would personally have liked it to be a little brighter for walking around. It isn’t so dim that I can’t walk, I just can’t walk really fast. To illustrate how bright this light is, I took the following picture with the LED as the only light in the room while standing about 5 ft (1.52 meters) from the shower curtain that can be seen in the image. 
Picture 2. Light from the LED. I constantly use the Gemini as a tent light. I hook it to a carabiner and hang it at the top of the tent. The single LED is fine for playing cards, eating and the like and seems to last forever. It is more than adequate for close work like cooking, repairing equipment and any other in-camp activity. Since the LED is relatively bright, I use it almost exclusively and only use the Xenon every now and then when I need to look at something beyond about 20-30 ft (6.1 - 9.1 meters). The LED is the standard blueish color that even Black Diamond describes as ‘ghostly’. The color isn’t distracting though and is easy to get used to. One aspect of the Gemini that may bother some is the fact that there is not much range to the focusing of the incandescent beam by turning the bezel. People who live for this type of feature may be turned off by the small degree that it can be adjusted. Part of the reason for this, I think, is that the LED and the incandescent bulb are in the same, very small, housing. This reduces size but it also means they have to both shine through the same lens. I imagine that lenses with a lot of light focusing ability probably adversely affect the function of the LED. This is probably why some manufacturers (Petzl for example) have their LED and incandecents in separate housings with two different lenses. Don’t get me wrong, the Gemini still focuses the light, just not a lot. To try to give you an idea of this, the following pictures show the ‘Long Life’ bulb focused tightly and as wide as it will go. These pictures were taken in the same manner that the above pictures of the LED light were.   Picture 3. Wide beam. Picture 4. Focused beam. One thing that I have yet to figure out is which spare bulb actually came with my headlamp. The Gemini has a spare battery tucked neatly away in the battery case. The manual says that the Superbright bulb is ‘optional’ and that the Bright bulb is an included spare. It also says that the Longlife is the one that is included in the headlamp. These bulbs are all color coordinated and can be bought online for $6.95 directly from Black Diamond. They can probably also be found in most camp stores but I am not sure. Each of the three types of bulbs have a different colored base. The box lists that the Longlife are blue, the Bright are yellow and the Superbright are red. Black Diamond’s website has pictures of the bulbs when you try to purchase them and they are coded in the same way. My Gemini headlamp came with a blue coded bulb installed as expected, however, it also came with a red coded spare bulb. I am not sure what to make of this except that maybe the manual is wrong and the spare bulb supplied with the Gemini is actually the Superbright. Nonetheless, the spare bulb is considerably brighter than the Longlife bulb. My back fence is about 180 ft (55 meters) from my house. The Longlife bulb seems to throw light just barely to the fence - which makes me think Black Diamond is a little generous in its rating of these bulbs. The Superbright bulb easily shines to the fence and beyond. This isn’t the brightest light I have ever seen but it is pretty bright for running off of a measly 3 AA batteries. I think that for most people, the Longlife bulb will be bright enough but those that crave high intensity lighting may want to either install the Superbright or consider other options. 
Picture 5. Supplied Bulbs. PROS: 1. Small size/weight. 2. Having both the LEDs and the incandescent bulb. 3. Easy to operate push button operation. 4. Plenty bright for most. 5. Dependable. 6. Waterproof. 7. Three year warranty. CONS: 1. Push button operation makes you cycle through unwanted light source. 2. May not be bright enough for people who need/crave extremely bright lights. 3. Small range of focus for light beam. Summary: I have used my 2002 model Gemini for a little over a year now in all sorts of conditions. It has gone on many camping trips in all sorts of weather and has never let me down. Even when the batteries get low, the incandescent bulb will start to dim but the LED is still quite bright. This is nice to have in case the batteries die on a trip with no spares available. I have actually adopted using it for everything: gardening in the dark, changing the oil in my car, working on my computer. It has probably logged a month in the woods (not on all that time though) and much more time than that around my house without a problem. Its small, well made and not incredibly expensive. It is an excellent light that should at least be considered when purchasing a headlamp. Additionally, Black Diamond released a new model in 2003. The main difference between the 2002 and the 2003 models is the addition of an extra LED, and a rubberized bezel in the 2003 model vs plastic in the previous model. Since it is the only model currently available, it is worth noting that I have purchased one and the extra LED bulb makes a remarkable difference. It definitely allows for brisk night time walking. Of course, the battery life is reduced with the 2 LEDs but, according to the product literature, it is still a whopping 500 hours. In the interest of fairness and completeness, I took the following picture with the new 2 LED model as the only light in the room while standing about 5 ft (1.52 meters) from the shower curtain that can be seen in the image, just as in the similar picture above. 
Picture 6. LED light from 2003 model. Read more reviews of Black Diamond gear Read more gear reviews by Mark Roberts Reviews > Lighting > Headlamps - Hybrid > Black Diamond Gemini 2002 model > Owner Review by Mark Roberts | ||||||||||||||||